Limited Distribution:
Special Lecture by Ken Kusunoki on Competitive Strategy and DX

Mr. Ken Kusunoki

Hitotsubashi Business School PDS Endowed Chair
Specially Appointed Professor of Competitive Strategy

Management scholar specializing in competitive strategy. He researches the logic by which companies build sustainable competitive advantages. He completed his master's degree at the Graduate School of Commerce and Management, Hitotsubashi University. After serving as a full-time lecturer and associate professor at the Faculty of Commerce at Hitotsubashi University, a visiting professor at SDA Bocconi School of Management (Milan, Italy), an associate professor at the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy at Hitotsubashi University, and a professor at Hitotsubashi Business School, he assumed his current position in 2023. Born in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, in 1964.

He has served as Vice Chairman of the Startup Committee of the Japan Association of Corporate Directors (current), a member of the Porter Prize Steering Committee (current), a management advisor to Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., a management advisor to Misaki Capital Inc. (current), a member of the Asset Management Advisory Committee of Resona Bank, a director of Skymark Airlines Inc., an advisory board member of NTT DATA, a member of the Industrial Structure Council of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and a director of the Academic Association for Organizational Science. He has been involved in the development of management talent at Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. since the inception of the company's FRMIC (Fast Retailing Management and Innovation Center). He received the Best Paper Award at the MIT-Japan Science and Technology Conference for "Dynamic Network and Bureaucracy" (1993) and the Business Book Grand Prix for "Competitive Strategy as a Story: Conditions for Superior Strategy" (2011).

Mr. Ken Kusunoki

Hitotsubashi Business School PDS Endowed Chair
Specially Appointed Professor of Competitive Strategy

Katsuhito Nagatake

uSonar Co., Ltd.
President and Representative Director

Joined uSonar Co., Ltd. as a new graduate in 2000. After serving in roles such as Sales Planning, was appointed Executive Officer of the Sales Division Planning Group in July 2014. Appointed President and Representative Director in February 2019. Oversees the management of the entire Sales Division and promotes Customer Success and Marketing projects. Since taking office as President, has grown uSonar's revenue by 260% over five years. Actively participates in various meetings and events, building a network with over 1,000 executives and corporate leaders annually, and continues to conduct more than 500 business meetings per year. Shares the expertise gained from rapidly growing the company's revenue through data-driven sales and marketing activities not only with internal sales teams but also with partners and clients.