{"id":"5000adfb-3a4c-40ec-9181-6ee0c4e09e3c","slug":"kenzo-saito","name":"Kenzo Saito","bioBrief":"Japanese industrialist who founded Tokyo Denki Kagaku Kogyo K.K. (now TDK Corporation) on December 7, 1935 to commercialise ferrite — the world's first oxide-based magnetic material, invented by Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Saito secured backing from Kanebuchi Spinning's Shingo Tsuda. TDK grew into a global electronic components and sensors giant with 100,000+ employees; its \"Development of Ferrite Materials and Their Applications\" was designated an IEEE Milestone in 2009.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"Japanese","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.tdk.com/en/featured_stories/entry_085-TDK-90th-anniversary-transformation.html","label":"TDK 90th anniversary feature","title":"Transformation From Ferrite to the Future: TDK's 90 Years"},{"url":"https://www.tdk.com/en/featured_stories/entry_086-TDK-90th-anniversary-transformation-2.html","label":"TDK — Venture Spirit / founder story","title":"Venture Spirit Relentlessly Taking on Challenges Drove TDK"},{"url":"https://www.tdk.com/museum/en/exhibition/establishment.html","label":"TDK Museum — Establishment","title":"History Zone | TDK Museum — founder Kenzo Saito"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-09T14:25:30.778Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-11T19:21:00.183Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"5ec4262f-78ac-4aa2-be93-674680df0646","personId":"5000adfb-3a4c-40ec-9181-6ee0c4e09e3c","companyId":"9633f15b-24bf-4cae-a36d-ecef6366a4dc","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Founder","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-09T14:25:31.258Z","company":{"slug":"tdk-corporation","name":"TDK Corporation"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"ace0b2bb-5a62-441b-a7f6-e72081fc4423","personId":"5000adfb-3a4c-40ec-9181-6ee0c4e09e3c","companyId":"9633f15b-24bf-4cae-a36d-ecef6366a4dc","foundingDate":"1935-12-07T00:00:00.000Z","cofounderStatus":"sole","stillAtCompany":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-11T19:21:01.511Z","company":{"slug":"tdk-corporation","name":"TDK Corporation"}}]}