Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan

Paul Dupuis is the CEO and Chairman of Randstad Japan, a global human resources consulting firm. Originally from Windsor, Ontario in Canada, Mr. Dupuis always had a passion for Asia, starting from his love of martial arts. Mr. Dupuis arrived in Japan in 1990 with just $300 and slept on a bench on his first night. He then began teaching English in Osaka in a language school, and then moved on to teaching in a public high school. After moving back to Canada and contemplating a career in teaching and hotel management, Mr. Dupuis returned to Japan as the Assistant Director of International Education Programs at Osaka Kunei Jogakuin, an all-girls school in Osaka. There, Mr. Dupuis ran international study abroad programs in Canada and New Zealand where he got to see how education can be combined with business and developed an interest in the corporate sector. Mr. Dupuis then started his own company, OIC K.K. focusing on bridging Canadian and Japanese businesses. Mr. Dupuis then landed an opportunity to set up a recruiting company with a partner and opened up Wall Street Associates (currently part of en world) in Osaka. From there, Mr. Dupuis' career in the recruiting business began. After growing Wall Street Associates, the company was acquired by en Japan and Mr. Dupuis led the rebranding of the company to en world beginning in Singapore. In 2013, Mr. Dupuis moved back from Singapore to Tokyo to head Randstad's Tokyo office as the Managing Director, then to India, and returned to Japan this year in 2021 as the Chairman and CEO of Randstad Japan. In addition to his extensive global career, Mr. Dupuis is also the author of three books on leadership – The E5 Movement, The Rule of 5, and Empty Your Cup. All books are available on his website: https://pauldupuis.net/my-books

Recalling his early leadership experiences of starting a company and opening up an office in Osaka, Mr. Dupuis learned the importance of becoming a role model and having to "walk the talk" as a leader – being honest, supportive, motivating and consistent. He believes that people trust leaders when they are listened to, supported through the good and bad times and are given opportunities to continue developing. Mr. Dupuis also learned the value of having a diverse team and connecting with people who are different from himself and letting their qualities shine.

Although at first Mr. Dupuis struggled to connect with people who were different from him, he has learned overtime to communicate in various ways to build trust. Currently at Randstad Japan, Mr. Dupuis holds discussions at all levels of the organization and tries to understand the different values and motivations people have by taking an "omni-channel approach." For example, when meeting with sales employees Mr. Dupuis makes sure to tap into their competitive mindset by offering rewards when meeting a set goal. When talking to risk and compliance teams, Mr. Dupuis will keep in mind their purpose to protect and enable and asks if the team is doing everything to protect the organization, while enabling the business to grow. He adds: "when you listen more than you speak, ideas are born…it also starts with asking the right questions." His initiative to hold one-on-one conversations with his employees, which he calls compass meetings, has given him great insight into learning more about the actual people who are doing the groundwork in the organization. Mr. Dupuis is currently planning another initiative in which people are encouraged to present their ideas to a panel and get recognition. Additionally, Mr. Dupuis puts significant emphasis on learning and development opportunities at Randstad Japan, as he believes investing in people also leads to trust and development of the company itself.

On the challenge of recruiting people to foreign companies, Mr. Dupuis explains: "People don't join a brand. They join people and people stay because of people. They also leave because of people. So I realized pretty quickly that ultimately I had to be the one that was going to attract people to join." Thus, Mr. Dupuis has made sure when talking to prospective employees to share his values and his insight in recruitment, which had been an unfamiliar concept in Japan 10 years ago.

On his advice to newcomers in Japan, he recommends coming to Japan with an open mind and connecting with the people in the field using active listening skills. He also advises to talk to other expats who have gone through similar experiences and have been successful in Japan. Mr Dupuis thinks learning basic Japanese – even 10 words - is a great idea as it sends out a message to the organization that you are "walking the talk" as a leader, trying to learn and better connect with Japanese people. He lastly advises newcomers to spend time with employees outside of the office. Mr. Dupuis points out: "There is something in the office environment. People are hesitant to speak up, but the moment you go offsite…that's where you have the best conversations."

Kenji Govaers originally grew up in France but has been going back and forth between France and Japan due to his half French and half Japanese background. Mr. Govaers started his career in the 80s bubble economy in Japan as a sales engineer. Afterwards, he moved back to France and went into consulting working for Mars & Co. Mr. Govaers enjoyed the inquisitive and client-based nature of consulting that opened him up to new opportunities and growth. Mr. Govaers then helped open an office in San Francisco where he was inspired by the diversity of people and ideas which were different from his experiences in Europe and Japan. In the late 90s, Mr. Govaers helped open an office for Mars in Tokyo. Mr. Govaers then moved to Bain & Company where he has been for the last 12 years and is currently the Partner and Director of the Tokyo office.

On recruiting new graduates, Mr. Goavers says in addition to considering candidates from the top schools, he also looks at the types of specialties they have studied. For example, at Bain, they will likely consider someone with a strong engineering background. Mr. Goavers also looks for people who have a high sense of lateral thinking, which can be seen in interviews. According to Mr. Govaers, the industry is one of the popular choices among university graduates in Japan. Mr. Goavers thinks that young people are attracted to the project-based structure of consulting that is different from a routine job. Mr. Govaers notes they are drawn to the network of other ambitious and intelligent people they will be working with who will enrich their work experience.

Mr. Govaers highlights the importance of building an engaging culture especially being in the business of consulting. He says: "the purpose of the business in many ways is to change the industry of a client [and] help you grow as a person." When placing his staff in different projects, Mr. Govaers explains they consider whether the person will be a good fit or not and have the right level of expertise. He also adds they consider these assignments as a development opportunity for the individuals themselves. Mr. Govaers explains that one of the benefits of working in a consulting firm is that "you never stop learning" and you "learn not from a textbook…but from watching what others do…you learn by being put into situations where you have to learn from the experience." At Bain they also provide training classes on client-facing communication skills where participants learn the basics of consultative selling such as active listening. Mr. Govaers points out that by developing better client communication skills, one can start to recognize certain patterns in the problems the clients are facing from their conversations.

On gaining trust and retaining talented people , Mr. Govaers notes: "At the end of the day, it's about commitments. If you commit to the mission and if you behave like you are fully committed, then people will trust you…and that commitment is practically just being very spot on [with] the messaging and consistent over the years." Moreover, he explains the mission should not just be about the client or product but something on a larger scale that people will feel extremely excited to be a part of, such as creating a new IP practice. Secondly, Mr. Govaers recommends leaders to define their business principles. He explains: "What do you value between freedom and accountability?...Between alignment and independence? [Having] these kinds of fundamental business principles, you have to be clear about [them]. You have to be mindful of the different layers of communication that's happening in your Japanese organization."

On his advice to foreign leaders coming to Japan, Mr. Govaers advises to stay focused on one's particular mission to bring change in Japan, as it is easy to get comfortable and think one knows everything about Japan. He explains that for many Japanese employees and leaders working in foreign companies, they make the choice because they are looking for something different from a typical Japanese business culture. Thus, Mr. Goavers explains, the leaders should communicate a strong mission that sets them apart from their Japanese competitors. Finally, Mr. Govaers advises foreign leaders to talk to people who have been in similar situations and ask for their insights.

Wolfgang Bierer takes us through his journey of leading various companies in multiple fields including consulting, fashion and retail. Mr. Bierer first came to Japan on a youth exchange program under the German government. He landed an internship with Hitachi at their software development centre on a six-month contract initially, and later joined them as a full-time staff. He recalls being the "only gaijin living in a male dormitory" and experiencing the raw Japanese working culture "the hard way." Already in his 20s, Mr. Bierer worked with clients in the US and India on development projects, and quickly became unit manager for his development team. Mr. Bierer then went into consulting and returned to Germany for four years, becoming more knowledgeable in management consulting. Mr. Bierer then returned to Japan with his family to start his own consulting firm, Endeavor SBC, which celebrated its 17th year in business in April. Mr. Bierer additionally leads 12 other companies including 1-Stop-Solution.com, Mephisto Japan, Bree Japan and Seeburger Japan, mainly in the fashion and retail industry.

One of Mr. Bierer's first work through Endeavor was with Adidas from his old contacts where he learned much about the business processes within the fashion and sports industry as well as utilizing SAP. Overtime Mr. Bierer built a business model that minimized companies from buying inventory to reduce warehouse costs and improve their profitability. This business model has become a template for Mr. Bierer's other retail companies. Additionally, the company brands managed by Mr. Bierer are sold by one buyer at Mitsukoshi Isetan, instead of each brand having multiple staff representing them.

For his other companies, although Mr. Bierer has a core team of managers that take care of the daily operations of each organization, he himself keeps in close contact with his staff and clients by holding meetings and selling at the retail stores. When stepping into a new company, Mr. Bierer takes a process approach by carefully listening and consulting the team and looking at the cost drivers to analyze how costs could be reduced. Once he is set on a certain direction for that company, Mr. Bierer uses his knowledge and connections to work towards a set goal with his team. Mr. Bierer explains: "I think overall in Japan…you need to try to get in the inner circle of your Japanese team. Like…you need to maybe make a fool out of you at the karaoke evening, or you need to be approachable and understand the details. And I think there are many leaders in the ivory tower [who] don't really know what is [operationally] going on."

By closely communicating with his staff, Mr. Bierer has been able to build trust with his team. He also adds that by paying his staff consistently including full timers and temporary staff even during tough times like COVID, has further developed this trust. Mr. Bierer also gives incentives by giving out company products or unexpected rewards from time to time and has received positive feedback from his team. Mr. Bierer credits the multiple revenue streams he has from his various companies that secures his staff and his own lifestyle, as well as his core management team which allow him to work efficiently between various companies.

On advice to new incoming foreign leaders, Mr. Bierer recommends having a good translator to be able to communicate with the Japanese team. He also explains that Japanese staff may need more guidance on their work and leaders need to understand that each team works differently. Thirdly, Mr. Bierer advises to "be approachable and not sit on your highchair or somewhere overlooking [the team]. You need to gain the trust of the people and show that you actually care."

62: David Daniels, Ex-CEO Asia, Le Creuset

David Daniels shares his global experience managing various luxury cosmetics, retail and manufacturing companies in Europe and APAC, successfully rebuilding struggling businesses.

Mr. Daniels spent 12 years at Yves Saint Laurent, starting out as an intern in Paris, and experienced several roles in marketing and sales including an Area Manager and Brand Manager in the UK. He was eventually promoted to Marketing Manager, leading a team of 16 staff at the age of 29. Mr. Daniels has since then experienced various leadership roles in a global environment as Vice President and General Manager of Marketing Services at Coty Prestige, President of Asia Pacific at Georg Jensen, and General Manager Middle East at Saks Fifth Avenue, and President/CEO Japan at Folli Follie Group. Mr. Daniels most recently led Le Creuset Asia as their CEO.

After an extensive career in the cosmetics industry as a marketing and sales manager at Yves Saint Laurent and Coty Prestige, Mr. Daniels moved to Australia where he experienced first hand the challenge of engaging the local market with headquarters. Yet Mr. Daniels' fascination with Asia led him to work at Georg Jensen, a Danish watch and jewelry company, as their APAC President. Once in Japan, Mr. Daniels fell in love with the country immediately. At Georg Jensen, Mr. Daniels successfully bought out Georg Jensen from a joint venture partnership with Takashimaya.

Mr. Daniels then worked to bring more energy to the operational management side of the organization. By spending time in the stores and asking his staff for feedback, Mr. Daniels discovered that although the Japan team had many great ideas on organizing promotional activities and creating customized products, it was not being communicated clearly to headquarters. Therefore, Mr. Daniels set up a product council who worked to create Japan exclusive products, which later became best sellers. In doing so, the engagement level between the Japan office and headquarters, as well as within the Japan team increased.

Mr. Daniels then moved onto Saks Fifth Avenue to lead their business in the Middle East in Dubai. Mr. Daniels helped set up a new department store in Bahrain, which he calls a challenging but incredible experience. Mr Daniels recalls his father, who was a veteran in the luxury retail industry was a great mentor to him during this time.

Mr. Daniels next took on the opportunity to join Folli Follie as their Japan President in 2010, when the company was struggling from the aftermath of the Lehman shock and some great internal talent had been lost. Mr. Daniels started by visiting all the retail stores and talking to the store staff as well as the finance people to look at the numbers in detail. In engaging with the staff, Mr. Daniels claims that his Japanese language skills helped him gain more trust. Mr. Daniels further explains: "Ultimately we had to close quite a number of stores that was painful…But the business changed quite quickly. Within 12 months we'd had three years of decline and suddenly the business started growing again, month for month." After leading other Asia subsidiaries including Korea, Taiwan, Hawaii, Guam and Singapore, Mr. Daniels left Folli Follie after 9 years and stepped into his recent role at Le Creuset.

At Le Creuset, as the Commercial Director for Asia, Mr. Daniels managed nine Asian subsidiaries including Japan. Again, Mr. Daniels sought to bring more positive energy to the business. Mr. Daniels sought to bring more stability to the leadership team and improve their retention rate, communicating with people to increase their motivation. Mr. Daniels says: "One of the lessons that we know in Japan is the "hai", or even "wakarimashita" does not mean, yes, I'm going to do this. All it means is I've just listened to what you've told me." By taking careful steps in explaining to each individual their role and what their accountability is, Mr. Daniels says the execution is often flawless.

On advice to new incoming foreign leaders, Mr. Daniel recommends actively listening to the local staff to look beyond what's being said, and carefully observe what is not being said, as well as the body language. He adds: "be consistent, respect everybody, and talk to everybody…don't stop asking questions"

Phillip Rubel shares his extensive leadership experience in the US, Canada and Japan in various fields including advertising and consulting. Mr. Rubel is originally from Canada and moved to Japan in 1997 on a three-year posting but returned multiple times. In total, his career in Japan ran for over 20 years. Mr. Rubel experienced working in various roles and fields such as marketing, business licensing and acquisition, strategic planning and account management. Mr. Rubel was recruited by McCann Erickson in 1997 as the Senior Vice-President and Manager of one of the company's division. There, Mr. Rubel dealt with global clients and helped form new partnerships. Prior to working at McCann, Mr. Rubel co-founded an agency in Canada. Mr. Rubel then moved onto other prominent leadership roles including becoming CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon, CEO of Beacon Communications, Partner at KPMG and Director Marketing & Communications at Philip Morris Japan. He has currently returned to Canada as the Managing Partner of Song Sparrow Advisory & Executive In Residence at the University of Victoria.

On his first leadership role in Japan at McCann, Mr. Rubel recalls how Japan at the time was struggling with the burst of the economic bubble, and was hesitant in engaging with global management and leadership practices. Mr. Rubel says having people look at thing with a "fresh set of eyes" and motivate them to take risks was a new leadership style compared to what he had experienced in Canada and the US. He adds: "I think one of the challenges for any new manager to Japan is to determine how to instigate a change without being revolutionary and more evolutionary."

After McCann Erickson, Mr. Rubel became the Japan head of Beacon Communications, an advertising agency formed by merging different companies of Publicis Groupe and Dentsu. Mr. Rubel recalls the merger process as a "life time opportunity." He sought to define the purpose of the new organization and create a common culture for all employees coming from the different agencies. On day 1, Mr. Rubel went into the office in casual attire and asked the team to take off their company lapel and start thinking as one company. Mr. Rubel encouraged those who he felt were the most engaged and motivated from the start to implement their ideas. He also spent time talking to each employee on a one-on-one basis or in small groups so people felt their voices were heard. Mr. Rubel says having a transparent two-way communication process and providing explanation over and over made people more open minded and engaged.

On innovation, Mr. Rubel points out that creativity is a commonly misunderstood phrase. He says: "it's not about being artistic or anything like that…it's actually a disciplined approach. And if you look at, for example, all of the work that's been done in design thinking, which is a very big passion of mine is all about experimenting upfront and mitigating risk, but still allowing risk and failure to happen."

During his time at Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon, Mr. Rubel says his leadership approach did not change much, although the scale of his team had changed from his time at Beacon Communications. He explains: "Obviously scale has a big impact onto what you can do and how you can do it. But from a leadership perspective I don't think that principles changes all that much. It's about knowing and understanding all the stakeholders. It's about being empathetic and inclusive. Also in Japan [it is particularly important] to show the way, demonstrating, not just talking about it and then also making absolutely sure that any commitments that you make, any promises that you say that you keep and that you follow through."

On advice to foreign leaders coming to Japan, Mr. Rubel first recommends to take the time to understand the organization and all the stakeholders before taking action. Secondly, he advises to come to Japan with an open mind instead of thinking one has all the answers, but also not try to act Japanese but to "be yourself." Mr. Rubel explains: "I think if you just stay open-minded and just be yourself I think you can really enjoy yourself in Japan. It's an amazing culture. It's an amazing business society. Now this is my second time leaving Japan…The lessons from Japan still are relevant to daily business here."

Jean-Phillpe Oulevey takes us through his leadership journey in Japan, starting off from dusting shelves in retail stores to climbing Japan's career ladder and becoming the head of a global flower importing and distribution business. Mr. Oulevey originally studied in the United States where he was exposed to Japanese culture. After working in the finance industry for a while in the states, Mr. Oulevey moved to Japan where he first worked for a luxury goods company. He then moved onto a Japanese trading company and climbed the traditional ranks, becoming kacho in charge of purchasing at a fairly young age. After working for four years, Mr. Oulevey moved back to the US for an MBA and was rehired by the same company. Mr. Oulevey worked as an international Sales Manager, working with Sony Ericsson, liaising between their assembly lines in France and offices across Europe. Mr. Oulevey then took the offer to lead his current company, Greenwings, where he manages a growing team of around 30 employees.

Regarding his first few years of leadership experience, Mr. Oulevey recalls: "I was very young. So when you're young, everything's exciting, and maybe I didn't realize all the politics that could have gone behind the scene, I was just really focused back then on my job and delivering." Mr. Oulevey does point out that not speaking fluent Japanese at the time was a challenge with communication. However, he brought other strengths such as IT to the company to better the working environment, which helped him build trust with his colleagues. Additionally, Mr. Oulevey explains because he grew through the ranks to become kacho, he had already built the interpersonal relationships with his team and back up from other leaders, making it easier for him to gain credibility.

Transitioning into a management role at Greenwings was, according to Mr. Oulevey, a much more challenging task. Although the business of Greenwings had a solid customer database, there was much friction between the headquarters and Japan office when he first entered. Moreover, Mr. Oulevey was made responsible for certain restructuring of the company, making it harder for him to build trust at the initial stage. Mr. Oulevey also lost some key employees at the time. In order to deal with such challenges, Mr. Oulevey built alliances where he could and led "through others". He adds: "I have pushed and asked and did my learning without creating burden on the organization…Also without forcing my own view of things. I've been very patient into planting seeds in a way and I had the time to do so…[in] creating the culture that I wanted for the future." Mr. Oulevey also explains that doing groundwork to get buy-in from others before making a decision in a meeting can be a useful strategy as it could speed up the decision-making and implementation process. On innovation, Mr. Oulevey also thinks it is challenging to try to go beyond the status quo and take risks. He says it is important to have innovative people and create a culture where they can thrive – meaning not punishing people for mistakes and failures.

On building trust, Mr. Oulevey emphasizes the importance of "building your brand" and understanding Japan's cultural and business values and following them, including being on time and being reliable. Moreover, Mr. Oulevey thinks staying humble makes one more approachable and people will feel they can confide in their leader. In order to bond with his team, Mr. Oulevey spends time outside of work with them enjoying social activities. Yet he points out that every leader has their own style of building trust, and it is important to find a balance between engaging with the team outside of work and actual work.

To new incoming foreign leaders, Mr. Oulevey advises to have good time management abilities in order to be reliable and gain trust. Even if one wants to make changes, Mr. Oulevey emphasizes the need to fit into the Japanese culture first and take steps to make transitions. Mr. Oulevey recommends being polite and showing humility when communicating with Japanese people to be essential as a leader wanting to engage with one's team. He also adds the importance of identifying who one's key advisors will be, although he warns that language ability should not be the only quality to look for.

Dr. Jochen Legewie takes us through his 30 years of leadership journey in Japan, starting at Daimler and then as Partner and Chairman of Kekst CNC, a global public relations firm. Dr. Legewie only picked up Japanese by chance as a side hobby, but his unique background in Japanese specialization and language ability, combined with a PhD in economics gave him a competitive edge and landed him a research position at Sophia University. Dr. Legewie then left academia and started at DaimlerChrysler, which at the time was investing into Mitsubishi Motors. Dr. Legewie first started off on a contract role, providing expertise on Japan to the German executive team, but when the German CEO became the CEO of the entire company, Dr. Legewie became Officer Head of Communications, overseeing 100 people in customer relations and PR.

Dr. Legewie calls this experience leading a large team so early on in his leadership career to be "crazy." He reflects that this position was mainly building "cultural [bridges] in both directions" by convincing both the Japanese employees of Mitsubishi Motors and the German headquarters to work cooperatively. He recalls some of his early leadership challenge was being the middle person between the Mitsubishi Motors employees and German headquarters, as well as communicating and understanding English speaking employees who on the surface seemed to have a westernized way of working, but was in fact, resistant to change. When convincing people of various backgrounds to buy into the same direction of the company, Dr. Legewie says: "I found it very important to put on paper to visualize things that we are attempting, which is not necessarily a change. It's just the next step. Sometimes it was a big change, 180 degrees, but some were just the next step, but to make sure that people [understood] it, you had to put it on paper and go through it and invest time to explain it. [Additionally,] ask why are we doing this? Japanese people are smart if they understand the background. But very often, especially if it's implemented from the outside, the background is not convincing at first sight…but if you explain [the] reason, then there is a complete different level of buy in. So two steps first understand and then buy in. That would be my simple way."

While working at Daimler, Dr. Legewie seized the opportunity to maximize his leadership and communications experience to start a Tokyo office for his current company, Kekst CNC. He admits recruiting his team initially was a challenge, but by staying patient and investing in training, the organization has successfully built a team of highly skilled, bilingual consultants. Dr. Legewie says his employees are drawn to the company because of the global culture and flat hierarchical structure, which is appealing to those who have international experience as well as women who are prominent in the PR and Communications industry. Dr. Legewie adds that the organization encourages people to gain experience outside of Kekst CNC in other companies by working in-house, and then returning as a more experienced consultant.

On working and leading in Japan, Dr. Legewie points out that he has noticed Japanese workers tend to be fact and figure driven. He explains: "So you need to have frameworks and rules. And I go back to [explain] why is this, but then for the engagement this is only as a starting point. Engagement goes beyond. We want people to act on their own decisions. They should be proactive. And for this, you need to encourage and kick it off with some guidance in the beginning and tell people to take a risk...And then very visibly and openly reflect on this in group meetings and praise a person who has taken a risk or who has been proactive and do this in a way [that is] visible to others. And then people start to believe in you. And then you give this ownership and this responsibility." Dr. Legewie takes the same structured approach in delegation as well, clearly communicating to his staff what he expects and providing an explanation of how this delegation will benefit everyone, making the process more efficient. Additionally, when encouraging his team to be innovative, Dr. Legewie finds that some of the best ideas are born when he is not involved too much. He encourages brainstorming sessions amongst his staff without being a part of it, and then asks for a verbal summary.

On gaining trust, Dr. Legewie maintains open communication with his team and tries to be transparent as much as possible, sharing statistics and information from headquarters to the local office, including the profit and loss reports. Dr. Legewie explains: "And we are also very transparent on a global scale about our revenues to our employees. And here in Japan, I go one step further, even in, as you said being not only open about what I think we as a company is going and should go, but also the real facts, the figures. And this is of course trust-building because I know from many Japanese companies…people don't have an idea of the big picture."

On his advice to newcomers leading in Japan, Dr. Legewie recommends to "try to find out and not based on English language skills, but on other qualities who are the people in your team, whether it's 5,000 or five, who are the people in your team who get your story and have some commitment to the company." He adds these are the people who you want to partner with and seek advice. He advises that even if the other party does not speak English, by preparing something in advance and clearly communicating in a concise manner and giving them a chance to reflect, it is possible to make the connection. Dr. Legewie additionally recommends seeking advice from foreigners who have been living in Japan in similar situations, and to learn from those experiences. Lastly, Dr. Legewie advises to learn a few basic Japanese phrases. To those moving to Japan or curious about living in Japan, Dr. Legewie says: "Come here. It's a great country. I have talked over my study years to many, many expats who have been here...And the people say it is still a hidden gem. People don't know how great life here in Japan is…And so my advice is just do it, whether it's in the late twenties in your career or at a later point it's definitely rewarding and you might end up here longer than you thought."

Hans Heijligers shares his global leadership insight having led in over a dozen countries before becoming the Head of Japan for IHG Hotels and Resorts, a British multinational hospitality company. Mr. Heijligers first arrived in Japan in 2014 after having worked in Singapore and has been with IHG for seven years.

When comparing the different countries he has worked in, Mr. Heijligers says all countries are quite different, yet the cultural adaptation and leadership abilities required are quite similar. Although initially Mr. Heijligers learned that Japan has a very unique business culture, in finding common grounds he has been able to add value. As a foreign expat leader, Mr. Heijligers finds this particularly important when making important decisions. Hence, when developing an agenda and setting a strategy that works for the organization and the Japanese employees, he had done so in a collaborative way. Mr. Heijligers has also learned when to take a step back and stay patient. He adds: "If you allow the Japanese teams to have their own conversations, and if you're comfortable enough, [you can] say I don't need to be part of that…And start slowly, but surely build a culture around that." This kind of patient and collaborative approach has allowed Mr. Heijligers to build trust over time within his team. Mr. Heijligers further notes: "Japan is not so much about what you see…[it] is a lot about what you don't see…So learn to be...uncomfortable sometimes." In order to foster good relations, Mr. Heijligers says it is essential to have continuous conversations with the head office to communicate what will work best in the unique Japanese business culture.

On engagement and innovation, Mr. Heijligers explains it is important to understand what each individual "cares" about and base their mission and values on it. He says for IHG, "one of the things that you should care for is that you're here to make lives better for people." These people include the employees themselves as well as the customers, owners and other stakeholders. Mr. Heijligers also emphasizes how rich IHG's people culture is, and the organization provides a wealth of learning and development opportunities. He claims: "we put our arms around our people through coaching sessions mentoring…we help really for diversity equity and inclusion to become [an] integral part of everything that we do." Furthermore, IHG supports those that want to gain a global experience to work in hotels abroad. Since IHG hotels are scattered throughout Japan, Mr. Heijligers ensures the leadership team works with the general managers to come up with innovative ideas on what works best at the local hotel level. He also credits technology to have automated many of the administrative tasks so the staff can focus more on customer relationships. The IHG hotels app has also improved the employee and customer experience. Since the COVID pandemic, Mr. Heijligers aspires to focus ever more on building rich relationships with the IHG stakeholders to enable the organization to grow.

On his advice to new foreign leaders working in Japan, Mr. Heijligers advises to read up on the Japanese culture and understand a little about the historical background. Secondly, he urges people to listen, ask questions, and allow people to have their own conversations and show an interest, instead of just telling people what the agenda is and what they need to do. Thirdly, Mr. Heijligers recommends leaders to be open and vulnerable. He says: "Don't be afraid of sharing what you want to achieve. Be vulnerable as a leader…what we all have learned over the years in leadership is that when it goes wrong, it's your fault. When it goes, well, you got nothing to do with it. And just accept that."

Frank Packard takes us through his journey in Japan as well as different cultures and business experience in the financial industry. Mr. Packard was originally born in Japan and grew up in the US hoping to pursue law or journalism at Princeton University. After graduating, he lived in Cairo, Egypt for a while before returning to Wall Street to enter the financial industry, starting as an analyst at Paine Webber in 1984. He rapidly worked his way up and arrived in Tokyo in 1986 as the Vice President of the Tokyo branch. Since then, Mr. Packard has held leadership positions covering not only Japan but Asia Pacific regions at multinational financial corporations including Drexel Burnham, Bankers Trust and Bank of America. He is the Founder and President of Triple A Partners, an independent company focused on third-party fund-raising, equity research and corporate finance.

Much of his leadership style is modelled after what he had learned from his early days in finance from his mentors. On his first multinational leadership experience, Mr. Packard recalls trying to break down the hierarchy by making an open office seating arrangement, which was uncommon during the 80s and early 90s. Mr. Packard also recognized the diversity of Japanese people, with different interest, hobbies and background, which he found shocking in the beginning. He also points out that though he found it challenging to hold non work-related conversations initially, he gradually learned to "let people go at their own pace" to learn something outside of work about his staff. On engaging with the younger generation, Mr. Packard admits it is difficult as the youth have many more choices than those in the 1980s. On gaining trust, Mr. Packard claims that listening to people and having patience is key to winning them over in Japan. After gaining further experience leading a team in Hong Kong for Bankers Trust, Mr. Packard began a joint securities company focused on fund placement. He built on this experience as the HSBC head of North Asia of the Alternative Investment Group.

On team engagement, Mr. Packard consistently communicates to his staff about the mantra of the company which is broken down to three goal: to do legal business, do rewarding business and add value. He also notes the importance of ensuring the experience is enjoyable. Mr. Packard states that because of his team's bilingual capabilities, they have been successful in dealing with clients who need support in both languages that cannot be delivered by larger Japanese firms. Mr. Packard is also keen to providing people with more opportunities to expand and develop their career. For example, he has had an administrative staff take on more active roles in finance. Additionally, Mr. Packard emphasizes the importance of giving women equal opportunities as men in developing their career paths. Mr. Packard shows he trusts his team by allowing unlimited holidays, which allows people to work in a more flexible manner.

To newcoming leaders, Mr. Packard advises to be clear and transparent when communicating with Japanese staff, as they will take everything literally. On a similar note, he does not encourage people to work long hours in the office as executive assistants think they also have to work longer hours. Secondly, Mr. Packard has observed that Japanese are very state conscious and want to have consensus over large decisions. In order to be mindful of this, Mr. Packard advises to learn about the educational background of people to better understand them. Lastly, he advises to not forget to laugh and have moments of joy by being vulnerable and authentic.

Kiyo Weiss shared extensive insight into her path to leadership starting from an OL in a Japanese corporation to becoming the first female Director of Air Canada's Asia Pacific region. Born and raised in Japan, Ms. Weiss entered Mitsui & Company in an administrative role after graduation but became interested in pursuing a more active business career. She recalls: "watching the guys working globally going overseas all the time taking out their clients at the beautiful Japanese restaurants and luxurious places…really made me wonder if there's anything I can do, somebody like me, a women can do." After working for Mitsui for a year, Ms. Weiss brushed up her English skills at Simul Academy and entered Business International, a consulting subsidy of British Economist. After a year, Ms. Weiss found an opportunity to work for United Airlines as an Account Executive. Within 10 years working for United and starting a family, Ms. Weiss moved on to a sales training manager role and then became the first female manager leading a team of 150 people including call centres and ticketing offices. After being promoted to a sales manager role at United Airlines, Ms. Weiss was invited by Air Canada to be their head of Sales and Marketing, before becoming head of the Japan office and now, Asia Pacific.

Ms. Weiss's first leadership experience was leading 150 unionized employees working at United Airlines' call centres and ticketing offices. She claims this experience as extremely challenging, as she dealt with daily union issues from overtime work, customer complaints and wage negotiations. On being a young female leader, she recalls: "Being a woman, almost like a girl from their point of view, I think there were strong reservations by some of the people [in the beginning], but since I was young and energetic, I was very committed to be successful because my boss from the US trusted me. I worked really hard. I think I had a lot of sleepless nights dealing with the union members, but I think I had passion."

As a sales manager at United Airline, Ms. Weiss introduced certain American sales methodologies but recognized that Japanese clients and colleagues had different communication styles from their western counterparts. Thus, she encouraged her staff to develop their communication skills by learning how to ask better questions to their clients and focus on consultative sales. She also advised her team to take public speaking courses to gain more confidence, step out of their comfort zone and build a stronger presence. As the Director of APAC, Ms. Weiss explains other countries require training in different field. For example, with Australia, rather than communication skills, they would need more training in accountability. On moving from United Airlines to Air Canada, Ms. Weiss says as an active Star Alliance Committee Member, the Air Canada staff knew her from before, which made the transition between the two companies smoother.

On engagement, Ms. Weiss raises the importance of having small team activities like holding birthday tea time every month so that her staff gets to know her and each other on a more personal level. Ms. Weiss also encourages her staff to engage with members from other countries in regional meetings. By mixing her Australian, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese staff during these regional meetings, Ms. Weiss finds they are able to stimulate each other. Ms. Weiss explains: "I like those passionate energy [from other APAC staff] and I want the Japanese to be that way. They have different qualities that we value and they don't need to be the same, but still, if they can acquire that kind of emotional attachment in public, the team will flourish even better." Ms. Weiss also adds that by encouraging her Japanese staff to hold discussions in groups, they are more likely to present innovative ideas as they feel they will not be the sole individual who stands out. After the brainstorming sessions, Ms. Weiss also comes up with an action plan and assigns people to be responsible to leading an agenda with a set time frame, which she feels gives them a sense of responsibility and trust. Ms. Weiss claims: "I like to delegate…because I can show my confidence in that person so that the person will feel trusted and get motivated."

In order to gain trust from her employees, Ms. Weiss advises to communicate openly and show her vulnerability as she is not always the one with all the answers. She also adds that having the right balance between being flexible and decisive is key to leadership. She finds this is particularly the case, where Japanese people are used to receiving specific instructions and diligently following them. She maintains close communication with her direct reports by having one to one weekly meetings, and also holds group meetings as well. Ms. Weiss also advises new foreign leaders coming into Japan to not be discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm from the Japanese staff, as they take longer to open up and develop trust. She adds, "consensus building is a very important process in Japan. So [it is essential to] pay attention to others opinions, even though some have different opinions, [and to] show your effort in trying to get the consensus."

For women who want to further succeed in their careers while having a family, Ms. Weiss claims the importance of having a supportive partner. Moreover, she has observed women with certain set of skills such as specialization in law or accounting, having a global background, having an MBA to have been successful - although she adds this should not be the case in the future with more opportunities for women. Looking back on her own career path becoming a successful sales leader and Director, Ms. Weiss explains: "I was a good salesperson but I wasn't a super revenue generator. People say sometimes the best salesperson doesn't mean [they are] the best sales leader. So it's more like your communication skill, your presence, the way you present yourself, but I was given these opportunities because I was in sales."

Ms. Weiss's first leadership experience was leading 150 unionized employees working at United Airlines' call centres and ticketing offices. She claims this experience as extremely challenging, as she dealt with daily union issues from overtime work, customer complaints and wage negotiations. On being a young female leader, she recalls: "Being a woman, almost like a girl from their point of view, I think there were strong reservations by some of the people [in the beginning], but since I was young and energetic, I was very committed to be successful because my boss from the US trusted me. I worked really hard. I think I had a lot of sleepless nights dealing with the union members, but I think I had passion."

As a sales manager at United Airline, Ms. Weiss introduced certain American sales methodologies but recognized that Japanese clients and colleagues had different communication styles from their western counterparts. Thus, she encouraged her staff to develop their communication skills by learning how to ask better questions to their clients and focus on consultative sales. She also advised her team to take public speaking courses to gain more confidence, step out of their comfort zone and build a stronger presence. As the GM of APAC, Ms. Weiss explains other countries require training in different field. For example, with Australia, rather than communication skills, they would need more training in accountability. On moving from United Airlines to Air Canada, Ms. Weiss says as an active Star Alliance Committee Member, the Air Canada staff knew her from before, which made the transition between the two companies smoother.

On engagement, Ms. Weiss raises the importance of having small team activities like holding birthday tea time every month so that her staff gets to know her and each other on a more personal level. Ms. Weiss also encourages her staff to engage with members from other countries in regional meetings. By mixing her Australian, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese staff during these regional meetings, Ms. Weiss finds they are able to stimulate each other. Ms. Weiss explains: "I like those passionate energy [from other APAC staff] and I want the Japanese to be that way. They have different qualities that we value and they don't need to be the same, but still, if they can acquire that kind of emotional attachment in public, the team will flourish even better." Ms. Weiss also adds that by encouraging her Japanese staff to hold discussions in groups, they are more likely to present innovative ideas as they feel they will not be the sole individual who stands out. After the brainstorming sessions, Ms. Weiss also comes up with an action plan and assigns people to be responsible to leading an agenda with a set time frame, which she feels gives them a sense of responsibility and trust. Ms. Weiss claims: "I like to delegate…because I can show my confidence in that person so that the person will feel trusted and get motivated."

In order to gain trust from her employees, Ms. Weiss advises to communicate openly and show her vulnerability as she is not always the one with all the answers. She also adds that having the right balance between being flexible and decisive is key to leadership. She finds this is particularly the case, where Japanese people are used to receiving specific instructions and diligently following them. She maintains close communication with her direct reports by having one to one weekly meetings, and also holds group meetings as well. Ms. Weiss also advises new foreign leaders coming into Japan to not be discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm from the Japanese staff, as they take longer to open up and develop trust. She adds, "consensus building is a very important process in Japan. So [it is essential to] pay attention to others opinions, even though some have different opinions, [and to] show your effort in trying to get the consensus."

For women who want to further succeed in their careers while having a family, Ms. Weiss claims the importance of having a supportive partner. Moreover, she has observed women with certain set of skills such as specialization in law or accounting, having a global background, having an MBA to have been successful - although she adds this should not be the case in the future with more opportunities for women. Looking back on her own career path becoming a successful sales leader and General Manager, Ms. Weiss explains: "I was a good salesperson but I wasn't a super revenue generator. People say sometimes the best salesperson doesn't mean [they are] the best sales leader. So it's more like your communication skill, your presence, the way you present yourself, but I was given these opportunities because I was in sales."