Naoki Hama, President and CEO, Fujifilm Business Innovation Corporation

2026.07.17

Looking ahead to change, we continue to create new value.

■ Profile
President and CEO of Fujifilm Business Innovation Corporation. He has extensive experience in a wide range of areas, including production management, sales, and new business development, and has been involved in business transformation. While overcoming the challenges of the shrinking photographic film market and the environmental changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, he is currently driving the expansion of DX and IT solutions businesses. He values embracing change positively and continuing to take on challenges.

Fujifilm Business Innovation Corporation has supported its customers' operations starting with multifunction printers and other printers. In recent years, it has been supporting corporate business transformation through DX (Digital Transformation) and IT solutions.
This time, we spoke with President and CEO Naoki Hama about the challenges of business transformation and the mindset that drives them.

■ The mindset of "contributing to the team" cultivated through rugby

During my student years, I was passionate about rugby, which I played from high school through university. I started playing rugby as a new sport after I injured my shoulder in junior high school and had to give up baseball. The Keio University rugby club, where I played during my university years, was a strong team that even reached the finals of the university championship, and it was a very demanding environment. In that environment, I worked hard to become a regular player, and in my fourth year, I finally got to play in a match. After that, the team went on to become the best in Japan, beating a corporate team. Being in such a tough environment with rigorous training and competition for a regular spot made me think a lot about "how to make the team stronger" and "how I can contribute to the team." Looking back now, I think it was very good that rugby not only strengthened me physically and mentally, but also gave me the opportunity to think about my role in an organization. Furthermore, I feel that the experience of striving to become a regular player is at the root of my desire to "utilize myself as a valuable asset and succeed in the field of society" even after entering the workforce.

■Past experiences that seemed like detours are now supporting my current career development.

When I was job hunting, trading companies and financial institutions were popular employers, but I wanted to work in a field where we could "create and sell things ourselves," so I became interested in manufacturers. Through a fortunate connection, I joined Fujifilm. For the first six and a half years after joining the company, I was in charge of production management at the factory. I joined Fujifilm hoping to work overseas in the future, so I was surprised when I heard my initial assignment. However, through that work, I was able to learn about the mechanisms of manufacturing, such as supply and demand and cost management. Looking back now, I think the company gave me this valuable experience as part of its talent development program. After that, I hoped to work in photographic film sales, but I was actually assigned to non-photographic materials (other than photographic film). I was initially disappointed, but that job allowed me to be involved not only in sales activities but also in launching new businesses, marketing, and planning. At the time, the photographic film market was rapidly shrinking due to digitalization, and the company needed to create new businesses, so I feel fortunate to have been in a position to be involved in new business development. After that, I held various positions such as General Manager of a Business Unit and General Manager of the High-Performance Materials Development Division, and was also involved in the restructuring of legacy businesses. Since 2022, I have been the President of Fujifilm Business Innovation. My career has certainly not been linear, but looking back, I feel that the various experiences that seemed like detours have led me to where I am today.

■ Leveraging customer relationships to create new value

Our main business is providing multifunction printers, printing equipment, and solutions. In the past, the competitive edge of multifunction printers was based on "how many pages could be printed per minute." However, nowadays, the focus is not on technological performance or simple price competition, but on new values such as security, operational efficiency, and environmental considerations. Furthermore, the multifunction printer market itself is changing due to the advancement of paperless operations. In this changing environment, our strength lies in the relationships we have built with our customers over many years. Leveraging the trust we have cultivated through the introduction and maintenance of multifunction printers, we are currently focusing on expanding our solutions business.
For example, we have established a system where engineers who previously handled maintenance for multifunction printers can now also provide operational support such as PC setup and IT maintenance. We also provide comprehensive support for a company's IT environment, including Windows migration, security measures, and cloud environment construction. By supporting our customers' operations through these services, we are building relationships where they will choose Fujifilm Business Innovation products again when it's time to replace their multifunction printers.
Furthermore, we are also pursuing forward-looking initiatives in product development. One example is our refurbished machine business. We reuse 84% of the parts of collected multifunction printers, and use recycled plastic for the remaining 16%. In light of growing concerns about resource constraints and environmental impact, we are working to create a system that allows for continuous use while circulating resources, rather than simply selling products and being done with it. Through these business reforms, we are conveying to our current employees the importance of looking ahead to the company and the world several years from now, and proactively creating change.

■Decisions and turning points brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major turning point. People couldn't even go to the workplace, and the demand for office printing plummeted, dealing a major blow to the revenue structure of our multifunction printer business. In response to these societal changes, we decided to further strengthen our solutions business, which we had been working on for some time. I believe this decision has led us in the right direction. Of course, failure is inevitable in any challenge. The important thing is to correct your course early on if you feel you're going in the wrong direction and move in the right direction. I believe that this process of making decisions and making adjustments has been the driving force behind our business transformation.

■ Business development tailored to the characteristics of each country and region

Currently, we are focusing on expanding into promising markets such as India, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. I believe that what is important in global expansion is not to uniformly offer the same products and services to every country, but to understand the culture, values, and lifestyles of each country and region. For example, in India, there is a strong culture of celebrating events such as weddings and birthdays in a lavish way and documenting them with photographs, resulting in a very high demand for photography. Also, since the clothing worn at celebrations in India is often brightly colored, I feel there is potential in a business related to high-quality photo printing. In the future, we would like to continue to identify the characteristics and cultures of each country and develop our business in a way that is tailored to the specific features of each region, rather than blindly.

■Message to students

I want you to value the importance of trying things without hesitation when you're unsure. In the past, there may have been a strong belief that "once you've decided on something, you should see it through to the end." However, in reality, there are things you won't know until you try. If it doesn't work out, it's okay to quit or adjust your course. Student life is a precious period in which you can do many things within a limited time. I want you to actively challenge yourself with things you "want to do" and act as the "protagonist of your own life."

Student Newspaper Online, June 22, 2026, Mio Ozawa, 2nd year student at Seijo University

Kyoto University of the Arts, 1st year: Reina Inomoto / Keio University, 4th year: Yuina Yamamoto / Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 4th year: Haruna Shoji / Information Management Innovation Professional University, 2nd year: Chiharu Yamada / Hosei University, 3rd year: Tomoki Takahara / Sophia University, 2nd year: Nina Ishikawa / Musashino University, 4th year: Mayuna Yoshimatsu / Waseda University, 3rd year: Kenta Ito / Nihon University, 2nd year: Tatsushi Harada / Hosei University, 1st year: Kenhiko Yamada / Seijo University, 2nd year: Mio Ozawa