On Wednesday, January 20, 2016, IKEGAWA Chie, the Chief Financial Officer of Kellogg Japan, came to APU to give a lecture entitled “Enhancing the Value of Your Company and Yourself—The Work of a CFO in a Foreign-affiliated Company”.
Since graduating from college, Ms. IKEGAWA has spent her entire career in the finance sections of foreign-affiliated firms. Her first job was with P&G Japan, but she moved on to McDonalds Japan to become the Director of Franchising. Later, she headed to Lenovo Japan to become the CFO before assuming her current position at Kellogg Japan.
Ms. IKEGAWA began her lecture by explaining how she, a literature major, ended up making a career out of finance. She said that the job of a CFO in a foreign-affiliated company is to “increase company profits and boost corporate value,” and carefully explained the importance and difficulty of finance, which requires aptitude in both management and math. She then used concrete examples to explain why other departments, such as sales, marketing and human resources, also need to be aware of corporate management and profits.
She continued by saying that the ability to work in teams and increase corporate value is the essential foundation of work and that these skills, in turn, help you enhance your own value. She added that you can also elevate the value of your coworkers by making sure everyone shares the same set of ideals.
Ms. IKEGAWA finished by touching on the subject of work-life balance: “You cannot choose work or life; what is important is not a balance, but a blend.” She provided some examples and tips from her own experience, while discussing her attitude toward her career.
Afterwards, the students who had listened attentively to the lecture peppered Ms. IKEGAWA with questions, to which she provided easy to understand responses.
One student commented on the lecture by saying, “It was very inspiring to listen to the experiences of a working mother. I want to be like her.” Another student said, “As a woman, I think there are many obstacles to overcome in having and raising children, but listening to this lecture made me want to give my all.” Yet another student remarked, “Her lecture made me think about the purpose of work.”
This was the last of three lectures co-sponsored with Gaishikei Leaders for this year. In the next academic year, we look forward to creating more opportunities for students to meet and learn from inspiring globally active working people.
* Gaishikei Leaders
“Gaishikei Leaders is a non-profit community project that was established by the globally active employees of foreign-affiliated firms. It aims to provide its members with opportunities to hone and utilize their skills in accordance with the credo of wakon yosai (“Japanese spirit and Western learning”) in an effort to realize a more open, more vibrant Japan that exists in harmony with the world.” (Source:
http://gaishikei-leaders.com/)
