British Boss Appointed CEO Of Japanese Company

[Mulboyne]

[Greji]

"He is having one-to-one lessons Japanese language, culture and etiquette lessons each week and said: 'Reading Japanese is very difficult but speaking is not too bad. It's a very logical language, it's relatively easy to understand when someone is talking to you.'"

What the fuck? He must already be on week two!

[Mulboyne]

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Chambers speaks about some of the challenges he faces in his job:

WSJ: What advice would you give someone in management in a company being acquired or that is acquiring?

Mr. Chambers: In our case, it was a merger of companies with different management styles and origins, so there is phenomenal scope for misunderstanding. For example, at meetings during integration with various heads of departments -- with professional translators, and some of the staff were proficient in English -- we would agree on something and go our separate ways. Every time I would write down in an email exactly what I felt we had agreed, but about half the time it came back that that was not what we had agreed at all. If I had executed what I thought was understood, imagine the mistrust and frustration that would generate. It's not a question of the words, these are translated and understood, but what is meant by those words and goals is different according to different cultures. When meeting with people from fundamentally different cultures it's always good to go back and check that everyone has understood what has been agreed upon.

WSJ: Is there a difference between managing in Asia and in Europe or America?

Mr. Chambers: For a European company, in some respects doing business with the Chinese is not too different from doing business with Americans. But in the case of a Japanese company acquiring a British or American public company, one of the key issues is the stark difference in the boards' energy, commitment and time spent on its three key stakeholders: customers, employees and shareholders. Japanese boards spend around 70% of their energy and commitment on customers, 25% on their employees and 5% on their shareholders. British and U.S. firms spend 50% of their time worrying about the shareholder, and around 25% each on the other two. I think what is needed is to spend a third on each of the three. If you lose any one of them, the business model breaks down. I have amended my attitude to some extent, and my Japanese colleagues have done that as well.

WSJ: What's the one thing you wish every new hire knew?

Mr. Chambers: The basics of finance, including understanding an income statement, the difference between profit and cash, and what creates and destroys value in our business. The reality is, this must be acquired, but all middle and senior managers need this in a company with flat organization and delegated responsibility. In future, all senior managers must be able to speak English for this company to be able to work. For those who don't, we are helping them to learn; it's part of their training.

[Mulboyne]

He didn't last long:

Telegraph: Stuart Chambers quits Nippon Sheet Glass on finding he's 'not Japanese'

Nippon Sheet Glass, which makes glass for cars, building and electronics, said chairman Katsuji Fujimoto would fill the post on an interim basis from October 1 while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Mr Chambers said in a press conference: "I have decided to put family first and company second." He acknowledged that the decision might go against social norms in Japan where it is common for workers to put their company above all else. "In that process I have learned I am not Japanese," he said...more...

[Ketou]

He didn't last long:

Telegraph: Stuart Chambers quits Nippon Sheet Glass on finding he's 'not Japanese'

Which basically means he cannot get them to change.

[IkemenTommy]

And meanwhile Takechan is at Narita waving him good bye.

[canman]

Funny, my student today brought up this article and stated he couldn't understand how anybody could quit a position like CEO for his family. He went on to say that if it were a Japanese person, they would "Gaman". I answered that in most Western countries it is quite normal for workers to choose family over their job, and it is something that most Japanese cannot ever understand.

[Greji]

Funny, my student today brought up this article and stated he couldn't understand how anybody could quit a position like CEO for his family. He went on to say that if it were a Japanese person, they would "Gaman". I answered that in most Western countries it is quite normal for workers to choose family over their job, and it is something that most Japanese cannot ever understand.

Arranged marriage contracts do not feature a quit clause.....

[Mulboyne]

Despite their experience with Chambers. NSG have gone with another foreigner. A Japanese news source suggests that they never considered hiriing a Japanese candidate. From here:

Nippon Sheet Glass named former DuPont executive Craig Naylor as its new president and CEO on Thursday, making him the second non-Japanese to head the Tokyo-based glass maker. Nippon Sheet Glass had been searching for a new chief executive to replace Stuart Chambers, a British national who stepped down in October after a 15-month stint at the helm, citing the desire to spend more time with his family. The appointment of Chambers had thrust the otherwise relatively obscure glass maker into the spotlight in a country where foreign chief executives are rare, and underscored its goal of becoming more international in its management. Chambers was head of British glass maker Pilkington when Nippon Sheet bought it in 2006 for about 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) -- swallowing a company that was twice its size in sales and stretching its balance sheet with debt.

The deal helped shift its focus outside Japan. Nippon Sheet, whose rivals include Japan's Asahi Glass and France's Saint-Gobain, now gets about three-quarters of its revenues overseas and counts Europe as its largest market. Naylor, a 61-year old U.S. citizen, was chosen after a global search carried about by an external recruitment agency, itself somewhat of a rarity in Japan. "He has the breadth of international experience we need," Katsuji Fujimoto, who has been acting as interim CEO, told a news conference. Fujimoto, who will stay on as chairman, said Naylor was chosen because of his extensive experience overseas as well as in the areas of engineering, production management, product development and marketing.

Company presidents in Japan are almost always tapped from within the firm or seconded from a main bank. Even Japan's two most famous non-Japanese chief executives -- Nissan Motor Co's Carlos Ghosn and Sony Corp's Howard Stringer -- were already part of their respective companies when they assumed the top post. Naylor joined DuPont in 1970 and steadily rose up the ranks of the chemicals giant. His overseas postings have included Switzerland, the United States, China and a stint in Japan from 1987 to 1991. He most recently served as group vice president of U.S.-based DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies from June 2004 to December 2006, and was a non-executive director at Delphi Corp when the U.S. auto parts maker was working through bankruptcy from 2005 to 2009.

Nippon Sheet is forecasting a net loss of 45 billion yen for the year that ended last month, hit by the sharp downturn in the electronics, automotive and construction industries, the main customers of its glass. Naylor said his experience at Delphi had taught him the importance of establishing a competitive cost structure. He said he would focus on reducing the company's debt before embarking on another big acquisition. Even after a concerted effort to cut its borrowings, gross debt stood at 414 billion yen at the end of last year. "I think we still have some work to do there to improve our balance sheet, and I think after we do that we can look more seriously at other M&A possibilities," said Naylor, who will become president and CEO on June 29.

[Catoneinutica]

Sony CEO gets $8.8 million annual pay amid losses

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100618/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_sony

[Mike Oxlong]

[Coligny]

[matsuki]

Great way to make "Japanese" companies appealing for successful CEO's.

ehmmmm... Nissan is a French company...

The same way Samsung Motor Corps, Dacia, Mack, Alpine and soon Lada Autovaz are...

Can't compare a japanese company where 1 foreigner work and happened to be the CEO with a foreign owned japanese company where the local workers are basically glorified cattle/wage slaves whose livelihood and survival depend on decision made somewhere in a Parisian cathouse between 2 orgies with DSK...

hahahhahaha

[Dreamy_Peach]

Great way to make "Japanese" companies appealing for successful CEO's.

You have to wonder a bit why people still bother.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

You have to wonder a bit why people still bother.

Considering you've got three heads of major Japanese companies (and it's really only two as Coligny correctly pointed out), it doesn't seem like they are bothering.