We’ve all heard the phrase: “If you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself.” It’s very easy to understand the idea that the best person to do the job is yourself. However, as business grows, good leaders must understand where to focus and where to pull in outside help. In our June CI, we will be talking with Bruce Darrington and getting his insights on making the most of outside resources. Bruce has experience building businesses around APAC that will make for a great exchange.

Bruce has had a wide experience of building up businesses in the financial area across Asia and more recently in the Professional Accounting business. On selling his own accounting practice 9 years ago in Thailand to Mazars (the only global partnership in the Professional Audit/Tax/Accounting area of business), he then moved to Japan 8 years ago to head up and grow Mazars practice from the handful of people that existed at the time. During the past 8 years, the biggest growth for Mazars business has come from providing outsourced solutions for international companies; Bruce now devotes his time to building this business line where he feels that Mazars already has some significant market leadership.

Drawing from his experiences, Bruce will be presenting an interactive session on “Outsourcing Solutions to Enable Advanced Business Performance”.

Date: 14 June 2018 (Thursday)
Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Venue: Roppongi Hills Club – Italian Restaurant – La Cucina
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151

“In modern society, we delegate important aspects of our well-being to the four institutions of business (economic well-being), government (national security and public policy), media (information and knowledge) and NGOs (social causes and issues).

In order to feel safe delegating important aspects of our lives and well-being to others, we need to trust them to act with integrity and with our best interests in mind. Trust, therefore, is at the heart of an individual’s relationship with an institution and, by association, its leadership.

If trust in these institutions diminishes, we begin to fear that we are no longer in safe, reliable hands. Without trust, the fabric of society can unravel to the detriment of all.

Ross Rowbury, President of Edelman Japan will present on “The Polarization of Trust” and what it means for you and your clients. “

Date: 12 June 2018 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Venue: Roppongi Hills Club – Proteus
51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, 106-6151

Many of us hear about wine tasting events, but it’s not just the liquid that affects the experience. It’s also the vessel!

Come join us for a night at Austrian CI member company Riedel. They will being opening up their Aoyama tasting studio especially for us. You will not only learn more about wine appreciation, but also more about fellow CEOs’ Japan businesses, as well as other members and guests at this joint seated event. We look forward to seeing you!

Please sign up by 6/13(Wed) AM.

Date: Friday, 15 June 2018
Time: 18:00 to 20:00PM
Cost: ¥8,000
Venue: RIEDEL JAPAN Co., Ltd.
Aoyama Twin Tower (East)
1-1-1 Minami-Aoyama
Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan

The business world these days is never static. As c-level executives, we must constantly steer our organizations through competitive markets, new technological advancements and changes in societal values and attitudes.

In the May CI meeting, we will be talking about one such societal change. Specifically, we will be talking about the management of millennials. The generation of people born between the late 1980s and early 2000s that started entering the workforce in the last 5 years have enormous potential, but are also bringing some very different ideas and expectations to the workplace that are at times proving a challenge for the Baby Boomer and Gen. X manager. David Swan, Managing Director for Japan & Korea at Robert Walters, will be sharing his insights on how to attract, retain, develop and engage a millennial workforce.

We look forward to another invaluable CI Network lunch.
Date: 10 May 2018 (Thursday)
Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Venue: Roppongi Hills Club – Proteus
51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, 106-6151

Coming back from a Golden Week holiday has no doubt given you the chance to refresh and step back from the business albeit briefly.

In the May CI lunch, we are doing a Freestyle meeting. The meeting will consist of four subject areas, maybe more or less depending on the discussion. These are current issues that you might be talking about internally, but something some outside CEO Insights could add value to. The planned subject areas are:

• Actions for the upcoming consumption tax increase of 2019
• Situation Room – Being prepared for an emergency on your company premises
• Global Privacy, where we’ve come
• Immigration – The government’s best kept “secret”

Tap into the power of the CI network and exchange know-how on the latest issues that affect your business.

Date: May 8, 2018 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:30pm – 2:00pm
Venue: Roppongi Hills Club – Italian Restaurant – La Cucina
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151

The Spring OTR gathering of CEO Insights (CI) bosses with be held at the new Ginza Hyatt Hotel. Get a chance to see this new concept hotel called “Hyatt Centric Ginza”. As usual, this OTR will be a joint event bringing together of CI member CEOs and other invited c-level friends. You’ll be greeted with a welcome champagne and then enjoy a evening of discussion, drinks, and great food. Don’t miss us for the chance to catch up with Asia’s top CEOs.

This is a casual meeting but do respond to the Doodle survey so we can give the venue an idea of about how may people will be there.

Just minutes walk from the Ginza Metro station. See you there!

Date: 26 April 2018 (Thursday)
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Venue: Hyatt Centric Ginza – NAMIKI667 Bar & Lounge
6-6-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 104-0061
Tel: +81 3 6837 1234
https://ginzatokyo.centric.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel/map-and-directions.html

About OTR
CEO Insights is Japan’s prime gathering of c-levels for sharing experience, connections, and insights from the c suite at our monthly lunches. From 2017, we’ve added a new way to network and grow personally through random Thursday night dinners that are completely open to discussion amongst our member CEOs called OTR (Off The Record).
Unlike other events, there are no pre-planned topics or private rooms. The meeting is a joint meeting of all groups and will give people a chance to get to know other bosses in an open restaurant dinner environment.
Please arrive between 6.30PM to 7PM and enjoy dinner with people you can relate to; slip away when you like. OTR is scheduled from 6.30PM to 8PM, but will go on until bosses retire for the evening.

Non-profit organizations and volunteering is a common thing in many western nations. For Japan, the concept and understanding of doing volunteering to do something, giving finances towards helping others, and community service have a different understanding. However, companies that understand the effectiveness of team building toward reaching corporate goals have many times accelerated past their competition.

In the April CI meeting we will have a very special guest who has done more than built an influential organization. We’ll have Charles McJilton founder of Second Harvest sharing insights on CSR, how other companies are building their brand by helping others, and new concepts on how to contribute but actually receive funds back through their giving also known as Social Impact Bonds.

Looking forward to meeting you at the interactive CI lunch!

Date: 12 April 2018 (Thursday)
Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm
Venue: Roppongi Hills Club –  Italian Restaurant- La Cucina
51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, 106-6151

About Our Guest-
Charles McJilton has been pioneering food banking in Japan for more than 18 years. He has a unique approach and philosophy based on on his more than 25 years involvement with those in need and his 15 months living in cardboard box alongside the Sumida River (January 1997- April 1998). He strongly believes that business practices can be used to improve the effectiveness of nonprofits. As the CEO and founder of Second Harvest Japan he is leading the development of a food safety-net for Tokyo to support 100,000 people by 2020. To fund this ambitious project he is promoting social impact bonds. During time with him he will share his philosophy and approach along with how social impact bonds are an innovative way to fund social change.

Many CEOs have extensive legal experience. As the representative of a major business, however, it is not easy to know everything. Knowing how things work legally in advance can save a lot of pain later on. In this CI lunch, we will have a Legal Round Robin. There will be no slide decks. CI welcomes Mr. David Case, a partner with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Tokyo as our guest. We have prepared a list of topics and questions to spur the conversation, but this is your chance to ask ANYTHING legal. The meeting will follow the flow of the group, however initial areas planned may include:

People: Hiring & Firing
Data Protection
Mergers & Acquisitions
eCommerce
Corporate Liability
Digital Currencies
Agreements
Protections

Don’t miss this chance to catch up with one of CI’s favorite legal professionals and compare notes with your CEO peers.

Date: April 10, 2018 (Tuesday)
Time: 12:30pm – 2:00pm
Venue: Roppongi Hills Club – Proteus
51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151