Toyota’s Woven Capital names new CIO and COO to accelerate future mobility strategy

Sometimes, Michiko Kato reflects on the defining moments that shaped her journey. She once left her life in Tokyo to study at Harvard Business School in Massachusetts. Later, she stepped away from a stable career in finance to enter the uncertain world of startups — a move that ultimately reshaped her professional path.

On Wednesday, Kato officially takes on a new and significant role as chief investment officer (CIO) of Woven Capital and CEO of Toyota Invention Partners. With the latter appointment, she becomes the first woman to lead a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota.

Woven Capital serves as Toyota’s growth-stage venture capital division, focusing on investments in mobility-related sectors such as space technology, cybersecurity, and autonomous driving. The firm announced its second $800 million fund in August last year, following the launch of its first in 2021. Through these funds, Woven Capital aims to support at least 20 new Series B-stage investments. Its portfolio includes companies such as satellite firm Xona and defence manufacturing startup Machina Labs.

Kato explained that the firm is focused on identifying future leaders in mobility and building partnerships that align closely with Toyota’s broader strategic goals.

“We can co-lead, we can make small investments, or we can do an aggressive investment; we try to be flexible,” she said. She added that she intends to take an active role in working with startups, emphasising collaboration and value creation. “I want to be hands-on. I want to be valuable to startups. And I want to really focus on the partnership creation.”

Kato’s appointment coincides with another leadership change at Woven Capital. Mia Panzer has been named chief operating officer (COO), transitioning from her previous role in business strategy at one of Toyota’s technology subsidiaries. With both top leadership roles now held by women, the move highlights gradual progress in an industry that has historically been male-dominated.

In the past, women have had slightly better representation in corporate venture capital compared to traditional venture firms. Data from a 2014 CBI report indicated that fewer than 20% of leading corporate venture capital firms had women on their investment teams, compared to just 7% of partners at top venture firms at the time. Today, the share of women in venture capital roles has increased to around 15.4%, suggesting that representation within corporate venture capital has also improved over time.

Kato joined Woven Capital in 2020 as part of its early team following its separation from an internal Toyota unit. Over the course of her career, she has accumulated 15 years of investment experience, including work on mergers and acquisitions at Unison Capital and serving as CFO of Japanese AI startup ABEJA. During her time at Woven Capital, she has led six investments, including backing companies such as reusable rocket startup Stoke and autonomous vehicle company Nuro, which was her first investment with the firm.

She expressed particular interest in areas such as aeromobility, physical AI, and hardware innovation, noting that these sectors have the potential to reshape manufacturing processes fundamentally.

Working alongside Kato will be Panzer, in her new COO role, who will oversee finance, operations, human resources, and legal strategy. Panzer emphasised that corporate venture capital firms often face two major risks: economic slowdowns that reduce deal activity and misalignment between the venture arm and its parent company. She sees her role as helping to navigate these challenges and ensure alignment.

Panzer has worked closely with Woven Capital managing director Ro Gupta since Panzer was building the mapping company Carmera in 2019. She joined that startup while pregnant with her first child to lead finance operations. Before that, she worked at Goldman Sachs and later at Independent Pet Partners, a pet wellness company. Although she was not actively seeking a new role at the time, she decided to take the opportunity to work with Gupta and Carmera.

Following Toyota’s acquisition of Carmera — a transaction Kato helped facilitate — both Gupta and Panzer joined Toyota’s technology division. In December 2025, Gupta became managing director of Woven Capital and brought Panzer into the leadership team. Both Kato and Panzer now report to him.

Initially, Panzer questioned whether she was fully qualified for the COO role. Still, she reflected that women often underestimate their readiness, whereas men are more likely to take risks. Drawing on her own experiences of bias throughout her career, she chose to move forward with confidence.

She referenced the Japanese concept of “ikigai,” which emphasises finding purpose at the intersection of personal strengths, passion, societal need, and financial sustainability. With family ties to the automotive industry, she described her current role as a full-circle moment in her career.

“I always say to other women, ‘Let them have low expectations,’” she said. “Easy to overdeliver.”