News & Highlights

  • JUNE 2023
  • EVENT

HBS in Tokyo: An Evening with Dean Srikant Datar

Dean Srikant Datar made his first visit to Japan as Dean of Harvard Business School in June 2023. Nearly 200 alumni and friends enjoyed the unique opportunity to meet the Dean, connect and network with other alumni in the region, and hear how the School was taking the lead on addressing critical challenges facing business and society.
  • FEBRUARY 2023
  • EVENT

Introduction to Private Equity with Professor Paul Gompers

The Japan Research Center and Academyhills co-hosted an in-person event with Professor Paul Gompers in February 2023. Professor Gompers discussed the basics of private equity using his book “Advanced Introduction to Private Equity.” Nearly 60 people, including HBS alums and friends, joined and enjoyed the interactive session.
  • JANUARY 2023
  • MBA EXPERIENCE

The Global Classroom: Student Immersion in Japan

As part of the elective curriculum within the MBA program, students have the opportunity in their second year to enroll in an Immersive Field Course – or “IFC.” The Japan IFC was started in 2012 and led by Professor Hiro Takeuchi as a response to the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. The program has evolved as the reconstruction has progressed. The team-based consulting project location shifted to Tokyo in 2018, and the theme is “Innovation through the Fusion of Digital and Analog.” However, the group still had the opportunity to visit the Tohoku region that suffered from the disaster for a weekend. This year, Professor Hiro Takeuchi and Professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell from the School’s Strategy Unit led 45 students to Japan for 10 days. During their stay in Japan, students were involved in three types of activities: 1) team-based consulting projects for companies in Tokyo; 2) group activities to learn about and contribute to the disaster-affected areas in the Tohoku region; and 3) immersive experiences in traditional and modern Japanese culture. This was the 10th year Professor Takeuchi taught the Japan IFC and his last MBA class he taught. Also, the last day of the course was Professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell’s birthday. The students did a lovely celebration for Hiro and Ramon at the closing dinner.
  • AUGUST 2022
  • Case Centennial

In-person MBA Information Session in Tokyo

The Japan Research Center organized an in-person MBA Information Session in Tokyo for the first time in three years. The session was designed for prospective applicants to learn more about the MBA program curriculum, admission process, financial aid, and life at HBS. Several alums in Japan joined as panelists, and they shared their experience at HBS and how it has impacted their lives. The participants enjoyed meeting local alums in person.

New Research on the Region

  • August 2023
  • Case

BYD, China, and Global Electric Vehicle Rivalry

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Max Hancock

In 2023, BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, surpassed Tesla to become the world's best-selling EV brand. BYD began selling mobile phone batteries in 1995, acquired a license to sell vehicles in 2002, and spent two decades building its EV brand, growing its staff, and vertically integrating its supply chain. But did the company have what it took to hang on to its spot at the top of the global EV market? Tesla was still a force to be reckoned with, and BYD faced competition from legacy gas-powered carmakers in the U.S., Germany, Japan, and Korea, which were racing to electrify their product offerings. Some of these brands had more than a hundred years' experience bringing vehicles to market. Which carmaker's strategy would win the global competition for EV market control?

  • 2023
  • Book

Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones

Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should business leaders play a role in solving society’s problems? For decades, CEOs have been told that their only responsibility is to the bottom line. But consensus is growing that companies―and their leaders―must engage with their social, political, and environmental contexts. Jones distinguishes deep responsibility, which can deliver radical social and ecological responses, from corporate social responsibility, which is often little more than window dressing. Deeply Responsible Business provides a historical perspective on the social responsibility of business, going back to the Quaker capitalism of George Cadbury and the worker solidarity of Edward Filene and carrying us through to impact investing and the B-corps. Jones profiles exemplary business leaders from around the world who combined profits with social purpose to confront inequality, inner-city blight, and ecological degradation, while navigating restrictive laws and authoritarian regimes. The business leaders profiled in this book were motivated by bedrock values and sometimes driven by faith. They chose to operate in socially productive fields, interacted with humility with stakeholders, and felt a duty to support their communities. While far from perfect, each one showed that profit and purpose could be reconciled. Many of their businesses were wildly successful―though financial success was not their only metric of achievement. As many companies seek to coopt more ethically sensitized consumers, Jones gives us a new perspective to tackle tough questions and envisions a future in which companies and entrepreneurs can play a key role in healing our communities and protecting the natural world.

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Tokyo Staff

Nobuo Sato
Executive Director
→ Biography
Akiko Kanno
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Akiko Saito
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Yukari Takizawa
Office Manager