Before Catalys

I began my career as an engineer at a steel maker. My family ran a manufacturing business, so making things mattered to me.
I chose steel because it underpins every other industry, and I spent my days on the shop floor in a helmet, close to the heart of manufacturing.
The work was stimulating and I could feel myself growing, but inside a large company I started to want more than an engineer’s role: I wanted to change the company, to be part of running it.
So I looked again at my career and decided to try management strategy consulting. I received an offer from the strategy firm I wanted and made the move.

Why I joined

After moving into consulting I was seconded to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and moved between strategy firms.
Then Tanaka, now one of our representatives and a former colleague, invited me to join as a founding member.
Three things decided it. First, how hard he pushed.
Second, that we saw the same two problems in consulting: fees that had climbed too high, and the split between strategy and execution.
Third, having seen at an operating company how good it feels to move an organisation, I thought Catalys could genuinely work alongside clients.
On top of that, the chance to grow a company by my own hand was a real draw. Those things together made me join as a founding member.

Growth and results

What I learned on the shop floor at the steel maker still feeds into my consulting work.
Production control and quality control for automotive steel sheet, and the launch of a new plant, taught me what manufacturing really is.
At the strategy firms I led projects across a wide range of themes and industries, including business strategy, new business exploration and business due diligence, and on secondment to METI I led an international initiative on decarbonising industrial sectors and supported policymaking.
At Catalys I drove growth to about 20 people in a little over a year from founding, and built the delivery and hands-on support capability that now accounts for more than half of our projects.
We have established a distinctive position in supporting private equity portfolio companies in particular.

My role as Executive Officer

As Executive Officer I run the company together with our two representatives, but I see my own role as the bridge between them and the rest of the team.
I try to stay as close as I can to how the junior members see things, and I manage the organisation with both the representatives’ view of the business and the team’s view from the ground.
In hiring I care about fit with the team, using referrals while making sure we do not become too alike.
And to keep client-first a real practice, I work to minimise internal deck-making and rework, and to build a culture where people work efficiently and still deliver the most value.
I would say I work the fewest hours in the company, which is my way of setting the example.

What I want to achieve at Catalys

I want to grow the consulting business while insisting on fees set at the right level, so that we can bring this value to companies that have never hired a consultant.
We are aiming for 50 people in a year and 100 in time. Our name comes from catalyst, and I care about living up to it: staying the presence that accelerates a client’s growth.
As the world changes fast, not least because of AI, consultants have to respond simply and quickly, changing at the same pace the world does.
I want us to be a firm that maximises performance for clients and for ourselves, that keeps delivering more than it charges, and that helps clients lead change in their markets.

* Roles and details are as they were at the time of the interview.