Nikken Sekkei announced that Katsuyama Taro (勝山太郎) will become representative director and president effective 1 January 2026. The company has stated its policy of prioritising human resource development in the AI era.
Nikken Sekkei announced on 21 October that, effective 1 January 2026, the position of representative director and president will change from Omatsu Atsushi (大松敦) to Katsuyama Taro (勝山太郎), while Omatsu Atsushi (大松敦) will change to representative director and chairman, and Katsuyama Taro (勝山太郎), currently a director and managing executive officer, will change to representative director, president and president executive officer. The announcement was made at a press conference at the company’s head office, where Katsuyama Taro (勝山太郎) expressed his intention to prioritise developing people in discussing the role of designers in the AI era.
Katsuyama Taro (勝山太郎) joined Nikken Sekkei after completing a master’s programme at Waseda University Graduate School in 1990 and has held various positions, including executive officer and managing executive officer. He has held his current position since 2025. At the press conference, he said, “I want to play a role in connecting what we have accumulated to the future,” and expressed his intention to advance reforms that would hone expertise through co-creation with AI and expand the value provided to society. He also stated his view that the ability to build consensus will be an important quality required of designers in the future.