Yuzaburo Mogi ’61

Yuzaburo Mogi is Honorary CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kikkoman Corporation. Kikkoman, the world’s leading producer of soy sauce, opened its first US plant in Walworth, Wisconsin in 1973 and its second US plant in Folsom, California in 1998. It also has plants in Singapore, Taiwan, the Netherlands, China and Brazil. Mr. Mogi joined the company in 1958 and he was appointed to the position of President and CEO in 1995, and Chairman and CEO in 2004. He has taken up his present position in 2011.

After graduating from Keio University in 1958, he earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1961. From 1994 to 2000, he served as a trustee of Columbia University and in October 2000, he was appointed trustee emeritus. He is presently a member of the Board of Columbia Business School. Mr. Mogi served as the Chairman of the Columbia Business School Club of Japan, of which he is now Honorary Chairman and also served as the President of the Columbia University Alumni Association of Japan, of which he is now Honorary President.

He is currently Chairman of the Japan Productivity Center and a Co-Representative of “ReIWA”, a nonprofit advocacy organization for institutional reforms and public policy in Japan. He also serves as Joint Chancellor of Japan Akademeia and Honorary Ambassador of the State of Wisconsin.

He was Chairman of the Japan - Midwest U.S. Association from 2003 to 2019, Japanese Chairman of the Japanese - German Forum from 2002 to 2015, Japanese Chairman of the Korea - Japan Forum from 2003 to 2015, and Vice Chairman of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) from 1995 to 2003.

He also worked for the Japanese government as Vice Chairman of the Central Council for Education, Chairman of the Council for Administrative Reduction and Efficiency, Chairman of the Council for Comprehensive Review of Administrative Expenditures, and Member of the Government Revitalization Unit.

He was awarded the Medal with Blue Ribbon of Japan in 1999, the Order of Orange Nassau of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2003, the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006, and Person of Cultural Merits of Japan in 2018.

He is married and has three children and six grandchildren.