Who we are
We are Tokyo’s premier retained search partner offering “Big Five” quality, authenticity, and credibility delivered with the creativity, flexibility, efficiency, and personal touch of a modern boutique. We bring a distinctive blend that sets us apart from other Tokyo-based firms, combining executive search with coaching DNA, Japanese with international business backgrounds, heritage with disruptive industry experience, and academic credentials with commercial track records. All aspects of our engagement with clients as well as individual leaders are focused and energized through a holistic discovery-based and coaching-driven approach, elevating our relationships to focus on what’s most important: your unique mission and purpose, the game-changing possibilities, and the ideal destinations ahead.
Our purpose
To help exceptional leaders and their organizations actualize their purpose and achieve extraordinary goals in Japan.
What we do
We help leaders make critical senior level talent decisions to actualize the potential of their businesses in Japan. We do this by engaging our clients in an ongoing dialogue that brings fresh insights and renewed clarity to their unique values, mission, and purpose, as well as the organizational and people-related possibilities they can achieve with the right leadership in place. Our expertise lies in designing and executing a customized search strategy to identify, recruit, and onboard new leaders with the right values and motivation when the optimal solution is an external executive hire, and in assessing and coaching internal leaders when the right talent may already exist within the organization.
Our clients
Our clients are distinctive purpose-driven brands. Big and small, disruptive and established, our clients strive to bring a positive value or service to consumers and customers in a Japan-World context.
Our services
EXECUTIVE SEARCH
COACHING & ASSESSMENT
THINKTANK
Executive search - our areas of expertise
MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
Digital-savvy pioneers with a demonstrated edge in modernizing distribution, licensing, partnerships, channel strategy, and marketing & publicity to deliver mind-blowing content in game-changing ways to consumers in Japan.
SPORTS & LIFESTYLE
High-impact business leaders passionate about developing and bringing to market holistic multi-channel products and brands shaped by leading-edge innovation and design - that energize all touchpoints of modern consumers’ lives.
FASTMOVINGCONSUMERGOODS
Strategic people-driven executives with a track record of engaging and influencing through complex international organizations, leveraging global resources to grow market share in Japan, and exporting “made-in-Japan” ideas to the rest of the world.
Performance oriented executives with a track record of implementing successful turn-arounds, integrating technology into legacy structures and processes, nurturing best-in-class teams, and collaborating seamlessly with key global stakeholders around the world.
MANUFACTURING
Dynamic and visionary commercial professionals who bring a fresh approach to retail, balancing creativity and brand appreciation with a data-driven approach, and evangelizing new ideas and omni-channel strategies for Japan.
RETAIL & FASHION
Leaders who know how to motivate, inspire, shape, scale, and help others grow in a digital environment - able to connect the dots between data and brand, traditional and modern worlds, Western and Japanese contexts, and from Gen X to Gen Z.
DIGITAL & ONLINE
VP SALES & OPERATIONS
CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
CEO & GENERAL MANAGER
CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER
CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER
Begin the Journey
Set a strong foundation for partnership: coach and coachee get to know each other, talk about the process and milestones, agree on how to work together, align on expectations, and clarify what we want to accomplish through coaching.
360 Assessment & Feedback
Implement individual and stakeholder capability-based interviews to gain rigorous 360 feedback and clarity around strengths, preferences, expectations, and growth opportunities. Includes Saville Wave® Professional styles assessment.
Design Purpose, Vision & Goals Statement
Co-creating a “PV&G” statement clearly outlining the ideal “To-Be”, with the visible behaviours that will demonstrate individual and team progress, and the rituals and habits that will help overcome barriers to arriving at the agreed destination.
COACHING & ASSESSMENT
Our stakeholder-centred coaching programs are carefully tailored to each client’s unique context, and include the elements below.
About us
TOSHI MORI
Senior Advisor
Toshi is passionate about helping to bridge Japan with the world. He has spent his career as a “business ambassador” for Japan, working in multiple international executive roles across the US, Canada, and Europe leading a diversity of businesses for Mitsubishi Corporation - Japan’s largest and most successful trading company. During his tenure with Mitsubishi, positions he held included SVP Mitsubishi Europe and Group COO, Living Essentials Group covering the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South and North America…
HENRY OSBORN
Partner & Representative Director
Henry has dedicated his career to helping global brands grow and actualize their potential in Japan through enhanced leadership, creativity, engagement, and innovation. With a background across strategic marketing communications, executive search, leadership assessment, and executive coaching, he has had the privilege of supporting some of the world’s most impactful brands including the likes of Red Bull, Netflix, Nike, Salesforce, BMW, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…
Our pledge
We tell the truth, maintaining integrity, honesty, openness, and transparency in everything we do.
We take on work only with clients whose values, mission, brand, and impact we believe in.
We are in a hurry and deliver fast. At the same time, we will never compromise on the quality of our work.
Confidentiality is paramount; we consider confidential dialogue with clients and candidates a responsibility, privilege, and a strategic imperative.
We engage in every partnership with a discovery-oriented approach, delivering flexibility and personalization to match each unique
context and need.
We care deeply for the long-term wellbeing of our clients and candidates, and strive to add value to our relationships wherever
we can.
We take on work only where we are confident in delivering on an agreed successful outcome.
We are committed to helping our clients enhance diversity - and believe diverse organizations are healthier, happier, and have more fun.
Purpose matters
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.”
Steve Jobs
We believe purpose matters. That’s why we invest significant time up-front into conversations with both individuals and clients specifically aimed at better understanding and articulating their unique purpose in the world. Research shows people driven by a clear purpose at work are happier, more engaged, and even live longer. Research also shows that companies with a clear purpose outperform their competition, attract and retain better talent, and are more inspiring places to work. And while we’re on the subject of work - on average, we spend close to one-third of our lives working. That’s about 90,000 hours over one lifetime. Finding a place of work where your purpose can shine will change your life - and change your organization.
