![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Kirin-Class.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn November 20th, Takayuki Fuse, Senior Executive of Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. since March 2019, gave a lecture at Waseda University. Mr. Fuse shared his insights into management and corporate leadership by weaving both personal and professional anecdotes to engage the audience, most of whom were students. The lecture was part of an effort by the university to invite alumni to share their experiences with current students. Mr. Fuse\u2019s lecture touched on several topics including his personal philosophy, his company\u2019s history and its growth.<\/p>\n
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Personal experiences can have a significant impact on how one becomes a company leader and what kind of leader the person becomes. Mr. Fuse recalled his time at Waseda as a learning experience, which he said would later help him professionally as well. \u201cI learned a lot at Waseda, and my experiences have helped me work with others later in life, especially in the workplace,\u201d he said. Although he admitted that he had not been particularly invested in academics as a student\u2014 he had spent most of his college days socializing with friends and playing Mahjong\u2014 he said college had taught him interpersonal skills. He told students to develop their emotional intelligence (EQ). Socializing was, in retrospect, a great way for him to learn about people and working with others, he said.<\/p>\n
He rose through the company ranks and became the President and CEO. However, he did not support the traditional culture of hierarchy and seniority. He said he tries to work with employees from different positions, especially with new and younger colleagues. He showed pictures of him with his younger colleagues, including a recent college graduate. \u201cPeople call me an empathetic leader,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Fuse became Chair of Kirin Group\u2019s Koiwai Dairy Products in 2010. The company, launched in 1976, has origins dating back to 1891 in the Koiwai Farm in Iwate prefecture. After the March 2011 earthquake that hit Japan\u2019s northeast region, his company committed to serving customers in the disaster-hit areas, which included Iwate. Since established, it developed fermented butter in 1902 and launched the industry\u2019s first kind of fermented yogurt in 1984, according to the company. To this day, the company sells the \u201cKoiwai Namanyu 100% Yogurt,\u201d which was Japan\u2019s first \u201cprefermented manufacturing first premium yogurt.\u201d This was considered innovative because previously, the prefermentation process had only been used to produce \u201cdrinkable yogurt\u201d; however, the company applied this process to plain yogurt as well. Mr. Fuse said most of the dairy industry barely makes profit off milk; companies make profit by selling other dairy products such as yogurt, cheese and butter. Eventually, because his company concentrated on customer\u2019s needs and preferences, the revenue increased by 130%, which boosted employee motivation as well. He said that the company\u2019s motto is to put \u201ccustomer\u2019s first.\u201d He focused on production based on customers\u2019 preferences.<\/p>\n
Leadership and management are no mean feats; however, He showed the audience a news-paper article that reported on the \u201cfailure\u201d of Kirin Beer, adding that he felt kuyashii\u2014 both frustrated and humiliated. In the first year as the branch chair of Osaka, I could not produce ideal results. At the end of the first year, I spoke with all the branch employees and apologized to them.<\/p>\n
Mr. Fuse said mindsets can make a difference. However, he said this fueled him and his company to improve. Taking risks, being responsive to customer\u2019s needs, and honestly discussing failures and successes can, in the long run, benefit companies. This approach applies not only to leaders, but also to employees. I felt that I could not repeat [the results of] the second year\u2026\u201d He decided to focus on a couple products and create a \u201cnew kind of beer that would make people happy.\u201d He set a new goal for the second year: to have employees go around 123 stores a day. The young employees\u2019 efforts infiltrated throughout the company as they influenced more senior employees; the company, as an organization, reached the same wavelength, which ultimately turned into unbelievable energy, he said. He recalled that the employees who had been set to retire, said to him, \u201cI was able to do amazing work in the end.\u201d \u201cI felt firsthand that leadership is an amazing job because it can make people\u2019s lives happier,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The innovations and progress continue. Kirin Brewery has changed its brand image several times, according to Mr. Fuse. His company now advertises its products with the Kirin Brewery logo on the center of its beer cans, which he said was unprecedented. The company established the Spring Valley Brewery across Japan, which serves the company\u2019s craft beer to customers and gives tours to show the brewery, distinguishing its ambience from the izakayas\u2014 Japanese-style bars.<\/p>\n
After Mr. Fuse\u2019s lecture, several students raised their hands to ask questions. \u201cWhy do you prioritize people over money?\u201d a student asked during the Q & A session. CEO Fuse responded that as a leader of a private company, making profits is a top priority. However, he said that to achieve the company\u2019s goals, \u201cworking with people is important.\u201d Another student asked about Kirin\u2019s approach to climate change, and how it applies Corporate Social Responsibility to address it. At one point in the presentation, Mr. Fuse had touched on Kirin\u2019s CSR initiatives, during which he dis-cussed his company\u2019s role in recycling items. As a follow-up, a student asked him to specify Kirin\u2019s sustainability initiatives and process\u2014 from production to recycling. \u201cThat\u2019s a hard question to answer,\u201d he said, adding that his company must align with the Sustainability Goals presented by the United Nations in 2015.<\/p>\n
The purpose of such lectures was to expose and provide new opportunities for students. The courses are for students to not only learn theories but also use practical applications of business models and philosophies, thereby enhancing their understanding of business and commerce. The lecture host and Cainz CEO Tsuchiya said:<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses including retailing become more intriguing the more
\nyou learn about it. Unfortunately, we rarely have the opportunity
\nto appreciate its profoundness in everyday life. In our series of
\nsponsored lectures, we invite trailblazers from various fields to
\nshare with you the fascination of the world of commerce. I hope
\nour lectures would not only introduce you to these great leaders,
\nbut also help you explore and expand possible future career options.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Fuse\u2019s talk was informative and insightful because he not only discussed his company\u2019s approaches to business, but also because he shared his personal philosophy that led him to his role. Personally, his talk emphasized the importance of balancing results and process. He taught me the importance of making the most of student life, both in and out of the classroom because our time now can lead to opportunities. It was a privilege to have been able to attend the event and gain in-sights into corporate leadership from a Waseda alum and CEO of a major Japanese company.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
*This article was written and contributed by the following student.<\/em><\/p>\n Student Contributor<\/strong> On November 20th, Takayuki Fuse, Senior Executive of Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. since March 2019, gave a lecture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73281,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,117],"tags":[370,366],"class_list":["post-73280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-topic","tag-contributor-en","tag-guest-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73280"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75004,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73280\/revisions\/75004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/top\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarina Yoshimura (4th Year Student)
\nSchool of International Liberal Studies<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"