To prevent rigidity caused by organizational expansion is essential. It's necessary to preserve the benefits of being able to achieve what you want to do.
Hello, this is Takahashi from the Corporate Planning Division. This time, I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Sasakawa, an executive officer in the Management Headquarters. Mr. Sasakawa has a background of success in major financial and IT companies, and also holds a lawyer qualification. He joined Reazon seeking further challenges. During our conversation, he shared insights gained from his career experiences that fostered his spirit of challenge, perspectives necessary for organizational expansion, and his future goals. His insights would be highly valuable for companies transitioning from startups to large-scale organizations. Please take a moment to read through his interview; I believe you will find it very informative.
Gosuke Sasakawa Executive Officer, Management Headquarters, Corporate Planning and Development Department Director, Reazon Holdings
Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Policy Management. Started career at a major trust bank, later obtaining a lawyer qualification. Moved to a leading IT company operating a messenger app's privacy section for new opportunities. In July 2023, attracted by Reazon's rapid expansion, joined as CISO, involved in formulating information security rules. Also responsible for governance enhancement and promoting digital transformation (DX), attempting a multifaceted approach to organizational change.
While working, he obtained his lawyer qualification. His career was a continuous journey of study and challenges.
First, please tell us about your career so far, Mr. Sasakawa.
I joined a trust bank as a new graduate in 2004. The bank had operations such as real estate mediation and appraisal, and as the company recommended acquiring the real estate appraiser qualification, I utilized the system for new graduate employees to become real estate appraiser trainees and passed the exam in my first year. Subsequently, I worked on real estate fund operations. Through tasks like drafting contracts, I keenly realized the importance of understanding the law, so I decided to pursue a lawyer qualification to study thoroughly.
That's impressive! Did you obtain your lawyer qualification while working?
Yes. I attended evening law school while working in the bank's legal department. After obtaining my lawyer qualification, I also worked at a law firm for two years and was involved in legal work for 12 years. However, I began to feel the desire not only to specialize in one thing but also to try new challenges. So, I switched careers to the privacy section of a major IT company that operates a messenger app.
Moving from a legal background to IT is a significant career change! What kind of work did you do there?
I was involved in formulating policies and strategies while running alongside the development team on how to protect personal information and privacy collected by services. For example, accumulating a user's location information through location-based services allows a certain level of tracking of their actions. If such information were accessible to anyone, it could lead to privacy breaches, so we conducted authorization settings considering various conditions. By the way, I didn't have technical knowledge initially when I changed jobs, so I studied from scratch, looking up specialized terms one by one.
Your career is a continuous series of challenges and learning. Why do you have such a strong spirit of challenge?
It might stem from my experience with an NPO that organized overseas internships during university. As a freshman, I raised my hand to lead an event organized solely by first-year students, despite my immaturity and causing inconvenience to others. From that point on, I began to develop a habit of challenging myself. Subsequently, I actively volunteered in NPO activities, and when I hesitated about entering graduate school twice, it led to a habit of taking on challenges.
Utilizing expertise in law and security to solve organizational challenges
Your university experiences are still relevant today. How did you come to work at Reazon?
I wasn't actively job hunting in my previous job, but I received a DM from Reazon via a business-oriented SNS saying they were looking for someone who could be a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). It was rare to receive a direct DM from a company, so I decided to hear them out and had a casual meeting. I felt that if I were to challenge myself next, a company like Reazon would be suitable, so I seriously began considering a career change. Meeting the employees, I felt that Reazon's environment and culture suited me very well, and after being invited to a drinking party following the casual meeting, I decided to change jobs.
It seems your spirit of challenge was stimulated, leading you to change jobs. Could you tell us about your current job?
As an executive officer in the management headquarters, I play a role in the overall operation of the management headquarters. Additionally, I launched the Corporate Planning and Development Department and am involved in discovering and solving organizational issues through three units: Information Security, DX & Corporate Services, and Governance. While Reazon's organizational size is expanding year by year, the tasks that a company should undertake change with scale. Initially, tasks that could be done manually may require the introduction and operation of solutions as the scale increases. Therefore, I am attempting to approach the issues in the Corporate Department appropriately, utilizing my experience working in large corporations.
What specific improvements are you working on?
On the governance side, we are systematizing company-wide rules by organizing rules that each department has independently established. Also, we are promoting DX by introducing necessary systems and automating tasks using the functions of external services. Regarding information security, we evaluate security aspects of our company and outsourced partners.
You are working on creating appropriate rules and environments according to the organization's scale. What do you find fulfilling about your work?
It's the opportunity to challenge anything. Originally, I was scheduled to be in charge of information security-related tasks, but after joining the company, I felt that solving governance and DX issues was also urgent and began working on them. It's gratifying that my initiatives have been accepted without being denied by those around me. Also, when I can lead to solutions by hearing unexpressed discomforts from various departments' employees, I feel fulfilled when they express their gratitude.
Exchanging frank views with young employees to identify potential issues
It's a characteristic episode of Reazon to actively welcome actions necessary for the company. What did you notice after joining Reazon?
In my previous job, my interaction with other departments was limited to areas where it was directly necessary. However, at Reazon, I was surprised that I could deeply engage in the entire business. Since the company operates a wide range of businesses such as advertising, gaming, and delivery services, I need to study the characteristics and markets of each service. It's purely enjoyable because my intellectual curiosity is stimulated. Also, it was refreshing to join a company that is unlisted and has almost no involvement with regulatory authorities. When making decisions, whereas policy formulation and coordination with various departments were necessary in my previous job, at Reazon, I can realize what I truly believe should be done swiftly.
Could you please share with us the challenges you currently feel most keenly about?
I feel the difficulty in adapting to changes required as the organization scales up. Based on past experiences, I realize that what is expected differs greatly between organizations of 100, 1000, and 10,000 people, making it significantly challenging to respond to the necessary changes. Part of why I joined Reazon, which continues to expand, is my aspiration to achieve ideal organizational development by overcoming these challenges inherent in the growth phase. It's healthy for an organization to experience growing pains as it expands. To overcome this, I believe we need robust communication and the ability to tackle various challenges. Adapting consciously to changes is crucial; when an organization rapidly expands, there is often a gap between current reality and the mindset carried over from when it was smaller. It's a complex task that cannot be achieved overnight.
What efforts are you undertaking to achieve effective communication?
I regularly engage in small-group discussions like one-on-ones with employees and superiors who share awareness of issues, including those from other departments. I also place importance on social interactions such as drinking sessions. Actively interacting with new graduates and young employees, we uncover the underlying issues within corporate and business departments in an open environment. As we continue to generate outputs for issue resolution, more consultations like "Can this also be resolved?" are likely to increase. This iterative improvement cycle accelerates, accumulating improvements like a snowball effect. I aim for a state where such consultations constantly come in, leaving behind tangible achievements one by one.
To prevent the adverse effects of organizational expansion and further enhance Reazon's uniqueness,
That's a pivotal role in navigating organizational change! Next, could you tell us about what you appreciate most about working at Reazon?
I believe it's the ability for people with the will and capability to realize their dreams. In large corporations, despite being able to tackle significant challenges in scale, there are limits to the direction and flexibility of what can be done. It often falls into a cycle of "it's against the rules" or "it's a no-go." When these become normalized, it can halt positive cycles and even lead to cultural rigidity. While some individuals who feel these limitations may choose to start their own ventures, they often encounter barriers such as funding, resources, support systems, and external environments. At Reazon, however, there is a solid support system and a conducive environment where capable colleagues can challenge themselves within a wide range of business domains. Essentially, Reazon combines the strengths of a large corporation and a venture. It's a place where those with aspirations and abilities can achieve what they want, which I think is something extraordinarily difficult to achieve in many other places.
Indeed, an environment where it's easier to challenge oneself both in terms of resources and corporate culture is a significant advantage of Reazon. Finally, could you share your goals for the future?
I want to continue supporting everyone in realizing their dreams without allowing the drawbacks typical of large corporations to arise. My experiences in large corporations have made me keenly aware of the challenges associated with organizational expansion. As the scale increases, it becomes harder for communication to flow smoothly across all levels, leading to difficulties in aligning intentions and getting tied up in rigid rules. However, by firmly establishing rules as a framework and widely instilling corporate culture among employees, I believe we can avoid such challenges and drawbacks. Upholding Reazon's strengths, where following necessary rules enables pursuing desired goals and even allows for large-scale challenges, is something I want to maintain and expand in the future.
By safeguarding our strengths while expanding the organization, Reazon seems poised to enter a new stage! Thank you very much for your valuable insights today!
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