CEO Insights Executive Group

2016 Oct C20 - From Story-telling To Story-making: Designing Product-Service Experiences That Enables Business Transformation
2016-10-14 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
Storytelling. Big Data Analytics. Customer Journey. Omni-channel. Consumer Experience. Disruption. All concepts flipped around C-Suite, Marketing and IT circles over recent times. And yet, the rise of the very technology that has enabled and empowered individuals can create seemingly impossible paradoxes for B2C and B2B companies to overcome.
Enter the rise of Design Strategy. What began as a strategic process applied to designing products is now permeating all manner of how to engage with customers, consumers, clients, patients, stakeholders, users… you know, people. Design strategy principles & tactics are impacting boardroom decision making, product & service development and how best to connect with the people you want to build an ongoing relationship with.
On Friday October 14 please join us for lunch with Phillip Rubel, head of Designit Tokyo & a global board member of the firm. Designit is one of the largest and most successful strategic design companies in the world, recently acquired by IT powerhouse Wipro. Designit consults for and co-creates with some of the world’s most successful companies across a huge variety of industries. Come learn how Designit helps companies re-invent themselves, develop products, services and ultimately relationships with their customers in agile and practical ways.

2016 Oct C8 - Developing & Running a Manufacturing JV Business in China
2016-10-13 12:30 - 14:00 | Tokyo
CEO Insights meetings provide a lot of knowledge to c-levels running a business in the major trading centers in Asia such as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and various other countries. Many of our firms manufacture in China but we don’t go into too much detail about doing business in China. With such an important player such as China, experience in the market can make the difference between business success or failure. In October, CI members will get a chance to dive into China.. without going there. CI welcomes a c-level that has spent several years doing business in China. Mr. Daniel Onaggowinarso
Mr. Onaggowinarso will be sharing with us his insights on the benefits and challenges of running a Sino-German Joint Venture Operation and the cultural and economic challenges of succeeding in the current and future Chinese Market for foreign companies. Special thanks to Bartek Radzimski for arranging this meeting!
Join us for an insightful lunch on doing business in China and see the connections to the business abroad.

2016 Sept G3 - The Japan Experience- Why Japan Resonates So Well To The World
2016-09-13 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 a business professional, there are many wonderful places in the world to live. However, there is some appeal to Japan that seems to draw people from around the globe. The food, the safety, the thousands of great companies..the reasons may vary. Every major company in the world that is successful, likely has an office in Japan. Why is it that Japan continues to draw people? Why is it that younger Japanese are no longer moving abroad but are actually coming home. There is a draw to the land of the rising sun. We see it in the doubling in the number of international visitors in 2015.
In the September CEO Insights Luncheon will welcome guest, Carl Kay. Carl is founder and president of TOKYO WAY KK, a destination management company specializing in deep access to authentic Japanese culture, both traditional and modern, emphasizing experiential activities. Carl will share some of his views on why Japan is resonating so strongly with today’s travelers and how the perspective of outsiders like himself who love Japan is changing the travel experience here.
Come enjoy another meeting of Japan’s leading and get a fresh perspective as well as the interaction with other CEOs.
More About Carl –
An American residing in Japan since 1996, Carl founded and successfully sold a software localization company. He served as President of the Harvard Club of Japan from 2008-2016. Carl has consulted for companies ranging from Uniqlo to mid-sized Japanese companies in the education and user experience design fields.

2016 Sept C20 - How the Best Companies are Using Advocacy and GR in Japan
2016-09-09 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
The past 30 years has seen a sea change in the willingness, some would say eagerness, of foreign firms in Japan to engage external stakeholders, including government officials and politicians and their staff. Indeed, senior executives in many foreign firms in Japan now see GR as a key element of their business strategy in Japan. The GR space represent a significant shift, it remains to be seen how the Japanese side views the increasingly proactive, high-profile, and “impactful” approach to influence their decision making.
In the August CI lunch we will welcome Keith Henry, a 30 year Japan veteran. Keith began his career in Japan as an aide to a member of the Diet, then as an aide to both the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Environment. After 5 years with a management consulting firm in Tokyo, he established Asia Strategy where he pioneered the establishment of government relations as a profession in Japan. Keith has great client relationships and is very open about what his firm is doing. His clients have included financial services and banking (UBS, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Manulife, Genworth), ICT (Dell, HPE, Vodafone, eBay), healthcare (Pfizer, PhRMA, EFPIA, Bayer, GSK), consumer goods and services (Wynn Resort, Wal-Mart, Philip Morris, UPS), manufacturing (GE, United Technologies, Embraer Aerospace), alternative investment funds (TCI, Elliott Advisors, Caxton Advisors, Perry Capital), among others.
Join us for an insightful lunch on what companies are doing into Japan to work better with our government.

2016 Sept C8 - How the Best Companies are Using Advocacy and GR in Japan
2016-09-08 12:30 - 14:00 | Tokyo

CI Sayonara Summer -BBQ @ Azabu Gardens
2016-09-01 19:00 - 21:00 | Azabu Gardens
Life is not just about knowing people, it’s about knowing good people. There’s no beating the quality of CEO Insights members and our guests around a table. As an executive, it can be lonely at the top and CI fills that void. As we close out and say “sayonara” to summer 2016, we want to give an extra opportunity for our CI groups to get to know each other. The evening of September 1st, we will break away from our regular luncheons and biannual forums and have arranged a special event. This evening of strictly food and networking gives members a chance to catch up with fellow CEOs after a relaxing summer break.
For the evening, real estate developer Pembroke welcomes us back for special outdoor barbecue reception at their luxurious Azabu Gardens property’s Rooftop Terrace. The catering is by Tokyo’s Elio’s restuarant. Please sign up early as space is limited to the first 25 CEOs to sign up.
Cost: 8,000 yen / person
RSVP: Ms. Miho Imai

2016 Aug C20 - Death Or Taxes, We Choose The Latter - Understanding Japan Inheritance Taxation
2016-08-19 12:30 - 14:00 | Tokyo
Everyone knows the joke about the two things we must do in life, pay taxes and die someday. The good thing about paying a lot of tax is that can generally indicate you are doing well as a CEO. If you’ve been running any size organization for any amount of time, you will know that understanding taxation is something that can make or break your business.
In the August CEO Insights luncheon we will welcome Mr. Nasir Majid who is a Partner running the International Assignment Services (IAS) practice in Tokyo, Japan for PwC. The lunch will be regarding taxation on the personal level. We plan to focus on group discussion and will cover the below areas-
• Tips & tricks for saving money on income tax
• How to more effectively pass the fruit of your labor on to the next family generation
• Understanding Japan Estate tax and the new Exit tax
Join us for a very engaging CI luncheon. You will leave the meeting with more than you left and have more connections to reinforce that.

2016 August C8- Is It Too Late For Casinos And The Gaming Industry In Japan?
2016-08-18 12:30 - 14:00 | Roppongi Hills Club – Restaurants, 51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-6151, Japan
Earlier this year, once again, Japan’s LDP decided not to seek passage of a bill to legalize casino operations in Japan. The bill would lift the ban on casino operations and development. This was yet another disappointment in a long line of setbacks for those who would like to see casinos in Japan as a boost to tourism and local economies.
Integrated Resorts were meant to be an important part of PM Abe’s development model, but now some people say Japan has missed the boat on another regional opportunity. The question now is whether developer and operators that were interested have thrown in the towel? Or is the market opportunity too large to abandon, with those that know Japan playing the long (waiting) game?
Kiyoshi Nishijima has spent a good deal of his time involved with major hospitality projects in the region, as well as various government entities. 10 years ago he founded CLC and three years later formed the Japan Gaming Development Organization (JGDO) for the purpose of representing casino/gaming interests in Japan as a lobbying organization. Since then he has become a legal representative of Melco Crown Entertainment with respect its interests in Japan. Kiyoshi will be able to give us good insight into where the casino bill is headed, whether indeed Japan has lost the opportunity and perhaps some other interesting stories from the work he has done so far to push this casino bill through in Japan.

2016 Aug G3 - How A CEO Can Master The Art Of Acquisition
2016-08-16 12:30 - 14:00 | Tokyo
In business, when we think of “acquisition” immediately the image of a large firm buying a smaller firm to get into a national market, buy market share, or even kill potential competition. In the August CEO Insights, we will be talking about when it is right to buy a company, and when it is best to hold steady.
We will be expanding our definition of acquisition to incorporate the view of the c-level. Acquiring new talent is a huge challenge for every firm but there are many other areas. In a start up business, the three Ps are pricing (costs), productivity, and planning. As we grow we must know how to speed our processes both internally and externally. A healthy business is a living growing organization.
In the August CEO Insights luncheon, our discussion will center on acquisition from many angles. We’ll discuss some actual examples of some great decisions (and likely see some things that didn’t go so well as we expected).

2016 July G3- Using Outside Resources To Accelerate Business Growth
2016-07-19 12:30 - 14:00 | Tokyo
With the global market trending towards sharing, it is fascinating to watch that trend and how it effects our businesses. We’ve got ride-sharing (Uber, Lyft), room-sharing (AirBNB), and a lot of resource sharing (freelancer.com) and many other new business models that seem to show the market going from “owning your resources, to sharing your resources”.
Traditionally, we’ve seen consulting firms as the way to get extra resources for your accounting, advertising, and other marketing areas. In the July CI meeting, we’ll be discussing how to more effecctively use outside resources to build your business.
– The increase in business benefits derived from the use of consultants through more effective selection, management and control of them;
– The reduction of consulting fees and expenses from not only being better equipped for negotiations but also through more effective structuring of consultant vs. company resources; and
– The transfer of knowledge and capabilities to company personnel by using them more effectively in projects involving consultants.

2016 July C20
2016-07-15 12:30 - 14:00 | Tokyo
Sorry, this lunch has been cancelled.

2016 July C8 - Digitalization Towards New Economy
2016-07-14 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
The Internet is now the forth social infrastructure and continue to be evolved just from connectivity to digitizing the world. IoT is creating new economy connecting unconnected with people, processes and big data. We live in a generation of great change.
Sharing economy is one of the new business opportunities leveraging the power of the Internet. Under this circumstance how do businesses continue to create innovation ? What is the ideal organization to promote entrepreneurship ? What does globalization really mean for the Japanese enterprises ?
Come join us at the July CEO Insights Luncheon where we will Rakuten executive Yasu Arai as he shares his thoughts with the our group in this interactive luncheon.

2016 June G3 - An Insider’s Look At The Upcoming Japan Elections
2016-06-21 12:30 - 14:00 | 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.
