Kengo Nagahashi graduated from Keio University’s Faculty of Environment and Information Studies. He completed his studies at the Graduate School of Policy and Media Research at the same university and earned a Ph.D. in Information and Computer Science from the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo in 2005. Following this, he served as a visiting researcher at the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Since 1999, Mr. Kaneda has been pursuing a career in CSR/ESG/Sustainability at five companies; SONY Corporation, Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, ANA Holdings Inc. and NTT DATA Group Corporation.

Before the CSR career, his professional experiences were also cultivated in the External Relations Department at Sony, the Economic Section at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, the Bloomberg TV (announcer) and the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University (part-time lecturer).

He is active as Director of Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, Director of Japan Society for Social Innovation and Jury President for SDGs Special Award of Dentsu Advertising Awards, and used to be a member of UN Global Compact LEAD program and IIRC Pilot Program.

Mr. Kaneda graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Keio University in 1987 and completed his master’s course majored in Multinational Enterprise Theory, Reading University in 1993.

Awarded “Japan CDO of The Year 2023“.

2022: Became CDO of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. and Sector President for DX Sector.

2019: Appointed President and CEO of Appliance Commercial Industrial Motors, Nidec.

1989: Joined IBM and served over 30 years through sector (finance, manufacturing, telecommunications) and brand (hardware, service, software) work. Additionally worked at NY corporate headquarters in the U.S. and launched cloud, next-generation financial core banking, WATSON (AI) business, blockchain and quantum computer initiatives, serving IBM‘s most important customers. 

Joined SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation in 1997. He has been involved in new business development after having satellite operation experience for 20 years, such as flight director of geostationary communication satellites and project manager of satellite operation preparation. While launching an information service platform “Spatio-i” that utilizes earth observation data and geospatial data, he and his colleagues started considering a space debris removal project. Since 2020, he has established a research and development team within RIKEN, Japan’s largest comprehensive research institution, and is also engaged in the development of space debris removal element technology by non-contact. Former visiting researcher at RIKEN, former researcher at The Graduate School of System Design and Management of Keio University.