From AI cutting time spent on creative work by 81% to building loyalty across 70+ businesses, Naho Kono shares how Rakuten keeps marketing fresh with an agile, personal, and always human-first outlook.
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Inside job: '30,000 people, but still a start-up', says CMO Naho Kono on Rakuten’s human-first marketing
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Asia-Pacific Power List 2025: Naho Kono, Rakuten
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Kono drives both business growth and positive social impact at Rakuten, where her strategic vision, focus on innovation, and commitment to DE&I make her a standout leader.
Asia-Pacific Power List 2024: Naho Kono, Rakuten
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Kono continues to make business breakthroughs for Rakuten and has achieved impressive brand awareness metrics. She has also been instrumental in integrating AI into the company’s ecosystem in the past year.
Asia-Pacific Power List 2023: Naho Kono, Rakuten
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Naho Kono has led Rakuten’s ecosystem to success, boasting over 39 million monthly active users in Japan alone. She has also spearheaded projects to utilise first-party data and improve UI/UX.
Asia-Pacific Power List 2022: Naho Kono, Rakuten
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A long-serving veteran with the company, Kono heads marketing teams for businesses which generate trillions of yen annually in gross merchandise sales; is a champion for diversity and inclusion; and is one of the leading women in ecommerce in Japan.
Asia-Pacific Power List 2021: Naho Kono, Rakuten
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Rakuten has been charting new territory since April 2020, when it became the first retailer to launch a fully fledged telecoms business, and Naho Kono has played a key role in steering the ship to success.
Asia-Pacific Power List 2020: Naho Kono, Rakuten
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Kono has achieved several milestones at Rakuten, including the youngest woman to be appointed an executive officer, due in part to the way she has driven mobile innovation.