Entrepreneurship, Innovation, ICT and Information Security
William H. Saito
Founder & CEO, InTecur, K.K.
Selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) in 2011 by the World Economic Forum, William Saito is an advisor to governments worldwide, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and educator. He has spent the past two decades shaping information security policy, establishing startups and managing public corporations. In 1991, he founded I/O Software, Inc., in California, and built it into a global leader in security software development, earning recognition in 1998 as Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young, NASDAQ and USA Today.
In 2000, he negotiated an agreement with Microsoft Corporation to integrate the company’s core authentication technology and biometric application program interface (BAPI) into the Windows operating system. The technology was subsequently licensed to over 160 companies worldwide.
After the acquisition of his company in 2004, he moved to Japan to address business and technology issues for clients worldwide and founded Intecur K.K., a consultancy that helps companies identify and develop applications and markets for innovative technologies. In this role, he helps several startups and entrepreneurs by serving in a non-executive capacity as chairman or director.
He also serves as advisor, director and/or manager on the topics of innovation and entrepreneurship to such governmental organizations as the Ministry of Economic Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the Information Technology Promotion Agency (IPA) of Japan. He is also a fellow at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) in Japan.
Mr. Saito has earned numerous industry accolades, achieved congressional recognition, and is an accomplished author and a much sought-after public speaker. His autobiography, An Unprogrammed Life: Adventures of an Incurable Entrepreneur, was published by John Wiley & Sons in 2011.
