Vice Chairman, Benesse Corporation and chairman of the Board, CEO/ VP Berlitz International, Inc. IBM

Inducted in 1999

Yukako Uchinaga joined IBM Japan, Ltd. in 1971 as a system engineer and spent most of her career with the company.

As a development engineer, Yukako assembled and led the team that developed the software that enables IBM computers to work with Asian languages—specifically those which require double-byte character sets, like Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Yukako held management positions at IBM in development and marketing before being elected to the IBM board of directors in 1995; Yukako was the first woman appointed to the board of any major computer company in Japan.

In 1999, Yukako was named vice president of Yamato Software Development Laboratory and advanced to general manager of Yamato Laboratory in 2004. She assumed the position of technical advisor in April 2007.

A year later, Yukako became vice chair of Benesse Corporation and chair of the board, CEO, and vice president of Berlitz International, Inc. Benesse Corporation offers products and services in the four business fields of education, language study, living and lifestyles, and nursing care through a group of in-house companies.

With 128 years of experience and more than 450 centers in over 60 countries, Berlitz provides effective language instruction, whether for business or personal enrichment.

In addition to her professional commitments, Yukako was involved in diversity-related activities throughout her career. As the first woman board member of IBM Japan, she found IBM Japan Women’s Council in 1998 and also took an active role in the IBM Asia Pacific Women’s Council.

She also promoted diversity management in Japanese businesses and founded Japan’s Women’s Innovative Network in May 2007. Yukako also serves as a member of the council for gender equality, a cabinet office in the Government of Japan.

Yukako was the first Women in Technology Hall of Fame inductee from outside of the United States. She was awarded the 2006 Upward Mobility Award from the Society of Women Engineers.

Yukako holds a degree in Theoretical Physics from the University of Tokyo (1971).

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