Project
01
The Challenge of Studying Abroad
Corporate Planning Division
Rei Hanada
Joined the company in 2012
Project outline
What is the Overseas Study Program?
The SEGA SAMMY Group has introduced a system to support employees in obtaining MBAs from the world’s leading overseas business schools and various qualifications from law schools and design institutes, in order to provide the opportunity for employees to voluntarily develop their careers and to develop human resources who will lead the SEGA SAMMY Group in the future.
Chapter
01
Aiming to become a businessperson who can compete anywhere in the world
Rei Hanada joined Sammy as a new graduate in 2012 and has been working as a legal representative ever since. He was involved in overseas legal affairs, including contracts with overseas companies, and also acquired management experience. In 2018, he enrolled in a two-year program at Columbia Business School in the US, where he earned his MBA. He decided to pursue an MBA for three reasons: he had learned the importance of continuing “intellectual muscle training” from his supervisor; he admired executives who were active on a global, world-class level; and he wanted to “aim higher” by putting himself in a high-stress environment while still young.
At that time, the SEGA SAMMY Group did not have an established system to support overseas study, but through repeated interviews with Rei, a system, regulations, and other means of support was gradually built. Rei continued his studies for two years while balancing his daily work, and was accepted to Columbia Business School, his first choice. As Rei explains, “I wanted to study at Columbia Business School because I thought its location in a big city would allow me to network with people from different countries and gain knowledge in entertainment and business.”
discussion. “I had studied abroad and was involved in overseas legal work, so I was confident in my English ability; however, I could barely keep up with them,” Rei says with a wry smile. Despite the difficulties, he continued to play his role in the team.
After that, Rei concentrated on his elective courses. He recalls, “I wanted to learn more about management in general since I had been concentrating on legal matters. When the elective courses first started, I focused on entrepreneurship, and even went so far as to develop a business plan and present it to venture capital investors. After that, my interest gradually shifted to investment and finance.” In addition to his classes, Rei was also the organizer of the “Japan Trip,” an extracurricular activity where students were taken to Japan to experience corporate tours. In his second year, Rei participated in an internship program at a local sports technology company, gaining experience that could only be gained in Japan.
Chapter
02
The experience of studying abroad was directly reflected in my work after returning to Japan.
When asked what the biggest lesson he learned from studying abroad was, he replied, “Being able to experience the essence of capitalism firsthand had a profound impact on my view of work and life. In New York, the center of the global economy, I was able to use my privilege as a student to learn from leading businesspeople in various fields, which greatly expanded my knowledge. By studying abroad, I gained the confidence to compete anywhere in the world.”
After returning to Japan, Rei was assigned to the Corporate Planning Department of SEGA SAMMY Holdings, fulfilling his wish to be involved in the management of the entire group by utilizing his MBA knowledge. He is now involved in management planning and capital policy for the entire group. He is also a member of a team specializing in M&A in the Business Development Section, and he is responsible for promoting M&A in the group. His eyes shone as he said, “What I learned from studying abroad is directly useful in terms of frameworks for thinking about management and common language for global business.”
As for his future goals, “I feel strongly motivated in my current role, which directly assists the top management of the group in decision making, and I want to accomplish as much as I can in my current position. After that, I would like to develop the ability to stand at the forefront of new businesses and lead them myself. I want to broaden my knowledge and experience even more,” he says with a confident look on his face. When I asked him to give a message to students who want to work for SEGA SAMMY Holdings, he enthusiastically replied, “It is extremely rare to find a company in the entertainment industry that places such importance on investing in human resources development that it even has a system to support overseas study. Also, regardless of your age, you will be entrusted with a lot of discretionary work from a young age, depending on your motivation and capability. The SEGA SAMMY Group has a powerful ability to create content, and I am looking forward to working with you to take on the challenging task of how to develop such excellent content as a business on a global scale!”