PRESIDENT

John Gustofson is the Head of Chugai Venture Fund, LLC (CVF). John brings over 25 years of experience in both Venture Capital investing and Business Development. Most recently, John was a Managing Director at AbbVie Ventures where he served as Board member at Disarm Therapeutics, Caraway Therapeutics and Ribometrix Inc and a Board Observer for Ribon Therapeutics, Palleon Pharmaceuticals, Calimmune Inc., and Kala Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, John held Business Development positions at AstraZeneca, Altus Pharmaceuticals, Therion Biologics and Boston Life Sciences. He also spent 3 years in life science consulting. John holds a Master’s Degree in Molecular Biology and an MBA.

MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mike Dial joined CVF in 2025 as Managing Director. Mike has more than 18 years of experience in Venture Capital investing and company formation. Mike joins CVF from Hatteras Venture Partners, where he served as a General Partner and focused on investing in and managing a portfolio of innovative, early-stage healthcare companies addressing unmet needs. Before Hatteras, Mike was a Vice President at Silicon Valley Bank, where he focused on emerging life science companies and venture capital funds. Before SVB, he held research scientist positions in the Department of Biochemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Laboratory of Structural Biology at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the UNC-Duke Michael Hooker Proteomics Center. He has conducted research in cell cycle regulation, proteomics, and cancer therapy and received his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

PRINCIPAL

Taku Fukuzawa joined CVF in 2023. He started his career at Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Chugai) in 2007 as a biologist in drug discovery. He was engaged in drug discovery research on metabolic diseases and the SGLT2 inhibitor tofogliflozin. In 2012, he was a founding member of Chugai Pharmabody Research in Singapore, where he led several antibody drug projects as a senior scientist, including the anti-complement C5 recycling antibody crovalimab. He was also involved in projects using Chugai’s proprietary antibody and mid-size molecule technologies and played a critical role in advancing multiple programs into the clinical stage. As a manager of the non-clinical pharmacology group, he worked on a wide range of research topics including hematology, ophthalmology, renal diseases, cardiac diseases, auto-immune diseases, rare diseases, and so on. He received his PhD in biology from Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan.

ASSOCIATE
Tatsushi Kodama joined CVF in 2023. Before Joining CVF, he worked in the Science & Technology Intelligence Department at Chugai since 2019. He led various open innovation related projects across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology and ophthalmology and multiple modalities including gene therapy and digital patient monitoring tool. He started his career at Chugai in 2010 as a biologist in oncology drug discovery. He engaged in drug discovery research on ALK kinase inhibitor alectinib for non-small cell lung cancer. He was transferred to Chugai Pharmabody Research in Singapore in 2016, where he led several bispecific antibody drug projects. He received his PhD in pharmacy from Osaka University in Japan.

ASSOCIATE
Yoshikazu Ando has had a distinguished career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Prior to joining CVF, as a member of the Chugai Partnering team, he excelled in collaborations between Roche, other biotech partners and Chugai, sealing agreements that strengthened partnerships. After joining Chugai in 2019, he played a key role in the licensing of Chugai’s antibody engineering technology. He spent seven years at a trading company, where he promoted research collaborations between major Japanese pharmaceutical companies and overseas biotech companies, concluded licensing agreements, managed research projects and expanded biotech markets. With a PhD in medical science from Kyoto University and research at RIKEN/Kyoto University, he analyses immune cells, genetically modified mouse models and the role of GTPases in cancer. He holds an MBA.

OFFICE MANAGER
Stefanie joined CVF in 2024. With extensive experience in business operations and executive administration, Stef is focused on partnering with the team to optimize organizational efficiency, streamline workflows, and drive the execution of operational and administrative initiatives. Stef started her U.S. career 15 years ago in private equity and asset management before joining life sciences investor firms SV Health Investors and RA Capital Management.  Prior to CVF, Stef held business operations and chief of staff roles at Kira Pharmaceuticals, Paragon Therapeutics, and inviCRO where she served as trusted right-hand partner to Founders, CEOs and extended C-Suite teams while simultaneously overseeing multiple operational initiatives and teams. Stef earned her M.A. in Linguistics and Musicology from Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany.

FINANCE MANAGER
Hayato Kurokawa joined CVF in 2025. With a background in corporate finance and administration, Hayato is responsible for finance-related matters. Hayato started his career at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation where he provided variety of financial instruments to corporate clients in Tokyo and the UK. He was also part of the new business development team and contributed to a JV investment alongside other international banks. In 2023, he joined Chugai as a treasurer, where he led the implementation of a new global cash management system and managed foreign exchange exposure. Hayato earned a Bachelor of Commerce and Management from Hitotsubashi University Tokyo, Japan. He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

CVF Has Extensive Expertise and a Global Reach