Self Intro/Linkedin
I worked as a data scientist / software / data engineer for 5 years in a HR company. I am really fascinated to consider how technology will change the world and how to connect technology to actual business. My family has a family company that develops filling pumps. I quitted my previous job in March 2022 and am now a director of my family company and support to modernize its internal process.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sho-tatsuno/


Tech is disrupting many industries. How did technology innovation influence your career?
I am always a person on the technical side. Technology is changing rapidly and many industries and services have been disrupted by new technology. But on the other side, because of the complexity of new technology, people sometimes are racked by fancy words. For example, do you know what is "AI", "Blockchain" or "Sustainability" and how these technologies will influence our life?

To oversee the incoming era and utilize technology, I strongly believe that I have to or understand the core of each technology and do not escape seeing the inside of it. That's why I started my career as a data scientist and moved to different technical roles, not beginning with my family company's track.


You had a lot of success in your company. When did you start thinking about the MBA, was it something on your mind from the beginning of your career?
I used to consider that I will study abroad in the future from my grad school, especially the US, because regarding both technology and business, the US is the most advanced country and I would like to push myself to the global level.
After working for years and experiencing 3 tech roles to grasp vague understandings about data and software, I felt that the business side is also critical to give value to the world no matter how innovative a product is. This is the time to consider going for an MBA.

Also at the same time, my family reason is another factor to consider. I also wanted to have a basic management and also have a feeling to support my company as well.


What have you seen in your company and in your family business shaped your future vision?
My previous company was a tech company, and it diversified its business in many ways. This utilizes AI, introduces SaaS business models, and changes the organization structure dynamically almost every year. This agility definitely influences my way of thinking about organization and business. Also, I have encountered a lot of resistance in my traditional family company to propose introducing new technology and change their daily work. Experiencing an innovative/flexible company and a traditional/stable company gave me an insight about how to change an organization or how to influence a stagnant society as a whole.


What did you prioritize when selecting an MBA program?
I want to gain experience about how to create new business with technology from zero.
So, entrepreneurship is the most important. Then, also check the sustainability area because this is also another area which I do not understand but will change the world (also, this is a hot topic to my family company). Ranking (or the alumni quality) is definitely important because this directly connects the quality of my network.


What was the hardest part of the application for you?
I would especially like to mention 2 things.
1. Essay to make a convincing story
Even though you might think that I am coherent, it's difficult to summarize my life and make a story because my life is not a straight line. My grad research is to develop a device to support acquisition of human sport skill, which is totally unrelated to the current work. Also, my essay is easy to be inclined to tech. Even though many business schools welcome tech-person, they are still "business" schools and I have to draw myself in a business perspective.

2. Essay / Interview questions about DEI / international topics
I do not have experience using English in both daily communication and work. I only went on a trip or participated in international conferences in a week. These topics are super difficult for me to explain.


How did Edogijuku help you prepare a successful application?
Specifically, I appreciated Ed for 2 points.
1. Brainstorming
Ed has a lot of stories about previous applicants and gives advice based on them.
As I said, I struggled to draft my main story.
We sometimes disagreed, but discussed seriously about what is best.
This thorough process would be definitely the core of my essay story.

2. Interview
Ed's interview was very customized to each person.
Due to his advice or anticipated questions, I could pass all the invited interviews.


If you could go back to 20 years old and make one change, what would it be?
Have the opportunity to study abroad.
Overall, I was satisfied with my life and did not deny my past action, but it would be better to have an international viewpoint since young


What advice would you give to applicants?
1. Fight with Ed (optional and not limited to Ed though). A good story begins when you seriously see your life. Serious discussion would be the foundation of your application journey.

2. It's important that you stand out among many applicants. Keep in mind that other applicants think the same thing and think what would happen as the result of these players' thinking from admissions' perspectives.

Self Intro/Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazuya-murata-a813a0ab/


You were interested in technology, can you talk about your passion for it?
I believe technology can change its form flexibly and can contribute to solving social problems. Also, it continues to develop even now. I like studying the latest technology and applying to an industry or a company.


Why did you join your first company?
The first company has been solving client's problems by making good use of IT. Additionally, as a Japan based global company, I thought it would give me a lot of chances to work abroad.


You gained international experience in your company. Can you talk about those challenges for a person who grew up in Japan?
The biggest challenge was English. I haven't studied and lived abroad before I started working so getting accustomed to English meetings and appealing presence was a big challenge for me.
Another difficulty was the way to show value to local employees. Although it might not be limited to a person who grew up in Japan, because the definition between HQ and branch was not so clear, it was very difficult to find a way to contribute to KPIs of local branches.


How did the experience, especially learning Chinese and working in China, impact you?
Working in China was the most important experience that changed my mind. I understand how I should behave in a working environment surrounded by colleagues from different countries. Since I had to manage sales team members, I learned how to lead a team to the same direction while leaving minor differences of ideas.
Learning Chinese was not only making me a trilingual, but also giving me more chances to communicate with Chinese sales members because more people get interested in people trying to study their country's language.


When did you start to get interested in earning an MBA?
After I started working, I got interested in a professional CEO, who moves around to multiple companies as a CEO. Then, I started learning business strategy or getting a registered consultant license for small and medium enterprises. I started learning TOEFL in 2016.


What was the hardest part of the application for you?
Exams. TOEFL, IELTS were very hard for me. GMAT was the hardest. Even after studying very hard, I got lower scores than before. I almost gave up after I couldn't get a target score.


What did you prioritize when selecting an MBA program?
Learning opportunities in the Technology field, diversity of students, and living cost of the city.


Why did you finally decide to go to Cambridge?
First, since Cambridge is a science focused university, not just a business school, I thought I would have more opportunities to get involved in technology related subjects. Second, an English speaking country will give me more chances to work in the area than non-English speaking countries. Third, my wife's preference.

Before being admitted by a school, I tried to adjust myself to each school. I think I did not consider "fit" to each school very well because of worry about losing all schools. but after getting admitted by multiple schools, I started to think of the best school seriously.


How did Edogijuku help you prepare a successful application?
Ed helped me write an essay which can express myself as much as possible. Also, his teaching style, which is email based, was very time-effective. I was relieved by his quick response right before the deadlines and he replied to me even on the new year's day.


If you could go back to 20 years old and make one change, what would it be?
I will try studying abroad and getting a master's degree in computer science.


What advice would you give to applicants?
Never give up until getting admitted. It took more than five years for me to get accepted by a school while working abroad in the middle of the period. But now I believe the power to make a dream come true will form your future story more specifically and the future story will be a power to move other people around you.

Self Intro/Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/naohiro-yamaura-00772043/


You have a long and successful career. What challenges shaped your future career vision?
The Japanese marketing industry is very mature. I would like to use the expertise I have developed to expand my business into the APAC region.


Why did you decide to pursue an Executive MBA? Why did you think it was important for your career?
Understanding the local community and local networks are important to achieve my career vision. EMBA is the best choice for management-level professionals.


Was there any experience recently that made you decide to apply to business school?
Recommendations were made by acquaintances and supervisors.


Why did you focus on the location in Singapore?
There are several strategic reasons.
The part-time program allows students to attend classes from Japan.
There is no time difference and service delivery is possible from Japan.
The program is diverse and growing rapidly.


What was the hardest part of the application for you?
The process of logically constructing my self-analysis and motivation for the essay was the hardest part.
In my case, I also invested a lot of time in learning English.


How did Edogijuku help you prepare a successful application?
It goes without saying that Ed-san's precise advice at the right time was the best, and he was always encouraging even in difficult times.


If you met the other applicant for the executive program, what advice would you give to applicants?
The major attraction of the Executuive Department program is not only the business administration knowledge, but also the networking with executives. You can participate in the program while working, and regardless of your age, you can challenge yourself and expand your opportunities.
Many unforeseen things can happen during the application process. The experienced counseling by Ed-san will surely be of great help to you.

You studied abroad during college, can you share how that shaped your career development?
The experience gave me the sense of the level of English I would need to flourish in academic programs at a US university. This knowledge was a great asset for me when applying for MBA programs this time as I already had a sense of the efforts needed to reach admissions criteria in terms of English proficiency. From a career perspective, the experience also allowed me to build confidence in the international environment and served as a key differentiator for my consulting recruiting process I went through at that time.


When did you start getting interested in the MBA? Was that when you started your career or after you started working abroad?
Getting a MBA from a top US business school has been my long-term goal since my college age. My hectic professional life in consulting and banking made time management on the actual application challenging, but it had been always there in my mind.


What did you prioritize when selecting an MBA program?
In my entire career I’ve worked in fields where work is always done on team and project-basis and I know that components of teamwork such as empowerment and empathy really impacts the performance of the team and would be critical for success of both individual and entire organization. Therefore I was looking for schools which have an education philosophy which emphasize teamwork and collaboration where students have constant opportunity to work on team assignments. College town environment where students can have 24/7 learning experience is another point I considered as I believed such environments would help me to immerse myself in the student community there.


What was the hardest part of the application for you?
I believe almost all of the MBA programs ask applicants what career goal they have, requesting them to share concrete stories to substantiate it. I struggled with answering this question as I was not utterly clear in my post-MBA goal therefore required some self-reflection to come up with the idea. f I were to pick one, I would say that was the hardest part of the application.


In spite of the pandemic, you visited campus. How was the campus visit helpful for you and how did it enhance your application process?
A campus visit is a great way to communicate your passion for the school. While visiting, I succeeded in securing chance to directly connect with one of the admissions officers and could discuss my potential contribution to the program. Also, knowing my passion for the program, the professor and students of the class I audited luckly offered me to write an endorsement notes to the admissions. These are the things difficult to achieve without meeting with people in person and the value of campus visit should be underestimated.


How did Edogijuku help you prepare a successful application?
The following four points struck me about the counseling service of Edogigyuku. I appreciate Edo’s support which makes me realize my dream and would recommend everyone serious about applying for top business schools.

Deep understanding of each school’s culture
Edo has a clear understanding of the image of ideal candidates each school looks for, and is able to advise on what elements we should include in essay content reflecting such points. While often underrated relative to standard test score., each school has unique history and education philosophy which distinguish themselves and showing clear understanding of those would be critical to improve the chance of admissions.

Strategic advice and intelligence
I would say strategic advice is another element which I appreciate about Edogijyuku’s service. Edo has worked with a number of MBA applicants over many years and has a clear sense of what minimum criteria schools look for in a candidate profile in terms GPA, TOEFL, GMAT (including Executive Assessment) as well as years of work experience. While some counselors are not sure about these numerics, Ed is able to provide concrete advice on how we should develop an application strategy based on concrete numbers. Interview reports he has accumulated over time were also instrumental when preparing for interviews.

Responsiveness
As mentioned in many other places, Ed had been very responsive to my emails and meeting requests throughout my service-use period. Ed was willing to work on reviewing my essays and interview prep stuff even in the late night or early morning when the situation necessitates. MBA application is very intense in terms of schedule and responsibility should be one of the most important criteria one should consider when selecting a counselor. I can testify to his high-quality service from this perspective as well.

Warm and encouraging personality
Ed as a person has a warm personality and I am happy I could work with him on my application. Obvisouly, MBA application is not an easy process and requires tons of sacrifice and patience, but Ed does not forget to cheer up his students and always works with them side-by-side. He is very committed to the success of the client and has the attitude to devote himself to the ultimate consequence. This is another point I can applaud about Edogigyuku.


What advice would you give to applicants?
Your MBA experience will be a fantastic one and should reward you in many aspects of your life going forward. So, please do not give up and be persistent.
As a piece of advice, I would reiterate the importance of networking with people. Most schools should welcome you and will enjoy talking with you. So please do not hesitate to contact them and initiate conversations.

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.