Curriculum Vitae

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Dr. Sawako TAKEUCHI

• Dr. Engineering, the University of Tokyo and Dr. Economics
• Former Advisor to the Prime Minister for Economic Strategy
• Former Vice-President and Professor, the Graduate School of International Business, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, France
• President & CEO, Urban Design 21 Co. LTD
• Adjunct Professor for Management of Technology, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo

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Public Service

Professional Experience

Education

Publications

Japan's Industrial System Vol.9, Urban System and Industrial System: NTT Publications, Tokyo, 2003.
Institutional Design of Public Management: NTT Publications, Tokyo, 2002.
Infrastructure toward the 21st Century: the European Challenge: Sannkaidoh, Tokyo, 1999.
Integration of Europe, Diversity and Universality: PHP Institute, Tokyo, 1992.

Marital Status

Married

Born on 9 July 1952 in Japan

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What the OECD needs now:

To be consistent with its true mission, the OECD must now, on the one hand, focus on reinforcing its outstanding activities in economics, such as publication of the Economic Outlook, and make continued efforts toward the economic development of member countries, and on the other hand, exert its influence relevant to the era of globalisation. Thus, the OECD is no longer a community of rich countries, but should function as a globally relevant organisation. To attain this stature, the management system for reforming the Organisation should be better overseen to make greater efforts toward implementing the set of reform objectives undertaken by the current Secretary-General, Mr. Donald Johnston.

The OECD needs a new Secretary-General who has rich expertise in not only the economic field, but also in a broad range of disciplines, along with the ability and determination to review current OECD activities from a global viewpoint. Furthermore, strong leadership and management skills are essential for the Secretary-General to guide the Organisation on the right track, so that the Organisation can contribute to the prosperity of the international community as a whole more than ever. In light of the fact that the OECD currently faces enormous challenges to the reforms of enlargement, governance and more, a new Secretary-General is strongly expected to be such a person full of fresh ideas that could ambitiously tackle and settle various economic issues.

Why Dr. Takeuchi?

Dr. Sawako Takeuchi has made a long career in the academic community, both in Japan and in Europe. She has also been a key figure in Japanese politics as advisor to Prime Minister and Ministers.

It is one of the highlights of her academic career that she played a substantial role as Vice-President and Professor in the foundation and management of ENPC-MIB (Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, Master of International Business) for 6 years.

In the Japanese academe, Dr. Takeuchi is also a pioneer. She was the first female professor in the 120-year history of the Engineering School of the University of Tokyo. She is a new type of teacher who has a strong concern for the relationship between technology and society. As a result of this concern, she has developed a network with the Japanese business community, policy making circles and journalism. Dr. Takeuchi also began her research business while she was a university professor.

According to her academic activities, Dr. Takeuchi has been identified as a woman of vitality, originality and challenge. She maintains a belief that anybody has the ability to fulfil his/her duty, no matter how difficult, as long as he/she has a strong will. Such a belief has produced a successful career in various fields, not only in academics, but also in business. She also believes that her academic career has been helpful in achieving a good balance between theory and practice, and that any theory will take on significance only when applied to practice so that the synergy between them is maximised. Above all, Dr. Takeuchi is one of a few pioneers in Japan who have been able to successfully realise a closer relationship between academics and business, based on the management of theory and practice.

In addition to her vast experiences in academics and business, Dr. Takeuchi is also well acquainted with the assessment and benchmarking of policies of the Japanese government. This is why she has been hitherto assigned to participate in various advisory boards and councils of government ministries and agencies; e.g. as an advisor to the late Mr. Keizo Obuchi, then Prime Minister of Japan, and as a member of the Government Tax Commission, the Financial System Council, the Economic Strategy Council, the Economic Council, the Japan Investment Council, the Committee on Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions, the Business Accounting Council, the Industrial Structure Council, the Aircraft Industry Council, the Council of Transport Policy, the Road Council, the Council for Civil Aviation, the Social Security Council, the Commission on Policy Evaluation and Evaluation of Independent Administrative Institutions, the Council for Decentralisation Reform, and the Foreign Policy Evaluation Panel.

Because of her outstanding record for providing valuable advice and recommendations on policy making, she is highly valued by the government and political circles. With her deep insight into a wide range of government policies, Dr. Takeuchi would be sure to demonstrate her competence in leading the broad activities of the OECD.

Research, Study and Education:

In her 24-year academic career in higher education and research, Dr. Takeuchi has developed a vision as to how she can contribute to the betterment of society. As an educator, she has made an effort to share her expertise and vision with those succeeding generations charged with the future of global society. She is also very concerned about environmental and medical issues, both of which cannot be sidestepped in the 21st century. Through her research activities, she has received doctoral degrees in both Economics and Engineering, indicating that she can manage various economic issues to provide solutions from a range of economic, scientific and technological viewpoints.

Dr. Takeuchi has a strong will and has devoted her efforts to designing and reforming the social structure, thereby realising sustainable societies where regional individualities are respected. As a part of her activities, she has recently proposed a new concept of urban design, "Medi-Square" for producing a community in near future, based on the sophisticated link among medicine, media and environmental issues.

When she established her own research company, the Centre for Investment Science and Environment Studies, Inc, in 2003, she focused her energy on the development of environmental R&D activities and their results on company growth. Her activities in the company have been centred on evaluating corporate-values based on intangible assets, such as intellectual property and R&D. Recently, she advances her study to the long-term evaluation of corporate-values and their financial impact on the stock market.

These real experiences in business placed her in charge of the MOT (Management of Technology) programme at the University of Tokyo, which is open to Master's degree students and professional people. As part of the programme, she teaches Finance, Accounting and Public Systems, covering such topics as the reorganisation of management and financial accounting, as well as the application of next-generation technologies to society.

Management skills:

Dr. Takeuchi has a distinguished talent for administration and management. She was responsible for management of entire courses and projects of ENPC-MIB as Vice-President, and manages successfully her own company. As Chief Economist at the Long Term Credit Bank Research Institute for public policies, she was in charge of organising a working team on policy formulation and new macroeconomic issues that provided regular advice to the government. These organising skills as well as her practical knowledge and firm awareness of cost-effective management will undoubtedly be valuable assets in directing any organisation.

In addition, her integrated experiences as a member of various governmental advisory boards and councils will be particularly helpful in the management of the OECD. Since she knows the pros and cons of the governmental administration, she has a solid basis to lead the management of a global public organisation like the OECD.

Sense of Politics in the Public Sector and Business in the Private Sector:

Dr. Takeuchi's experiences as a personal advisor to then Prime Minister, Keizo Obuchi, brushed up her political sense. She contributed substantially to pointing out the direction towards reviving the Japanese economy and building a prosperous economic society in the 21st century. Together with this political sense, her experiences as President and CEO of her company and as a member of the advisory boards of several leading companies in Japan, could cultivate a new dimension of leadership in transforming the OECD into an organisation better suited to the private initiative society of the 21st century.

Superb communication skills:

Dr. Takeuchi is fluent in Japanese, English and French, and also can speak Spanish, which is a great advantage for global communication. Her communication skills are another strong point. She serves the public community as a regular commentator of a well-known TV programme that presents mainly business and economics-related news. She has an established reputation in news commentary for being adept at explaining in plain language complicated business and economic issues so that audiences can understand.

Dr. Takeuchi is skilled at communicating with people from diverse backgrounds in the most appropriate way. Such a communication skill should be a definite requirement for the Secretary-General of the OECD, who is called on to represent the Organisation on many occasions.

Some personal touch:

Dr. Takeuchi is a living bridge of Western and Asian cultures: she is an amateur pianist who particularly enjoys playing Chopin and Schumann, and a 'master of tea'. At her last personal concert, she performed Schumann's "Sinfonische Etüden Opus 13". She has been receiving lessons from a professor who worked under the direction of the famous pianist Leonid Kreutzer. She has the diploma of "Professor" from the head family of a tea ceremony school (world wide renowned URA-SENKE) in Kyoto.

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