Takao Miyazawa, President and CEO of Halmek Holdings Co., Ltd.

Listening to customers' voices and working together to create happiness for senior women

President and CEO of Halmek Holdings Co., Ltd.　宮澤孝夫(Takao Miyazawa)

■ Profile

After graduating from the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, he joined Nomura Research Institute. After earning an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Management, he joined the Boston Consulting Group. In 1996, he joined Telemarketing Japan Inc. (now TMJ Inc.), and became Representative Director and CEO in 2003. In 2009, he was entrusted with restructuring Ikiiki Inc. (now Halmek Inc.) from civil rehabilitation and became Representative Director and President. In April 2018, he established the holding company Halmek Holdings Inc. and became Representative Director and President, a position he holds to this day.

With a corporate philosophy of "supporting women in their 50s and older to live better lives," Halmek Holdings enjoys tremendous support from senior women. The magazine it publishes, "Halmek," has the highest sales of any magazine (Japan ABC Association Publishers Report (January-June 2022)). We spoke with the company's president, Takao Miyazawa, about his career so far and the secret behind the company's current success.

During my university days, I studied aeronautics and astronautics at the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. I enrolled with great enthusiasm, wanting to design airplanes, something I'd loved since childhood, but the actual classes were different from what I'd expected. To be honest, the content of the classes was a bit boring, and I lost motivation to study. From then on, I became more interested in running a company that makes airplanes than in designing airplanes and jet engines. It was around this time that I began to dream of becoming a company president.

■ Always be ambitious and curious, and aim to become a management professional

After graduating from university, while heavy industry and automobile manufacturers are typical employment destinations for aerospace engineering majors, I was not attracted to such conservative career paths. So I joined Nomura Research Institute, where I could not only put the knowledge and skills I had learned at university to good use, but also learn about management, a new field of interest for me. To become a CEO, I needed more than just the science knowledge I had acquired up until then, so I took advantage of Nomura Research Institute's study abroad program and attended UCLA Business School for two years to study management. I was inspired by the local educational method of "immediately putting the knowledge you've learned into practice in society," and I once again realized the joy of studying management.　
After returning to Japan, I felt I was still only a third-rate manager, so I joined the Boston Consulting Group with the aim of becoming a first-rate manager. I believe I built the foundation of my management knowledge there. As I gained knowledge, I wanted to not just support other companies, but also take ownership of my own company and manage it. So I joined Telemarketing Japan (TMJ), which was still growing, and gained experience growing the company on my own. Once the company had achieved results and stabilized, I then set about turning around a company that had gone bankrupt. While I had succeeded in growing a small company at TMJ, I felt that if I could then revive a struggling company, I would be considered a true management professional. So, to test my skills as a manager, I accepted an offer to become president of Halmek Holdings.

■The appeal is the unique business model and thorough understanding of customers

There were two major initiatives to turn things around. The first was to establish a business model that would differentiate us from our competitors. Even back then, our business was based on three pillars: information content, product sales, and event management. I recognized the problem of these three businesses operating independently. Therefore, I redefined the role of each business, linking them all together and creating a single cycle. Specifically, information content aims to acquire new customers by delivering high-quality articles. Product sales involves selling products that meet customer needs and raising funds for business operations. Event management involves hosting events based on popular features from the magazine "Harumeku," interacting with customers in person and building trust. As a result, all businesses have a positive influence on each other, creating a business model we can be proud of. The second was to improve customer understanding. A postcard survey of our senior customers revealed preconceived notions about seniors within the company. By discarding unfounded stereotypes about seniors and focusing on providing information and developing products based on reality, profits naturally increased. Nowadays, we don't just conduct surveys, we also hold face-to-face meetings with customers to understand their needs, and provide articles, products, and events that are in line with what Harumek readers really think. Thanks to this, more readers feel that "Harumek is my friend," and we are very grateful that they actively respond to surveys saying, "We also want to make Harumek better." This two-way communication is what makes our company unique.

■ I want to work with people who share their true feelings

When it comes to new employees, I want to hire people who have a strong desire to "make seniors happy!" The most important thing is that they empathize with our company's philosophy of "making women in their 50s and older happy," and during interviews, I look to see if they truly have that passion, not just pretend. In fact, all of our employees truly feel that way. With over half of Japanese women now over 50, it's important to create a society where seniors can live happily. However, rather than someone who sees a business opportunity in targeting seniors, I'd rather work with someone who finds the idea of ​​creating something unique for customers interesting.
I also expect employees to think proactively and have their own opinions. I keep in mind that all employees are equal, regardless of organizational hierarchy. That's why I want employees to have their own opinions and share them in meetings.

■Message to university students

It's good to constantly broaden your horizons. By being curious, experiencing everything, and broadening your horizons, you'll be able to speak with your own thoughts. People who speak with purpose will make a good impression during job interviews. Companies are more likely to hire someone who can speak in their own words on the spot, rather than a student who has prepared in advance for interview questions and answers. Just as my experience studying abroad in Los Angeles changed the way I think, taking on challenges will help you grow a step further. I hope you will all increase your value during your university life.

Student Newspaper Online April 4, 2023 Interview by Sophia University sophomore Minami Yoshikawa