Yuko Sasahara

Yuko Watanabe Sasahara is the Managing Director of NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Inc., a corporate venture capital firm for NTT DOCOMO and NTT Group in Japan.

In her role as Managing Director of the Business Incubation Platform team, Yuko focuses on co-creating innovative businesses with entrepreneurs through the '39works' program.

Prior to her position at NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Yuko specialized in product and service design, creating product line portfolios for smartphones, tablets, and feature phones within NTT DOCOMO.

Yuko played a pivotal role in developing the concept and technical specifications for the i-mode service, an internet-based service for mobile phones launched in 1999.

Beyond her professional roles, Yuko is actively involved in supporting social entrepreneurs in Tohoku, particularly after the devastating earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011, through her partnership with WIT, World in Tohoku.

Yuko also provides consulting services to various companies, particularly focusing on shaping product lines and services for female consumers.

Educationally, Yuko holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Japan Women's University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership.

Throughout her career, Yuko has been associated with several organizations, including serving as a Mentor at LoanDeal, a Senior Manager of Innovation Management at NTT DOCOMO, Inc., and as a former Guest Professor at Osaka University.