With the rise of China, the might of Japanese manufacturing has seemed to be eclipsed. But is it really? In the December CEO meeting we will have the opportunity to hear right from the experience of Umicore and our own Luc Gellens. Luc will share some of the strategic drivers of the Belgian industrial firm he works for to explain its industrial policy in Japan. His testimony may raise some questions and likely will lead to an interesting exchange.

– Does it make sense to set up a factory in Japan? What are the opportunities?
– Is industry in Japan at risk? Can it compete against China and … Korea?
– What is the strength of the Japanese system? What are the weaknesses?

Date- Friday, 9 December 1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Looking at the stock market of any country 50 years ago we see a very different set up companies then what we have now. In some cases, we see only 1 or 2 companies that continue on in business for multiple generations.

Businesses are not just about providing great products and services. They are also about experience for not only the customer, but also the employee. With a shrinking market of hard-working youth, the challenges could be amplified.

What can CEOs and the management team do to build the next generation of leadership? What ethics, operations, and business operations are necessary for creating a business that will last? What things must we stick to in our corporate culture, and what must we ditch?

The last CEO meeting of 2011 will cover this area and prove to be a very enlightening discussion.

Date- Thursday, 8 December 1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

CEO Answers

Chief Executives come from various backgrounds. Most have undergraduate degrees with some having earned MBAs and other advanced degrees. However, most c-levels have learned their businesses from the ground up. They know their fields and can effectively run their creative, services, energy, technology, or other businesses.

The CEO luncheons bring committed CEOs together each month in order to foster learning and communications between non-competitive CEOs. At the November CEO luncheon, we will have our first “CEO Answers” meeting. Each CEO will bring a question that affects their business and be able to get answers and suggestions from the other CEOs in the room.

Questions may be anything that is related to business, domestic, regional or global. Questions may include topics that are financial, operational, sales/marketing, or even personal. Example questions may be-

-What is the most effective way to promote my product on the web.
-How do I get my HR team to become more proactive.
-How do I deal with rogue managers or employees
-What is the best way to find a balance of being successful in business and family life

The meeting
Date- Friday, 11 November 1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Chief Executives come from various backgrounds. Most have undergraduate degrees with some having earned MBAs and other advanced degrees. However, most c-levels have learned their businesses from the ground up. They know their fields and can effectively run their creative, services, energy, technology, or other businesses.

The CEO luncheons bring committed CEOs together each month in order to foster learning and communications between non-competitive CEOs. At the November CEO luncheon, we will have our first “CEO Answers” meeting. Each CEO will bring a question that affects their business and be able to get answers and suggestions from the other CEOs in the room.

Questions may be anything that is related to business, domestic, regional or global. Questions may include topics that are financial, operational, sales/marketing, or even personal. Example questions may be-

-What is the most effective way to promote my product on the web.
-How do I get my HR team to become more proactive.
-How do I deal with rogue managers or employees
-What is the best way to find a balance of being successful in business and family life

The meeting
Date- Thursday, 10 November 1230PM-1400PM
Venue- XEX TOKYO
DAIMARU Tokyo 13F., 1-9-1 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku Tokyo

Investing and the International CEO

A gaishikei CEO can usually rely on a finance specialist or even external advisors for guidance on investment options for pension plans or spare corporate cash. But what about the CEO’s own investment options? What investment opportunities are available to foreign executives in Japan? What limitations, if any, apply? What about estate planning– How are assets impacted by foreign residency or “kokusai kekkon” (international marriage)? What investment targets are investment professionals recommending these days and why? Are asset allocation and diversification really important? Wasn’t it Warren Buffet who said that diversification is a good idea for those who lack conviction?

These and other concepts will be on the table next Friday as Doug Hymas, CEO of ING Investments Japan leads a discussion on investment options and issues for the gaishikei CEO.

Date- Friday, 14 October 1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

How to Manage the Japanese Media in a Crisis

Leading a foreign firm in Japan and getting into a crisis can easily turn into a nightmare. We do not only face a unique and very odd media environment in Japan. We also will face struggles with headquarters. Rarely it does understand the specific needs and rules in Japan, which go far beyond offering a bow and apology. At stake is short-term business, long-term reputation and last but not least our job as CEO.

Dr. Jochen Legewie, President of CNC Japan, has been here for almost 20 years dealing with a number of high profile company crises over the last decade, both from inside of affected companies and from outside as a communications consultant.

His presentation will draw on various cases and
– Offer us some “do’s” and “don’ts” that will help to better navigate any crisis that could strike tomorrow

– Give you a feel for the level of involvement a CEO needs to have

– Examples of great and not so great media handling

Thursday, 13 October 2011
Roppongi Hills Club (Italian Restaurant- “La Cucina”)
1230PM-1400PM

Managing Regional Business Operation

Building, managing, and maintaining businesses in a diversified region is a constant challenge to say the least. In September’s C20 meeting, we will be discussing a range of things that the heads of regional business operation need to take into consideration. Donald Soo, an American, manages Waters Corporation’s Asia Pacific business unit with operations in all major economies in the region for nearly 20 years. He was born in Malaysia and educated in both Australia and the U.S.. He has been living in Japan for nearly 12 years. Prior to coming to Japan, he worked in Hong Kong, the United States, and Singapore. He is also a Karate instructor. Although it will be a group discussion, we plan to get Donald’s insights on the defining characteristics of countries in the region.

Date- Friday, 9 September 1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

In modern business, making the right calls about what to do in-house vs. what to contract out can make or break your cost model.  What’s more, whether you in-source or out-source, in a global environment you also need to consider what to do in-country vs. what you can have done more cheaply elsewhere — especially in expensive Japan.  And even if you do make the right calls, a poor execution of any of these options can have negative impacts on your customers and your business success.

Some of the key things a ceo needs to know:
– key factors in making decisions whether to do something yourself or outsource it
– if not Japan, where?  — pros and cons of various low-cost locations
– how to maintain control of what’s important, even if outsourced and/or moved off-shore
– getting through the change without dragging your customers and employees over broken glass

The September session will be an open discussion around how to approach such decisions, and how to ensure that they yield the results you need.

Date- Thursday, 8 September 1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

With the increase of stress related illnesses in the workplace in Japan, corporate management has had to think differently.  The natural disasters of March 2011 not only got Chief Executives thinking about the issues, but also illustrated the affect of employee mental health on the workplace more clearly.  Although the disasters are behind us, the mental health issues are still something we must consider in any business.

For the C20 meeting, we will welcome an expert in this area, Dr. Linda Semlitz.  Dr. Semlitz currently is managing the Tokyo English Life line and has recently done presentations for the American Chamber of commerce (more on Dr. Semlitz here).  In the lunch discussion, she will give a short presentation followed by the traditional CEO discussion.  The meeting will cover

-Implications of depression on the workplace
-Employer liablities that the CEO needs to understand
-How to recognize real stress and depression in your workplace and deal with it effectively

Date- Friday, 8 July  1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan

Dr. Semlitz is an American trained Psychiatrist with board certification in both Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as well as General Psychiatry.

She completed her undergraduate education at Brown University in 1975 and received her medical degree from Brown University in 1978.  Dr. Semlitz completed her Psychiatry training at the Cornell University, New York Hospital Westchester division and her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry training at New York State Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University.

Dr. Semlitz has practiced psychiatry for over 25 years in both the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore and has had academic appointments at Columbia University, Oregon Health Sciences University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and National University of Singapore.

More recently she was the Medical Director of Merck, Sharpe and Dohme in Hong Kong and Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs at Banyu, a division of Merck in Japan. She has particular interest in multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment ADHD, anxiety and depression, cross cultural mental health, and community mental health

The Musts Of Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

BCP may have not been an acronym that every CEO thought much about before March 2011’s Tokyo earthquake. However with challenges to running daily operations from daily transportation and disaster recovery sites to tsunamis and nuclear melt-downs the emphasis has changed. Business Continuity Planning is a must for every boss. What works and what doesn’t?

For smoothly running a business through any event, among other things Chief Executives need to have a grasp on-

-Effective disaster recovery (DR) site selection
-Employee Emergency procedures, planning, and drills
-Financial considerations

The June CEO meeting will be a frank but helpful discussion of what works and what doesn’t, as well as a frank discussion of what management needs to be aware of.

Date- Friday, 10 June  1230PM-1400PM
Venue-
Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- La Cucina Restaurant (Italian)
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower,
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, 106-6151 Japan