Ted Katagi

Ted Katagi (last name “片木”; born July 17, 1963) is the co-founder and CEO of Kenja K.K. since 2011. He is a Council Leader of the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC), Chair of the Marketing and Public Relations Leadership of American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) and an ambassador of the Global Business Blockchain Council (GBBC).
Katagi was born in Calabasas, Los Angeles County, California. He graduated cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley with a double major degree in Computer Science and Economics in 1985. From 1983-1989, he worked for IBM before leaving to earn his Master’s degree in Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He finished with second year Honors in 1991 and continued to work at Bain & Company where he began in 1990. In 1994, Katagi began working for Vodafone where he stayed for almost eleven years total, switching between the United States, Japan and United Kingdom. In 2000, he took a year off to establish his first company, Compuwizards Staffing International, in Los Angeles County, California. Late 2006, he moved onto Fidelity Investments then Picsel before founding Kenja in 2011.
Katagi is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Tsukuba since 2012 and NUCB Business School since 2017. He guest lectures for other universities and educational programs. He also speaks at forums, events and so on with his main topics for discussions revolving around entrepreneurship, strategy and marketing.
== Early Life & Education ==
Toshihiko Theodore Katagi was born on July 17, 1963 in Calabasas, California. His parents are both Japanese citizens with homes in Hiroshima, Japan and Los Angeles, United States. He has native fluency in the English language and fluent proficiency in the Japanese language.
In 1981, Ted Katagi attended the University of California, Berkeley where he was awarded the California Forensic Science Scholarship and the Kraft Award for being in the top one percent of his Freshmen Class. He was also elected President of the Undergraduate Economics Association. In 1985, he was selected to give the salutatory speech upon graduating cum laude with a double major degree in Computer Science and Economics.
In 1989-1991, Ted Katagi attended Harvard Business School where he earned his Master’s degree in Business Administration. He finished with second year Honors and was in the top ten percent of his class for Marketing, Services Management, Management Communications, Entrepreneurial Management, Entrepreneurial Finance, Strategy Field Studies, as well as Information and Control.
== Career ==
Katagi started working in 1983 as a Strategic Planning Intern/Marketing Assistant at the IBM whilst studying in the University of California, Berkeley. He went on to become a Systems Engineer and then an Account Marketing Representative until 1989.
On the last year of his schooling in Harvard Business School in 1990, Katagi became a Case Team Leader/Consultant at Bain & Company where he worked for four years.
In 1994, Katagi began his eleven year long career with Vodafone Group Plc. He first became the Director of Corporate Strategy for AirTouch Communications in Los Angeles County, California before moving on a year later to be the General Manager of Sales Strategy (CMO) for Tokyo Digital Phone in Tokyo. In 1997, he became the Managing Director of Sales Strategy (CMO) for Kansai Digital Phone in Osaka. In 1999, he moved back to Los Angeles County, California to be the Area Vice President of Marketing for Verizon (mobile network).
In 2000, Katagi co-founded Compuwizards Staffing International, an IT staffing and recruiting service, at Walnut Creek, California, Los Angeles County, California.
In 2001, Katagi returned to the Vodafone Group Plc where he was first appointed Executive Board Member and Head of Corporate Planning then Board Member and Head of Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) for Japan Telecom in Tokyo. In 2003, he became the Commercial Strategy Director for the Vodafone Group Plc at Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom. He moved back to Tokyo, Japan in 2005 to be the Chief Marketing Officer of the Vodafone Group Plc before finally leaving the company in late 2006.
In October 2006, Katagi became the Senior Managing Director – Head of Asia of Fidelity Investments’ Devonshire Investors Asia at Tokyo.
In 2009, Katagi moved to Glasgow where he worked as the Global Chief Operating Officer for Picsel.
In 2011, Katagi co-founded and became the Chief executive officer of Kenja K.K., acloud-based CMS blockchain and digital transformation (DX) solutions company.
In 2018, he co-founded the establishment of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Association of Japan to help Japanese companies comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation|general data protection regulation (GDPR), which came into effect on May 25, 2018.
In 2022, Katagi was appointed Chair of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee for American Chamber of Commerce Japan|The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan as well as an ambassador of the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC).
Katagi is a Council Leader of the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) and on the advisory board for Digital IQ. He is a lecturer and researcher for the University of Tsukuba since 2012, a professor of global leadership and marketing strategy as an adjunct faculty member at NUCB Business School since 2017, and a guest lecturer for other universities (e.g. Meiji University). He regularly speaks at events and forums such as the Support Our Kids’ Ireland Homestay Programme 2016, TED (conference)#TEDx|TEDxTokyoSalon 2019, Cybertech Tokyo 2019, Young Professionals Forum (YPF) Mentorship Series 2020, Horasis Asia Meeting 2020 & 2021, Online Global Resilience Summit 2021, and Blockchain Central Davos 2022. He has also done podcast interviews with Bayanihan Circle's Podcast on 28 October 2020 and BlockDrops Podcast on 28 October 2021
Category:1963 births
Category:People from Calabasas, California
Category:Harvard Business School alumni