Hiroshi Kanno

Professor
International Business Strategy

Contact information

Education

Hiroshi Kanno received his Bachelor and Master of Engineering and Architecture from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Master of Science in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

Positions held

Professor Kanno worked in consulting services at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for 17 years. His last position held at BCG was Partner and Managing Director, where he served as the Asia/Pacific regional leader of BCG's Technology and Communications practice and the Japan leader of the Corporate Development practice. Prior to BCG, Hiroshi Kanno worked as an architect, city planner, and engineer for Nikken Sekkei, Japan's largest architecture and city planning firm.

Selected papers and publications

Hiroshi Kanno is the author of The BCG Way - The Art of Developing Leadership (Diamond-sha, 2005, in Japanese; also published in Korean), in which he interviewed a dozen prominent Japanese CEOs, analyzed the required skill set for the CEO, and how to master the skill set. He also supervised the translation of BCG治蕊s book Clausewitz on Strategy (Diamond-sha, 2002). Hiroshi Kanno has also written articles for business magazines, including: "Strategic Thinking of Carl von Clausewitz: its Application to Business" (Think!, Winter 2004); "Dilemma of the Successful CEO" (Nikkei Business, March 2006, co-author); "Post Merger Integration: The Key to a Successful M&A" (Toyo Keizai, March 2006, co-author), and "Open Innovation" (Waseda Business School Review, July 2007).

Current research and activities

Since joining BCG, Hiroshi Kanno has executed over 300 projects, working closely with both Japanese and non-Japanese companies. Although his main focus has been on technology and communications, he has worked in a wide range of industries, including high-tech, industrial goods, electronics, consumer electronics, telecommunications, system integration, Internet services, broadcasting, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, real estate, insurance, and NPOs. He has also worked in Europe, North America, and Asia.