Our People - Asst Marketing Manager
Aiming to be a Project Manager and Sales Representative who can play an active role globally
Shuhei Okuda
Asst Marketing Manager
01
Please tell us about your work
At the parent company Plus PM Co., Ltd., I was engaged in technical work as a project manager for construction projects.
In 2019, I was assigned to Plus PM Consultant. While learning PM skills to know the needs of clients more deeply, as a sales representative, I also collect project information, build relationships with clients, formulate sales activity strategies and make proposals. With web marketing, we hope to be engaged in more new projects.
02
Why did you decide to work abroad?
To be honest, I didn’t have the image of working abroad at first. When I was told by our CEO Kimura that I would be assigned to overseas, I strongly wanted to know what kind of values can be created if I experienced expatriate in my early 30s, and to acquire the ability to work overseas.
There was a lot of anxiety and pressure, but I had a strong desire to take this opportunity to achieve results, so I decided to take up this challenge.
03
What was the difference from working in Japan?
My level of awareness towards my role was changed. When I was working in Japan, I was “one of the consultant teams” and my responsibilities were vague.
However, while working overseas as a sales representative, I strongly felt my role of “becoming a bridge with Japan” especially for our Japanese clients who expand their businesses in overseas.
Also, in order to achieve high results for the entire organization, I feel it is important to understand each other’s culture with local members who have different cultures and languages and work together to gain mutual understanding and trust.
04
What was the most difficult thing to work?
In the beginning, I had a hard time communicating in English.
I’m ashamed to say that I have not been using English for about 10 years before I am stationed in overseas.
Every day, I think of “How can I express my idea?” I continued to speak with poor English and take notes of feedback from local staff.
And now I am able to participate in the creation of bid proposals for overseas PMC projects.
I also struggled with the strength of my preconceptions in overseas where cultures and values are different. and I am studying every day to improve my communication skills to convey “what I want the other person to do” in the true sense of the word.
05
What is the reward working with Plus PM Consultant?
There was a logistics warehouse project that I was in charge of as a sales representative, we worked hard with project team members from diverse backgrounds to implement the solutions by thinking deeply “what to do now as a project manager and how to make the project successful from the client’s point of view”.
At the end, when the client said, “Thank you very much, the project was successful”, I felt the excitement that I have not experienced before in Japan.
Also, when the clients and suppliers I have been able to relate to through the project say, “There are customers I would like to introduce to Mr. Okuda,” I feel happy and rewarding.
06
What are your dreams and goals for the future?
My goal is to be a business person who can compete anywhere in the world and to be a leader in the organization to support client.
To that end, I want to become a person trusted by the others person and repeat learning and challenges every day in order to improve my business skills and knowledge.
With the economic environment changing at a tremendous pace, we do not know the future. That is why I want to spend my work and private life happily and with energetic so that I can feel that I have grown up today, even a little bit every day.
