Mickey’s Voice
Insights from our CEO
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Why the theme is tech & green: Mickey Mikitani at Rakuten Optimism 2022
Rakuten Optimism, Rakuten’s largest annual business conference, is a Group-wide event that aims to enhance and enrich the extended Rakuten family’s brand, ecosystem and partnerships. Held in Japan since 2019, Rakuten Optimism 2022 was a virtual event held over two days on September 28-29. Some 114,000 people registered to participate, exceeding last year’s count, and the total viewership for…
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2023: Innovation, operations and creativity
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group Last year marked Rakuten’s 25th anniversary, and as the world continues to experience rapid change, both technological and social, we also see many opportunities ahead. Our vision is to become a global innovation company. To be a leader in innovation, we must remind ourselves of why we are here. Why are we doing this together? I distill the answer d…
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Everyone Is Your Teacher
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group What could you learn if everyone you met could also be your teacher? It is common for people in business to seek out a mentor or advisor. I was asked recently at a staff meeting what I consider the attributes of the ideal role model to be. Many assume that to be successful, one needs a single, dedicated guide – a sensei – to give sage advice and dir…
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Rakuten welcomes 2022 new grads in person in Tokyo
Every April, companies across Japan welcome hundreds of thousands of fresh university graduates from across the country to join their ranks as full-time employees. Rakuten held this year’s annual spring entrance ceremony for new grads in person for the first time since 2019, after quickly pivoting to a work from home model and fully-virtualized entrance ceremony at the beginning of the pande…
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Mickey Mikitani on sustainability, Japan’s e-commerce potential and an ambitious ten trillion yen goal
Every January, Japan’s leading e-commerce platform hits the ground running with the Rakuten Ichiba New Year Conference. The conference is an opportunity for the thousands of merchants who attend online and in person to hear Rakuten perspectives on what’s ahead for e-commerce, including frank and open comments from Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani. Halfway to 10 trillion In 2021, Rakuten reached a signi…
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A three-point decision-making framework: Profit, passion & public good
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group The world is full of great ideas. But which ones will come to fruition? “Deciding which projects get our time and attention are critical choices that shape our future.” MICKEY MIKITANI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, RAKUTEN GROUP As a leader, it’s important not to leave that decision to chance. Deciding which projects get our time and attention are critical cho…
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Celebrating a quarter century of optimism: Thoughts on the new year
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group First and foremost, I’d like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. This year marks Rakuten’s 25th anniversary — 25 years of tremendous growth across e-commerce, sports, fintech, mobile and many other industries. Let’s take a brief look back at 2021 and the great progress achieved thanks to the commitment and hard work of all our employees,…
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Building your organization’s capacity for speed: The human context
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group If there’s one constant in business today, it’s the pressure to move faster. Can we speed a product to market? Can we rush delivery? Can we get the app to load faster? At Rakuten, operating effectively at speed has always been fundamental to our growth. In fact, one of our founding principles for success is simply: Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! The realit…
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Rakuten Expo: Mickey Mikitani on the Rakuten Mobile Triangle Strategy
Excerpted from an address by Rakuten Group Chairman and CEO, Mickey Mikitani, to Rakuten Ichiba merchants at Rakuten Expo 2021. “Last summer we experienced a tremendous surge in customer demand, spurred by COVID-19. Now, even in the wake of that remarkable growth, we’re seeing a sustained 17% increase year-over-year. Our two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is growing steadily at 23.6…
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Why taking no risks is the biggest risk of all
Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group If you’ve ever climbed a mountain, you know the meaning of risk. As you stand at the bottom, looking up, the summit seems a universe away. You may well consider your options at that moment: drop your gear and go back to a place of guaranteed safety or move forward, look up and embrace the risk interwoven in any worthy endeavor. “When you stand…
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