Masato Kanda

Masato Kanda is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Chair of its Board of Directors, having assumed office on 24 Febru-ary 2025. He previously served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. During his nearly four-decade career at Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Mr. Kanda held various roles in international affairs, budget management, financial services, and policy planning and coordination.

As Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs, he played a key role at the G7 and G20, addressing issues such as multilateral development bank evolution, pandemic response, and debt sustainability. He also served as Chair of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee and as Alternate Executive Director for Japan at the World Bank.

Mr. Kanda holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tokyo and an M.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford.