PwC Consulting and IMD business school in Switzerland to jointly host a leadership development program in Japan to nurture the next generation of business leaders

PwC Consulting LLC (based in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Executive Officer/CEO: Susumu Adachi; hereinafter referred to as PwC Consulting) and IMD (Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland; President: Jean-François Manzoni) will jointly host a leadership development program in Japan to nurture the next generation of business leaders. The inaugural session is planned for October of this year.

The leadership development program will offer original content localized for Japan, based on an existing, internationally acclaimed IMD leadership program and customized with the expertise PwC Consulting has accumulated through providing consulting services on corporate change innovation. The program will be offered in Japan, in Japanese, and aims to build a foundation for Japan’s education of leaders, and to contribute to nurturing the next generation of Japanese business leaders equipped to succeed globally.

Lecturers are IMD faculty with progressive thinking and theory and exceptional teaching skills, and active business executives with practical experience from the front line. Additionally, executive coaches with international experience and proven records will support each participant to encourage deep self-understanding and reflection, which are fundamental to the development of leaders who can communicate their vision and mobilize their workforce. The program will be open to participants from various organizations and will provide a forum for networking across business and industry boundaries.

Thus far, leadership development programs in Japan have had the tendency of placing emphasis on learning leadership theory, increasing knowledge on how to develop new businesses, and overcoming adverse situations. Those looking to obtain opportunities for internalization and introspection to recognize one’s purpose and intention as a leader, mainly sought these opportunities through participation in English programs offered abroad. However, leader candidates with limited English proficiency faced problems such as being unable to deepen their self-awareness or being unable to participate in these programs in the first place. This program aims to solve these issues by providing the program in Japanese. (Simultaneous interpretation will be provided for sessions by IMD professors.)

In recent years, Japanese companies have been accelerating their transformation in response to globalization and digitization. Developing the next generation of business leaders who can lead organizations with a diverse workforce is an urgent issue for the Japanese economy. IMD and PwC Consulting aim to solve this issue through synergy of respective strengths.

Naoshi Takatsu, the Northeast Asia representative for IMD, remarks, "The shortage of talent with leadership skills is a serious issues for the Japanese economy. I am pleased to be able to bring world-class leadership education to Japan through this opportunity."

Ryosuke Sasaki, lead partner for PwC Consulting’s People & Organization/Change Management practice, comments, "Through this program, if we can encourage the psychology-focused leadership which IMD has historically developed, and in addition, through localization, develop an ideal image of Japanese leadership in the new era, our work will not only have significance for individual leaders but also for Japanese society."

Akiko Karaki, a partner within PwC Consulting’s Strategy Consulting (Strategy &), remarks, "In order to successfully execute strategy that will forge a future path for one’s company within unpredictable environments, the importance of leaders who demonstrate true leadership is increasing. The idea for this program was born as a solution to this need."