Hiroo’s early career was in education. After completing high school in London and undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Oxford, he taught mathematics and computer science in London secondary schools and later at a school in Yokohama — developing curriculum, researching adult learning modalities, and discovering how to engage even the most reluctant learners across cultural and linguistic boundaries. This foundation informs everything he does as a facilitator today. He went on to conduct graduate research on organizational learning at Pepperdine University, where he also delivered instruction at the graduate level.

After transitioning into business, Hiroo held leadership roles spanning EdTech, SaaS, and consumer products at the intersection of Japan and the United States. Most recently he served as President and CEO of Fine USA Trading and CEO of Crane Wellness, a direct-to-consumer wellness brand, both based in Southern California. In these roles he led all US operations for a Japanese parent company — managing finance, supply chain, regulatory compliance, and distributor relationships while maintaining direct governance accountability to Japanese headquarters. He prepared formal board reporting in both languages, navigated immigration processes for Japanese executives, and spent years translating not just language but expectations, working styles, and legal realities across the Pacific. He understands from the inside why a straightforward HR policy can become a months-long negotiation between Japanese headquarters and US operations — and how to resolve it.

Earlier he served as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Sleeek, a Japanese-founded SaaS startup in Newport Beach, bridging Japanese engineering leadership and US market development. He also founded Visible Learning Designs, an education consulting venture that advised progressive schools in the US and Japan and organized US study visits for Japanese educators.

Hiroo holds a BA and MA in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Oxford and an MA from Pepperdine University. He has lived and worked in Japan for 15 years, the United Kingdom for 12 years, and the United States for over 20 years, with travel across 17 countries on four continents. He is a native speaker of both Japanese and English.