Taro Fujie, President and Representative Executive Officer, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

Contributing to the well-being of people, society, and the planet through AminoScience

President and Representative Executive Officer, Ajinomoto Co., Inc.　Taro Fujie(Taro Fujie)

■ Profile

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1961. After graduating from the Faculty of Agriculture at Kyoto University in 1985, he joined Ajinomoto Co. After working overseas for over 10 years, including as president of Ajinomoto Philippines in 2011 and Ajinomoto Brazil in 2015, he was appointed Managing Executive Officer in 2017, Senior Managing Executive Officer in 2021, and Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO in April 2022. He has held his current position since June of the same year.

Ajinomoto is known for a number of hit products, including the umami seasoning "Ajinomoto." Even now, more than 100 years after its founding, the company remains the world's leading amino acid manufacturer, focusing on product development and continuing to grow in a wide range of business fields. We spoke with President Fujie about the company's strengths and appeal, the mindset it values, and more.

I was in the Faculty of Agriculture in college, but I was so passionate about windsurfing that it would be more accurate to call myself a "windsurfing club member." In fact, I made it all the way to the final qualifying round for the Los Angeles Olympics. Unfortunately, my dream never came true, but I believe my experience predicting wind direction and tides and making flexible decisions has helped me as president when predicting and considering the company's direction. Because I was so devoted to sports, my job search took a relaxed pace. It was already August of my fourth year when I received a call from a senior colleague inviting me to an interview at Ajinomoto. I was asked to "name 10 Ajinomoto products," but I mentioned a competitor's product and got told off (laughs). However, they seemed to think I was an interesting student, and I ultimately received a job offer. Since elementary school, I've loved cooking and eating so much that I even bought cooking equipment with my New Year's money, so looking back, I think it was a good opportunity.

■ My experience working overseas is still useful today

After joining the company, I started out in the Human Resources Department, responsible for recruitment and training. To be honest, I was initially more interested in sales than HR. However, I developed my communication skills by introducing the company and setting up appointments over the phone. Working in the Human Resources Department, I also built trust by memorizing the names and faces of approximately 700 employees. As a result, I believe I learned the fundamentals of being a member of society at a young age. Even now, as president, I'm still good at remembering people's faces and names. This is because I leave my office, visit each department, and chat with employees I happen to share the elevator with. Remembering faces and names is the first step to gaining trust. From there, I can listen to employees' concerns through conversation, which can sometimes lead to new ideas. My long-term overseas assignments in China, the Philippines, Brazil, and other countries also played a significant role. I was assigned to China at the age of 42 and became the branch manager of the Guangzhou branch, but the branch was suffering from a huge deficit. Stagnant business performance meant that my salary and training were inadequate. In the end, we were not able to turn a profit completely, but it was an opportunity to learn through practice how to work together as a team.

■ Amino Science, a company filled with love for amino acids

Ajinomoto's greatest appeal is its "love of amino acids." Protein, which accounts for 20% of the human body, is made up of 20 types of amino acids. Ajinomoto conducts "amino science," studying the four characteristics of these amino acids: their ability to make food delicious, their nutritional function, their physiological function, and their reactivity. For example, by examining the proportion of amino acids in blood, we can diagnose a person's future risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases. Based on the results, we can also suggest new dietary habits, such as "increasing dietary fiber for those prone to high blood pressure." While there are many food companies, we are unique in our comprehensive approach to the "food x amino acid" approach. Currently, the ratio of business profits from food products to pharmaceuticals and electronic materials derived from "amino science" is about 7:3, but we hope to grow this ratio to 1:1 in the future.

■ I want to find each person's ideal

What I value is sharing our vision with our employees and customers. When I was posted overseas to the Philippines in 2011, we sold Ajinomoto for one peso per bag, believing the one-peso myth that "one peso will sell," but we suffered losses every month for six months. To sell it for one peso despite the high cost, we apparently reduced the amount of product per bag. However, we returned to our belief that we wanted to fully convey the benefits of Ajinomoto as an umami seasoning, raised the price to two pesos, and increased the amount of product. This met customer needs, improved satisfaction, and led to a V-shaped recovery in our business performance. We also created a budget for training in Japan for Filipino employees, which led to improved employee awareness. Through these experiences, I learned the cycle of happiness: working as one team while sharing our vision, distributing profits, and using them to drive new actions. This is something I still keep in mind even now as president. Even though each individual's ideals may differ, there are always areas where they overlap. In other words, we want employees to spontaneously find common aspirations where our company's ambition of "Contributing to the well-being of people, society, and the planet through AminoScience" overlaps with their own personal aspirations. We want them to use this as motivation for their work.

■Message to university students

You only have one life, so I hope you will clarify what you want to be. Once you have found it, I recommend writing it down in a notebook. If you put it into words, you can look back on it later, and I'm sure it will be interesting. It's also good to devote yourself to something. My motto is "Aspiration x Passion x Polish," which means being passionate about your aspirations and honing your skills.

Student Newspaper April 1, 2024 Issue Sophia University 2nd Year Student Minami Yoshikawa

Group photo: Shimoda Kosuke