Hiroshi "Mickey" Mikitani is Vice Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rakuten Medical, Inc. ​

Mickey's father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2012. Ready to test his own limits to save his father, he immediately began his search for a cure. This led him to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) where he encountered photoimmunotherapy. With the same instinctual feeling he had when he first realized the internet would change the world, Mickey decided to personally support the development of a new technology, the Alluminox™ platform, based on this intriguing and promising treatment.​​

Mickey believed in the potential of this treatment to reach across the globe, regardless of nationality and wealth. And although he did not make it in time to save his father, his mission to save his father soon became a mission to save people. Propelled by his father's words – "One important mission of corporations is to contribute to humanity" – Mickey is determined to use his experience and expertise to disrupt the healthcare industry by delivering this treatment to the world as fast as possible, in pursuit of conquering cancer once and for all.​​

Born in Kobe, Mickey was educated at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo and began his career in investment banking. He earned his MBA at Harvard Business School, and in 2012, was awarded the HBS Alumni Achievement Award, one of the school’s highest honors.​​

Mickey is also the founder, chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, Inc., one of the world's leading internet services companies. Rakuten has a dynamic ecosystem of more than 70 services, spanning e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications, bringing the joy of discovery to 1.7 billion members around the world. Rakuten also became Japan’s newest mobile network operator in 2019.​​