Peter Sayn-Wittgenstein

🇯🇵 Unlocking Japan: Leadership, Community-based Recruitment, GTM and Growth

Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

About

We help companies and top talent grow and win in Japan. We work at the intersection of talent, business and cross-border expansion, supporting top firms with strategic hiring, market-entry and access to Japan’s next-gen leaders via our community. If you’re building in Japan and need help with hiring, growth, or go-to-market strategy, feel free to reach out: [email protected]

Experience

  • Founder & CEO at TeamFirst
    Sep 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 10 mos

    Leading community-led platform for recruitment, go-to-market, and growth in Japan, connecting global companies with bilingual talent and local market support. - Built and lead a 1,000+ member bilingual community across tech, finance, and consumer, spanning 300+ companies - Supported 100+ international and Japanese companies with hiring, market entry, GTM strategy, and localisation - Facilitated 3,000+ growth introductions and hosted 300+ events 📩 [email protected] | 🌐 www.teamfirst.jp

  • Global Finance Fellow (Advisory) at Tokyo Metropolitan Government
    Nov 2025 - Present · 8 mos

    Advisory role providing independent, market-informed input to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Governor Koike on strengthening Tokyo’s global finance, technology, and startup ecosystem. • Advise on market entry, capital deployment, talent attraction, and scaling frictions faced by companies and founders expanding into Japan • Act as a bridge between public policy and market reality, translating on-the-ground signals from founders, investors, and operators into actionable feedback • Focus on long-term ecosystem outcomes, not day-to-day execution or policy ownership

  • Board Advisor at Nippon Pickleball
    Jan 2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

    Strategic advisor supporting the growth of pickleball in Japan. • Advising on market positioning within Japan’s sports, lifestyle, and corporate ecosystem • Supporting partnerships across brands, venues, athletes, and sponsors • Advisory role focused on strategy and ecosystem building, not daily operations

  • Partner at Schmatz
    Oct 2016 - Present · 9 yrs 9 mos

    Growth and business development partner to the founders. • Supported scale from 0 to 40+ locations nationwide • Fundraising, recruiting, marketing, real estate, and CPG rollout to 500+ retailers • Former Head of Business Development and VP; not involved in day-to-day operations since 2022

  • Business Development / Asset Management at Market Tech UK
    May 2015 - Nov 2016 · 1 yr 7 mos

    Real estate and technology platform • Worked across business development and asset management for a £1.4bn, 16-acre mixed-use estate • Exposure to large-scale real estate operations, tenant mix, and repositioning strategy