MD Sasaki: Become an indispensable partner, company, and innovator.

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased that FY2022 started on a positive note. Especially now that the first half of this year has ended and the second one has just begun, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all Hitachi members’ contribution. I am looking forward to our new journey through the 2024 Mid-term Management Plan (MTMP).

Looking back, I made some long-awaited trips and finally visited each country in ASEAN. It was a great opportunity for me to have hosted the Townhall Meetings and Roundtable sessions and shared Hitachi Asia Ltd. (HAS)’ new direction. Through these physical interactions, there were many exchanges of candid opinions and feedback. I am proud that HAS and the Hitachi Group Companies (GrCs) have such unique and strong teams within each country and I am certain we are one step closer to delivering innovations that answer society’s challenges.

In July, we were privileged to have Executive Chairman of Hitachi, Ltd., Mr. Toshiaki Higashihara grace Hitachi’s flagship regional thought leadership and social responsibility program – Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative (HYLI). My personal takeaway was this keyword – indispensable. Higashihara-san advised us to think about how we can make HAS an indispensable company, and the actions we can take to grow our business in this part of the world. With that, HAS will endeavour to achieve the following:

HAS mission - “To solve social issues in ASEAN for the next generation by uniting All Hitachi”

HAS vision – “To become a strategic partner for our business units (BUs)/GrCs and grow together in the region”

For so many years, HAS has been trying to understand our external customers’ pain points and we have had some success. But to achieve even greater success, we need to also understand the pain points of our internal customers such as our BUs/GrCs as well. Only by understanding both our external and internal customers will HAS be in a better position to close the gap.

Let me ask you this question: is there any BU/GrC in the Hitachi Group that can resolve social challenges in ASEAN alone? The answer is no. Therefore, I strongly believe that as the representative of Hitachi, Ltd., HAS is in a unique position to create new businesses by leveraging on the unity of ALL BUs/GrCs’ capabilities in ASEAN. And to do that, it is crucial for us to have a deep and clear understanding of our BU/GrCs’ offerings while taking into consideration the markets’ expectation at the same time.

Again, how we leverage our uniqueness is the key to our indispensability. Our mindset must change along with this new direction, and we need to be ready to transform ourselves for this purpose. So, please consider this point seriously and adjust accordingly.

By now, you should know that our key growth drivers are Green, Digital and Innovation. So, I hope to see you to take full ownership of every project by understanding each market’s strengths and capabilities.

As your regional head, I want to enjoy this exciting process ahead and walk this journey with you. I am certain that Hitachi in this region will eventually become an indispensable partner, company, and innovator. Together, let’s work towards this goal and show the world that Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business is Powering Good!

Takatoshi Sasaki
Managing Director
Hitachi Asia Ltd.