Daisuke Furutaka, Executive Officer, Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting LLC

Maintain a high perspective and a broad outlook, and continue to act.

Executive Officer, Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting LLC　Daisuke Furutaka(Kodaka Daisuke)

■ Profile

After graduating from Sophia University in 1998, he worked for a foreign consulting firm and an IT venture before assuming his current position. He is currently working to resolve various issues facing industry, government, academia, and the public in the Western Japan region, including business operation transformation, technology strategy planning, DX human resource development, and addressing social issues.

Daisuke Furuya works as a consultant at the Deloitte Tohmatsu Group, one of Japan's largest professional groups. He has had a strong interest in social issues since his student days and has always been conscious of "what he can do." We asked Furuya, who has always maintained such a high perspective and broad outlook, about how he approaches various issues.

Looking back at my student days, it was a time of economic uncertainty, right after the collapse of the bubble economy. Furthermore, with a series of major events that shook society, such as political restructuring, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and the Aum Shinrikyo incident, I think I naturally tended to focus on social and macro issues. I also worked part-time in education, such as teaching at a cram school, and struggled and invented ways to communicate with a variety of students.
At the time, I was vaguely thinking that I might pursue a career in the media due to my interest in social issues. That's why I joined the debate club and spent my days learning and discussing a variety of topics.
When it came time to look for work, economic problems and the beginning of the collapse of lifetime employment meant that I began to think about a career as a specialist honing my expertise, rather than working for a large company and growing as a generalist.At that time, I became interested in the management consulting industry, which was developing and was starting to hire new graduates, so I applied and joined the company.
At the consulting company I joined as a new graduate, I experienced many projects related to business reforms and the transformation that came with the introduction of package systems. I was entrusted with lead roles even at a young age, and I think I was able to spend fulfilling days there. 
After that, wanting to experience a different side of business, I worked at a venture company that handles web content and commercial digital newspapers, where I was busy with a wide range of tasks, including sales and project management. I visited customers all over the country, and was also responsible for publishing and managing content, so I worked in a way that I wouldn't be able to talk about out loud now (laughs). I learned a lot, but at the same time, as I spoke with clients, I began to feel that it was difficult to make proposals that were based on products and solutions. I also found it difficult to strike a balance within myself. That balance was between "what I want to do, what I can do, and what I have to do." This led me to decide to return to the world of consulting, which is where I am today.

■Why did you choose Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting?

I believe that my social interests, values, and desire to contribute to the local community influenced my decision to join Deloitte Tohmatsu. I have been interested in social issues since my student days and have been thinking about how I can contribute to social value. I was attracted to and saw the potential in the fact that Deloitte Tohmatsu has been rooted in the local community earlier than other firms, focusing on local issues while providing value. Since joining the company, I have been working widely, mainly in Western Japan. For projects, I work alongside clients, providing consistent and long-term support from conception to realization.

■The importance of not being biased

One thing I value in my work is not being biased. Whether I'm looking at data, case studies, or empirical data to understand a phenomenon, or communicating with a variety of people, it's important to maintain a broad perspective and be unbiased.

■What kind of people would you like to work with?

I want to work with people who have their own ideas and will. If someone says, "I'm interested in this, I have these ideas, and I want to do this," I think the first thing I need is someone who can think about it for themselves and talk about it in their own words. I also need someone who tries to look at things objectively and from a bird's-eye view. For example, imagine a job interview. Think about it in depth and ask yourself, "What would I think of myself if I were the interviewer?" or, "When I look back on my own experiences, what was so great about them? Was it because the event was a success? Was it because we had a large audience? Was it because we raised money?" I think there's more you can say if you think about it in depth.

■Message to university students

The world, society, you, and your surroundings are constantly changing. Even when you worry and think things are going well, you may experience setbacks or find yourself in situations you cannot control. However, as the saying goes, "There is no night that does not end," so the time will surely come when things will improve. As I mentioned when I mentioned the type of people you want to work with, I hope you will be mindful of your own thoughts, feelings, and words, and approach everything with constant effort.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on August 14, 2023 by Tomoya Okazaki, a fourth-year student at Kansai Gaidai University