Kasai said that most Japanese people go to the United States for MBA programs. But when the bank awarded him an MBA scholarship, he chose to study in Europe to learn more about its business culture.

When he graduated in 1995, the financial institution was quick to capitalize on its investment. He was posted to London and soon became a core project-management member for the United Kingdom, and then pan-European, implementation of its new global IT platform.

Now back in Tokyo, Kasai continues to oversee the IT structure’s roll-out in his role at the bank’s global operations and information systems office. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has more than 30,000 staff in over 40 countries and is part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the world’s 10th biggest bank by market capitalization ($105.4 billion).

Despite Japan’s legendary long working day, Kasai finds time to lead IESE’s four-year-old Japan Alumni Chapter. He played a key rule in IESE’s 50th anniversary celebration in Tokyo in April (see page 84).

There are now 53 IESE alumni living or working in Japan but when you studied for your MBA there were very few. Why did you choose IESE?
The bank offered me a scholarship with the requirement that I chose a good school. IESE had a very good reputation for management education and met the criteria. Another person from the bank had studied there and the company was very happy with the result. Incidentally, there were five Japanese students in my MBA class and right now, one of our staff is a first-year in IESE’s full-time MBA program.

The majority of Japanese people choose US schools but I thought there was great potential for growth in European business. I felt it was really important to learn about Europe and doing business there. On a global basis, the United States, Europe and Asia are the three main business zones. Many Japanese people tend to focus on America but Europe is also a key area and not so many Japanese people have the chance to learn about business there.

The third reason was cultural: I wanted to learn Spanish and felt it would be useful. Also, my wife, Manami, loves Spain. She had been learning flamenco for 10 years in Japan and was keen to come to Barcelona to practice more and improve her Spanish. We both agreed it was a good destination.

What were the most valuable lessons from your MBA?
Obviously I learned various practical skills at IESE, such as in finance, accounting and general management, which are important for a person working in banking. Also, I learned about problem-solving and analysis in an international setting. I had never experienced such a culturally diverse environment with people from so many different countries discussing cases and solving problems. This was very exciting and new for me, as was the expectation of class contribution, such as sharing our local knowledge and experience.

I learned a lot about the European way of thinking and team spirit, particularly the importance of collaboration and communication. By working as a team to solve case studies, I realized that the Asian way of thinking is not the only way. When I saw cases from another perspective, with input from people from different cultures with different approaches to solving problems, I realized that the answer was not always what it first seemed.

I also noticed the importance of the family in the sense that people, particularly my classmates, took an interest and asked after my family. That’s not so common in the Japanese business world.

What did you do after your MBA?
The bank transferred me to London and I stayed there for nine years, until 2004. Our three children were born there: my daughter Eri, now 11, and two boys, Hiroki who is aged eight and Yuta, six.

I worked in various departments, such as treasury and risk management, before being assigned to work on the overhaul of the bank’s IT structure in Europe.

After the completion of the U.K. phase of the project in 2003, we went back to Japan and I started working on phase two, for other European countries. Now I’m on phase three, covering Spain and Belgium, and on schedule for completion later this year.

It’s a huge project, changing the banking system to a completely new one. It’s a big bank and there were lots of different systems, each a little different in each country, so the plan was to just have one big platform and also to improve functionality and provision of management information.

We can imagine the headaches! What have been the challenges of this project and how have you applied the skills you acquired during the MBA?
The system itself was developed in Tokyo and sometimes people in the European branches don’t agree with our ideas! So that has led me to draw on my problem solving and communications skills. My background cultural knowledge and experience has been very useful, such as in finding ways to convince staff to follow directions. That is sometimes a slow and painful process.

From the project-management perspective, I have to oversee risks and keep in mind the constraints, such as time, cost and quality. We try to listen to feedback, but this has to be balanced with the need to meet deadlines. If we did everything the local staff requested, it would require  extra investment and overly complicate and delay the project. So I try to negotiate to help staff understand the bank's direction and offer alternative solutions to gain their support and willingness to compromise.

The idea is to use this platform globally for our customer service, security and interface. Apart from adjusting to local regulations, we basically don't add different functionalities in different countries.

And life away from work?
I spend most of it with my family. My children are influenced by their time in Europe and all three of them play the violin and two of them study ballet so I help them with that.

Any advice for IESE alumni visiting Japan?
Yes, even if they are there for just 24 hours, the important thing is to meet one of the IESE alumni. They will probably also invite the person to take in a tourist highlight, such as going to eat sushi. Our alumni chapter is small but growing fast.