NEC's First Chief Design Officer (CDO) Discusses "Connecting Design to Management" - "The Conditions for a Chief Design Officer" by Jun Katanuma Published

NEC published the book "The Conditions for a Chief Design Officer: Connecting Design to Management" by its CDO, Jun Katanuma, on June 9th (Publisher: Diamond Inc.).

This book systematically presents the transformation practices at NEC, interviews with 12 executives and practitioners, and the role and structure of design in corporate management, as featured in the Diamond Online serialization "The Conditions for a CDO (https://diamond.jp/articles/-/352370)". It outlines the direction of corporate transformation, focusing on NEC's shift from a product-centric business model to one centered on long-term relationships between the company and its customers.

While the importance of Customer Experience (CX) has become widely recognized in recent years, many companies still retain traditional ways of thinking and decision-making. This book emphasizes the need to review the entire management framework, not just make partial improvements, by focusing on how value is created involving various stakeholders in corporate activities.

It also introduces NEC's practices of integrating design, branding, and corporate communications under corporate planning to function as a single strategic axis during its business and organizational transformation. These initiatives highlight the necessity of positioning design as a core function, not a peripheral one, as the competitive landscape shifts from product performance differences to long-term relationships between companies and customers.

The main features of this book are as follows:

Multifaceted insights based on interviews with 12 executives and practitioners

Systematization of the CDO's role from the perspectives of "depth, breadth, and height"

Introduction of case studies on design expansion and company-wide functionalization at NEC

Provides insights into the question of why management needed design

In this book, the CDO is positioned not merely as a design leader, but as a strategic leader who transforms the traditional framework of value creation and redesigns the very nature of value in corporate activities. The book clarifies this role and its necessity, while also presenting the value of design in future corporate management.

NEC will further promote value creation with design at the core of its management, delivering new experiential value to customers and society.

Book Overview Title: The Conditions for a Chief Design Officer: Connecting Design to Management Author: Jun Katanuma (NEC Chief Design Officer) Publisher: Diamond Inc. Release Date: June 9, 2026 Price: 1,760 yen (tax included)

About NEC's Design: URL: https://jpn.nec.com/design/index.html

Inquiries about this matter: NEC Corporate Design Division E-Mail: [email protected]