Takayuki Sato, President and CEO, Suntory Marketing & Commerce Limited

Work hard on the missions you are given and don't close off your own potential.

President and Representative Director, Suntory Marketing & Commerce Limited
Takayuki Sato

Born in Tokyo in 1963. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Keio University in 1987, he joined Suntory Limited. In 2003, he obtained an MBA from the Graduate School of Business Administration at Kobe University. After joining the company, he worked in various departments, including the Food Business Division, Corporate Planning, and Advertising, before becoming Representative Director and President of Suntory Marketing & Commerce Limited in March 2017. He is also a certified small and medium-sized enterprise management consultant and sommelier.

The Suntory Group is known for creating popular alcoholic beverages such as Kakubin and Kinmugi, as well as beverages such as Iyemon. President Sato of Suntory Marketing & Commerce Limited, which is a part of this group, discovered the job of "creating things" after reflecting on himself. We spoke to him about his journey so far, including the anxieties he faced as a student and what he learned from his experiences in various departments after joining the company.

After the anxiety of my student days

During his student days, he worked hard at part-time jobs as a private tutor, and his friends even called him the "House Tutor Killer."
Apart from the days when I was a tutor, I was almost always drinking with someone. After volleyball club practice or seminars, I would go out drinking with the club members and friends.
I personally enjoy drinking with others, so I had many opportunities to go out drinking. Alcohol is a kind of communication tool, or in other words, a bridge that connects me with my friends and colleagues.
While I enjoyed my time as a student, I also felt anxious about my future before starting my job hunt. At the time, job hunting began in the fourth year, and there was no opportunity to participate in internships or workplace visits in the first year of university like there is today. Because of this, I had no idea what it would be like to work, and during my first and second years of university, I wondered, "Can I make it this far? Will my future be okay?"
At that time, I didn't have any particular career that I wanted to pursue, and I had no idea what kind of work would allow me to utilize my abilities.
I started my job search with these anxieties, but at the time, jobs in finance and the power industry were said to be stable, so I visited alumni in those industries. However, at one point, I began to think that work in those industries might not be what I wanted to do. This is because, as I continued my search, I began to feel attracted to "manufacturers," or the so-called manufacturing industry. "Manufacturers" deal with tangible products. I've loved making things since I was a child, so for that reason, I made a big change of direction and ended up joining Suntory Ltd. (now Suntory Holdings Limited).
Suntory handles a wide range of food-related products, including alcoholic beverages and other beverages, and as someone who enjoys eating out and drinking, I find it rewarding to be involved in a job that involves the things I love.

We will work on new things

Since joining Suntory, I have been assigned to various departments, including sales, secretarial, public relations, and food business, experiencing a wide variety of work. Each job was completely different, so every time I was transferred, I worked hard on a new task. It was really tough and difficult, but I think it led to a sense of accomplishment from having done my best and confidence from having achieved results in each department.
During my time in the Food Business Division, I was involved in product development for Iyemon and brand management for oolong tea. However, it is said that even if you can create a new product, at most three out of 1000 will sell. To create even a few hit products, you need a strong will to steadily continue to make good products. As products from competitors in the same industry are also of high quality, it is difficult to differentiate based on product specifications alone, and I feel that it is necessary to establish a brand by integrating concept creation and communication that conveys that concept. To support this kind of branding, I mainly contribute in the promotion area at my current company.

The most important thing is to "connect with people"

In my work, I place great importance on the word "trust." I want to place importance on building relationships of trust with my colleagues who work with me, so that I can confidently entrust them with any task, in other words, I can rely on each and every one of them.
At work, I am often asked, "What are your future goals?" Rather than a clear goal, if I had to say, I would say it's more like a mission given to me at each stage. I try to do my best and with sincerity in the tasks I'm given, so that I can achieve better results. That's probably close to my motto.
We are currently facing an unprecedented disaster with the spread of COVID-19, but even in this situation, we want to continue to value communication. Interacting with people is important to building relationships of trust. As interactions with employees have become weaker than usual due to working from home and other reasons, we are working to create as many opportunities for interaction as possible, such as holding online drinking parties with employees.

Message to university students

I'm sure there are many university students who feel anxious or worried about their job search. If you have no worries and a clear dream, I encourage you to forge ahead toward that dream. If you have no clear goals and can't find what you want to do, try to reexamine what you like, what you're good at, and what you're not good at. On the other hand, I also think it's a waste to give up simply because you're not good at something. I also found writing reports and other documents extremely difficult when I was a student, but after joining a company and working in the public relations department, I received a lot of training and now I no longer feel uncomfortable with it. Studying for exams and your student experience are limited. You may have hidden abilities you didn't even know you had. There is much to learn once you enter the workforce, so don't close off your possibilities.

Student newspaper WEB October 28, 2020 interview (Masato Yamamoto, second year student at Meiji University)

Komazawa University 4th year Anzai Hideki / Komazawa University 4th year Nyoi Taichi / Meiji Gakuin University 3rd year Kojima Sakurako / Keio University 1st year Ito Miyu / Meiji University 2nd year Yamamoto Masato