Kohei Shoji
Harvard MBA | VP, Strategic Finance at FirstElement Fuel
- Role
- VP, Strategic Finance at FirstElement Fuel, Inc.
- Location
- Irvine, CA, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Kohei Shoji
Strategic finance leader with broad startup experience in capital sourcing and deal execution (equity, corporate debt, structured finance), partnerships, FP & A, and strategy formulation to execution backed by strong analytical skills. Previous background on the buy-side, corporate finance, and project finance.
Experience
VP, Strategic Finance
May 2021 — Present
FirstElement designs, builds, and operates the largest hydrogen fueling infrastructure network for vehicles in the United States. Ranked #36 of 250 in America’s Top Greentech Companies 2024 by TIME and Statista. Over $250 million in private capital raised from established institutional investors such as Honda, Mitsui & Co, Air Liquide, and MUFG Bank- Part of senior management team that oversaw 4x revenue growth from under $20 million in FY2021 to over $70 million in FY2023, significantly reducing cash burn and paving a clear path to profitability. Oversaw growth of market share in U.S. hydrogen vehicle refueling to 80%+- Fundraising: led $105 million Series D (Nov. 2021), and separate convertible note (Oct. 2023) transaction from multiple, well-established institutional investors. Responsible for pitching, structuring, financial modeling, due diligence responses, and definitive document negotiations, with the resource constraints of a startup- Deal Structuring: intensive experience in financial and operational structuring (JVs, project financing, etc.) to scale FirstElement’s hydrogen refueling network for light-duty and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Counterparts were mainly senior members of investment banks, funds, established energy companies, etc- Led various, ad-hoc analyses on projected hydrogen demand, cost, pricing, and unit economics.
Education
Harvard Business School
Master of Business Administration - MBA
2020 — 2022
University of Oxford
Visiting Student, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
2011 — 2012
Waseda University
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Economics
2010 — 2014
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