Notice Regarding Change of Representative Director and Introduction of Executive Officer System

AgVenture Lab (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter "the Association") changed its Representative Director on March 27, 2026. On the same date, the Association introduced an executive officer system to strengthen governance and enhance its business promotion structure. Through these organizational changes, the Association will accelerate its efforts to solve social issues in the food and primary industry sectors through startup support and social implementation.

1. Change of Representative Director

Since its establishment, the Association has worked to create innovation through co-creation with startups, the JA Group, companies, universities, and government agencies, with the aim of solving social issues related to "food, agriculture, and local living." In light of the expansion of our business areas and the sophistication of our activities, we have renewed our management structure and changed our Representative Director.

[Outgoing] Representative Director: Koki Ogino

[Incoming] Representative Director: Tomoko Tsuchida

<Biography of the New Representative Director>

Name: Tomoko Tsuchida

<Biography>

April 1994: Joined The Norinchukin Bank

July 2017: General Manager, Public Relations and CSR Planning Office, Corporate Planning Department, The Norinchukin Bank

April 2018: General Manager, Audit Office, The Norinchukin Bank

April 2022: General Manager, Nagoya Branch, The Norinchukin Bank

April 2024: Managing Executive Officer, The Norinchukin Bank (Current position)

Koki Ogino will assume the position of Chairman and Evangelist on the same date, continuing to contribute to the Association's value dissemination and network expansion through external speaking engagements and committee activities.

2. Introduction of Executive Officer System

The environment surrounding the Association is changing significantly, with the sophistication of startup support and the expansion of co-creation projects with the JA Group and local governments. In response to this situation, we introduced an executive officer system on March 27, 2026, to clarify the division of roles between the Board of Directors' management and supervisory functions and the business execution functions, with the aim of accelerating decision-making and clarifying the accountability structure.

3. Executive Officer Appointments

As of March 27, 2026:

- Executive Officer, Secretary General (Chair of Executive Officers' Meeting): Hiroshi Shinohara

- Executive Officer, Chief Administrative Officer: Masashi Naito

- Executive Officer, In charge of Consulting Division: Takeshi Ue

As of April 1, 2026:

- Executive Officer, In charge of Accelerator and External Relations: Yoshinari Okuda