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About - Our Team

Mark Foster

Mark E. Foster

Mark E. Foster is a business attorney, corporate leader and C-Level officer operating domestically and internationally. Clients in Silicon Valley and worldwide rely on Mark’s vast business and legal knowledge, skill set, and experience. Mark has a proven track record as both inside and outside General Counsel. He’s a recognized leader to startups, law departments, inventors, businesses, and investors. 

Mark is dedicated to being general counsel for tech startups and growing companies. In over a dozen companies, Mark’s been lawyer and management team member at every stage from founding through acquisition or public offering, and in several cases as GC after the IPO.

Mark’s been General Counsel to Silicon Valley public med tech companies (Natus Medical Inc.; Protocol Systems Inc.). For a decade he was President, General Counsel, and CFO of Volumetrics Medical Imaging LLC, inventor of real-time 3D ultrasound medical imaging. His leadership in planning & executing the largest global patent infringement enforcement campaign ever in the medical device sector produced a substantial return to inventors, employees, and investors including Duke University.

Mark’s solid leadership in Silicon Valley spans over three decades. As lawyer in Japan for the AEA and EIA, comprising the entire US high-tech & telecom Industries, Mark was the first US industry lobbyist in Japan. As Chairman of the Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel, Mark’s been commended for leadership by his peers, the General Counsel of publicly traded Silicon Valley companies.

Mark served with distinction as Special Counsel to the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, and to four Presidential Administrations as a high-level international trade policy negotiator and adviser. His international trade policy and negotiating skills have earned him the respect of business and government leaders, clients, and peers in the U.S. and globally.

For a more expanded look at Mark’s career, download his full CV.

Akiko Foster

Akiko Foster manages the firm’s business. Akiko draws upon her remarkable set of achievements as Diplomat for Japan, engineering scholar at Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Accenture management consultant, and Japanese champion swimmer.

As a Diplomat for Japan, Akiko served as Second Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Botswana. Akiko was public information and culture officer (diplomat) in charge of Japan’s official English language communications within Botswana. Akiko coordinated Japan’s  bilateral and multilateral treaties with Botswana and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Regional Economic Community for southern Africa comprising 16 Member States.  Akiko previously served as Consular Affairs Officer for the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit, Michigan, Japan’s largest Consular presence in the world by value of local investments.

Akiko was awarded a full fellowship to Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan; established 1827)  producing  her Master’s in Engineering thesis (in Swedish and English) on a novel management method to improve success of large-scale macro-engineering projects.

Akiko served as a Management Consultant at Accenture, handling major client projects in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Europe.

A world class swimmer and runner, Akiko holds the All-Tokyo Women’s 200-metre breaststroke record and swam with Japan’s National swim team during two Olympic cycles. Akiko is fluent in Japanese, English and Swedish and reads Spanish and Russian.

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