Mr. Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident of the country in 1986. Over the past two decades, he has been recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as chief strategist and head of research for major US investment banks JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as expert director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund investment committee. His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board.

Mr. Koll serves as Board Director of the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a founder of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, and has written three books in Japanese. In 2021, he created the video/pod-cast series “Japan - Capitalism That Works.”

He has a masters degree from the School of Advanced and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and was a research fellow at both Tokyo University and Kyoto University. He is a graduate of the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific.

Mr. Koll is an economist, strategist, angel investor, patron, producer, and yes, a Japan optimist.