Mr. Masamichi Kono is the Senior Advisor of MUFG Bank and a Member of the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). He also serves as a trustee of the IFRS Foundation from July 2021.

He served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD from August 2017 until October 2021. His portfolio included navigating strategic direction of OECD policy on environment, tax, trade and agriculture, along with financial and organizational affairs. He oversaw the horizontal project on Climate and Economic Resilience and initiatives on Infrastructure and Sustainable Growth. Mr. Kono represented the OECD at the Financial Stability Board.

Prior to joining the OECD, Mr. Kono was the Vice Minister for International Affairs, Financial Services Agency, Japan (JFSA) and the President of the Asian Financial Partnership Center of the JFSA.

In his capacity as the Vice Minister, he represented JFSA in various international bodies and was responsible for coordinating policies relating to international affairs for the JFSA.

During his term at JFSA, he served as the Chairman of the International Organization of Securities    Commissions (IOSCO) Technical Committee from April 2011 until May 2012, and thereafter as the inaugural Chairman of the IOSCO Board until the end of his term in March 2013. He was also the Co-chair of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Asia from July 2013 to June 2015, and Chairman of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board from February 2013 to June 2016.

He has had a long career in financial supervision and the regulation of financial services, both in Japan and in the international arena, since joining the public service in 1978.

Before joining the Financial Services Agency, Mr Kono was Secretary to the WTO Trade in Financial Services Committee between 1994 and 1999, as Counsellor of the Trade in Services Division, World Trade Organization.

He also served for 4 years at the OECD Secretariat in the Economics Department, at the beginning of his career.

Mr Kono holds a B.A. in law from the University of Tokyo.