Meet Kent Monma: From Global Finance to Company Building at WAY
From Dartmouth College and Stanford University to Morgan Stanley, Twitter, and TSUKURUBA Inc. — Kent Monma’s journey has been shaped by building across Japan and the world. Now, he’s joined WAY Equity Partners as our CFO.
Career journey
“I was born in Sapporo and grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. I studied engineering at Dartmouth College and management at Stanford University before starting my career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, advising TMT clients. From there, I managed the APAC finance team at Twitter (now X) before becoming CFO at TSUKURUBA Inc. (TSE:2978), a lifestyle-first real estate venture redefining home buying in Greater Tokyo.”
What I do at WAY
“As CFO, I oversee both Finance and Investments. On the Finance side, my role is to establish the infrastructure, processes and reporting frameworks that enable sound decision-making and long-term scalability across our ventures. On the Investment side, I partner with our founders and teams to bring a financial lens to the company-building journey from validating concepts through to achieving sustainable growth.”
Why WAY
“What drew me to WAY? Our vision and people. I believe our company-builder approach is uniquely suited to the Japanese market, where we can unlock outsized societal impact by leveraging the power of capital. Equally, it’s the people here who make this work so energizing: the camaraderie, the candid exchange of ideas, and the intellectually stimulating environment. It’s rare to find a place where vision and culture align so strongly, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.”
A value I live by
“'You only live once - but if you do it right, once is enough.' I’ll lean fully into whatever I take on, whether it’s pursuing ambitious goals, satisfying curiosity or exploring new challenges."
Passion outside of work
“Sports. I’m an avid fan of almost all sports - in no particular order, American football, ice hockey, soccer, rugby, basketball, baseball, etc.”
What I hope to achieve at WAY
“I’m excited to gain hands-on experience in the earliest stages of company building. In the past, I’ve worked with large conglomerates and established SMBs, but I have yet to be part of the origination phase.”
