Yuichi Kanzaki, Representative Director and CEO, Batons Co., Ltd.

Leave your comfort zone and turn these turbulent times into opportunities.

Mr. Yuichi Kamise, Representative Director and CEO of Batons Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
Born in 1977. After gaining experience as an engineer and consultant, he held positions at Recruit, including Executive Officer of Recruit Marketing Partners, Director of Recruit Lifestyle, and Director of Recruit Housing Company. In April 2019, he joined Batons as Director and CMO, and in March 2022, he became its representative director.

Mr. Kanzaki, who has worked in the IT industry, consulting, and recruitment, is currently the CEO of Batons Co., Ltd., which operates an M&A platform. Through M&A, sometimes called "corporate marriages," he supports the future of small and medium-sized enterprises and local communities in Japan. We asked him about the background of his career, which has been centered on growth, and his message to students.

Looking back on my student days, I was far more engrossed in things "outside of academics" than you might imagine from my current job. I was a baseball enthusiast throughout elementary school, and passionate about basketball in middle and high school, but when I entered university, I suddenly became absorbed in music. I performed live in Shimokitazawa, belonged to a music club, and at that time, I was hardly passionate about anything other than music and part-time jobs.
Ideally, I should have focused on my studies, but to be honest, I spent every day on music. I was a student in the Department of Information Science (at the time) of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University. From 1996 to 2000, when I was a student, Windows 95 had just been released, and everyone was starting to use personal computers. I was in an environment where I was learning programming, but I'm not sure if I was a serious student.
Back then, job hunting wasn't like it is today; there was no way to research things online. People would just sift through the massive amount of direct mail that arrived at their homes. I didn't have a strong determination to become a professional; I was just naturally drawn to the IT field because I was in the information science department, and that's how I ended up in an engineering position at my first company.

■ Producing happiness for companies and their employees

After gaining experience at Recruit, I became involved as an advisor during the founding of BATONZ, and now I am in charge of management as CEO. "BATONZ," which we operate, is an M&A matching platform. For example, it plays a role similar to a real estate website you would use when looking for a house, connecting people who want to sell their company with people who want to buy it.
Information regarding the sale of a company is extremely confidential. Therefore, initially, we solicit offers without disclosing the company name, only providing a general overview such as "a screw factory in Kanagawa Prefecture with sales of several hundred million yen." We then disclose the company name and proceed with negotiations only to those who have signed a confidentiality agreement.
I see M&A as being similar to "marriage." While business synergies are important, ultimately, the compatibility between the top executives is extremely crucial. That's why we offer a service that combines digital transformation with human resource support from consultants. If values ​​such as "how they view their employees" and "what they want for the future" don't align, growth after the deal cannot be expected. This job, which involves acting as an intermediary between the CEOs, including negotiating terms, is so demanding that it's often called "the mixed martial arts of business," but it's also incredibly rewarding.

■Further evolution of a rapidly growing organization and the challenge of the AI ​​revolution

Of course, there are also challenges for the company, and there are two main ones.
The first is to further strengthen our organizational capabilities in this rapidly growing phase. Batons is a young company, entering its ninth year in April 2026, but our team has grown from a few dozen people a few years ago to over 100. We have also started hiring new graduates, but we must be a group of professionals who can support business owners through a major turning point in their lives. Within our rapidly expanding organization, we want to further enhance our overall organizational strength and further refine the professionalism of our employees and our ability to deliver exceptional experiences to our customers.
The second point is "catching up with AI." The evolution of AI is tremendous, and we are approaching an era where even programming will be written by AI. In the field of M&A, tasks that were previously done manually by humans, such as creating dozens of pages of PowerPoint presentations or performing complex financial analysis on financial statements, will likely be replaced by AI in the future. This is a great opportunity for Batons, but if we are slow to adapt, we will be replaced by more convenient platforms. How can we adapt to this environmental change, which can be called the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," and how can we catch up with the determination to even disrupt our business model? We believe this is a major challenge that will determine our future.

■ A dream that connects Japan's future

My dream is to eliminate "profitable business closures" from Japan. Currently, it is said that more than 6 companies in Japan close down, cease operations, or dissolve each year, and about half of them are profitable but close down due to reasons such as aging. These small and medium-sized enterprises are the ones that support delicious local food and unique culture. If these disappear, it will directly lead to the loss of what makes Japan unique. Batons is currently only able to support a small portion of businesses, but I want to increase this to 1, 2, and realize a future where people say, "Thanks to Batons, business closures have decreased."

■Message to university students

As you enter society, the environment will change even more drastically. For humans, "not changing" is a comfortable comfort zone, but you cannot enrich your life by staying there. Change can be stressful, but it is also an opportunity.
Don't be afraid of change; instead, embrace it with a playful spirit and enjoy it. Those who are curious and can immerse themselves in what's in front of them will surely grow. Just like Darwin's theory of evolution, those who can adapt to change are the ones who survive and enrich their lives. I wholeheartedly support all of you who will shape Japan's future as you move forward in this turbulent era while enjoying the process. Good luck!

Student Newspaper Online, April 28, 2026 Interview with Chiharu Yamada, 2nd year student at the University of Information Management and Innovation / Nina Ishikawa, 2nd year student at Sophia University

Kosuke Maeda (3rd year, Komazawa University) / Nina Ishikawa (2nd year, Sophia University) / Kanna Tsuchiya (2nd year, Jissen Women's University) / Aoba Watanabe (2nd year, Hosei University) / Chiharu Yamada (2nd year, Information Management Innovation Professional University) / Reina Inomoto (1st year, Kyoto University of the Arts)