Michiko Kato reflects on the significant challenges she has faced in her life. At one point, she left Tokyo to attend Harvard Business School in Massachusetts. Later, she transitioned from a stable finance career to the uncertain world of startups, a move that proved transformative.
On Wednesday, Kato steps into her most significant role yet as CIO of Toyota’s Woven Capital and CEO of Toyota Invention Partners, marking her as the first female CEO of a wholly-owned Toyota subsidiary.
Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth-stage venture capital arm, supports founders in mobility sectors, including space, cybersecurity, and autonomous driving. Following a $800 million Fund II announcement last August, the firm plans to invest in at least 20 new Series B ventures, with portfolio companies like satellite firm Xona and defense infrastructure company Machina Labs.
Kato aims to find future mobility leaders and partners for Toyota, emphasizing flexibility in their investments and her desire to be hands-on with startups, focusing on partnership building.
This week, Kato’s promotion coincides with Mia Panzer’s ascension to COO of Woven Capital from her business strategy role at a Toyota tech subsidiary. With both women in prominent positions, this symbolizes progress in the male-dominated finance and investment sectors.
Though historically underrepresented, women have seen slightly better representation in corporate venture capital (CVC) than traditional ventures. A 2014 report pointed out that less than 20% of top CVCs had female investing team members, compared to just 7% of partners in leading venture firms then. Today, around 15.4% of venture roles are occupied by women, indicating a rise in CVC female investment roles too.
Kato joined Woven Capital in 2020 as one of its first hires, having spent 15 years in investing, including with the M&A team at Unison Capital and as CFO at Japanese AI startup ABEJA. She has led numerous investments for Woven, focusing on aeromobility, physical AI, and hardware, aiming to revolutionize manufacturing.
Panzer will aid finance, operations, HR, and legal strategy as COO. She emphasizes addressing concerns of corporate slowdowns impacting deals and aligning with the parent company.
Panzer has worked alongside Woven Capital’s managing director Ro Gupta since 2019, previously handling finance for the startup Camera. After advising on its sale to a Toyota tech subsidiary, both joined the division. Gupta became Woven Capital’s managing director in December 2025, bringing Panzer aboard. Kato and Panzer report to him.
Initially doubting her qualifications, Panzer decided to follow through, challenging assumptions about women’s capabilities compared to men. Reflecting on the Japanese concept of ikigai, she encourages women to exceed expectations, noting her familial ties to the automotive industry and advocating, “Easy to overdeliver.”