GL Navigation Inc. operates DX consulting and educational services under the mission of “transforming people, transforming companies, and transforming society.” The company’s roots in education give it a distinctive approach to client support — one it sees as its strength in leading clients toward genuine DX.
We spoke with GL Navigation Inc. Representative Director Shigeyoshi Kanda about the origins of the company and his vision for the future.
Shigeyoshi Kanda
After working at Recruit Co., Ltd. (now Recruit Career), he founded GL Navigation Inc. in 2009. He operates human development services including the overseas professional internship service “GlobalWing” and the career support service for foreign nationals “JapanWing,” as well as a DX consulting service.
Having Started from Education, We See — and Confront — the Challenges of the Consulting Industry
— Could you tell us about GL Navigation’s business?
We primarily operate a DX consulting business and an education and training business. Our company has many employees with extensive experience at operating companies, enabling us to deliver DX consulting that is grounded in practical reality. We also have specialists in business development and globalization on staff, allowing us to contribute to achieving DX that is broadly applicable.
In the education and training business, we provide educational services for foreign nationals aspiring to build careers in Japan, as well as support services for overseas internships. In an era where globalization has become the norm, we offer widely accessible learning opportunities that are not contingent on nationality or background.
— Why do you operate on two axes — consulting and education and training?
Achieving genuine DX requires the growth of every individual involved. We saw the potential for synergy effects that contribute to that growth by weaving the consulting and education and training businesses together — that is why we chose this model. That said, we didn’t launch both businesses simultaneously right after founding. We started by building the education and training business as our core, and then entered consulting.
What I noticed after moving into consulting — following years in the education and training space with “the need for people to change” as our central theme — was that many Japanese companies are dependent on consultants and vendors. Many people have an excessive sense of inadequacy around systems and digitalization, which makes them prone to falling into a state of vendor dependency. With vendors holding the upper hand, talent gravitates toward the vendor side as well, creating a distortion across the entire industry. It is out of a desire to change that situation, even in a small way, that we have developed both businesses in combination.
— GL Navigation has an unusual background for a consulting firm. What would you say are your strengths compared with other companies?
Our strength is the ability to guide clients through to the point where they can ultimately bring their DX in-house. Enabling clients to insource their DX — and helping individual workers develop skills that are valued in the market — is the essence of our DX consulting support.
There are two main reasons we approach consulting with insourcing as the goal. The first is that we are a consulting firm that grew out of the education and training business. When companies focus solely on their own growth, it is common for the environment to gradually become one where individual growth is no longer achievable. But in DX, you cannot reach the goal without the growth of people. It is precisely because so many companies see the development of DX talent as a challenge that they turn to us — a firm whose roots lie in the prioritization of people’s education and training.
The second reason is that I believe the role of a company that enters a market later is to disrupt it. In other words, our mission is to break down the existing values of the consulting industry and create new value. Running counter to the conventional view that “systems change because people don’t” is also one of the factors that sets us apart from other consulting firms. Insourcing is one of the means that underpins this thinking.
— Is there anything you are particularly mindful of in order to deliver insourcing support?
We develop our own staff to be capable of operating as digital talent who can manage insourcing — not just our clients. For example, our CRM environment was built by an employee who had no IT industry background and previously worked in securities sales. Every employee in the sales team, regardless of industry experience or whether they joined as a new graduate or mid-career, is trained to be able to build key CRM and marketing automation tools.
By realizing DX insourcing within our own company first, we hope to build a model in which it is us — the people — who adapt flexibly, rather than systems that change.
An Organizational Culture Where Young People Can Thrive from Day One
— Could you tell us about the specific organizational structure?
We have approximately 130 employees in total, organized into four divisions: the consulting division, the human resources education division, the recruitment placement division (launched in 2024), and a Vietnam business division (from a company acquired in the same year). The consulting division accounts for around 100 of those employees.
The consulting division basically operates on a hybrid of a one-pool system and a group system. In the group system, members work as team leads or group managers, leading the organization from within their group. In the one-pool system, members have a degree of flexibility in their project assignments. The organizational design allows people to choose the approach that suits their situation — whether they are in a management role or on the front line.
— Could you tell us about the project structure?
We frequently support projects covering two scopes: strategy formulation, and insourcing support and capability development. These range from engagements staffed by teams of ten to part-time-style arrangements with two or three people assigned, across a wide variety of configurations. As a result, it is not unusual for one person to be working on two or three engagements simultaneously.
One of our distinctive practices — and it is a feature of our approach — is that for prime engagements received directly from clients, we permit the client to hire away the assigned consultant. This stems from the goal of our consulting: enabling the client to complete DX in-house. When clients hire away an assigned consultant, they gain an employee capable of handling project management and vendor management internally.
— I understand your age profile is distinctive.
Seventy percent of our consultants are over 50, and 25 percent are over 60 — which may make us the consulting firm in Japan that employs the most mid-to-senior professionals. Many have experience as department heads or above at major corporations, and also serve in advisory roles. (As of October 2024)
In contrast, employees in their twenties still account for only about 17 percent of our total. However, looking at our management positions, approximately 70 percent of managers are in their twenties to thirties. We have structured things so that younger generations are entrusted with positions of responsibility, while the veteran generation supports the young. This creates a culture where young employees are given the right level of challenge to drive their growth, while the veteran contingent provides the foundation that makes it easier for them to take on risks.
A Working Environment That Can Adapt to Changes in Lifestyle
— Could you tell us about the kind of person you are looking for?
Age and nationality are not factors. We are recruiting with the goal of welcoming people with diverse backgrounds. For that reason, we don’t have a particularly defined profile of the ideal candidate at this point. This approach is guided by our policy of “Diversity Transformation,” which we prioritize in hiring.
The reason we are committed to hiring diverse talent is our roots in the education business. There are many cases of people who only have experience at operating companies joining us with the goal of using our company as a place to reskill toward a consulting career. As a point of reference, approximately 35 percent of our new hires are non-Japanese nationals. Hiring diverse talent is also something we pursue because of the positive stimulus it brings to existing employees.
— Are there any particularly noteworthy aspects of working here?
We actively recruit people based in regional areas and take an approach that is not bound to a particular location for work. We are mindful about taking on engagements that can be handled fully remotely, aiming for a way of working that is not tied to central urban areas.
We also have a policy that allows employees who normally work in the office to switch to remote work during pregnancy. Even short commutes require care during pregnancy, and we want to remove the risk of unexpected incidents. This remote work option during pregnancy also applies to male employees whose partners are pregnant.
— The arrival of a child is a major turning point in life.
I believe it is the company’s responsibility to build a support structure that enables people to balance work and family. We have all the standard parental leave provisions in place, of course, and our take-up rate is 100 percent — not just for women but for men as well. In addition, for two years after returning from parental leave, employees can take ten days of special leave per year, separate from their annual paid leave. Young children are prone to illness and other things, which means the need for unexpected days off increases. We are committed to creating an environment where employees who are raising children can focus on their work with peace of mind.
We also cover up to ¥250,000 per year in costs for housekeeping or babysitting services.
Toward a Company That Can Change People and Society — Together with Diverse Talent
— Could you tell us about your own career background, President Kanda?
I joined Recruit Co., Ltd. (now Recruit Career) in 2006, and founded the company at the end of 2009. When we first launched, we were not in consulting — we were in recruitment placement and human development services, primarily providing an educational program that placed university students and young working professionals in internships at startups. About ten years after founding, in 2019, we entered the DX consulting business.
— You started your career at Recruit. What led you to join?
I approached job hunting without narrowing down to a specific industry or role, with a focus on wanting to work with real passion. Looking at company websites never gave me a feel for the energy of the employees, so I ended up attending a lot of information sessions in person. Among those, two encounters made a real impact on me, and together they led me to Recruit.
One was meeting the president of a major house builder. The session was held in a small conference room, but seeing the president talk about his ambitious, large-scale vision, I simply thought — this person is genuinely impressive.
The other was meeting a person in HR at a specialist trading company dealing in tools. After the session, I asked them — somewhat rudely for a student — “Is selling tools actually fun?” The HR person said “I’m glad you asked” and talked enthusiastically about their work. That experience made me realize that what I actually wanted to do was listen to the stories of business leaders and companies of all kinds — and it set me on the path to Recruit.
— You went from Recruit to founding your own company. Did you always have entrepreneurial ambitions? And was there a particular trigger?
My parents had started their own business and I had watched them struggle for years, so I had no desire to do the same. But during my time at Recruit, I met around 300 business founders over three years, and seeing how absorbed they were in their work — and how much they seemed to be enjoying it — I began to feel that I wanted to start something myself.
The trigger for actually doing so was the connections I had built during my Recruit years. I received offers of investment and support, and found myself being encouraged to take the leap on many occasions.
— The human development service was your initial business model. Had that idea been taking shape for a long time?
I wouldn’t call it a fully formed idea, but I had a sense of the challenges and needs around human resources. When I spoke with foreign friends and acquaintances, even highly capable people who spoke both Japanese and English and had graduated from prestigious universities said they struggled to find employment in Japan.
At the same time, I had heard that Japanese companies lacked non-Japanese staff, and that even when they exhibited at overseas trade shows, communication barriers prevented them from converting connections into business. I started the service of placing foreign nationals in internships in Japan as a way to address both sides of that challenge.
— What prompted the move from educational services into DX consulting?
While the educational services attracted interest, monetizing them was difficult and growth had plateaued. Feeling that the company couldn’t survive without moving into a business that could generate revenue, I launched DX consulting.
The push to enter DX consulting came from graduates of our educational programs, who told us “the age of DX is coming.” Many of them had gone on to thrive at major IT companies, and I was struck by the unexpected way in which the educational services — which had been so difficult to monetize — were giving back to us in this form.
It is because of these roots that we place greater emphasis on “commitment to people’s growth” than conventional consulting firms. Our different way of framing challenges and different approach also stem from having “the growth of people” as our goal.
— Finally, could you share your vision for the future?
Since launching the DX consulting business in 2019, we have grown at a rate of 1.5 to 2 times per year, and we are now considering a public listing. After listing, we want to develop services with an even stronger commitment to individual development. With that vision as our foundation, we are currently in the stage of actively investing in research and development for services that incorporate the latest AI technology.
In qualitative terms, another goal is to employ a wide range of talent regardless of age, gender, or nationality, and to become a global role model as a company that has achieved genuine diversity. Japan’s population is aging and declining faster than most countries, and its digital competitiveness ranks 32nd in the world — a low level.
In the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index — which quantifies the gender divide — Japan ranks 118th out of 146 countries. Even on the question of gender, let alone broader diversity, Japan’s thinking lags behind.
It is precisely because Japan is like this that a company made up of diverse people — using digital tools to grow — has genuine social significance. Rather than gathering only young people of the same nationality or those with similar values, if we can grow as a company by bringing together a wide range of people and having those from different generations and nations grow alongside one another, I am convinced that would be a meaningful and worthy role model for the world.
We are still at the stage of walking toward that dream. From the perspective of “changing people,” I hope to enjoy my own transformation and that of the company, while the whole team aims higher together.
【Post-Interview Note】
What I felt most strongly throughout the interview was President Kanda’s consistent educational mindset — his conviction that “the essence of DX lies in people, not systems.” The company’s goal in its consulting work is not simply to introduce tools, but to support clients in achieving “insourcing” — the ability to sustain DX independently — and I am convinced that this sincerity is what has earned it so much trust.
For prospective applicants, the standout attraction is the extraordinary level of autonomy given to young employees — with people in their twenties and thirties making up approximately 70 percent of management. At the same time, a robust structure of veterans from major corporations provides the backbone, and a culture in which seniors support young challengers — “Japan’s leading company for mid-to-senior professional activity” — creates a sense of security and a growth environment unlike anywhere else. The warmth and consideration for life events also came through clearly in the interview: a 100 percent take-up rate for paternity leave, and comprehensive childcare support. For anyone with the ambition not just to develop their skills, but to “update society through the growth of people,” there is no better place to hone yourself than here.
ConsulNext Senior Consultant
Masahito Tsukada
GL Navigation Inc. — Company Information
| Company Name | GL Navigation Inc. |
| Founded | December 21, 2009 |
| Capital | ¥98,580,000 (including capital reserve) |
| Representative Director | Shigeyoshi Kanda |
| Employees | 110 |
| Address | Crest Minami-Otsuka Building 5F, 3-44-13 Minami-Otsuka, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-0005 |
| Business Activities | [DX Consulting Services] ・DX Consulting ・DX Force [Educational Services] ・Japan Wing ・Global Wing |
