[Interview with Noriyuki Koiwa, President & CEO, and Nobuyuki Horikawa, Executive Vice President, of Brysis Consulting Co., Ltd.] The Bond of “Kyodaikan” (Brotherly Camaraderie) and Their Commitment to Thoroughbred Hands-On Pragmatism

Brisis Consulting Inc. brings together elite professionals with diverse backgrounds from major consulting firms and SIers. The company’s style is to thoroughly commit to “gritty execution support” — going deep into the field alongside clients and sweating it out together, rather than simply stopping at strategy formulation.

What they stand for is not merely “firefighting” to address issues as they arise, but a “fire prevention” perspective that eliminates the root causes. At the foundation lies a thoroughly field-oriented approach centered on the “Kyodaikan (brotherhood)” bond — members sharpening each other and helping each other out.

What is the unique pleasure of building an organization where inexperienced people can grow into full-fledged consultants, with an IPO in the sights five years out? We asked Representative Director and President Noriyuki Koiwa and Director and Vice President Nobuyuki Horikawa about the policies they hold dear and the aspirations they carry into the future.

Not Just “Firefighting” — Also “Fire Prevention.” The True Value Created by On-Site Presence

— Could you tell us about Brisis Consulting’s business?

Koiwa: We support clients across three consulting domains: “IT,” “Operations,” and “Strategy.” In “Strategy,” we go beyond mere planning — placing emphasis on giving form to the client’s intent and drawing a picture of the future. In “Operations,” we reconstruct field-level processes. In “IT,” the focus is on creating innovation that goes beyond simple system implementation. What is common across all three is our stance of providing consistent support from “concept through implementation, and further through to ‘self-sustainability’ — where clients can operate independently.”

Horikawa: While IT consulting is one of our main pillars, what we always keep in mind is that “IT is not the goal — it is merely a means to a solution.” Rather than resolving surface-level system issues, we focus on addressing the latent needs behind the scenes, consciously approaching things from both strategy and technology. This is the source of our “execution support committed to results.”

— Could you tell us about the proportion of support in each domain, and what you are conscious of when handling projects?

Horikawa: The breakdown is approximately 60% IT, 30% operations, and 10% strategy.

Projects span a wide range, but a challenge common to every client is the absence of a middle tier capable of serving simultaneously as both leader and player. Our company focuses not just on “firefighting” — supporting players to resolve field-level challenges — but is also consciously committed to “fire prevention”: confronting the true essence of the challenge and working together with leaders to eliminate root causes.

— What kind of issues are occurring in the field, for example?

Horikawa: For example, there are cases where outdated development methods from the past are still being used, or where appropriate project management methods are not being applied. We encourage standardization in such field environments and support clients’ sustainable growth.

Koiwa: To that end, we are strongly committed to “on-site presence.” Not just a single status meeting once a week — we work side by side with clients, sweating together and facing challenges head-on. We believe that showing the gritty, committed side of ourselves is itself what leads to trust and value as consultants. We provide support on the premise of being resident at client sites across all departments where IT is involved — not just information systems and DX promotion divisions.

— Are consultants divided by domain — IT, operations, and strategy — or does everyone handle all domains?

Horikawa: In principle, domains are not divided — we use a one-pool system. What we expect from our consultants is not to specialize exclusively in IT consulting, but to develop into professionals capable of handling a wide range of support domains. We want people to leverage multi-domain consulting experience to respond broadly to client challenge resolution.

On-Site Residence at Clients × Frequent Communication

— Could you tell us about the number of employees and the composition of the consultant team?

Koiwa: Including those scheduled to join, the total is approximately 60 people.

While a one-pool system applies to consultants, they are divided into teams under a framework called “career mentors” — colleagues you can consult about your career. By organizing teams around careers, we are consciously working to create an environment where people can work with high engagement.

Horikawa: The reason we divide teams by career mentor is that we wanted to provide an environment where people can always consult someone. If you divide teams by project, for example, the organization inevitably becomes time-limited. The PM changes project by project, and each time you have to restart career discussions from scratch. So we take care to build teams around the ability to have proper discussions about career plans.

— Could you also tell us about the project structure and what you prioritize in providing support?

Koiwa: Teams of two or three — typically a manager and one or two consultants below manager level — are the most common structure. When providing support, we are thorough about being resident at client sites. Clients seeing the consultant working right beside them and facing challenges together is something we consider important.

— For inexperienced and younger consultants, on-site presence might come with a lot of pressure.

Koiwa: Of course, some members do feel the pressure and struggle with field challenges as they push forward. That is precisely why we have introduced the “one-pool system” as an organization — so people are not constrained to one domain and can gain broad knowledge. By engaging with challenge resolution across diverse domains, people can accelerate their own growth speed, and come to see pressure as an opportunity rather than a burden.

Horikawa: At major consulting firms, it’s not unusual for junior staff to not even know the face of someone above Senior Manager level. At our company, however, executives and senior managers directly review the work of junior staff. I believe this closeness resolves junior members’ anxieties and serves as a powerful stimulus.

— Given that on-site presence is the premise, how is internal communication maintained?

Koiwa: Chat tool-based communication is the baseline, but as numbers grow it becomes harder to communicate with everyone. So we intentionally hold a company-wide meeting once a month where everyone can communicate in person that day. We also actively organize Brisis-style events such as golf and employee trips.

While remote and on-site presence are the norm, if communication among employees becomes sparse, people start to lose their sense of belonging to the company. To prevent that, the company works to build structures and envision the right working style and organizational form that can strengthen employee engagement.

Horikawa: When you’re confined to a field site, it’s easy to fall into the thinking that you have to resolve everything within the field alone. But having connections with the company and colleagues creates a foundation where people can support each other across projects.

People Are the Origin. From Zero Experience to Top Consultant

— Could you tell us about your career backgrounds and what led you to aspire to consulting?

Koiwa: I joined Recruit Staffing as a new graduate and gained experience in sales and planning for staffing services. Actually, during my student years I was in a student organization responsible for attracting customers, and there I experienced firsthand that “nothing works without people.” Having also helped a business owner acquaintance with customer acquisition, I chose Recruit convinced that my strength lay in understanding “people.”

Subsequently, as I interacted with many managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, coming face to face with management challenges that couldn’t be solved by recruitment efforts alone became the trigger for aspiring to become a consultant. I then gained experience at major consulting firms — Abeam, Deloitte, and BayCurrent — but I started from a state where even document preparation was a struggle.

— Even with sales experience from Recruit, was the barrier to consulting still high?

Koiwa: Yes — the impact was significant. I think I was in a state of constant fear at first. Those 14 years of gradually building professional capability from that situation have been formative. That is precisely why, when I now interview job seekers as an interviewer, I can tell with striking clarity where an inexperienced person will “stumble” and where they will “struggle.”

— The experience of being inexperienced yourself is what gives you that empathy. Mr. Horikawa, could you tell us about your career?

Horikawa: I studied law at university and bought my first computer when I was writing my graduation thesis — I was completely disconnected from IT when I joined a NEC Group SIer. I spent about ten years as an SE handling the design and construction of network environments for career companies, local governments, and the hotel industry, and in presales for the hotel industry. During that time, I started to feel the dilemma of knowing that a client’s challenge lay outside of IT, yet being required as an SIer to propose IT — our main product. Transferring to BayCurrent with the desire to “resolve genuine challenges more broadly” was the beginning of my consulting career.

— Were the two of you acquainted during your BayCurrent days? Could you tell us what led to founding the company?

Koiwa: I had heard there was someone of a similar role and generation handling the same account, but actually it was through a mutual acquaintance that we first met. My specialty is strategy and operations, and I was looking for a reliable partner to take on the IT domain. The person who was introduced to me at that point was Horikawa.

Horikawa: Being suddenly told by Koiwa “work with me as Vice President” was quite a shock. But as I heard about Koiwa’s character and the ambitions of the founding members, it resonated with my own enthusiasm for taking on something new at the milestone of turning 40.

The Concept of “Kyodaikan (Brotherhood)” — Maintaining the Right Distance

— What meaning does the company name “Brisis” carry?

Koiwa: It is a coined word combining “Bright” and “Anthesis (blooming).” The consulting industry has many variables, and there are many people who have real ability yet cannot shine. We want to put a spotlight on those people and make this a place where everyone can shine on stage. It is a name that carries our feelings about “people.”

— I’d also like to ask about the company’s atmosphere. Is there anything you are conscious of in communication?

Horikawa: We call the relationships among internal staff “Kyodaikan (brotherhood).” Not simply a close-knit group (family), but a relationship where helping each other is taken for granted — while also sharpening each other as a younger sibling chases an older sibling’s back and sometimes tries to surpass them. This moderate tension combined with strong bonds is what is unique to us.

— What kind of person would you like to knock on the door of Brisis Consulting?

Koiwa: Before skills, first and foremost “being honest as a person.” And someone who can enjoy building systems from nothing together with us. The rules that are already complete at a major consulting firm — we build those with our own hands. For people who can find that process “interesting,” this is the finest environment.

Horikawa: In fact, two members who joined recently have been genuinely enjoying company-building — voluntarily constructing an internal portal site for new employees and developing internal regulations. I particularly want employees to value three things: “proactiveness,” “openness,” and “communication.” If someone values these and can take feedback openly and take action on their own, they will definitely grow at Brisis Consulting.

— Finally, could you tell us about your vision for the future?

Koiwa: I see the IPO in five years as a “means” — nothing more. Through that, I want to create an environment where we can pivot beyond the consulting framework into diverse industries and sectors. If a member says “I want to launch a new business” or “I want to go independent,” I want to cheer them on with everything we have and walk that path together. That is the kind of deep-seated organization we are aiming to build.

Horikawa: I have carried a dream of “wanting to launch our own service” since my SIer days. Without waiting for the IPO in five years, I strongly want to put something out into the world that contributes to society — together with the Brisis Consulting team. I believe that in Brisis Consulting, that possibility is infinite.

Photo location: WeWork Hanzomon PREX North

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【Post-Interview Note】

Brisis Consulting Inc. — Company Information

Address	Hibiya FORT TOWER 9F, 1-1-1 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003
Representative	Representative Director & President: Noriyuki Koiwa
Founded	June 2025
Capital	¥200,000,000 (including capital reserve)
Business Activities	・IT consulting ・Operations consulting ・Strategy consulting

Brisis Consulting Inc. — Job Listings