Self Intro/Linkedin
www.linkedin.com/in/hirokazu-kosuga-6295ab23a
When you were studying in college did you always want an international career?
I was interested in international activities, but not always. I was born in a rural area in Shiga, and for me at that time, going abroad was a kind of “dream”.
Why did you join your first company?
To get exposure to international contexts and to train myself and get skills. As I stated, I was seeking some international experiences, but honestly speaking, I thought that those were only for selected people such as Kikoku-shijo or students having experience of studying abroad while at university. In Japan, getting into the first company after graduation is one of the greatest opportunities to change one’s lives, and I took the advantage.
You studied law but you got involved in business and later earned a US CPA, can you talk about that decision and how it influenced your career?
I really liked my hometown when I entered the university, and this was why I decided to study law to become a local lawyer in my hometown. However, the more I studied law, I lost interest… and I came to be interested in business topics through the classes of reading business contracts. (The experience of studying international contracts helped me a lot after entering the trading house)
For the first 5 years after joining a trading house, I was involved in typical domestic trading business and gained some soft skills, but once I got responsible for investment projects, I realized that my accounting and financing knowledge was not enough to do a “good job”, therefore I earned a US CPA. Through US CPA I learned accounting in English, and this experience has been quite helpful for me when I have discussions with our partners overseas.
In your company you could have the chance to work in the United States. How did those challenges overseas shape your future career vision?
The experience of working in the US taught me how fun it is to continue getting over myself. In Japan, where we share a little bit of a uniformed cultural norm, once we get some skill set in a company and share the context, “working” tends to become an everyday task and I lost the excitement of growing myself. While I was in the US, on the other hand, I had struggled a lot, such as language, culture, and getting into new business fields. This experience made me seek an environment where I can continue to gain new knowledge and skill set and to grow in my future career.
When did you start getting interested in the MBA?
I guess it was in the spring of 2020, but I had my US CPA. I started to think seriously when my CPA in Feb 2021.
What did you prioritize when selecting an MBA program?
I am not a company sponsored, so the cost of tuition and living cost was the first thing I had in my mind. I wanted a 2-year program, but I did not have many choices. Second was the place of living and the quality of food. And ranking.
What was the hardest part of the application for you?
Writing the essays was the hardest part. Like a typical Japanese, I am not good at describing myself and my past experience to be “attractive”.
After being admitted to the school and joining Shukatsu Sokokai of many companies, I realized that my career vision was not clear enough when I wrote my essay. I strongly recommend that applicants have a clear vision after graduation and contact such alumni working in those industries or field and get some true feeling in post MBA career.
How did Edogijuku help you prepare a successful application?
As mentioned, writing essays was my hardest part, but Ed helped me describe myself as “good candidate”. Moreover, Ed’s reply is always fast and I could prepare all the essays in such a short time.
Moreover, Ed’s network with the schools and alumni is beyond my imagination, and the information he has is so important for me.
You are going to IESE and what are you looking forward to the most from the school?
The diversity. The classes or the teaching method at IESE gives me a lot of opportunities to interact with students from all over the world. I am looking forward to such interaction in the class so that I can learn how different people see the exact same situation from their own point of view depending on their experience and cultural background. I believe that such experience will help me become a good leader in an international context.
If you could go back to 20 years old and make one change, what would it be?
Difficult question… but maybe nothing. I do not (or always try not to) regret any decisions in my life. I am who I am, and it is what it is.
What advice would you give to applicants?
Seriously think about post MBA career and have a clear vision, even if it is tentative.
Talk with a lot of alumni or current students.
Trust oneself and never give up.
www.linkedin.com/in/hirokazu-kosuga-6295ab23a
When you were studying in college did you always want an international career?
I was interested in international activities, but not always. I was born in a rural area in Shiga, and for me at that time, going abroad was a kind of “dream”.
Why did you join your first company?
To get exposure to international contexts and to train myself and get skills. As I stated, I was seeking some international experiences, but honestly speaking, I thought that those were only for selected people such as Kikoku-shijo or students having experience of studying abroad while at university. In Japan, getting into the first company after graduation is one of the greatest opportunities to change one’s lives, and I took the advantage.
You studied law but you got involved in business and later earned a US CPA, can you talk about that decision and how it influenced your career?
I really liked my hometown when I entered the university, and this was why I decided to study law to become a local lawyer in my hometown. However, the more I studied law, I lost interest… and I came to be interested in business topics through the classes of reading business contracts. (The experience of studying international contracts helped me a lot after entering the trading house)
For the first 5 years after joining a trading house, I was involved in typical domestic trading business and gained some soft skills, but once I got responsible for investment projects, I realized that my accounting and financing knowledge was not enough to do a “good job”, therefore I earned a US CPA. Through US CPA I learned accounting in English, and this experience has been quite helpful for me when I have discussions with our partners overseas.
In your company you could have the chance to work in the United States. How did those challenges overseas shape your future career vision?
The experience of working in the US taught me how fun it is to continue getting over myself. In Japan, where we share a little bit of a uniformed cultural norm, once we get some skill set in a company and share the context, “working” tends to become an everyday task and I lost the excitement of growing myself. While I was in the US, on the other hand, I had struggled a lot, such as language, culture, and getting into new business fields. This experience made me seek an environment where I can continue to gain new knowledge and skill set and to grow in my future career.
When did you start getting interested in the MBA?
I guess it was in the spring of 2020, but I had my US CPA. I started to think seriously when my CPA in Feb 2021.
What did you prioritize when selecting an MBA program?
I am not a company sponsored, so the cost of tuition and living cost was the first thing I had in my mind. I wanted a 2-year program, but I did not have many choices. Second was the place of living and the quality of food. And ranking.
What was the hardest part of the application for you?
Writing the essays was the hardest part. Like a typical Japanese, I am not good at describing myself and my past experience to be “attractive”.
After being admitted to the school and joining Shukatsu Sokokai of many companies, I realized that my career vision was not clear enough when I wrote my essay. I strongly recommend that applicants have a clear vision after graduation and contact such alumni working in those industries or field and get some true feeling in post MBA career.
How did Edogijuku help you prepare a successful application?
As mentioned, writing essays was my hardest part, but Ed helped me describe myself as “good candidate”. Moreover, Ed’s reply is always fast and I could prepare all the essays in such a short time.
Moreover, Ed’s network with the schools and alumni is beyond my imagination, and the information he has is so important for me.
You are going to IESE and what are you looking forward to the most from the school?
The diversity. The classes or the teaching method at IESE gives me a lot of opportunities to interact with students from all over the world. I am looking forward to such interaction in the class so that I can learn how different people see the exact same situation from their own point of view depending on their experience and cultural background. I believe that such experience will help me become a good leader in an international context.
If you could go back to 20 years old and make one change, what would it be?
Difficult question… but maybe nothing. I do not (or always try not to) regret any decisions in my life. I am who I am, and it is what it is.
What advice would you give to applicants?
Seriously think about post MBA career and have a clear vision, even if it is tentative.
Talk with a lot of alumni or current students.
Trust oneself and never give up.