Joining KKE, from a wish be involved with people and society

I spent my junior high and high school years at an all-girls school in Tokyo. Until junior high school, I was terrible at studying, but when I entered high school, I found physics to be so fun that I decided to go into sciences. When I came to choose a university, I thought I would like to experience a variety of different academic fields: this is why I opted for a university where almost all the schools were located in Yotsuya.

My major at graduate school was in the field of condensed matter physics, involving a lot of laboratory experiments. During my time there, I gradually came to feel that I wanted to use my knowledge to work with people and society, making them happier, rather than pursuing research in depth, so I decided to go into employment.

I first heard about KKE when I attended a seminar for students about multi-agent simulation. KKE has a wide range of work and industries they are involved in, and what impressed me was the flat relationship between the management and the hiring manager when they were talking to the students. I didn't feel any of the unnaturalness that you sometimes get with job hunting at major companies, and I decided to apply for KKE, feeling that they were a company that would listen to me, as an individual, with a genuine interest.

From product manager to head of corporate planning section; now, into marketing

Soon after joining the company, I was assigned to the Simulation-Based Design (SBD) Sales Department. This department provides structural and fluid analysis technology to companies in the manufacturing industry. At the time, the SBD Sales Department had signed a contract with a Canadian software company that specialises in electromagnetic field analysis, and the plan was to develop this business in Japan. I was a new employee, but I was suddenly assigned as a product manager and put in charge of handling both technical and sales matters. As I had no knowledge of electromagnetic field analysis, I did everything I could think of, such as meeting with the developers in web conferences on a near-daily basis to learn the technology, getting customers using the software for free and taking their feedback, and so on. I translated the manual, exhibited at trade shows, held trial seminars, set up sales channels through distributors, and in a few years we were able to expand the business to the tens of millions of yen scale.

After that, I passed on this electromagnetic field analysis business to a younger colleague, and shouldered the role of product manager for a structural and thermal fluid analysis product, which was the main line of business in the department at the time. My role was to draw up sales budget and action plans, and then execute them as a team. I also acquired some experience as a product manager in other fields.

Then, on the occasion of the end of the contract of the product I was in charge of, I was transferred to the Corporate Planning Section. At the same time, I was also made a section manager, and I found myself in an unknown role in an unknown department. At first, due to a shortage of staff, we tended to be stuck in routine tasks. But by streamlining the work, we were able to spend more time reflecting and discussing, allowing us to focus on planning the company's expansion.

As our company has a diverse range of business fields, figuring out how to maximize our company's value in general has been the most difficult, yet also the most enjoyable part of my job in the Corporate Planning Section. We have been working on creating frameworks to improve this value from various aspects, such as formulating annual plans, reviewing evaluation systems, and investing in R&D activities for the future, as well as managing our daily business performance.

Now, I am currently in the Manufacturing Business Marketing Department, where I am in charge of sales and marketing. I hope to be able to use the knowledge and experience I gained during my four years in the Corporate Planning Section to do my best to ensure that our customers are satisfied.

For those who have imagination, find joy and interest in all things

KKE gives us responsibility and freedom, but this freedom comes with accountability. As an organisation, we are an autonomous company that is “committed to considering the situation at hand and deciding carefully on the direction to take”. I think this is an exciting place for people who are more inclined to create their own rules and promote them, rather than seeking out pre-defined tasks. Also, we are looking for people with imagination, who can find joy and interest in all things. As a company, we have a lot of ideas and resources, so if people with these traits can join us, I think it will increase the range of possibilities and naturally lead to the emergence of new projects.