[SEOUL G20 BUSINESS SUMMIT/CEO STORY]Hard Work Carries Former Salaryman to the Top

It was Thomas Edison who is reported to have said, “Genius is made up of 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”

Across the Pacific and a century later, one man who has lived up to this axiom is Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Chief Executive Yasuchika Hasegawa. He likes to expand upon Edison, saying that success comes from 70 percent hard work, 20 percent luck and 10 percent talent.

What propelled Hasegawa from an ordinary salaried worker to the top of one of the oldest companies in the world was hard work and preparation. Takeda Pharmaceutical, which was founded in 1781, has the longest history among the firms participating in the B20 summit.

Hasegawa, born in 1946 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, studied political science and diplomacy at Waseda University and joined Takeda in 1974. His first job was at a factory, a place where university graduates were rare. He made frequent mistakes, but stuck with it and learned the job instead of trying to worm his way out. After working at various divisions including human resources and the labor union, he foresaw that Takeda Pharmaceutical was destined to expand overseas.

He formed an English study group with other workers, which led to a position in the company’s international business division. He fitted in accounting classes despite his busy schedule, preparing for the day when the company would grow.

As per his expectations, Takeda Pharmaceutical became a global company through aggressive mergers and acquisitions and expansions of overseas units.

He became president of TAP Pharm-aceutical Products Inc., a joint venture between Takeda Pharmaceutical and U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories, working in the United States from 1995. His rise to prominence was an obvious result of someone who had both English and accounting skills under his belt.

Returning to Japan as head of the company’s international business division, Hasegawa became a director of Takeda in 1999 and chief executive in 2003.

He has led Takeda Phamaceutical’s global growth like the prepared leader he was. He established subsidiaries in San Diego and San Francisco and opened a head office in Europe. Last year, Takeda Pharmaceutical acquired U.S.-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a front runner in anticancer drug production.

By Kim Hee-kyun
foryou@donga.com