Shigeru Sekinada leads Kearney in Asia Pacific, overseeing 16 offices across the region while serving as chairman of Japan. With more than 22 years at the firm, he has guided Japan’s largest corporations and more than 200 rising companies through complex transformations spanning consumer goods, retail, media, entertainment, automotive, financial services, and the public sector.

Shigeru’s work sits at the intersection of strategy, AI and digital transformation, innovation, and marketing. He built Kearney Japan’s digital transformation practice from the ground up and established exclusive communities for CEOs, CSOs, and COOs to exchange firsthand experiences on corporate transformation, M&A, post-merger integration, and growth strategy. His latest commentary includes perspectives on AI sovereignty risks and procurement-led resilience strategies.

Beyond his client work, Shigeru has served on multiple government advisory bodies, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry’s Industrial Structure Council, Corporate Transformation Committee, and Convenience Store Committee. He actively contributes to foundations and communities focused on societal well-being, including the following:

Fukutake Foundation: creating Naoshima’s art ecosystem
ROHTO Foundation for Children’s Future: encouraging individuality in future generations
The Institute for Strategic Leadership: developing next-generation leaders
G1: shaping Japan’s vision in a turbulent world
One Japan: fostering a culture of challenge

Shigeru encourages his colleagues to find their own ikigai—aligning personal passion with purpose to deliver what he calls kando-quality experiences: impactful moments that resonate long after the work is done, rooted in his personal belief: “Our purpose is to create well-being in society. Our vision is to change each country and, ultimately, change the world for our next generations.”

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