role: Strategic Advisors

Jean-François Rébeillé is the founder and principal consultant for ReTo Conseil, based in Tokyo. At ReTo Conseil, he provides advisory services for global and Japanese stakeholders, covering aerospace, defense & security, as well as energy. With a focus on technological and industrial elements, he supports business collaboration, co-development, and project management.

Prior to his current role, Jean-François served in Asia-Pacific regional management positions, at General Electric, ENGIE and BayWa r.e. At GE, he held roles in operations and program management, for aircraft engines (civil and military, MRO), and for power generation equipment & services. At ENGIE and at BayWa, he served as the Japan country leader for energy projects and services, working closely with Japanese partners.

Jean-Francois is also a board member of the Japan committee of the CCEF (Foreign Trade Advisors of France). He works closely with the French chamber of commerce in Japan, and with various departments at the embassy of France in Japan.

Jean-François was trained at the Saint-Cyr Coetquidan Military Academy, and is a reserve officer in the Army National Guard of France. He also completed training at the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Defense Nationale), in economic and strategic intelligence. Over the years, he has been involved in supporting the French Ministry of Defense on various elements in the region.

In addition, Jean-François has been an active member of the Energy Committee at the European Business Council in Japan , and now serves as committee chair.
Jean-François holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, and completed executive education at the ESSEC business school in Paris.

Jean-François has lived in Japan for 18 years, 15 of those in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Dr. Satoru Nagao is a fellow (non-resident) at Hudson Institute, based in Tokyo, Japan. From December 2017 through November 2020, he was a visiting fellow at Hudson Institute, based in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Nagao’s primary research area is U.S-.Japan-India security cooperation. He was awarded his Ph.D. by Gakushuin University in 2011 for his thesis, “India’s Military Strategy,” the first such research thesis on this topic in Japan. Gakushuin University is a premier institution from which members of the Japanese Imperial Family have also graduated.

Dr. Nagao holds numerous other research positions, including senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, specially-appointed research fellow at the Japan Forum on International Relations, research fellow at the Institute for Future Engineering (strategy, defense policy), a lecturer in Gakushuin University, associate at the Society of Security and Diplomatic Policy Studies, research fellow at the Security and Strategy Research Institute for Japan, senior fellow at the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka, and senior research fellow of the Indian Military Review, Visiting Fellow (Indo-Pacific) & Honorary Convenor, Japan of Tillotoma Foundation in India.

Dr. Nagao was a visiting scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in Washington D.C. He worked previously as a research fellow at the Tokyo Foundation and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation in Tokyo, as a post-doctoral fellow at the Research Institute for Oriental Cultures at Gakushuin University, and as a lecturer at Gakushuin University, Aoyama-Gakuin University and Komazawa University. He was also a security analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and a first lieutenant of the Japan Ground Self Defense Forces (Japanese Army).

Dr. Nagao has authored numerous books and articles on security issues, and he also contributes to the column, “Age of Japan-India ‘Alliance’” at Nikkei Business, the journal of one of Japan’s leading newspapers.