Our People

The Team Behind Piston Service Hub

Our collective experience spans decades of advisory, consulting, and operational leadership — united by a shared commitment to rigorous, values-driven professional practice.

The professionals at Piston Service Hub bring together diverse backgrounds in strategy, operations, technology, and organisational development. What binds us is not a common credential but a common disposition: the belief that excellent outcomes for clients depend on careful thinking, honest communication, and a willingness to remain engaged through complexity. We are a firm where collaboration is not a stated value but a practised daily behaviour — and where the long-term development of our people is regarded as inseparable from the long-term development of our practice.

Leadership

Senior Management

Kenji Watanabe, Representative Director

Kenji Watanabe

Representative Director

With over 20 years of experience in business strategy and corporate leadership, Kenji founded Piston Service Hub on the conviction that rigorous advisory work and enduring client relationships are mutually reinforcing. He has led complex cross-border strategy engagements across manufacturing, financial services, and professional services sectors. His approach combines analytical discipline with a deep respect for the human dimensions of organisational change.

Yuki Tanaka, Managing Director, Consulting

Yuki Tanaka

Managing Director, Consulting

Yuki is an expert in operational transformation and process design, with a track record of guiding organisations through significant transitions while preserving institutional knowledge and team cohesion. She brings a practitioner's understanding of what it takes to implement change sustainably within complex structures. Her work consistently prioritises outcomes that are not only effective in the short term but durable over years.

Hiroshi Yamamoto, Director, Digital Services

Hiroshi Yamamoto

Director, Digital Services

Hiroshi leads Takumi's digital practice with a focus on technology integration, systems architecture, and digital transformation strategy. He has extensive experience bridging the gap between technical teams and executive leadership, ensuring that digital initiatives are both technically sound and strategically coherent. His background spans both in-house technology leadership roles and independent advisory engagements across multiple sectors.

Akiko Mori, Director, Organisational Development

Akiko Mori

Director, Organisational Development

Akiko specialises in human capital strategy, leadership development frameworks, and organisational design. Her work addresses some of the most complex people-centred challenges facing modern businesses: succession planning, capability building, culture alignment, and workforce transformation. She brings both academic grounding and practitioner experience to her engagements, and is widely regarded as one of the region's foremost advisors on leadership continuity.

Advisory Board

External Advisors

Prof. Takashi Endo

Emeritus Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University

Area of Expertise

Corporate governance and Japanese management philosophy. Professor Endo has spent four decades studying the intersection of organisational culture and sustainable performance, and advises Takumi on long-term strategic positioning and governance frameworks. He is the author of several widely cited works on stakeholder capitalism in the Japanese context.

Noriko Ishida

Former Deputy Director, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI); Independent Policy Advisor

Area of Expertise

Regulatory affairs, public-private partnerships, and industrial policy. Noriko brings an insider's understanding of the regulatory and policy environment affecting businesses operating across Japan and broader Asia. Her counsel is particularly valuable to clients navigating compliance complexity or engaging with government and public sector counterparts.

James R. Calloway

Senior Partner (retired), Asia-Pacific Practice, Calloway & Associates LLP; Independent Director

Area of Expertise

Cross-border M&A, international joint ventures, and Asia-Pacific market entry strategy. James spent over 25 years advising multinational corporations on complex transactions across the Asia-Pacific region. He provides Takumi with international perspective on market dynamics, deal structuring, and the cultural dimensions of cross-border collaboration.

Our Culture

How We Work Together

Traditional tea ceremony representing the careful, intentional culture at Piston Service Hub

Open Communication

At Takumi, the expectation is that concerns, ideas, and assessments are shared directly and clearly — across all levels of seniority. We value the kind of communication that prioritises clarity over comfort, while maintaining the respect and consideration that we owe to one another. Open communication is not an open door policy; it is an actively maintained professional norm.

Structured Collaboration

Effective collaboration does not arise spontaneously — it is supported by clear processes, well-defined roles, and a shared understanding of how decisions are made. We invest in the structures that make collaboration productive rather than draining: regular structured review, documented responsibilities, and deliberate feedback practices. The result is a team that can work with speed and confidence because its foundations are reliable.

Continuous Learning

The fields in which we work — strategy, digital transformation, organisational development — evolve continuously, and we hold ourselves to the same standard of development that we recommend to our clients. Every member of the Takumi team is expected to pursue ongoing professional growth, and the firm provides both the time and the resources to support it. Learning here is not a benefit; it is a professional commitment.

We Are Always Looking for Thoughtful Professionals

Piston Service Hub grows through the addition of people who bring genuine expertise, intellectual curiosity, and a commitment to working with care and integrity. If that describes how you approach your professional life, we would be glad to hear from you — whether or not we have a specific opening that matches your background precisely.

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