Since joining Shiseido in October 2023 as CPO, I have had many discussions with employees and carefully analyzed the results of various employee surveys. They gave me an insight into strengths of Shiseido’s people and culture along with the challenges that we are facing today.

My first impression was that Shiseido has a positive and friendly work environment, where people have a strong sense of respect and pride for our brand. There was a significant progress in gender and career diversity, as evidenced by various indicators. I was also impressed with the Company’s efforts in strengthening its foundations as a global company by continuing proactive investments in our people and advancing human resource policies based on our PEOPLE FIRST philosophy that defines employee as the ultimate source of corporate value, while preserving our beliefs and values over a long history of more than 150 years since the foundation. However, I believe there is still room for improvement in the strength of energy in our people to drive transformation for the future. Therefore, it is imperative for us to develop a people strategy to create an organization and culture filled with a strong sense of determination and energy to become a top-tier global company.

Shiseido’s people strategy takes the following three-pillar approach. The first aspect is “Build Talent.” This means developing talent among current employees to create a culture that fosters both individual empowerment and organizational growth. To empower individuals, we will focus on creating innovation and enhancing leadership capabilities while continuing existing programs. We will also implement human resource policies and programs aligned with the passion drivers to boost energy levels. Simultaneously, we will pursue organizational development by implementing initiatives that improve quality of relationships and foster cross-organizational collaboration, which will also lead to forming many “weak-ties” and inducing “chemical reactions” between individuals. Moreover, we promote a corporate culture where individuals, regardless of their gender, age, nationality, or other attributes, recognize and respect the differences between each other, encouraging constructive discussion on creating new values. The second aspect is “Acquire Talent.” This aims to attract top talent from around the world to further accelerate our transformation. We are reassessing our recruitment processes to ensure higher standards and investing efforts into recruitment branding to attract even more talented people in the future. We recognize that relying solely on training takes time, so we believe it is crucial to strike a balance by adopting a dual approach of training and recruitment.

The third and final aspect of our framework is to “Transform Organization and Enable ‘Work Smart’.” We will fully leverage AI and IT tools to optimize our operations and create a highly productive organization.

In 2024, we will focus on training and recruiting individuals who have strong leadership, enabling us to drive change and surpass our present circumstances. Based on the “Beauty Innovation Atelier,” we will promote a series of initiatives aligned with the passion drivers, seeking to transform ourselves into a nimble and agile organization. Furthermore, we are committed to maximizing everyone’s passion, contributing to the creation of new value over the medium-to-long term.

Having worked in both startups and at the U.S. headquarters of a major global company, I have gained valuable experiences in building diverse global teams from scratch and transforming systems and culture to support rapid business growth. I have also led structural reforms under challenging circumstances. Based on these experiences, I believe that for Shiseido to thrive in the global marketplace, we must be more passionate about driving growth on a global basis with an unwavering commitment to achieving our goals. Our aim should not only be to compete with the world’s best-known beauty brands but to surpass them. Shiseido possesses many strengths, and by setting clear and specific goals, channeling and focusing our energy towards achieving them, enhancing our capabilities for value creation, and providing strong leadership, we will fulfill our corporate mission of achieving BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD.

As CPO, my goal is to bring about this transformation.

At the same time, it is my aspiration to establish a strong foundation for Shiseido’s talent brand globally. To achieve that end, I am dedicated to contributing significantly to bring about positive changes within Shiseido with respect to its people, culture, and organization by transforming it into a company that is instantly recognized and admired as a top-tier organization just by its name.

As CPO, I am committed to making a significant contribution to Shiseido by driving transformation across the organization, its people, and its culture. There is much to look forward to.

April 2024