role: Associates

Torrence Smith is an American national living in Japan, where he is engaged in various academic and professional activities. Currently, he is a student at Rikkyo University. Torrence specializes in economic research, particularly focusing on macro and microeconomic trends in the Indo-Pacific region. He has a background in business leadership from the University of Toledo and has been an advocate for deeper cultural and economic ties between the East and West.

Torrence values connections with people, especially in Japan, where he appreciates the opportunity to engage with a culture different from his own. Torrence’s journey in Japan has broadened his worldview, and he aims to foster further connections between Eastern and Western cultures.

Hiroki has extensive experience in institutional finance and financial services, working for over two decades in both NYC and Tokyo with an emphasis on cross-border US-Japan transactions and relationships. Specialties include equity markets, alternative investments (Private Equity, Hedge Funds), due diligence, risk management and deal execution. Financial services work also includes anti-money laundering, countering terrorist financing, funding of sensitive defense and intelligence projects and budgeting for transactions involving Japan and the United States.

His military career included numerous deployments and duties as a US Army military intelligence officer, assigned primarily to US Army Special Operations Command and 18^th Airborne Corps tactical units. After leaving active duty, he served as a US Army Reserve officer, performed US-Japan liaison duties and commanded a Civil Affairs unit based in Tokyo.

Post-military private sector career focused on financial advisory, consulting work, law enforcement liaison, business intelligence, security, and research services. Advised many organizations on risk reduction in Japan, with organized crime, fraud and rogue state or terrorist financing being recurring themes. Graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) with a Bachelor of Science and holds an MBA from Georgetown University.

Arnaud Sobrero is an expert in the Aerospace, Defense, and Security industry with more than 13 years of international experience. Arnaud has worked with well-established organizations such as the Dassault Group, Textron, and Raytheon Technologies in various capacities (Sales, Marketing, Strategy). Arnaud is currently based in Paris, France where he serves as International Business Development Director for Embraer’s Defense & Security business unit.

Arnaud has spent 5 years in Japan working closely with Aerospace and Defense entities and he was instrumental in establishing key partnerships between US firms and some Japanese tier 2 firms for Defense related activities.

In addition to his business development activities, Arnaud focused on providing detailed political, military, and economic situational reporting to senior leadership and on deriving new opportunities from geopolitical shift analysis in the North East Asian region.

His analyses have been featured in The Diplomat, and he is a contributing expert on Defense and Cybersecurity for the newly formed think tank ‘ITSS’ (International Team for the Study of Security).

A French citizen, Arnaud has lived more than 12 years in Asia and he is a graduate of the Institut de Relations Internationales et Strategiques (‘IRIS’), a top French think tank specialized in International Relations. He is currently a MA candidate at King’s College London in International Affairs (Cyber Security/Artificial Intelligence specialism).

Ms. Rupal Kalebere is an associate for the International Security Industrial Council-Japan. She brings a wealth of expertise in law and policy to the organization and is committed to strengthening the relationship between India and Japan.

Rupal currently serves as a project lead at the Center of Policy Research and Governance, a think tank located in Delhi. She holds a BA LLB degree from ILS Law College and is currently pursuing her MA in Defence and Security Laws from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research in Hyderabad. Her education has provided her with a strong foundation in legal and policy matters related to security and defence.

Previously, Ms Kalebere has completed various international courses and has researched and interned for several organizations such as Princeton University, HSE University in Moscow, Athena Model United Nations, Adhyayan Foundation for Policy Research, Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sanstha, The Indo-Japan Community (IJC), Sahyadri Law Academy, and Amnesty International.

Rupal is an Indo-Japan Relations enthusiast and has a deep interest in promoting bilateral cooperation between the two countries. She is passionate about fostering growth and development in the region and believes that stronger ties between India and Japan can be a catalyst for progress. To achieve this, Rupal aims to facilitate greater collaboration between the two countries in areas such as defence, security, and technology. She brings her extensive knowledge of legal and policy matters to this endeavour and is committed to developing innovative solutions to complex challenges.

Nils OSSETTE’s Primary mission at I.S.I.C is to bring European Defense Industries a step closer to their Japanese counterparts.

Recently graduated from a master’s degree in “European Affairs & European Security Policy” at SciencesPo Strasbourg, one of the best schools to gain knowledge on issues regarding the European Union, Nils started working in Client Research with I.S.I.C in Tokyo at the beginning of 2023. This isn’t Nils’ first experience in Japan as speaks Japanese and studied for a year in Osaka University （大坂大学）.

As a French-German dual-national and strong of his technical knowledge on EU institutions, the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) as well as the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), Nils has especially been able to understand the challenges that European Companies face as they are trying now more than ever to enter the Japanese Defense sector.

As of now, he has been instrumental in the building of new partnerships with EU actors for I.S.I.C, as his network developed through previous experiences allowed him to introduce the organization to newer EU-led partners such as the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation where he previously did an internship, or the European Business Council (EBC).

Mark is a current Masters Student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), studying for a MSc Strategic Studies degree. His research interests consist of Japanese and Philippine defense/foreign policies.

Prior to his Masters, Mark has conducted freelance work researching on Islamist extremism in the Philippines in 2021. From 2020 to 2021, he interned at the Counterterrorism Analyst Intern as a PACOM (Pacific Command) specialist, where he conducted research on Japanese defense, foreign and social issues for security briefings and reports. He also collaborated on working on writing reports in other parts of the Indo-Pacific, including South and Southeast Asia.