Kaoru Kato

Kaoru Kato assumed the posts of President and CEO of NTT DOCOMO, INC. in June 2012 after an accomplished 35-year career that started at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), the parent company ofNTT DOCOMO.

Mr. Kato became an Executive Vice President,a Member of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of the Corporate Strategy & Planning Department of NTT DOCOMO, INC. in June 2008.

He was instrumental in devising DOCOMO’smedium-term business plans, announced in 2008 and 2011, to transform the company for all-new growth and then help customers achieve smarter lives, respectively.

Prior to that, Mr. Kato held several key positions at NTT DoCoMo Kansai, Inc., including Executive Vice President and Memberof the Board of Directors from June 2007, and then concurrently Managing Director of the Corporate Strategy Planning Department from the following month.

He became a Member of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of the Corporate Strategy Planning Department of NTT DoCoMo Kansai in August 2002.

From July 2005 to May 2007, he also served as a Representative Director and a Senior Corporate Executive Officer of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd., in which NTT DOCOMO acquired a 34% share in 2005 to develop its mobile credit-payment services.

In the aftermath of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, while at the precursor of NTT DoCoMo Kansai, Mr. Kato spearheaded network and facility restoration efforts.

In 1991, in the midst of Japan-U.S. trade conflicts, Mr. Kato, working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the then Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, played an important role in laying the groundwork for NTT’s procurement of non-Japanese communications satellites and mobile communications base station equipment.

Between 1985 and 1988, Mr. Kato helped to spearhead development of NTT’s first mobile phone, the TZ-802, as well as shoulder and aircraft phones. He is considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of mobile phones, having made instrumental contributions to the development of land-, sea- and air-based mobile communications.

Mr. Kato started his career at NTT Public Corporation in 1977 after graduating from Nagoya Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in electronic engineering.

He is married with three adult children—one daughter and two sons.

Kaoru Kato is the President and Chief Executive Officer at NTT DoCoMo, based in Asia. With a background in Software, Kaoru Kato has a rich history of leadership and innovation.Kaoru Kato studied Master Electronic Engineering at Nagoya Institute of Technology. Explore their detailed professional journey, key connections, and contributions to the industry on our platform.