Takehiko Nakao

Takehiko Nakao serves as Adviser to Sumitomo Corporation and Chairman of the Center for International Economy and Strategy. He is also an External Executive Board Member of Daiichi Life Insurance Company, Limited, and continues to contribute to academia as a Visiting Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo.Nakao is currently a Visiting Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo. He is also a member of the Trilateral Commission, the Board of Governors of the Asian Institute of Management (Manila), the Japan Corporate Governance Network, and several other international and Japanese non-profit organisations.

Prior to his current roles, Nakao served as Chairman of the Institute at Mizuho Research & Technologies, Ltd. From 2013 to 2020, he was President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he led an institution of 68 member countries and advanced initiatives in sustainable development, regional cooperation, and economic growth across Asia and the Pacific. He joined Japan’s Ministry of Finance in 1978 and has accumulated more than four decades of experience in international finance, public finance, tax policy, and financial markets. He served as Japan’s Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs (2011-2013), overseeing foreign exchange policy, G20 and G7 engagement, ASEAN+3 financial cooperation, and Japan’s international financial relations. His previous positions include Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. (2005-2007) and Advisor at the International Monetary Fund’s Policy Development and Review Department (1994-1997).

A noted author and commentator on economic and financial affairs, Nakao has published numerous books and papers in both Japanese and English. His memoir, The Rise of Asia: Perspectives and Beyond, which reflects on his experiences at ADB and as Vice Minister of Finance, was published by ADB in July 2022. He also served as the lead editor and initiator of Asia’s Journey to Prosperity: Policy, Market, and Technology over 50 Years, published by ADB in January 2020.

Nakao holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.