CEO Insights Executive Group

2016 June G3 - An Insider’s Look At The Upcoming Japan Elections
2016-06-21 12:30 - 14:00 (Asia/Tokyo) | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Understanding politics even in one’s own language is sometimes a chore, sometimes a bore. For those of us who live in Japan, though, this challenge is exponentially greater and not just because of the language and culture: it truly is a black-box here even for Japanese citizens (who at least can peer into the inner workings and make good guesses). For an internationally educated CEO, staying abreast is a tall order. In fact, the day after our lunch (7/22), 18 days of boisterous campaigning begin: what exactly does this mean for the Diet, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, the loose alliance of opposition parties… and importantly: should we care?
For our June CEO Insights meeting, please welcome Timothy Langley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Langley). Timothy will share insight on what the coming elections have in store for us and why it might be important to follow these developments. The postponed consumption tax raise, Abe’s 2nd Three Arrows, the inclusion of 18 year-olds in the ballots, and more all conspire to create an exciting ride for business leaders.

2016 June C20 - Gaining An Understanding of the Power of the Corporate Director In Japan
2016-06-10 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Many companies send middle or blossoming upper management from the head office to take on the Representative director role in the Japan entity. The challenge is that many of those people don’t completely understand the implications of the role much less the person going. In the June CI lunch we will have John Dorff of the TMF Group and a member of the CI group sharing an Overview of the Role Of A Legal Director in a Japanese corporation. He will be engaging us talking about:
Over-guiding Responsibilities
– Employer v. Employee
– Is a local director required? (Changes Given the March 2015 Changes to the Corporate Law Fiduciary Responsibility)
– Directorship with/without a Board
– Personal Implications
– Tax Implications
John has been in Japan for 20 plus years, speaks Japanese fluently and is/has been the Legal Representative or is/has been on the board of over 100 companies in Japan.
We look forward to seeing you Friday.

2016 June C8 – Tokyo Real Estate Market Update
2016-06-09 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The Tokyo real estate market is ever changing and as one of the highest fixed costs it has a profound effect on every company.

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approaching, landlords are bullish and contractors have limited capacity and are experiencing historic profit levels. This month’s luncheon focuses on getting inside perspectives from key market players on how they view the current market status and their thoughts on future forecasts.

Shinichiro Fujisawa, a Deputy Managing Director at Shimizu Corporation, one of the ‘Top 5’ Japanese General Contractors will join a major landlord representative and our Todd Olson, President of Cushman & Wakefield, in a discussion of the current market and trends focusing on how it may continue to impact your business moving forward.

Please join us for this real estate market update and discussion.

Spring CI Forum- Business, Bosses And Working The Government
2016-05-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Oakwood Premier Tokyo, 1-8-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku,, Tokyo, 100-005, Japan
We are pleased to invite you to the 2016 Spring CEO Insights Forum (CIF). The CIF is a semi-annual gathering of 30 plus company c-levels for connecting, networking, and insights. This is all done over great food and free flowing drink. All at Oakwood’s new hotel facility just adjacent to Tokyo Station.
Past CIF meetings have brought in leadership of Amazon, American Express, ToysRus, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Major League Baseball, Saatchi & Saatchi, and many other insightful speakers. In this year’s Spring event, we are pleased to have two great speakers and lots of time for Q&A and networking with other top executives of some of the world’s most influential brands.
In the Spring CIF, we will have two interesting executive speakers. One will be Mr. Toshitake KUROSAWA from METI. He is the Deputy Director-General, Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau. He will be sharing on how MNCs (multi-national corporations) can maximize their dealings with the Japanese government.
In addition, we will be welcoming Mr. Peter Landers, the Tokyo Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal, a Dow Jones company. Mr. Landers is also a writer and seasoned presenter and will be giving his take on the Japan of the future. What Japanese companies will look like in 15 years, and how multi-nationals corporations can prepare for future business.
Don’t miss this opportunity to network with the Japan’s top business leaders. Space is limited so please book your seat soon by using our online registration
We look forward to seeing you there!

Event– Spring CEO Insights Forum (CIF)
Date– Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Time– 7PM-830PM
Venue– Oakwood Primere Tokyo
Cost-8,500 Yen
Registration Closes 14 May, 5PM

2016 May C8 - The Business of Managing Middle Management
2016-05-19 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
Middle Managers are the glue that connects the bottom with the top. Executives rely on Middle Management to cascade their messages to the front line. However, do they actually do a good job of this or are they information hoarders and not sharing it with those below?
They are also expected to be conduits pushing valuable ideas and insights from the front line upward to the senior leaders. The innovation capacity of companies often relies on those closest to the customer. Invariably many great ideas potentially emanating from the front line are never tapped, because there was not the environment to do so. That environment creation is the responsibility of the Middle Managers.
Middle Managers will play an even more important role in the future, as the supply of young workers dwindles and a ferocious war for talent consumes us all. The inability of Middle Management to retain the young will have a direct negative cost on the bottom line of our businesses. Replacing and covering for the departing young has many costs – recruitment, disruption, opportunities, team motivation etc.

In this month’s CI Luncheon, Dale Carnegie’s Japan President and CI member CEO, Greg Story will be leading the discussion on “The Business Of Managing Middle Management”. Come join us as we talk about developing a companies most important asset, it’s team.

2016 May G3 - Understanding The Global Web Of Customer Data Protection Laws
2016-05-17 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Both the EU and Japan have significantly amended their data protection laws. The new laws will enter into force in 2017 for Japan, 2018 for the EU. At the same time, the rules governing transfers of personal data between the US and the EU are being renegotiated. Some of these changes are very important and may impact how customer data or employee data is being managed. The presentation will focus on the impact for foreign retailers in Japan, but is something every CEO should understand.
In the May CEO Insights meeting, CI members will get a chance to meet with one of Japan’s foreign lawyers practicing in the country. CI welcomes Jean-Denis Marx, a partner with Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) who will share his insights as a lawyer representing the needs of many famous companies in Japan and helping them understand how events abroad effect their local and global businesses.

2016 May C20 - Understanding The Global Web Of Customer Data Protection Laws
2016-05-13 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan

2016 Apr C20 - Managing The Media- How To Keep Your Company & Job Intact During A Crisis
2016-04-15 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The media is a powerful force in every country. We see the influence in social media and other ways to broadcast your corporate message changing. Media in Japan works very differently from media in other countries. This turns into a special challenge during crisis situations where the company reputation is at stake. Foreign firms in particular struggle as they have to manage both the Japanese media but also headquarters back home. More than once the Japan MD has been replaced by headquarters during or after a crisis happening in Japan.
In the April C20, we welcome Jochen Legewie the MD of CNC Japan to discuss managing the media and show the typical challenges and pitfalls and how to keep your job while also offering hands-on advise how to prevail and overcome crisis situations with the company reputation intact. After this meeting, you will be better prepared for dealing with the Japanese press.
Biography:
Dr. Jochen Legewie is Managing Director of CNC Japan, the Tokyo office of the strategic communications consultancy CNC headquartered in Munich/London. He has studied at Hitotsubashi University and Cologne University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Economics in 1996. Spending over 20 years in Japan, he is fluent in Japanese, German and English and has authored numerous books on business and politics. He is a sought after commentator on Japan issues and has appeared on BBC, Bloomberg TV and BS Japan. He is widely published in various journals and newspapers. He is one of the few foreign trustees of business federation Keizai Doyukai and Vice-Chair of its Europe/Russia Committee.
Between 2001 and 2004, he served as Executive Officer in charge of Communications at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. Prior to this, he was Vice-Director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies. He has also worked at Keidanren and as a freelance journalist.
Over the last 15 years, he has been dealing with a number of high profile company crises, both from inside of affected companies and from outside as a communications consultant.

2016 April C8 - Making The Most Of Your Female Workforce In Japan
2016-04-14 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Diversity in the workplace, especially at middle and senior management levels, has now come to be globally accepted as one of the critical levers for getting the best out of people and creating value. Even in Japan, with the Abe administration pushing “womenomics” to create “a society where every individual can shine”, diversity has emerged on the corporate agenda as a mainstream item.
Notwithstanding, getting the most out of your female workforce requires more than government policy, especially in an inherently male-dominated culture like Japan. Elizabeth Masamune, Managing Director of @Asia Associates Japan, will explain what you need to know about the new Promotion of Women’s Career Activities Act coming into effect from April 2016. Equally importantly, she will provide insights into the leadership and development barriers that Japanese female professionals face, and the reasons that so many of them hesitate to ask for more.
Elizabeth has spent 25 years in Asia as a senior diplomat with the Australian Trade Commission, and over 15 years in Japan. Fluent in Japanese, she currently serves on advisory boards and advises clients on cross cultural communication, cultural intelligence and initiatives aimed at supporting women in business.

2016 April G3- Mission vs. Ambition
2016-04-12 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The CEO Insights group was founded in 2004 for a reason. For top leaders to share things that work. Companies are not just about selling a product or service, business is also about who is selling those products. Who are the leaders of that brand, what is their vision, and where are they taking things?
In the April CI Luncheon, we’ll be addressing why it is important for a CEO to have a personal mission and contrast that with ambition. You will hear some real “case study” type of experience with CEOs as well as insights from our guest speaker Mr. Philippe Grall.
Mr. Grall is runs équilibre k.k. and has been a very positive force on many foreign CEOs in Japan as well as Japanese companies and their teams. You will have an opportunity to reflect under Phlippe’s experienced hand.
Philippe’s Background:
After six years of experience at Autobacs Seven Co. Ltd. in Tokyo, and helping the firm go international, Philippe Grall set up équilibre k.k. in 2006. équilibre k.k. is a coaching company for leaders. Following his passion to support executives to become inspirational leaders, Philippe uses his unique coaching approach to help them develop their personal leadership.
Corporate leaders working with équilibre k.k. have found inspiration. This inspiration has shifted their motivation from personal ambitions to finding their mission and ultimately having a tremendous positive influence on their organizations. Philippe has coached more than 100 premium brand Top-Executives and now is a well-recognized executive leadership coach in Japan.

2016 March C20 The Pits & Falls Of Running A Multicultural Company
2016-03-18 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Running a company is no easy matter. There are not just issues of profit and loss but also regulatory, legal, and operational issues that a c-level must be thinking about. When the company is a homogeneous group of people, business is complicated. However, when you are a multinational l corporation (MNC) in a multicultural environment, you’ve got additional challenges to consider on top of the usual ones of business model and governance.
In the March CI meeting, Laurent Depus, CEO of Natixis Japan will be sharing his insights on how to avoid the pits and falls of a multinational experience. Laurent not only runs an MNC but also sits on the board of an influential Japanese institution and sees these things first hand.
Come join us for another insightful lunch in March!

2016 March C8- Enhancing Your Customer Experiences
2016-03-17 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Star Anise, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
When we began our jobs, we worked on the line and talked with clients directly and dealt with our teams. We had a good understanding of what the customer wanted and how our teams were doing in delivering service.
However, as we rose in the ranks and entered into the c-suite, it sometimes becomes more of a challenge to keep a finger on the pulse of the business and what exactly the customer wants.
In the March CI luncheon, you will be inspired as we discuss how to enhance the customer experience and several case studies.
See you in March!

2016 March G3 - Understanding the Trust Barometer
2016-03-15 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The Edelman Trust Barometer, the world’s largest survey of trust in institutions conducted in 28 countries shows that only 40% of Japanese employees trust the company they work for. This is somewhat counter intuitive given the image of the self-sacrificing, all for the company image that is held about Japans salarymen. Ross will address this and other issues including what is behind the Trump phenomenon and rising populism in the world’s advanced economies.
September’s CEO Insights meeting will welcome Edelman’s Japan boss, Mr. Ross Rowbury. Ross has been living and working in Japan for 35 years. Originally working in finance, Ross moved to the public relations industry some twenty years ago. Over that period he has been advising executives from both Japanese and non-Japanese companies on communications strategy and implementation.

2016 Feb C8- How Great Leaders Think
2016-02-18 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The difference between good and great may vary with individual opinions. However, there is no doubt that great businesses are built by exceptional leadership. What does being a great leader mean to the CEO ? Have you ever worked with someone who inspired you and was your role model?
Philippe Grall has been coaching CEOs and other executives in various industries. In all cases, he faces the same issues: lack of team spirit and communication problems. In most situations, managers put pressure on their teams and are obsessed with controlling them. In addition, the managers focus on what’s wrong with the team and the weaknesses that need improving. As a result, team members have a low motivation and can’t really enjoy what they do. The effect is that people tend to protect themselves and are afraid to propose ideas and take risks.
Great leaders are still a minority. They think and behave very differently with their teams compared to the majority of leaders.
At this month’s CI lunch, you will learn and experience how great leaders think, feel and act. You will leave with some new insights and methods that you will be able to implement from the next day and start to be the leader you would want to work for.
Philippe’s Background:
After six years of experience at Autobacs Seven Co. Ltd. in Tokyo, and helping the firm go international, Philippe Grall set up équilibre k.k. in 2006. équilibre k.k. is a coaching company for leaders. Following his passion to support executives to become inspirational leaders, Philippe uses his unique coaching approach to help them develop their personal leadership.
Corporate leaders working with équilibre k.k. have found inspiration. This inspiration has shifted their motivation from personal ambitions to finding their mission and ultimately having a tremendous positive influence on their organizations. Philippe has coached more than 100 premium brand Top-Executives and now is a well-recognized executive leadership coach in Japan.

2016 Feb G3- The Business of Managing Middle Management
2016-02-16 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan

2016 Feb C20 - Risk Management and Why it Really (Really) Matters
2016-02-12 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
For the business professional, the basics of “buy low, sell high” is a fundamental of how every company trades worldwide. However, selling a car as a car dealer has different trading requirements than the business of fulfilling a prescription as the pharmacist. Every profession has the similar standard business practice foundation, but also has varying requirements within their business. With the increase in government regulatory requirements, legal changes, natural and man-made disasters, and a global environment, and many other dynamic variables, the world is changing. Companies must be more aware of the risks of doing business.

Insurance is a business all about understanding risk and managing those risks. In this month’s CI lunch, CEOs will have a chance to hear about risk management. Specifically risk management from the insurance business directly from AIG Japan KK’s CEO, Mr. Robert L. Noddin. He’ll be sharing on Risk Management and Why it Really (Really) matters. We will be discussing real business issues and examples such as

Potted history of insurance risk management in Japan: Keiretsu to Case Agents to ….something new?
Case study: Thai floods and the Great Eastern Earthquake in Japan – a surprising comparison of claims paid
Japan: Significant premium pool; Worryingly low commercial coverage relative to insurable interests
What does a sophisticated risk management structure look like?

2016 Jan C20 The World Of Gaisho
2016-01-15 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
With the influx of more and more international tourists, there are more people thinking they understand Japan, it’s culture, and it’s way of doing business. However, there are many areas that people cannot see. Not just the locals, but even the long term international residents.

In the January CI meeting, Ecco’s Japan CEO will introduce us to the Japanese world of the Gaisho. What is the Gaisho? Gaisho are the high end clientele of Japan. Gaisho clientele are invisible to the average person, but they are a very high spending, pampered customer for many of Japan’s famous retail outlets. Specifically, they are very engaged by department stores. Their existence is not just a important market, but reveals things about Japan that the c-level must understand.

2016 Jan C8 – Business Secrets And Privacy – Recent developments in Japan and in the world
2016-01-14 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- PROTEUS Room, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The first full revision of the Japanese privacy law should have been adopted in 2015 but the June leak at the Japan Pension Service aborted the whole process. The law should have another chance this year.
In 2015, a EU court struck down the safe harbor rule that had governed data transfers between the US and Japan for 15 years. The EU is preparing for a complete overhaul of its privacy legislation in 2017. The Japanese METI has also been active on data transfers. The Japanese law on business secrets has also been amended recently.
All these issues will particularly affect international businesses, those that sell in Japan while handling customer data on servers located in the US or the EU for instance. In the January CI C8 meeting, Jean-Denis Marx, a partner with Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) will share his insights on the latest in privacy and how it could affect your business.

2016 Jan G3 -How Japan Sees Finance & Banking And How It Affects Your Business
2016-01-12 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
Global financial firms have had mixed results in Asia. Specifically, they’ve been in Japan for some time but had varying levels of success. There are some American credit card businesses that have their second largest global market outside of the US in Japan. Japan is a crown jewel. There are other banks that have failed miserably because they couldn’t get a handle on how to manage themselves or work with Japan’s regulatory bodies.
In the 2016 kick off of CEO Insights G3, we’ll be diving right into the topic that is likely very guarded, money. Specifically we’ll be talking how Japan sees Western, as well as other Asian, banking and finance. We’ll be welcome guest expert Yoshio Kitazawa.
Mr. Kitazawa spent 28 years in banking as the head of a major American bank. Following that time, he served as Senior Advisor to the IBA (International Bankers Association of Japan) working with the BOJ, the PM’s cabinet, and several other non-governmental bodies in Japan. He founded his own company in 2005 called BCP Corporation selling cloud-based business continuity systems. You will leave very enlightened on Japan and finance, from a local perspective.

2015 Dec C20 Year End Wrap Up - Better Boss, Better Business
2015-12-11 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
As yet another year closes, many executive offices are reviewing what worked and what didn’t, what sold and what didn’t, what blew up and what overflowed. In addition to national responsibility, many of our member CEOs have other countries in Asia as well as Australia/New Zealand reporting to them. Growth is about reflecting on management mistakes as well as building management successes.
The December CEO Insights meetings is one of the most popular and well attended meetings as executives get ready for the Christmas holidays and year’s end. This will be likely be your last chance to rub elbows with Asia’s top Tokyo-based CEOs and leadership.

2015 Dec G3 Year End Wrap Up - Better Boss, Better Business
2015-12-08 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151

2015 Nov C20 Japan's People Problem- The Facts About A Talent Shortage
2015-11-13 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- PROTEUS Room, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Getting right people on the team is absolutely critical for business success anywhere and Japan is without doubt one of the most difficult places to hire in the world. With 1.27 open jobs per job seeker nationwide there is currently a huge shortage of suitably qualified professionals to do a wide range of jobs across industries. Unfortunately, for those of us running businesses here it’s only going to get a whole lot harder in the coming years and it’s absolutely critical that organisations prepare themselves for the challenges that this will pose.
David Swan, Managing Director Japan & Korea for Robert Walters will explain the dynamics of the job market that have created this situation and provide some strategies and ideas for you and your organisations to be in the best position possible to obtain the talent you need on your team.
Robert Walters is the leading foreign, mid-career global recruitment consultancy in Japan. David joined Robert Walters Japan in 2002, was appointed Managing Director in November 2009 and he established the Group’s Korea operations in October 2010. Since this time, the Japan business has become the most profitable, Tokyo the second largest office and Seoul one of the fastest offices for the group globally. David is also a regular commentator to the media on a wide range of issues pertaining to the Japanese labour market.

2015 Nov C8 Keeping The CEO's Executive Edge
2015-11-12 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Salon (French), 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
CEOs are all faced with the challenges of satisfying our day-day customers and achieving (short-term) financial objectives to keep our stake-holders happy. However, the world continues to evolve, change. Bosses all know that those that do not adapt and those that do not look for the trends and respond accordingly, unfortunately, fall into irrelevancy. C-levels intuitively know we need to look to the future to maintain our leadership positions, however, the actuality is that some keep the edge much better then others

What works for you? How do you find the balance? Organizationally, how do you balance long-term (mid-term) planning with the day-to-day? Do you have specific annual processes that work that can be shared with others? Who does it? How do you do it? Does it work? …or is it a waste of time? With so much responsibility, no boss has mastered everything. This month’s CEO Insights is all about insights.

What metrics do you or areas do you focus in your planning: Financial, structure (organization), innovation, looking at competition, threats, opportunities, and much more. At this month’s CEO Insights meeting, you will have an invaluable opportunity to see inside companies outside of yours.

2015 Nov G3 Keeping The CEO's Executive Edge
2015-11-10 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151

CEO Insights Terrace Reception (C8)
2015-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Azabu Gardens
When: Thursday, October 22th 7pm – 8:30pm
Where: Azabu Gardens
Cost: 8,000 yen / person

2015 October C8 – Japan’s Talent Crisis – what you need to know
2015-10-08 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151

2015 Fall CEO Insights Forum (CIF)
2015-09-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Oakwood Premier- 1F, Tokyo Midtown Complex, 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052, Japan
We are pleased to announce the semi-annual CEO Insights Forum (CIF) on 30 September from 7PM. The CIF is the highest level regular gathering of c-suite executives in Japan. This is the second and final CIF for 2015. We will have two excellent speakers, great food, and insightful discussions. We’ll have brief presentations followed by Q&A so you can ask the experts. The evening will be mostly a chance for you to interact with other market leaders like yourself.

Register HERE
The speakers are Mr. Nicholas Benes and Mr. Martin Schultz. The topics planned are-
Nicholas Benes, Representative Director, The Board Director Training Institute of Japan will speak on
“Brave New World: How The World Has Changed Radically Since 1990. The Four Accelerating Global Trends That You Can’t Afford To Ignore As A CEO”
Japan is not exactly known for transparency in its corporate governance. With pressure from the outside, Japan is being forced to internationalize and be more accountable globally. Nick brings decades of experience to the CIF as he runs a popular organization that provides c-level training in governance to help you understand the importance of dealing with digital client data, changing legal environment, and building corporate boards that actually make firms more productive.

You can find out more about Mr. Benes here. In addition,

Mr. Martin Schulz, Senior Research Fellow, Fujitsu Research Institute will present on-
Japan and Asia in the “New Normal” (of much lower growth and increasing competition)

Growth rates have come down in Japan and much of the mature world to bare-productivity levels of around 1%. In emerging Asia, at the same time, “middle income traps” are challenging outmoded development models and government control. The result is a race for success in overseas markets and productivity-oriented governance improvements – with geopolitical tensions as a sideshow. For companies, the “new normal” means tougher export competition at the base but tremendous opportunities for top products and services that do things smarter and in a more globally connected way.

More about Mr. Schulz here.

CIF brings together bosses of fashion, industrial, consumer products, high tech, media, hospitality, real estate, and other areas under one roof. We look forward to seeing you at the Fall event. Please sign-up online or if you questions, please have your PA contact Ms. Waijo (in Japanese) at 03-4550-6500.

Date-
Wednesday, 30 September 2015 700PM-830PM (Soft closing with drinks until 930)
Venue-
Oakwood Premier- 1F
Tokyo Midtown Complex
9-7-4 Akasaka
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052 Japan
Cost- 8,500 yen
Register HERE
(**For expediency, we’d like to do all bookings online. If you don’t have a Paypal registered Credit Card, please just select “check” so we can get you registered and AINEO Corporation email you a paper invoice. Pay online or request invoice in advance from AINEO Corporation. Thank you!)

CEO Insights Joint Event- Building Your Dream Company-Global CEO Rob Walters
2015-09-16 12:00 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
CEO Insights is an unparalleled gathering of ladies and gents running the businesses of some of the most influential brands in Asia. For many, including c-levels like CI members, building a business for the ground up and seeing it catch on globally is a dream come true. In September, CI will welcome a global CEO whole built his dream and continues to see it expand. In September, we will meet Rob Walters, originally a London-based accountant who built a business that now spans 24 countries with 2,700 employees globally.
In this joint CI meeting, you will be able to hear how a London professional build his dream and continues to expand it. This will be an open discussion around a boardroom style table we’re we will likely discuss
-Going from employee to employer
-Watching out for the growth blockers
-Having the right strategy in the right market
You will also have the opportunity to catch up with other CI members from the other two groups. Please note, this is an invitation-only event with limited space due to the room size. We will accommodate as many people in as possible.
Date– Wednesday, 16 Sept 2015 1230PM-1400PM
Cost– ¥5,900 (Due to venue, for simplicity this event will be invoiced from AINEO)
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

2015 September C20 – Getting Inspiration From Bricks
2015-09-11 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club- Roppongi Hills Club- Italian Restaurant- La Cucina, 51 fl. Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151
Japan is a market that to many foreign companies remains an enigma and where one of the key learnings seems to be that all market segments are saturated and dominated by huge local players. The toy market is not any different and yet a small company from an even smaller country far up in the northernmost part of Europe is trying to swim against the current and prove that even if a market is not growing you can successfully grow a global brand using global tools.
What is the story behind the growth of the LEGO brand in this market and are there any learnings for companies outside the toy business? LEGO Japan’s CEO Steen Lauge Kokkenborg will be answering questions as well as sharing insights, learnings and perspectives from his experience with the LEGO Brand in the Japanese market. Prior to Japan, Steen ran Lego’s successful Korea organization.
After the Sept CI meeting, you will leave the luncheon regretting you ever left your toys on your way to success.

2015 Sept C8 - Omni Channel Increasing Response In Retailing (Venue Change)
2015-09-10 12:30 - 14:00 | OAK LAWN MARKETING, INC., 21F Toranomon Hills Mori Tower, 1-23-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku Tokyo, Japan
Omni Channel is the new retail catchword. To date, the strategy is perceived as primarily a strategy for retailers to optimize between stores and/or bricks and mortar channels with e-channels, i.e. smart phone or PC commerce. Harry Hill will present a case study with our Shop Japan Wonder Core series to illustrate a vision of Omni Channel which both harmonizes the retail experience while also increasing interest, response and sales into all channels. He will show how Shop Japan incorporate the metrics and discipline from our traditional TV shopping, direct marketing business model into an Omni Channel: a model that integrates big data with response data to increase traffic and conversion in all channels including call, smart phone, PC and retail t win market share in all channels while at the same time dramatically increasing Shop Japan’s brand awareness, customer profile and channel balance as well as improve profitability.
Come enjoy a special CI meeting presented by Harry Hill and moderated by Phil Rubel. Please note that we will NOT be meeting at our usual venue.
Date– Thursday, 10 Sept 2015 1230PM-1400PM
Venue–
OAK LAWN MARKETING, INC.
21F Toranomon Hills Mori Tower, 1-23-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku Tokyo
