INSIGHTS

I’m delighted to share with you my interview with Asako Aoyama, SVP and CFO of NEC Corporation’s global business unit. Aoyama-san is an extremely busy executive as she also leads NEC’s Wireless Solutions and Service Provider Solutions business units. NEC, of course, is a $22 billion global technology giant whose businesses span IT and network solutions as well as communications equipment and software for enterprises, telcos and government agencies.

Prior to joining NEC in January of 2020, Aoyama-san spent 15 years in finance and strategy at Coca Cola Bottlers Japan where she consolidated and managed the companies that Coca Cola invested in. Before joining Coca Cola, she was involved in M&A advisory at Merrill Lynch. She began her career as an auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Aoyama-san graduated from International Christian University in Tokyo and earned an MBA from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

While passionate about DEI, Aoyama-san is also extremely pragmatic. Does diversity and inclusion lead to business results? This is the question she poses. Aoyama-san’s leadership at NEC offers a clear answer.

The interview has been edited for clarity.

Yasu: Thank you so much for joining us. You spent years in finance and consulting. Why did you choose to join a manufacturing company? It seems like a very big leap.

Aoyama-san: Yes, it has been. But I wanted to do more than offer financial and strategic advice. I wanted to make decisions and grow a business. Since joining NEC, my responsibilities have grown and I feel very fulfilled. I feel like I’m contributing to the company’s success in a real and tangible way.

Is Diversity Good for Business?

Yasu: NEC has a reputation for being a very conservative company. How has the transition been?

Aoyama-san: Many people have asked me that question, and they’ve expressed genuine concern (laughs). There’s no question that I moved from global service companies to a rather traditional Japanese manufacturing company, but I feel very good about my decision.

NEC is in the midst of change. As a woman in a leadership role, I’m certainly in the minority, but people listen to what I have to say because they know the company needs to change. And the company is growing. I feel confident that I joined NEC at the right time.

I should probably add that while few people will say diversity is wrong－that would be too politically incorrect－I do think that many people believe diversity can be a bit cumbersome with so many people expressing their opinions and asserting themselves. I’m sure many people think, “how can we get anything done with so many individuals asserting themselves?”

But the key question should be: does diversity lead to business results? This is what I was excited to talk to you about today.

DEI From the Top, for the Bottom Line

Yasu: Who leads DEI at NEC?

Aoyama-san: DEI initiatives are led by our HR department, but our President heads the DEI Advancement Committee. DEI has become a key value for everyone at NEC. I’m very fortunate in that the head of our global business unit whom I report to is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion. Everyone in our business unit has to commit to it.

As CFO and the head of two business divisions that fall under our global organization, I have a thousand people reporting to me. I have to make sure that I identify and develop key talent globally without regard to gender, nationality, disabilities or age.

I’m proud to say that we’ve been very successful as a business unit. We’ve turned around our business to realize profitable growth of 50 billion yen in the last 3 years.

Yasu: How is diversity in Japan different from diversity elsewhere?

Aoyama-san: Based on my experience at Coca Cola, DEI globally is mostly about racial and gender equality. In Japan, we are still very much focused on gender equality, primarily as it pertains to the empowerment of women. Race and nationality are of course important in Japan too, but we need to start by empowering women.

We have very clear goals at NEC. We’re striving to increase the number of female employees at NEC to 30 percent by 2025, and we’re trying to place women in 20 percent of management roles as well as Director positions. Non-Japanese will be included in these numbers.

These goals are not low for NEC, and they are monitored very closely by our President. In 2022, a little over 27 percent of our workforce were women, with 9.6 percent in management positions. Our CEO says 50 percent of our new workforce should be women, though this may be a bit of a stretch since there just aren’t that many female engineers.

Developing Diverse Female Role Models

Yasu: Have you gathered any feedback from female employees? What are their expectations?

Aoyama-san: Generally speaking, women don’t feel discriminated against at NEC. Some put pressure on themselves to advance, while others are more comfortable being individual contributors.

What I hear often from my female colleagues is that they lack female role models to look up to. I like to think of myself as a role model but they say I’m too accomplished and that I’m in a different world, though I don’t think so at all.

So what we do is bring together female managers from throughout the company in meetings to show that they have different styles of leadership and that there’s a great deal of diversity even among women executives. We also want to show that there are various paths to success.

Decentralized, Yet Balanced

Yasu: Could you tell us about your key initiatives?

Aoyama-san: A key initiative for us is to become more decentralized. We’re working on building Centers of Excellence around the world. We want our regional executives to have more say in developing strategy, as well as leading execution.

While creating a healthy balance between corporate initiatives and local empowerment is important, right now I believe localism is key for NEC. Because it’s working. Our profitability is improving. We’re seeing a V-shaped recovery.

Employees are more engaged as well since we’re communicating more regularly from HQ. In 2019, our engagement score in the global business unit was 49 percent. It’s now up to 68 percent. I’m so pleased to see the motivation of our employees improving. This will create a positive cycle. I feel like we’re really beginning to harness the power of our global reach.

Yasu: Do you invite regional executives to Japan?

Aoyama-san: Yes, definitely. Regional senior management have always visited Japan, but now we’re inviting more junior employees as well. Japanese going abroad is common, of course, but we want to place more regional employees in corporate positions. One of the things I’m working on is growing a global pipeline of CFOs.

We’re also transferring talent among the regions, from India to the United States or to Denmark, for example.

A Welcoming Company

Yasu: What are you really passionate about personally? What motivates you every Monday morning?

Aoyama-san: I’m passionate about recruiting and developing all kinds of talent, regardless of age, gender or disability. And again, I want to promote more diversity among women. I believe NEC’s future depends on becoming more diverse and inclusive.

My vision is to make the global business unit the role model for NEC, to lead profitable growth by leveraging global talent. I want to make NEC a welcoming company that enables all kinds of people to grow and develop.

We’ve come a long way. In 2019, only 19 percent of GM level positions were led by non-Japanese. That number grew to 32 percent in 2022.

Smart Work 2.0

Yasu: Could you share a few examples of how you’re using technology to drive culture change?

Aoyama-san: We have so many! In addition to using basic communication tools, we’ve launched an initiative called Smart Work 2.0 whose focus is on creating the optimal work style that balances remote work with in-person collaboration.

We have floor-to-ceiling panels that are always on and create the impression that one’s colleagues in the U.S. or Europe are right across the hall. Plane fares are crazy now so it helps our bottom line to minimize travel. We’ve also created open meeting spaces at our HQ that are designed to foster greater collaboration across departments.

The Timing Could Not be Better

Yasu: What would your message be to leaders of tech companies looking to enter Japan?

Aoyama-san: My message is very clear: Japanese companies are changing. In addition to taking action to become more diverse, they’ve become much more open in their adoption of technology. They no longer believe they have to do everything themselves. They are looking to partner with organizations that have particular strengths. This is essential for their success and growth, to move faster and to stay ahead of the competition. Speed is key.

So I believe there is so much opportunity now for global companies to partner with Japanese firms. The timing could not be better.