SilkRoad technology, inc., the leading provider of talent management solutions, announced today that it has expanded its global operations by opening a new corporate office in Tokyo, Japan.  The office, which will be led by Japanese technology services veteran Shinichiro Ishibashi, will enable the firm to better meet the demands of the increasing number of corporations throughout Asia that are looking to advance their talent management capabilities.

SilkRoad Japan is a joint venture between SilkRoad technology inc. as the majority shareholder and SunBridge Corporation, the firm responsible for the Salesforce.com Japan joint venture and whose founders also launched Oracle Japan. The new office was announced by SilkRoad technology Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Andrew J. “Flip” Filipowski, Chief Operating Officer Brian Platz, and SilkRoad Japan CEO, Shinichiro Ishibashi at a standing-room only ceremony in Tokyo on November 9, 2010. An office in Osaka is also in the planning stages.

This announcement comes on the heels of the firm’s recent closing of a $40 million equity round of capital from new investors Intel Capital, Tenaya Capital, West Summit, SunBridge and existing investors Foundation Capital, Azure Capital and SilkRoad Equity.

“Cloud computing and talent management is at an inflection point in Japan, representing a huge opportunity for SilkRoad,” said Filipowski.  “With SunBridge Corporation and Ishibashi-san’s deep expertise in building massive cloud computing markets in Japan, SilkRoad couldn’t be better positioned for success.”

Prior to joining SilkRoad, Shinichiro Ishibashi served as a product manager at IBM Japan and as marketing director for ORACLE Japan, where he was involved in the brand marketing for many major IT companies. He was also a co-founder and CEO of SunBridge Solutions. There are currently 12 employees at the new SilkRoad Japan office, which is continuing to expand staff as an initial wave of customers has already signed on.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Flip and his team on the launch and growth of SilkRoad Japan,” said Allen Miner, the Founder and CEO of SunBridge.  “We believe SilkRoad has the potential to repeat the success of Oracle and Salesforce.com in establishing strong brand and market leadership in Japan.”

SilkRoad has already launched the firm’s recruiting management solution, OpenHire, its onboarding and life event product, RedCarpet and a performance management solution specifically tailored to the Japan market. SilkRoad will expand its offerings in Japan to the full suite, including Core HR.

SunBridge Corporation is an international venture capital and professional services firm.  SunBridge offers globalization support for both Japanese and US technology companies; is a premier value added reseller of leading international enterprise software products; and, offers a range of custom development and consulting services.  SunBridge’s principals share a rich heritage of having founded Oracle Japan and held senior executive positions with IBM Japan and other leading enterprise software companies. SunBridge successfully co-founded salesforce.com Japan and ITmedia, and invested over $100m in more than 65 portfolio companies, resulting in eight successful IPOs and several major acquisition exits generating over $21 Billion in current market capitalization.  SunBridge offices are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Silicon Valley and Cleveland.  More information is available at www.sunbridge.com and www.sunbridgepartners.com.