CEO Insights Magazine

The world is growing profoundly across business and economy today, backed by technology advancements and more. Especially along the evolutions happening around, it is the staunch leadership of many top professionals who lead this growth, offering a beacon of guidance and a wealth of expertise to help organizations chart their course toward sustainable growth and enduring success. Momoko Kikuchi, CMO, Anfini is one the very few individuals who is blurring the competition with her expertise, and dedication to make a lasting impact.

Momoko is a proven leader in branding, marketing, and new business development. Her expertise lies in data-driven marketing and aligning business objectives with marketing strategies. CEO insights delves in deeper to explore her leadership and the professionalism she possesses. Let’s read through this exclusive interview.

Give a brief account about your professional background and experience. What is the motivation that fuels your daily routines?

I joined a major consulting firm as a new graduate and built my career focusing on data analysis, marketing strategies, and operational improvements. The skills I developed have become the foundation of my current marketing role at Anfini. Additionally, I've been involved in social media management since my student days, where I practiced self-branding and learned how to communicate value effectively.

My current motivation is to develop Anfini into an exciting environment that goes beyond being just a consulting firm. However, there are challenges that do obstruct development, like the high turnover due to demanding work and limited opportunities for hands-on experience. At Anfini, we prioritize creating a positive work environment with open communication and have a new business development division to provide more opportunities for our consultants.

Our goal at Anfini is to remain a valuable business partner for our clients and create a corporate culture where employees find joy in their work and feel that they are part of something innovative. To achieve this, my daily motivation is to strengthen internal branding to embed our vision within the company, enhance recruitment branding to attract new talent, and increase external marketing efforts to raise awareness of Anfini's vision. By doing so, we aim to articulate and promote the greatness of Anfini.

As the CMO, what are the latest strategic plans you have adopted to expand/optimize operations and to engage new audiences in the market?

Anfini focuses on human capital, data-driven management, and design management. We maximize employee skills, use data analysis for optimal solutions, and employ specialized designers. Our strength lies in internalizing the process from strategy to execution and maintaining a unified concept across branding and marketing.

Although Anfini has many talented consultants, since its foundation in 2021, we sometimes fall short in terms of recognition compared to larger firms. Therefore, we are focused on increasing its exposure and communicating its philosophy and strengths to a wider audience. The company uses a unique marketing framework called ‘ACCESS Theory’ to guide its consulting business clients and B2C customers. Anfini has also entered into a partnership agreement with SAP to strengthen its leadership in digital transformation. Hence these are the initiatives through which Anfini aims to continue being a company that provides unique value to our clients.

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

My leadership style focuses on creating a shared vision with the CEO and swiftly executing strategies to achieve it. Anfini's strength lies in integrating management and marketing, ensuring that marketing activities align with the company's vision. I am committed to team development, hence I incorporate the concept of servant leadership, emphasizing the importance of supporting the growth of team members. We can quickly update business strategies by reflecting marketing insights into management decisions. I prioritize team development and empower members to work in their own way. Our goal is to develop individuals with a strong foundation as consultants. I believe that fostering personal and team growth leads to overall success.

How do you keep yourself up-to-date with ongoing industry trends to steer your organization towards the future?

To keep our marketing strategies up to date with the latest industry trends, we use three main methods. First is ‘researching latest news’. We regularly check various news sites, consulting firms' websites, and venture companies' websites to study market and marketing trends in Japan. Secondly, we gather real voices by actively participating in exhibitions and events to gather direct feedback from attendees and conversations during business meetings to understand industry challenges. Thirdly, we emphasize monitoring social media trends and for that we closely monitor social media trends, competitor advertising, and creative strategies. These methods effectively help us build optimal marketing strategies for both B2C and B2B businesses.

What are the major challenges you have encountered initially while establishing yourself as a successful leader? How did you overcome them to emerge as a successful professional?

When I started at Anfini, one of our main challenges was defining our market value. To address this, I worked with the CEO to set company-wide goals, focusing on flexibility and speed. We also integrated the marketing team with new business developments from the start to strengthen our services. Additionally, I focused on developing team members' consulting and marketing skills to improve overall organizational performance.

What is the future destination you are heading towards?

Anfini's future vision focuses on three key elements: 'strengthening the brand', 'making work stylish', and 'creating excitement and thrill'. To achieve brand strengthening, we aim to communicate Anfini's value through increased media exposure, stronger partnerships, and real events. We also emphasize consistent brand experiences digitally and in real life through brand storytelling. In our pursuit of creating excitement and thrill, we're developing projects to lead the market with unexpected ideas and deliver new value. Our goal is for the brand to continue growing through active participation in creating new value and shaping the future of Anfini.

Momoko Kikuchi, CMO, Anfini

As a visionary CMO at Anfini, Momoko is skilled in aligning business goals with marketing strategies to drive growth and create impactful brand experiences. She specializes in data-driven marketing and operational excellence.