Masato Kanda is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 24 February 2025.

Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Kanda served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

With nearly 4 decades of experience, Mr. Kanda has held key leadership roles at the Ministry of Finance of Japan, including Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs. He has extensive experience in financial sector policy and macro-fiscal policy, having served as Deputy Commissioner at the Financial Services Agency, Deputy Director-General of the Budget Bureau, and Deputy Vice-Minister for Policy Planning and Coordination. He is also a leading expert in education and science policy as well as university reform.

Mr. Kanda has been actively engaged in the G7, G20, and other international forums, addressing key policy challenges such as multilateral development bank (MDB) evolution, pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and debt sustainability and transparency. During his tenure as Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japan made a record contribution of more than $1 billion to the Asian Development Fund 13th replenishment (ADF 14).

Since 2016, Mr. Kanda has served as Chair of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee, overseeing the review of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance in 2023. He also has substantial experience in strategic discussions and decision-making at MDBs, having served as Alternate Executive Director for Japan at the World Bank.

Mr. Kanda obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tokyo in 1987, and M.Phil in Economics from Oxford University in 1991.