Last Updated: 2026.11.13
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Governance Underpinned by Lively Debate
Fast Retailing's continued growth is driven by a desire to create the best-loved global No.1 brand. What do the Company's external directors think is the best way to sustainably improve corporate value? We asked them about the effectiveness of the Board, management challenges, and human resource development.
- External Director
Takeshi Kunibe - External Director
Kathy Mitsuko Koll - External Director
Masaaki Shintaku
In your opinion, how effective is the current Board, and what areas need to be strengthened to enhance its functions going forward?
Shintaku： The Board's composition has changed dramatically during my 17 years as an external director. Over the past 10 years in particular, the number of external directors with management and global experience has increased. Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board members draw on their diverse experience and offer a range of perspectives to Mr. Yanai, greatly enhancing Board effectiveness.
Koll: The textbook role of a Board is to act as a supervisory body, but it is also a strategic partner. Over the five years I have served as a member, Board meetings have encouraged very free and lively debates to explore future opportunities together and source the next 10 trillion yen in sales.
Kunibe: I only joined the Board about a year ago, but I feel we have deep and substantial discussions. Recently, the emphasis has been on ensuring Board member diversity and I think Fast Retailing has achieved diversity not just in form, but in substance. It selects external directors with the qualities and qualifications it needs to ensure future growth and enhance future corporate value, and gains valuable insight from people from various fields including trading companies, IT, construction, and finance.
Koll: I hesitated a little when I was first asked to become an external director because I wasn't sure if I, as a woman and foreign national, would be able to speak my mind or whether I was just there to fulfill diversity requirements. When I asked Mr.Yanai directly, he said he focused on my governance and financial market knowledge rather than my identity and wanted to hear candid opinions that differed from his own, so I accepted.
Kunibe: I think Mr. Yanai's desire to hear opinions that might differ from his own is an important driver of vigorous debate, and the Board functions very effectively in that respect. However, Fast Retailing is growing all the time, so the Board must evolve as well.
Shintaku: I agree. Fast Retailing's stakeholders include customers and employees, many of whom are women and recently, many from outside Japan as well. I think people from those backgrounds also need to be appointed as external directors or executive officers. Indeed, that decision has already been taken, and the selection process begun.
Kunibe: It is vital that this initiative has real substance and is not just for show. Instead of simply increasing the number of woman or foreign nationals in management positions to boost ratios, it is absolutely essential that any appointed women or foreign nationals do actually represent our stakeholders, more than half of them are women, and can contribute their own unique expertise and global experience to enhance the Company's corporate value.
Koll: The Board not only needs to improve its gender balance, but also its crisis management capabilities. Various crisis management factors have emerged in recent years including geopolitical, economic, and cyber-related risks. There is also concern that several crises might occur simultaneously, influencing each other and escalating into even more difficult situations. There is room to strengthen the Board's ability to deal with crises by inviting new members with extensive risk management expertise.
Which management areas need to be strengthened, and which issues prioritized, to continue generating strong growth?
Kunibe: Fast Retailing sales are fast approaching the 4 trillion yen and the Company is aiming to achieve 10 trillion yen sales in the near future, so it needs to further evolve its global management frameworks. When a company is growing, its talent pool and internal management systems can struggle to keep up, so these things need to be actively addressed. As global sales expand, staff in different locations around the world will make various decisions based on local customer needs and regulations. However, some issues cannot be solved by local staff alone. The Tokyo global headquarters must clarify its role and deepen communication and connections with local operations. The global headquarter efforts to truly globalize human resources, workstyles, and other universal assets and practices will be vital to future growth.
Koll: One thing that sets Fast Retailing apart is its deep involvement across the entire supply chain from the raw materials stage through product planning, production, retail, and end-of-life recycling. I am very interested in ESG and sustainability, so I have focused on raw materials procurement and the impact of production on the environment. Fast Retailing's determination to earnestly address these issues has led to the implementation of some extremely advanced initiatives. However, its social impact will increase as its business scale expands, so the Company needs to pursue more considered future management, and it is our job to build the best leadership systems for today, and five or ten years from now.
Shintaku: Tremendous effort has been channeled into generating growth to date, but I think the next five or 10 years will be much tougher because the Company will encounter more situations where previous ways of developing successful business will not work. To break through into next generation growth, all employees will need to think autonomously and share new ideas, so this should be encouraged. I believe the role of the Board also includes inspiring new, sharp ideas that are not simple extensions of past successes, and pioneering new paths in times of uncertainty or impasse. To become the global No.1 company, every employee must be able to shine and extend their wings, so I want to help build motivating and exciting working environments for all employees.
How do you debate the ongoing succession planning, which includes top management?
Kunibe: All companies worldwide must regularly discuss and prepare succession plans for the CEO, as well as other key positions, such as COO and CFO. Fast Retailing is steered by its founding family, so shareholders and other internal and external stakeholders are very interested in how management will be structured when Mr.Yanai steps down. If the Company continues its current growth path, it will need to establish a team management framework.
Shintaku: The next generation of younger people are already taking on leadership roles in each business and department, and the shift toward a team-led company has already begun. These extremely loyal individuals have been working at Fast Retailing for a long time and are strong proponents of its corporate philosophy. A new management structure is gradually taking shape that will be able to handle whatever challenges might emerge.
Koll: I agree. There are so many promising individuals in this company. I would just add that Fast Retailing management candidates, who will perform management roles in the future, should be evaluated not just on their past achievements but on their future potential. The current solid initiatives to increase the number of women in management also need to be increased.
Kunibe: As you say, to effectively nurture outstanding talent, Fast Retailing needs to select a certain number of candidates with future leadership potential and develop their career paths. Future leaders need to amass wide-ranging expertise, so it important to tailor career paths that recognize their current strengths and expand their experience in other fields. Future leaders also need to be able to overcome difficult situations, so the Company should give management candidates tough assignments at some point and evaluate the results. Some systems are already in place but they should be accelerated.
Shintaku: It is important to develop a talent pool that spans two generations of future managers so, as Mr. Kunibe explained, Fast Retailing needs to accelerate current initiatives. Many employees joined Fast Retailing early in their career and fully embraced its corporate philosophy. We expect those individuals to gain broad experience and demonstrate leadership, and the Board will encourage further discussion on this.
