euglena Project

39

CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
Recruit and select.

CFO recruitment project limited to 18 years old and under

2019.08 –

Ongoing

CFO's words urging the board to make decisions

"We propose a plan to reform Euglena

Everyone on the spot was surprised. Our board of directors. The main speaker is Kyoko Ozawa, who became the first CFO (Chief Future Officer Our at the age of 17 (second year high school student).

In October 2019, nine Euglena Future Summit, which is also composed of members under the age of 18, were appointed, centered on Ozawa. Since then, the members Euglena should do and what it can do to create a sustainable future, and "build a mechanism that allows consumers to take environmentally friendly actions without being aware of it." We have come to the conclusion that we should aim and have moved toward implementation.

When there were many, discussions were held many times a week, urging the board to implement a number of measures, including reducing the use of plastics. As a result of repeated meetings both inside and outside the company after a resolution of the Board of Directors, we finally agreed on the goal of "challenge to reduce the amount of petroleum-derived plastics used in products by 50% by 2021" and already exist. It has decided to abolish PET bottle products and implement measures to allow consumers to choose whether or not some products have plastic straws. Originally, the idea of abolishing PET bottles was also in-house, but it could not be taken because of the impact on sales. That thought was realized by the 17-year-old CFO and his friends.

Matoba, who is involved in the recruitment and selection of CFOs and also plans and manages the Future Summit, recalls, "The seriousness of the summit members, including Ozawa, moved the company."

State of the 1st Future Summit (held in December 2019)

Our challenge determined from the proposal by the CFO

Also in Japan
Have an awareness of issues in the future of the earth
There should be a lot of young people

Matoba who joined the company as a new graduate in 2018. When I was a student, I majored in developmental environmental studies at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, and continued to think about environmental issues and poverty issues. Euglena because he "sympathized with the idea of facing social issues head-on."

Matoba, who was assigned to the Corporate Planning Division and was in charge of IR (Investor Relations), will be selected as the person in charge of the "CFO recruitment project limited to 18 years old and under" in the second year.

The project was triggered by the fact that Akihiko Nagata, Executive Vice President, visited an elementary school in 2019 and learned that children are highly interested in the future of the earth. "It's strange that there are no future parties in the discussion of the future." From that question, an unprecedented project of members under the age of 18 participating in company management began to move.

"It has been conveyed that the management team, including Nagata, is seriously thinking about proceeding with this project. In Europe and the United States, teenagers are seriously tackling environmental problems, but in Japan I was convinced that there should be many young people who are aware of the problems in the future of the earth. "

Matoba when I was a student

"Novelty of ideas"
"With Euglena
Seeking "enthusiasm to solve problems"

Recruitment activities that are unprecedented in the past will be known to the world through "one-sided advertisements in newspapers."

Considering the recruitment age of 18 years old or younger, it seems that the approach centered on the Web and SNS is more efficient than newspapers. But there was a clear aim.

I envisioned that newspaper advertisements would create "family conversations." Our recruitment of CFOs would be a new opportunity to think about sustainability at home, rather than simply delivering information to young people.

As a result, this newspaper advertisement became a hot topic on the Internet and became widely spread.

Recruitment announcements are not the only ingenuity. In the selection process, within 1200 characters, "what you are interested in among the 17 goals of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and what Euglena I set up the task of writing.

The emphasis was on the novelty of ideas and the enthusiasm to work with Euglena At the time of selection, we did not look at age, gender, name, or address, and decided only on the content of the application. He wanted only his thoughts on the future of the Earth based on the SDGs and the actions he wanted to take for that purpose.

CFO Wanted Newspaper Advertisement

511 applications received,
Energetic interview time

In the second year of joining the company, I felt uneasy.

"It's an unprecedented mission and an abstract project to have future generations participate in company management discussions. What is the requirement for success, and what happens a year later, this project will be successful. I couldn't see it at first. "

Under such circumstances, recruitment started on August 9, 2019, and 511 applications were collected by the end of the same month of the recruitment deadline. It was the joy of Matoba that many young people, from elementary school students to high school students, gave their awareness and thoughts to the problem. "I thought about what I could do with you. I started to feel more like a person who works with the project, not just as a hiring manager," he recalls.

Matoba read the contents of all the application subjects together with other members involved in the primary selection, and narrowed down 511 candidates to more than 30 candidates for the secondary interview. The interview was scheduled for three days, from morning till night, and I met everyone.

"The interview was a really energetic time. People who gave a presentation while showing the created materials on a tablet, people who took a questionnaire at school in advance and brought data, and a picture of their thoughts on the future. Some people have a charisma that makes me feel that "this kind of person will become a future entrepreneur", and I was able to meet various personalities. "

The members of the Future Summit will be decided by the interview. Furthermore, the final candidates for the CFO were narrowed down, and Izumo, the president and CEO, and Nagata, the vice president, proceeded to the final interview.

It was Kyoko Ozawa, a second-year high school student at the time, who was selected as the first CFO.

From left: Nagata, first CFO Ozawa, Izumo

Euglena as a medium,
I want you to convey the thoughts of the younger generation

"Ozawa has a broad perspective, charisma that makes him think that he is an opinion leader, and the strength of his core that anyone can talk openly without being afraid. The footwork that connects problem awareness to action was also attractive. "

As Matoba commented, Ozawa was interested in the issue of nuclear power plants in Fukushima and once visited the site.

"I am aware of the problem and act face-to-face." "Not only do I get information from the media, but I also go to get information myself with the question,'Is this really correct?'" Izumo and Nagata also evaluated such attitude and entrusted the CFO.

And, in fact, Ozawa and the summit members changed Euglena

"Talking only about'what's going on in 2030 or 2050'is like not trying to do anything. Now you have to decide what to do and move on."

Matoba, as a member of a team working with the CFO, said he repeated such conversations with management and Ozawa. The short-term and clear goal of "Challenge to reduce the amount of petroleum-derived plastics used in products by 50% by 2021" introduced at the beginning was set by the company, "What are we doing now?" It is the result of continuing to think about.

"The meaning of the CFO recruitment project and its subsequent activities was to" don't just think "of the younger generation. I don't have the right to vote or work for a company. Even the younger generation. I want you to make good use of us as a medium and convey your thoughts. If you can move society in that way, it will be a great power for Euglena

The project with the first CFO, which started in October 2019, will soon reach a break. Matoba is renewing his mind toward recruiting the second-generation CFO, which has just begun.

A place to talk at the Future Summit

Posted in August 2020

Euglena Data

~ First CFO and Summit Members ~

Click here for CFO introduction page

euglena Projects

vol.00

Bangladeshi children
Find the material to save.

vol.01

Euglena that no one has achieved
Establish outdoor mass culture technology.

vol.02

Euglena
Grow it into a 30 billion yen market.

vol.03

Bangladesh
Lunch for all elementary schools.

vol.04

With CO2 emitted from the chimney
Cultivate Euglena.

vol.05

Euglena cosmetics business
Get up.

vol.06

Japan's first bio-jet fuel
Build a manufacturing plant.

vol.07

The name of "Euglena"
Use it as a weapon.

vol.08

Bringing Euglena to China
Spread it.

vol.09

Acquire super-Euglena.

vol.10

Solve the poverty issue in Bangladesh with the Mung Bean Project.

vol.11

Euglena with Takeda
Develop new products.

vol.12

Utilizing sewage from sewage treatment plants,
Cultivate Euglena.

vol.13

Create a set of guiding principles for euglena’s employees.

vol.14

Japan's unique technology
Cultivate Euglena.

vol.15

Aim to create an office that promotes a pleasant working environment for our employees.

vol.16

Establish the Yugurin Nursery School next to our office.

vol.17

Euglena in Ishigaki Island
Contribute to regional revitalization.

vol.18

Raise awareness of Euglena
Jointly develop new products

vol.19

Euglena cafe
Open a store on Ishigaki Island.

vol.20

Using Euglena as fodder
Raise Hinai chicken.

vol.21

Euglena-containing diesel fuel
Collaborate with Isuzu Motors to put it into practical use.

vol.22

using Euglena
Produce biofuel.

vol.23

研究系ベンチャーを
ヒト、モノ、カネで支える
新しいファンドを確立せよ。

© 2018 MELTIN MMI

vol.24

The world's first Euglena and chlorella
Get ASC-MSC algae certification.

vol.25

Build synergy with group companies.

vol.26

With new friends
Make people healthy at the genetic level.

vol.27

Jiyugaoka and
Popularize Euglena.

vol.28

Euglena supplement
Start up a processing plant.

vol.29

Contribute to community revitalization on Ishigaki Island through the power of science.

vol.30

new Euglena
Develop core cosmetics.

vol.31

Contribute toward solving food shortages among Rohingya refugees.

vol.32

Beauty ingredients derived from Euglena
Unravel your research.

vol.33

Supporting students in taking on challenges!
Start all-year-round recruitment.

vol.34

Euglena and Chlorella
Get halal certification.

vol.35

Euglena that extends healthy life expectancy
Discover possibilities.

vol.36

Taketomi Island prawn farming business
Develop.

vol.37

Drive your car on Euglena biodiesel fuel at the G20 Karuizawa.

vol.38

Plan a mascot character to communicate the appeal of Euglena from Ishigaki Island.

vol.39

Recruit and select CFOs (Chief Financial Officers).

vol.40

Domestic Kalahari watermelon
Cultivate.

vol.41

Japan's first "virtual only
Hold a general meeting of shareholders.

vol.42

next-generation biodiesel fuel
popularize it

vol.43

Corporate
Renew your identity.

vol.44

Born in Ishigaki Island
Euglena permeate.

vol.45

derived from Euglena
Accelerate fertilizer research.

vol.46

Japan's skies with biofuel
keep it clean.

vol.47

improve the office environment
Make your teammates more productive.

vol.48

in cosmetics
Pursue sustainability

vol.49

Next new material "Midori Koji"
Spread your value to the world.

vol.50

ユーグレナの
ESG経営を加速させよ

vol.51

未来世代アドバイザリーボードを
設置せよ。