Takeshi Isayama is Chairman of Carlyle Japan. He advises on strategic business matters as well as Carlyle's buyout, growth capital, leveraged finance and real estate teams on their business and investing activities. Mr. Isayama joined The Carlyle Group in July 2007 as a Senior Advisor before being nominated as Chairman of Carlyle Japan. He is based in Tokyo.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Isayama was Vice-Chairman of Nissan Motor Company until March 2007. Previously, he was with the Japanese government in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for 33 years. While at MITI, he was the Commissioner of the Japanese Patent Office and the Director-General of several bureaus, including the International Trade Policy Bureau during the Hashimoto and Obuchi administrations.

Mr. Isayama was involved in various types of public administration during his tenure at MITI including energy, SME, national security, R&D and intellectual property rights in addition to international trade policy.

In September 2001, he joined Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. as Vice Chairman. Under Mr. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the company, he assisted “Ghosn’s Revolution” to turnaround the ailing company into one of the most competitive companies in the global auto industry.

Mr. Isayama earned his law degree from Tokyo University in 1967 and his master's in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1971.