The heat is quite tiring, but apart from that, this summer is feeling quite good - I am especially looking forward to the CEO-KnowHow event on July 29 with Delphite Ross Rowbury one of the most senior foreigners in Japan, with an unrivalled perspective on “gashikei” doing business in Japan.

It’s hell being jet-lagged, but you have to suffer to get out of Japan. My brief time in the UK was wonderful—especially because I hitchhiked down from London to Swansea along the M4 motorway. It’s been about 30 years since I last hitched, so I had to re-learn many lessons—such as not hitching from motorway junctions, as there’s no place for cars to stop.

I am struck by the fact that two of my French connections, CEOs at tech companies, have exited their roles, purely because the company has decided to leave Japan.

We had a wonderful Drinks on Tuesday and I must say, they are always more fun when more women attend. Before you roll your eyes at this ridiculous comment, let me try to explain!

As an organization committed to delivering the best possible information to our members, it is always bittersweet to be reminded just how necessary the Delphi model is.

I was delighted to see many of you at the monthly Cocktail on Tuesday evening at the Andaz; the M&A discussion on Feb 28th - and we still have the the book Salon on March 10 at Richie Johns’ Vega office with Bob Whiting and Ron Drabkin about how outsiders have succeeded in Japan.

As the UK and the EU fail to shake off their legacy political and economic modes, the US seems to be going through some sort of revolution, or “coup”, as some call it. I guess it’s too early to tell. But it seems to me Trump is far more popular this time round. I see lots of posts on Linkedin starting “I never thought I would say this, but I like what he’s doing about…!” 

 I am not going to lie, it is always a  confusing feeling when you sit down at your desk after a holiday, and you try to bring some of the freshness and stimulus of the holiday to your work.

I am very pleased to welcome Kaori Ikeda, the GM of high-end Swiss cosmetic firm La Prairie. She is truly bi-cultural, educated at top French schools, and I look forward to practicing my French with her! She was our 7th member in 2024, adding to the CEOs of Keen, Port Cities, AB InBev, the VP of IMG, the CEOs of EngagedSquared and Ultra Tendency, and a partner at McKinsey, making for a year of expansion at Delphi.

Another year draws to its close. For the Delphi community, it was a good year. Members are generally thriving (despite the shock of several members dealing with newly arrived private equity owners

Like most if not all neoliberals, I have learnt the painful lesson that firing one’s seemingly un-essential and expensive admin staff makes you feel good for a bit, but you then notice that things are getting “wobbly”…Last week, I had my first “double booking” in a while (this is when I book two events at the same time, which is clearly not possible without a time machine) and I suddenly realized that unless I got my calendar seriously under control, there would be a host of others.