# Hiroshi Mikitani

> Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani is the Japanese founder, chairman, president and CEO of Rakuten Group. A former Industrial Bank of Japan banker with an MBA from Harvard Business School, he founded the business in 1997 and expanded it from an online marketplace into commerce, financial services, digital content and mobile communications. His career is marked by merchant empowerment, Rakuten’s adoption of English, and a costly effort to build Japan’s fourth mobile network.

- **Role:** Founder, Chairman, President and CEO at Rakuten Group
- **Organizations:** Rakuten Group, Crimson Group, Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Vissel Kobe, Rakuten Baseball, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Association of New Economy
- **From:** Kobe, Japan
- **Nationality:** Japanese
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in commerce, Hitotsubashi University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Founded Rakuten and developed it from a small online mall into a group spanning commerce, finance, content and communications., Led Rakuten’s adoption of English as its official internal language., Received Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2012.

## Career timeline

- **1988** — Graduated from Hitotsubashi University and joined the Industrial Bank of Japan.
- **1993** — Received an MBA from Harvard Business School.
- **1995** — The Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe became a turning point in his decision to pursue entrepreneurship.
- **1996** — Established consulting company Crimson Group.
- **1997** — Founded MDM in February; Rakuten Ichiba launched in May with six employees and 13 merchants.
- **2000** — Took Rakuten public on JASDAQ.
- **2010** — Launched Rakuten’s Englishnization initiative.
- **2011** — Became chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
- **2012** — English became Rakuten’s official internal language; received the HBS Alumni Achievement Award.
- **2020** — Rakuten Mobile launched full-scale mobile network operator service.
- **2026** — Presented Rakuten’s connected-services mobile strategy at MWC Barcelona and its Super Agent and AI shop manager ambitions at Rakuten AI Optimism.

## Achievements

- Founded Rakuten and developed it from a small online mall into a group spanning commerce, finance, content and communications.
- Led Rakuten’s adoption of English as its official internal language.
- Received Harvard Business School’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2012.
- Received France’s Legion of Honour for contributions to the French economy and culture.
- Led Rakuten’s entry into Japan’s mobile network operator market.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Addressed new graduate hires on genba-ryoku, execution at the front lines, and described working with recent graduates through the Mikitani Entrepreneurship Program.
- **2026-08** — Rakuten reported Q2 net income attributable to owners of the parent of JPY 7.7 billion, its first positive quarter on that measure in six years; the mobile segment continued to report Non-GAAP operating losses.
- **2026-09** — Rakuten International published a recap of his AI Optimism presentation covering a cross-service Super Agent and a proposed merchant-personality AI shop manager.
- **2026-09** — Rakuten Mobile announced on September 25 that total subscriptions had exceeded 11 million on September 24, including MNO, MVNO and MVNE lines and BCP subscriptions; MNO subscriptions excluding BCP, MVNO and MVNE were 10.18 million.

## Links

- Website: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/about/team/01.html
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikitani/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/hmikitani
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiroshi.mikitani/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hiroshi-mikitani
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Last updated: 2026-10-20