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Kearney’s APAC chairman: ‘China needs entrepreneurial CEOs’
China is experiencing relatively rapid growth and needs to take steps to sustain the trend, including appointing entrepreneurial CEOs that are not afraid to drive innovation. That is according to Shigeru Sekinada, APAC regional chairman at global management consulting firm Kearney.
Chinese firms have been on a roll in recent years, with homegrown giants trailblazing in a number of sectors, like Huawei and Lenovo in technology and consumer electronics, and Alibaba in e-commerce (to name just a few). With an internal market of 1.4 billion and a market-leading export sector, there clearly is a lot of potential for further growth.
But despite that, big companies in China are not exactly known for being very innovative or entrepreneurial. Some of that could come down to the business culture in China, but some analysts point to the government, with a majority of Chinese enterprises being state-owned and many, many more being partly state-owned.
“If China wants to continue to grow rapidly, each Chinese company needs to find out the entrepreneur type of CEO. It’s a very critical thing,” said Shigeru Sekinada in comments to online news platform Yicai. “Chinese companies can create innovation not only for China, but for the entire APAC region.”
Sekinada has expertise in innovation, marketing, and transformation in Japanese companies, but also a good overview of the larger Asian business world. He has managed Kearney’s Japanese business since 2020, and in May this year took over as chairman for the APAC region.
‘China needs entrepreneurial CEOs’
China has a lot of advantages, from vast natural resources to booming tech capabilities, but businesses need to step up their organizational capabilities. That should include a new approach to attracting talent and working with outside experts.
A more entrepreneurial approach from CEOs would also help to address supply and value chain issues. But rebuilding these chains to be more resilient and regenerative is no easy task. It involves a complex balancing act of international logistics and to an extent also requires companies to increasingly consider ESG in their services, products and operations.
AI also needs to be a prime focus. China has done well in this category, leading the way with only a handful of global competitors like the US and Israel. Other countries will be unable to keep up, with the AI industry showing a strong tendency towards what Sekinada calls a “winner takes all” scenario.
“Almost all companies need to leverage AI. They need to use these kinds of technologies for their business. That’s the reality. Companies like Microsoft and Tencent need to hire the best class of AI talent or invest in cutting-edge technology.”
Above all, Sekinada is a strong proponent of inspiration and pushing for transformation, which he hopes can ultimately boost well-being in society. He references the concept of “ikigai,” a Japanese term that refers to the intersection of passion, mission, vocation, and profession, providing a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life.
“That’s why I strive to encourage all people in APAC to think about their passion to solve social problems,” Sekinada said. Pointing at Kearney as an example, he said: “Our business is a people business. People need to have purpose and passion – at Kearney that is what we provide them with.”
