Masanobu Katoh is the the executive director of Bellevue, Washington-based Intellectual Ventures™ and country head of Japan. Since 2010, Katoh leads Intellectual Ventures’ ongoing efforts in Japan to develop a supportive environment for inventors and collaborate with companies to provide solutions for their past, present and future technology needs. Katoh is also a member of the global management team in a concurrent role as corporate executive vice president.
Katoh joined Intellectual Ventures in 2010, following a thirty-year career at Fujitsu where he served in several executive positions including corporate vice president and led the law and IP Unit. He was also senior vice president of Fujitsu Laboratories in charge of developing the company’s long-term technology roadmap.
Katoh has served in numerous leadership roles focused on public policy issues that impact the information technology industry. In addition to serving as chairman of the IP Sub-Committee of Japan’s leading industry association, the Japan Business Federation, he was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). He is currently a member of the Advisory Group to the UN Secretary General regarding the Internet Governance Forum.