Arthur D. Little adds Kensuke Sobue as an automotive partner in Tokyo

Global management consultancy Arthur D. Little has added Kensuke Sobue as a partner in its Automotive Manufacturing Group Practice in Tokyo.

Global management consultancy Arthur D. Little has bolstered its automotive manufacturing practice in Asia with the appointment of former Kearney and Deloitte consultant Kensuke Sobue as a partner in Tokyo – with the firm stating its intention to continue expanding its automotive and mobility offering across Southeast Asia and in particular the Vietnamese and Philippines markets.

“Over the last few months we have been working hard to expand our automotive practice in Asia following strong growth in this region, and we are delighted to welcome Kensuke,” stated Arthur D. Little Japan managing partner Yusuke Harada. “Kensuke’s varied experience working directly with manufacturers and within consulting firms will be a great asset to our team.”

A graduate of the Kyoto University Graduate School of Informatics. Sobue brings over a decade and a half of professional experience to the firm, starting out his career as an in-house patent attorney at Toyoto. From there, he joined management consulting firm Kearney (which earlier this year rebranded from A.T. Kearney), working on a wide variety of strategic projects across industries.

Altogether spending seven years at the firm, Sobue later served as the Chief Operating Office of a start-up before joining Deloitte in Southeast Asia, where he led the firm’s Japanese and Southeast Asian countries in collaborative projects. His new partnership appointment at ADL follows that of Yuzuru Ohashi to Roland Berger’s automotive team in Tokyo earlier this year.

“With over 15 years’ working across the automotive industry, Kensuke has gained significant experience in the mobility field, supporting major OEMs and non-OEMs in developing new business and services,” said Ignacio García Alves, Arthur D. Little chairman and CEO. “His knowledge will be an invaluable tool in helping our Japanese office expand its automotive offerings.”

Meanwhile, the firm has also appointed long-term former McKinsey & Company partner Barnik Chitran Maitra as its new Managing Partner for India. A technology expert among other areas, Maitra altogether spent 15 years with McKinsey in the US, India (heading its Strategy & Corporate Finance practice), wider Asia and Africa – the latter two regions where he helped to expand the firm’s footprint.

“This new role provides me with a fantastic platform to help ADL serve a wide variety of Indian, South Asian and multinational companies,” Maitra said, adding that he was keen to collaborate with ADL’s global partnership. “I am passionate about contributing to nation building in India, creating ADL global competence centers and helping regional clients navigate global growth and innovation opportunities.”