Hirotaka Takeuchi joined McCann-Erickson Advertising Co., Ltd. in 1969, before taking a position as Research Assistant at the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of California, Berkeley in 1972. He became a Lecturer at the Graduate School of Business Administration at Harvard University in 1976 and became an Assistant Professor there before returning to Japan in 1983 as an Assistant Professor at Hitotsubashi University's School of Commerce, where he later became Professor in 1987. He has held his present position as Dean at the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy since 1998. In March 2005, Takeuchi was appointed an Outside Director at Trend Micro Incorporated. In April 2008, Takeuchi was appointed an Outside Director at Integral Corporation.

Takeuchi became a Corporate Auditor of ORIX in June 2000, resigned in June 2003, and was then appointed an Outside Director, ORIX Corporation in June 2004.

Takeuchi's publications include Kigyo no Jiko Kakushin (Self-innovation of Firms), Chuo Koron Publishing Corporation (co-authorship); Ishitsu no Manejimento (Management of Heterogeneity), Diamond Publishing Corporation (co-authorship); Besuto Purakutisu Kakumei (Best Practice Revolution), Diamond Publishing Corporation; The Knowledge-Creating Company, Oxford University Press (co-authorship); Chishiki Sozo Kigyo, Toyo Keizai Inc. (co-authorship); Can Japan Compete, Basic Books (co-authorship); Nihon no Kyoso Senryaku (co-authorship); and Hitotsubashi on Knowledge Management, John Wiley (co-authorship).

Takeuchi was born in 1946.