How Hiroshi Mikitani Built Rakuten Into a Tech Empire

In this episode of The CEO Diary, Lucas and Luna explore the bold leadership of Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder and CEO of Rakuten. They dive into his 'Englishnization' policy—a controversial 2010 mandate that required all 10,000 employees to conduct business in English, sparking massive pushback but ultimately modernizing the company. The episode also examines Rakuten's unique 'Rakuten Shugi' management philosophy, its aggressive ecosystem strategy from e-commerce to fintech to telecom, and how Mikitani has navigated Japan's traditional corporate culture to build a global tech powerhouse. Lucas breaks down a key metric: Rakuten's compound annual growth rate in gross merchandise value of over 20 percent since 2010. Luna questions whether the English-only policy was worth the talent loss, and both hosts reflect on what Western CEOs can learn from Japan's most contrarian leader. #HiroshiMikitani #Rakuten #CEO #Leadership #Business #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #Englishnization #Japan #Ecommerce #Fintech #Telecom #CorporateCulture #GlobalExpansion #ContrarianLeadership #Management #Innovation #DigitalTransformation Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo