CEO Insights Magazine

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) plays a pivotal role in the corporate landscape of the Japan, steering organizations through the unique opportunities that define the region. In this dynamic environment, marked by a blend of tradition and rapid modernization, the COO's responsibilities extend far beyond conventional operational over sight. They play a pivotal role in the corporate landscape of Japan, contributing significantly to organizational success and development. As key members of the executive leadership team, COOs in Japan are entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing day-to-day operations, ensuring efficiency, and aligning business strategies with overarching goals.

In an exclusive conversation with CEO Insights Asia, Ryosuke spoke about his professional journey and the challenges faced to flourish as a successful leader.

Throw some light on your professional background and experiences.

After graduating from university, I started my career at a major digital advertising agency, where I gained extensive experience working on numerous digital marketing projects. I then transitioned to a global foreign consulting firm, taking on the role of a digital marketing consultant. In this position, I was involved in various projects within the distribution, manufacturing, and consumer goods industries. I worked with foreign and domestic cosmetics companies on DX promotion projects, formulating and conceptualizing data strategies, and providing PMI support. Subsequently, I founded Rise Project, an advertising agency, and also became the strategic director of a creative agency. In February 2017, I established Massive Act, a company that provides a wide range of digital consulting services. Since 2021, Massive Act has focused on organizational growth and has achieved seven consecutive periods of increased revenue and profit. As the project director, I continue to be at the forefront, dedicating myself to supporting clients with their projects.

How are you defining long-term business goals of the company?

Our company's mission is to create the starting point for transformation. We realize business growth for our client companies through DX consulting and digital marketing support. For the time being, our goal is to accelerate the digital shift within Japan and make a significant business impact on the Japanese economy. In the case of B2B businesses, many stakeholders are surrounding the company.

Furthermore, digital marketing and digital transformation involve all departments, which we believe has an even greater impact on society. Therefore, our company's focus is on providing B2B services centered around digital transformation, continuously creating starting points for change in society. In terms of our services, we aim to achieve ‘business growth support’ through digital solutions. We also plan to release derivative businesses from our existing services, such as HR DX-related products. We intend to continue expanding our services while maintaining the core value and focus of our business without wavering.

How do you foster a learning culture in your team? How do you guide them to draw valuable insights from the market to help the company stay informed of the latest trends in technology?

We focus on developing ‘X personnel (= change agents)’ in the DX domain. We believe that the spread of DX requires not only digital literacy but also the drive to involve diverse departments and stakeholders, as well as strong communication skills. Therefore, we have developed our own educational programs to strongly support our members' career development.

As a result of these efforts, despite being a small team, we have received numerous recognitions, including certifications from government agencies and awards from accredited organizations.

In our first participation in the largest HR DX AWARDS FINAL in Japan, we received the Excellence Award. Furthermore, we ranked 50th in APAC and second in Japan in the ‘High-Growth Companies AsiaPacific 2024’ by the Financial Times.

The defining characteristic of Massive Act is its ‘member-driven management’ style

Tell us about your leadership approach. What are the guidelines or methodologies you follow as a leader?

The defining characteristic of our management style is ‘member-driven management’. I always make decisions with a ‘members first’ approach. The source of this belief stems from my past experiences of failure in entrepreneurship. I was blinded by the rapid expansion of the business and neglected to care for my employees, which led to the collapse of the team. From that lesson, I have come to firmly believe that behind every piece of work, there are always ‘people’.

With regret from my first company in mind, I embarked on a large-scale challenge at Massive Act to make employee autonomy the foundation of our management.

What is your anticipation about the market, going forward? What kinds of impacts do you see yourself creating in your professional journey ahead?

We're in a transitional period of the AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) revolution. It is predicted that routine tasks and non-intellectual production work will be replaced by AI, and the role of humans will be limited to setting goals and constructing and promoting execution processes.

Our company has a strong advantage in executing changes, so this is an excellent opportunity for us. We aim to establish our position as a professional firm boasting overwhelming high productivity in the market.

In light of your strong professional experience within the industry, what would be your advice to budding industry leaders?

It has been about 10 years since the term ‘DX’ started being used, and during this period, the digital literacy of the market has dramatically improved. In an era where information asymmetry makes it difficult to provide value to society, I believe it is a time when execution and driving force are highly sought after. As pioneers exploring unknown worlds together, I look forward to sharpening our skills and growing together.

Ryosuke Takahagi, CEO

Having received multiple awards at a major digital agency, Ryosuke transitioning to the digital marketing division of a consulting firm has led several DX projects, data strategy, and PMI support for both international and domestic cosmetic groups. Subsequently, he founded Rise Project, an advertising agency, and Massive Act, which provides comprehensive digital consulting services.

•Hobbies:Playing with children, leisure
•Favorite Cuisine:Kaiseki
•Favorite Book:Corporate Counsel: What is Strategic Thinking?
•Favorite Travel Destination:Silicon valley, West Coast of America

Awards & Recognition:
•Group Annual MVP
•Best MGR Award
•Consecutive Achievement Record/Best Manager Award
recipient
•Established a 41-month consecutive achievement record