Hiroshi Kawano

Executive Chairman of MUFG Americas Holdings
Corporation and Deputy Regional Executive for the Americas

Hiroshi Kawano is the Executive Chairman of MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation and Deputy Regional Executive for the Americas. Prior to this, Mr. Kawano served as the Head of Japanese Corporate Banking for the Americas. He also held the role of Executive Officer and Managing Director for the Global Planning and Corporate Planning Division in Tokyo, Japan. He has served as the Head of Global Planning, where he was responsible for planning and overseeing MUFG operations outside of the home market, mostly focusing on the U.S. and EMEA. Mr. Kawano also oversaw the strategic sale of MUFG Union Bank to U.S. Bancorp as the Tokyo Transition Management Office lead.

Mr. Kawano served as Managing Director and Deputy Head of Corporate Planning Division in Tokyo from May 2019 to May 2021, as was responsible for promoting transformational managerial initiatives, mainly focusing on non-organic activities at MUFG.

From July 2018 to April 2019, Mr. Kawano served as Chief Manager of the Global Commercial Banking Planning Division in Tokyo. In this capacity, he oversaw business development and investment activities mainly in the Pacific Rim. He also spent five years with the M&A division of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, one of the major subsidiaries of MUFG, where he was in charge of the M&A advisory business.

During his 30-year tenure with the bank, Mr. Kawano has developed a strong corporate finance expertise as an account officer of large Japanese corporations through his assignments both in Japan and the U.S. He’s also considered a subject matter expert in Human Resources.

In March 2025, he was appointed to the board of directors for Midori & Friends, an organization in New York City dedicated to harnessing the power of music to transform the lives of children and their communities. 

Mr. Kawano earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hitotsubashi University.