About
Akihiko Kawano is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Managing Director of the IT & Digital Promotion Division at Panasonic Connect. Since joining Matsushita Electric Industrial in 1992, he has driven corporate IT strategy, global supply chain management (SCM), enterprise data standardization, and data analytics initiatives.
An advocate for culture-driven digital transformation (DX), Kawano has spearheaded company-wide Generative AI deployment. Under his leadership, the internal AI assistant ConnectAI achieved 78.8万 hours saved in FY2025, alongside significant operational efficiencies, including a 97% reduction in document verification time using Snowflake Cortex AI. He specializes in enterprise architecture, AI-driven process optimization, and IT modernization.