Brief Biography

Masahiro Kobayashi was born in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Kyoto University in 1961. While at university, studied business administration in the seminar of Professor Kisou Tasugi. After graduating, he worked at a chemical company and a consulting firm before founding the Management System Laboratory Co., Ltd. in 1971. As a general consultant, he has been active in management guidance, diagnosis, lectures, training, and writing, primarily for senior executives. In May 1988, he founded Holon System Co., Ltd. and currently serves as Statutory Representative Director and Chairman.

Overcoming Adversity and Shaping the Future

My Motto is "Always Active, Always Advancing, Forever Young." In thirty years, it is estimated that about 5 million people in Japan will be bedridden and living alone without anyone to rely on. I am concerned about who will support these elderly individuals, as the shortage of caregivers means that humans alone cannot provide the necessary support. The only solution is robots. Our business strategy is to transform into a human-robot manufacturer, positioning robots as partners for humans.

I founded Holon System in May 1988. Three young employees from the data center, whom I had been training as a management consultant, reached out to me. They had neither the money, connections, nor know-how. They asked if I could guide them and also if I would consider starting a software development company as its president. At that time, I was a very busy management consultant, recognized in the industry for my best-selling and long-standing books. Although I once declined, realizing that the company would go bankrupt in three months without my help and not wanting to abandon promising young students, I eventually agreed to become a part-time president. I invested 10 million yen, and participating members collectively invested an additional 10 million yen to get started.

When my students heard that I had accepted the presidency in May 1988, they flocked to join, and within a year, the company grew to 70 employees. The business thrived. Although the bubble burst in the third year, causing a major recession, we were largely unaffected and continued to do well. However, in the fourth year, downsizing originating from the United States hit us hard, causing our sales to plummet by 42%. In our industry, 1,000 out of 7,000 software houses disappeared within a year. The government identified our industry as structurally depressed and provided subsidies. This support helped us manage our cash flow and survive. Today, we provide system integration, system consultation, solutions proposals, and cloud services.

Anticipating Business Evolution

In the future, a company’s reputation will hinge not just on revenue and profits, but also on its level of social contribution. I believe the percentage of profit allocated to social good will soon be a key measure of success. Our company’s core business, the development of foundational systems for society and enterprises, often operates behind the scenes, out of the public eye. We plan to shift this focus, making our contributions more visible and impactful, which will also boost our employees’ motivation by involving them in social causes.

We anticipate that AI will eventually replace much of our system development. Consequently, we are implementing basic AI training for all our employees. While AI is a tool, it is humans who will wield it. We are preparing to offer consulting services to companies requiring both system and AI expertise. Our goal is to increase the number of AI-qualified professionals, develop AI planners, and establish an AI consulting business as a flagship of our company. Simultaneously, we are embarking on research into robotics and focusing on foundational development using AI. I see it as my duty as chairman to lay the groundwork for our dream of becoming a human-robot manufacturer and to pass this vision on to future generations.