H.I.S. Co., Ltd. President and CEO Motofumi Yada

You can create your own coincidences. Mindset is important.

President and CEO of H.I.S. Co., Ltd.　Motofumi Yada(Yada Motoshi)

■ Profile
Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1961, he served in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces before joining HIS Co., Ltd. in 1993. He served as Director of the President's Office, Director of Human Resources, General Manager of the Kansai Sales Division, and Representative Director and President of Kyushu Industrial Transportation Holdings Co., Ltd., a group company, before becoming a director of HIS in 2020. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2021, Representative Director and President (COO) in 2022, and Representative Director and President (CEO) in 2023, a position he holds to this day.

With the purpose of "unleashing excitement," HIS supports travel with a wide range of products, from domestic to international. In recent years, in addition to the travel business, the company has expanded into hotels, restaurants, and communications, demonstrating a diverse range of developments. We spoke with HIS President Motofumi Yada, who continues to create highly satisfying travel experiences by understanding the customer's perspective and addressing their challenges..

■ He had been dreaming of the sky since his days at the National Defense Academy

I enrolled at the National Defense Academy of Japan, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense. Every day was a strict dormitory life, so the only thing I looked forward to were the long holidays. I was interested in overseas travel, so I went to Europe in the summer of my third year and to the United States in the summer of my fourth year to study English. This was before the internet, but I had made friends in France and Austria through correspondence, so I would visit them when I traveled to Europe. Looking back, I think the reason I started corresponding with them was because I had been interested in the world even back then. I had always had a fascination with the "sky," "the world," and "the outside," so I dreamed of becoming a defense attaché and working overseas in the future.

■It's not the skills that matter, it's the mindset

HIS's purpose (reason for existence) is to "unleash excitement." In order to deliver this "exciting" experience to customers, many opportunities are presented to employees who are willing to take on challenges. I believe that this is the appeal of the company. Since its founding, our identity has been "always being challengers," and I believe that this willingness to raise one's hand and take on challenges has been the driving force behind the company's growth over the past 40 years.
We also make decisions quickly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we tried to launch new businesses outside of the travel industry, and came up with around 10 new business plans, some of which were implemented within just six months. Rather than "think before you act," we have an attitude of "think on the fly," and I think one of the appeals of our company is that we take on new challenges and overcome obstacles "with speed."

■ Because we are involved in a wide variety of businesses, we are able to increase customer satisfaction quickly

As a customer, when I buy something or eat something, I always keep in mind "how much the company providing the service understands me and satisfies me." I try to choose services and products that will satisfy me, even if they are a little more expensive. The essential element for being chosen is how well we can provide something that suits the customer. When comparing us with Company A, Company B, or HIS, we need to be able to provide more value than other companies, or present a wide range of options so that the customer can choose the one that gives them the most satisfaction. I think that is the biggest thing that differentiates us from other companies.
If you think of travel products as just a combination of flights and hotels, each company can create the same combination in the same way. The key is how to add value to that. In addition to customer service, we also focus on proposing something extra that only HIS can provide, such as renting out the Louvre Museum exclusively.
And what's most important is to be close to our customers at a heart level. Through conversations with customers, we obtain information such as "this kind of thing is popular" or "this kind of thing is in demand," and we enter this information into a database, and I feel it's also important to update our existing products and services to keep up with the times.

■ In the future, we will differentiate ourselves from other companies by creating hotels with a unique concept

Going forward, we are considering expanding beyond the travel business. We would like to achieve a 1:1 profit ratio between our travel business, travel-related businesses such as hotels, and non-travel businesses such as food and beverage. Hotels are at the forefront of our focus in this area. Currently, we operate 42 hotels under 8 brands, including resort hotels, business hotels, and inns. We would like to further promote branding, especially for hotels with clear concepts such as our "Henn na Hotel," which utilizes IoT. We are also focusing on collaborative rooms with other companies, so that we can become a hotel that customers choose and where the stay itself is the destination. We would like to apply this business model to other businesses as well.

■Message to students

It's important to work hard in your job search, but things may not always go as planned. Even if you do manage to get a job at the company you want, you don't know if the job is right for you or if you'll be successful there. The future is very uncertain. In order to survive in such an uncertain future, I believe the following two mindsets are important.
Be optimistic and believe that "life is interesting because you never know what's going to happen."
It's about having the initiative to think, "I have to do something about my life."

According to the "Planned Accident Theory" (1999) proposed by Dr. Krumboltz of Stanford University, an individual's career is determined by the accumulation of chance events. In other words, you can improve your career by recognizing chance events as opportunities and making the most of them. Incidentally, chance events are thought to be more likely to occur in people who possess five traits: curiosity, persistence, optimism, flexibility, and a sense of adventure. I urge everyone to value these qualities in order to increase the number of chance events that turn into opportunities.

Student Newspaper Online September 2, 2024 Interview by Toyo University 3rd year student Chisaki Hashimoto

Kokugakuin University, second-year student, Teranishi Shion / International Christian University, second-year student, Wakao Mai / Keio University, third-year student, Yamamoto Sayori / Sophia University, third-year student, Yoshikawa Minami / Rikkyo University, first-year student, Matsumoto Misaki / Bunka Fashion College, second-year student, Hashiba Momo / Toyo University, third-year student, Hashimoto Chisaki / Kokugakuin University, first-year student, Honda Tsuyoshi