Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman are prominent global business leaders, but there is no verified public evidence that they have a direct personal partnership, shared company, or joint investment. The clearest connection is indirect: Morgan Stanley and its Japanese securities affiliates have participated in financial transactions involving Mikitani-led Rakuten Group.
That distinction matters. Search results pairing their names can make the relationship appear closer than public records support. Mikitani remains the founder and chief executive of Rakuten Group, while Gorman left Morgan Stanley’s active leadership at the end of 2024 and now holds senior roles at The Walt Disney Company and General Atlantic.
Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman at a Glance
| Detail | Hiroshi Mikitani | James P. Gorman |
|---|---|---|
| Best known for | Founding and leading Rakuten | Transforming Morgan Stanley during his CEO tenure |
| Current main role | Representative Director, Chairman, President and CEO of Rakuten Group | Chairman of The Walt Disney Company |
| Other current roles | Chairman of Rakuten Mobile and executive roles across Rakuten companies | Chairman Emeritus of Morgan Stanley; Senior Advisor at General Atlantic |
| Professional background | Investment banking, internet businesses, fintech and telecommunications | Law, consulting, wealth management and investment banking |
| MBA | Harvard Business School | Columbia Business School |
| Main business base | Japan | United States |
| Direct partnership together | No verified public partnership found | No verified public partnership found |
Rakuten’s official management information listed Mikitani as Representative Director, Chairman, President and CEO as of April 2026. Morgan Stanley and Disney identify Gorman as Morgan Stanley’s Chairman Emeritus and Disney’s Chairman of the Board.
Who Is Hiroshi Mikitani?
Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani is a Japanese entrepreneur best known for creating Rakuten, one of Japan’s largest digital business groups.
According to Rakuten’s corporate profile, Mikitani was born on March 11, 1965. He joined the Industrial Bank of Japan in 1988, completed an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1993 and founded the company that became Rakuten in 1997. He has served as Rakuten’s chairman and president since 2001 and CEO since 2004.
Rakuten developed far beyond its original online marketplace. Its businesses now span e-commerce, financial services, payments, banking, securities, digital content and mobile communications. Mikitani also serves as chairman of Rakuten Mobile and holds leadership positions in businesses including Rakuten Symphony and Rakuten Medical.
Mikitani’s Expansion Strategy
Mikitani’s career has largely been built around developing an interconnected ecosystem rather than operating a single standalone internet company. Rakuten has linked shopping, credit cards, banking, securities, loyalty points and telecommunications so customers can use multiple services under one group.
The company’s expansion into mobile telecommunications has been one of its largest and most expensive strategic moves. Rakuten became a Japanese mobile network operator after years of operating mainly through digital commerce and financial services.
By the second quarter of 2026, Rakuten reported that all three of its major segments, Internet Services, FinTech and Mobile, had increased revenue year over year. Quarterly consolidated revenue reached ¥665.5 billion, while the group reported its first quarterly net income in six years. Rakuten Mobile’s losses were also continuing to narrow.
These results do not eliminate the financial risks associated with a capital-intensive telecom expansion, but they show why Mikitani’s current business story is closely tied to the effort to make Rakuten Mobile financially sustainable.
Who Is James Gorman?
James P. Gorman is an Australian-born financial executive who became one of the most influential leaders in modern American banking.
He began his career as a lawyer in Melbourne before working at McKinsey & Company and Merrill Lynch. Gorman joined Morgan Stanley in February 2006, became co-president in 2007 and took over as CEO in January 2010. He remained CEO through December 2023.
Gorman then served as Morgan Stanley’s Executive Chairman during 2024. At the end of that year he retired from active employment with the firm, and in January 2025 he became Chairman Emeritus.
His post-Morgan Stanley career remains significant. Gorman became Chairman of The Walt Disney Company’s board on January 2, 2025, and joined global investment firm General Atlantic as a Senior Advisor in April 2025. At General Atlantic, his role includes advising on enterprise strategy and growth initiatives.
How Gorman Changed Morgan Stanley
Gorman’s tenure is particularly associated with shifting Morgan Stanley toward businesses capable of producing more recurring and fee-based revenue.
One important foundation was Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management combination with Citigroup’s Smith Barney. The joint venture was announced in 2009, when Gorman was Morgan Stanley’s co-president, and he became chairman of the combined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney business.
Later, as chairman and CEO, Gorman oversaw major acquisitions that broadened the firm’s wealth and asset-management operations.
Morgan Stanley completed its acquisition of E*TRADE in October 2020. The transaction expanded its digital brokerage operations and brought the combined wealth-management franchise to approximately $3.3 trillion in assets at the time of closing.
Morgan Stanley also agreed to acquire Eaton Vance in 2020 as part of its strategy to expand investment management and increase fee-based revenue. The company said the combination would bring total client assets and assets under management across Wealth Management and Investment Management to about $4.4 trillion.
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What Connects Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman?
The available evidence supports an institutional connection rather than a personal one.
Rakuten Group has worked with Morgan Stanley entities on capital-markets transactions. That creates a legitimate corporate link between businesses associated with Mikitani and the financial institution formerly led by Gorman. It does not establish that Mikitani and Gorman personally worked together.
Morgan Stanley Worked on Rakuten’s 2024 Bond Transaction
In early 2024, Rakuten launched cash tender offers involving U.S. dollar senior notes. Rakuten’s official disclosure named Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC alongside Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Capital Markets America and Mizuho Securities USA as dealer managers for the transaction.
Gorman was Morgan Stanley’s Executive Chairman during 2024. However, Rakuten’s disclosures identify Morgan Stanley as a financial institution involved in the transaction. They do not say that Gorman personally advised Mikitani, negotiated with him or directed the Rakuten transaction.
A senior executive’s position at a global bank should not automatically be interpreted as personal participation in every deal handled by that bank.
Rakuten Also Works With Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities
The relationship continued at the institutional level after Gorman had left active employment at Morgan Stanley.
In May 2026, Rakuten announced a reorganization of its fintech businesses involving Rakuten Bank, Rakuten Card and Rakuten Securities Holdings. Rakuten Group appointed Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and BofA Securities Japan as financial advisers and used their valuation work when assessing the proposed share-delivery ratios.
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities is part of the Japanese securities joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Morgan Stanley’s current Japan corporate structure states that Morgan Stanley holds 40% of the voting rights and economic interest in Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, while MUFG holds 60%.
Again, this is not evidence of a Mikitani-Gorman personal partnership. Gorman had already retired from active Morgan Stanley employment by January 2025.
Are Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman Business Partners?
No publicly verified evidence reviewed for this article identifies Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman as business partners.
They do not currently serve together on the Rakuten, Morgan Stanley or Disney boards, and their official biographies do not identify a shared company or investment venture. Mikitani’s current work remains centered primarily on the Rakuten ecosystem, while Gorman’s current responsibilities include Disney, General Atlantic and several institutional and academic organizations.
The most defensible description is therefore that companies associated with the two men have crossed paths in global finance, but the evidence does not establish a direct relationship between the individuals themselves.
Why Their Careers Are Sometimes Compared
Despite their different industries, there are several factual reasons the two executives can appear in the same broader discussion about corporate leadership.
Mikitani has spent decades building and expanding a founder-led technology ecosystem. His strategy involved moving from online retail into banking, payments, securities, communications and other services.
Gorman, by contrast, inherited leadership of an established global financial institution and reshaped its business mix. Morgan Stanley placed greater emphasis on wealth and investment management while retaining its investment-banking and institutional-securities operations.
Their professional origins also have some similarities. Mikitani began his career in banking before becoming an entrepreneur. Gorman moved from law into management consulting and financial services before becoming a bank CEO.
Both also completed MBAs at prominent U.S. universities, although at different institutions. Mikitani studied at Harvard Business School, while Gorman received his MBA from Columbia University.
The Main Difference Between Their Business Careers
Mikitani is fundamentally a founder-operator. His ownership, executive authority and personal identity have remained closely connected to Rakuten since its creation.
Gorman is a professional corporate executive. He did not found Morgan Stanley but became responsible for restructuring and expanding an institution that had already existed for decades.
Their current positions make that distinction even clearer. Mikitani continues to serve as Rakuten’s chairman, president and CEO in 2026, while Gorman has completed his Morgan Stanley executive career and moved into board and advisory work at Disney and General Atlantic.
Could Morgan Stanley’s Rakuten Activity Create Future Connections?
Morgan Stanley and its Japanese joint-venture businesses remain active in Japan’s financial markets, so further institutional work involving Rakuten is possible. Rakuten’s own analyst-coverage page, for example, currently includes an analyst from Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities.
That still should not be treated as evidence that Mikitani and Gorman personally collaborate. Gorman no longer manages Morgan Stanley, and financial institutions routinely advise, finance, research or execute transactions for companies without their former CEOs being personally involved.
Any future claim that the two executives are directly connected would therefore need evidence such as a joint board appointment, investment, transaction announcement, conference appearance, company filing or direct public statement.
FAQ
Are Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman connected?
There is an indirect institutional connection through financial dealings between Rakuten Group and Morgan Stanley-related companies. No authoritative public source reviewed identifies a direct personal partnership between Mikitani and Gorman.
Did James Gorman work for Rakuten?
No. Gorman’s major executive career was at Morgan Stanley, where he served as CEO from 2010 through 2023. He is now Chairman of Disney, Chairman Emeritus of Morgan Stanley and a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic.
Did Morgan Stanley work with Hiroshi Mikitani’s Rakuten?
Yes, at the institutional level. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC was one of the dealer managers for Rakuten’s 2024 U.S. dollar bond tender offers, and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities served as an adviser in Rakuten’s 2026 fintech reorganization.
Does James Gorman still run Morgan Stanley?
No. Ted Pick became Morgan Stanley’s chairman in January 2025 after succeeding Gorman as CEO a year earlier. Gorman is now Chairman Emeritus and is no longer an active employee of the firm.
What does Hiroshi Mikitani do now?
As of 2026, Mikitani remains Representative Director, Chairman, President and CEO of Rakuten Group. He also holds leadership roles in several Rakuten businesses, including Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony.
Why are Hiroshi Mikitani and James Gorman searched together?
The pairing likely reflects interest in two internationally known executives and the financial links between Rakuten and Morgan Stanley-related institutions. Available authoritative records support that corporate overlap, but they do not establish a close personal or business partnership between the two individuals.
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