Project Holdings Inc. supports the advancement of DX — one of the key challenges facing Japanese companies. One of its group companies, Project Company Inc. (hereafter “PrC”), operates a DX consulting business. In January 2025, PrC also established a new “AI Consulting Division.”
We interviewed Taishi Takayanagi, Head of the AI Consulting Division at PrC, about the current state of the AI market, the initiatives and challenges facing client companies, the content of the AI consulting services PrC provides, and the kind of person he is looking for as an AI consultant.
Taishi Takayanagi
After graduating from the Faculty of Economics at Keio University in 2011, he joined a major advertising agency. He worked in strategic planning, developing marketing strategies. In 2017 he transferred to the DX division, and in 2020 he established a specialist AI/data science team. During this period, in 2019, he completed an MBA at Waseda University Graduate School of Business and Finance (evening program). He left the advertising agency in 2024, joined PrC in 2024, and remains there to the present day.
Supporting AI Adoption from the Most Upstream Stages — Becoming the Standard-Bearer for Clients’ AI Utilization
— Could you first tell us about PrC’s AI consulting business?
We provide AI consulting services to address the challenges our client companies face. Our AI consulting service supports the entire process of advancing a company’s AI adoption — from the very furthest upstream stages all the way through to downstream execution.
At the furthest upstream, we support the development of an AI vision — asking “what kind of positive future does using AI create for this company?” — as well as building an AI initiative strategy, including an action roadmap, investment strategy, staffing plan, and alliance plan for realizing that vision. At the upstream stage, we provide AI solution planning support — including planning new businesses and services using AI, planning for efficiency improvements to existing businesses, and formulating the project plans needed to develop them. At the midstream stage, as execution support for actual product development, we advance PoC and PoB, define development requirements, manage development projects, and verify business ROI. Finally, at the downstream stage, we provide broad execution support for making the built AI solutions deliver real business results — through new AI business and service development, sales promotion, operational rollout for efficiency improvements to existing businesses, and BPR projects.
In recent years, AI has come to be seen as indispensable to corporate growth, and companies are increasingly active in incorporating AI adoption promotion policies into their management visions and medium-term business plans, and in forming AI task forces and AI Centers of Excellence. While this enthusiasm for action is high, the reality is that many companies remain at the level of vague problem awareness or sloganeering without translating that into concrete strategies or plans. Our AI consultants step in as the standard-bearers for AI adoption within these organizations — formulating visions, strategies, and plans with greater resolution, and driving projects forward. That is the value of this service.
By engaging from the upstream of management, our AI consulting service also helps elevate AI from a mere tool for operational efficiency into the core technology for creating new services and businesses that drive innovation, and for building competitive advantage in existing businesses. For example, using AI to automatically generate email text and thereby improve operational efficiency is of course a positive thing — but it doesn’t necessarily represent AI being used to its full potential. Creating entirely new value that goes beyond the framework of existing operations is, we believe, the future that AI adoption should be aiming for.
— So the goal is to use AI in ways that go beyond operational efficiency.
Yes. To achieve that, it is first important to develop a meticulous foundational strategy. By drawing a large vision and making visible the gap between that vision and the current state, the challenges a company needs to address become clear. Using AI without this kind of groundwork will only produce ad hoc, temporary effects. We are committed to providing integrated end-to-end support — from strategy formulation through to AI product introduction and organizational embedding.
— When people think of AI-related roles, AI engineers tend to come to mind. How does your company position the AI consultant role?
Our AI consultants handle strategy consulting that supports clients from the upstream — including AI strategy formulation, new business planning using AI, and solution planning.
Many client companies are expanding the environment in which employees can use AI — for example, by entering into enterprise agreements with ChatGPT. However, AI-driven new business development and the pursuit of competitive advantage in existing businesses are difficult to generate through a bottom-up approach alone. I believe they require the elevated perspective and leadership of management — the CEO, the executive overseeing DX, and the relevant department and section heads — and it is our AI consultants who support those individuals.
When people think of “AI talent,” they tend to envision AI engineers or data scientists with deep technical expertise. At our company, however, we define “AI consultant” as business-side AI talent who confront the fundamental client challenge of “how do we use AI to lead the business to success?”
The Challenges of AI Adoption
— What do you see as the key challenges in AI adoption?
Overlapping with what I mentioned earlier, I feel that many companies lack clarity about what they actually want to achieve with AI. Many companies appear to start using AI without a clear purpose — essentially on a “let’s just try using AI” basis. It is also not uncommon for companies to treat the act of advancing AI projects or establishing specialist departments as an end in itself. This kind of approach cannot generate new value.
The inability to articulate a business vision that only AI can realize is, I believe, the common challenge facing many companies. But precisely because this challenge is becoming visible, I also believe this is a market that will accelerate dramatically once companies break through it. That is why we intend to confront the challenge of “what do you actually want to do with AI?” head-on, and contribute to the implementation of AI in business and society, and to the creation of innovation using AI.
— Engaging with those challenges head-on sounds like a strength that other firms don’t have.
I believe so. For many of the so-called AI development vendors that build AI products in response to client requests, core competency tends to lie in the technical capabilities and development power of AI engineers. But the challenge that is becoming visible right now is one step before that — the business planning of “what are we trying to achieve, and what AI solution should we be building?” Focusing specifically on and specializing in upstream challenges like these is our strength.
For the midstream stages and beyond, when AI product development becomes necessary, we typically collaborate with our AI development vendor partners on system and algorithm development. From the partner companies’ perspective, having a clear strategy and a clear picture of the product to be built means shorter proposal lead times and smoother project execution — so they too benefit from our involvement.
— Could you also tell us about the specifics of the work — support duration and team composition?
It varies by client, but a typical picture would be strategy formulation over roughly two to three months at the shortest, followed by approximately six months of execution support. After strategy formulation, we move into execution support, but depending on circumstances we sometimes continue refining the strategy in parallel with advancing execution support.
In terms of team composition, we typically assign around two to three people per project. The general division of labor has our Division Head or Team Manager leading the project, with members supporting the process through research, document creation, and similar tasks.
— Is working on-site at client companies a common arrangement?
If a client has a strong preference, full or partial on-site presence is possible, but our basic working arrangement involves coming into our own office. This is because our staff skews young, and working intensively together in a meeting room tends to suit the way we operate.
— Are there any notable characteristics of the client companies you support?
There is no particular bias by industry or sector among the clients we support. That said, our current client base tends to skew toward large companies — particularly very large enterprises listed on the TSE Prime Market or with high public name recognition. Despite being a recently launched business, we have already received a large number of inquiries from client companies, and have already built a significant service delivery track record — including supporting the core of AI promotion projects at major large corporations.
We ourselves also believe that initiatives by large companies tend to have a greater impact on society, which is why we are focusing there.
The Kind of Person We Are Looking for as an AI Consultant
— What characteristics do you see in people who thrive at your company?
For the AI consultant role, we are looking for hybrid professionals who combine AI skills with consulting skills. That said, it is not necessary to possess both sets of skills from the outset — a career plan in which someone who has one set of skills joins and develops the other over time is entirely viable.
For example, someone who is already a consultant and wants to add AI expertise as a differentiator going forward; someone who wants to pivot from AI engineering into consulting; or someone who was in a business development or sales role at an AI startup — people looking to make a career pivot anchored in their existing skills are likely a great fit.
We also consider ourselves a boutique firm of approximately 300 employees that is still in a venture phase — so people who want to work at a venture company with fast decision-making and open communication, or those who are looking for an environment where their performance determines how quickly they can take on higher-level positions, are also likely to find it a natural match.
Furthermore, because the AI consulting business is positioned as a new venture within the company, we also welcome people who want to join us in tackling that new business development challenge together. Many members of the AI Consulting Division approach their work with high energy and a shared sense of excitement about building something new.
— Is a certain level of AI knowledge required to join as an AI consultant?
No, it is not necessarily required. Our division currently has two hiring tracks: experienced and inexperienced. For experienced hires, we prefer candidates who have either AI skills or consulting skills, as described above. However, for inexperienced hires, our policy is to recruit broadly without requiring either.
For those without prior experience, we have developed our own training curriculum covering everything from basic knowledge of what AI is through to the practical knowledge of AI consulting.
We would of course love to hire people with an interest in AI or some foundational knowledge they have looked into on their own, but not being deeply versed in AI is not a problem.
In addition to AI skills, we also consider consulting skills important. These include communication ability — the capacity to deepen client relationships and earn their trust — as well as research ability for problem-solving and strategy formulation, logical thinking, ideation skills, and the documentation and presentation abilities needed to explain things clearly. Our policy is to hire even those without experience in these consulting skills as well, but since our business model is fundamentally consulting — a human-to-human business — we would be glad to find people who find that kind of people-centric work genuinely fulfilling.
— Could you tell us about your hiring plans going forward?
We launched the “AI Consulting Division” as a new organizational unit in January 2025. It started with ten members, and we plan to run a recruitment drive aimed at growing the division to approximately twenty people within a year of its establishment.
Believing in the Potential of AI — Spreading New Value Through Society
— Finally, could you tell us about your own career?
I joined a major advertising agency as a new graduate in 2011 and worked in strategic planning, developing marketing strategies. Until my sixth year I was involved in new product development and communications planning including TV commercials for many client companies, but having obtained an MBA, I transferred to the DX division in my seventh year to take on the challenge of new business development. There I worked on the development of new digital solutions and the establishment of subsidiaries, among other business development activities. In 2020, I established a team of data scientists and provided big data and AI utilization support for client companies through fee-based projects. Through a series of coincidences, I joined PrC in July 2024.
— What prompted you to join PrC?
I witnessed firsthand how client companies’ enthusiasm for AI — especially after the emergence of generative AI — increased dramatically all at once. I also became convinced, through conversations with CXOs at many client companies, that there was genuine demand for the AI consulting service described earlier.
At the same time, I felt a sense of frustration within a large organization at the speed at which business development — and specifically resource preparation — could move.
In that context, I concluded that PrC — as a venture company — made decisions faster, and that by repurposing the resources it had built up through its existing DX consulting business, resource preparation could be done quickly. That reasoning led me to join.
I considered going independent for a time, but when I weighed up PrC’s client relationships, its young and talented consultants, its well-organized back-office structure, and its investment capital, I concluded that PrC was the organization where I could most quickly and reliably achieve what I wanted to do. Conversations with President Doi, the management team, and other staff members, through which I could feel their passion for business and their capabilities firsthand, were also part of what brought me here.
— What is your vision for the AI consulting business?
I want to elevate AI from being merely a tool for operational efficiency into a key driver of business creation and business growth. The AI market is generating a lot of excitement right now, but voices of disappointment and disillusionment are already beginning to emerge. Those who will succeed in that environment, I believe, are the companies that find genuinely meaningful ways to use AI and create new value.
That creation of new value will enrich society, and ten years from now I believe it will give rise to services that are so indispensable they are simply taken for granted.
We too want to explore what truly necessary forms of AI in society look like, and contribute to the social implementation of AI. I also believe that the implementation knowledge and implementation talent around AI will be increasingly in demand going forward — and we want to accumulate and produce those as a public asset for society.
— Could you also share your own personal vision?
There are two main things. The first is to believe in the potential of AI and, as described above, to play a part in advancing its implementation in society. The second is to lead our business development at this company to success — and in terms of my own career, I want to develop a track record and practical know-how in successful business development.
【Post-Interview Note】
What emerged through the interview with Director Sato was a refined management philosophy — “culture conglomerate” — that pursues diversified management through M&A while respecting the independence and culture of each company. Zigexn offers a uniquely rare environment in which strategy consulting alumni can step beyond the boundaries of individual projects and engage in business management from a medium-to-long-term perspective.
What I want to convey to prospective applicants is the extraordinary opportunity to take on management positions early — positions that are structurally in high demand. The combination of a Prime Market–listed foundation and startup-like speed and energy, all while pursuing not just domestic business but global market development, is an experience you simply cannot find elsewhere. For anyone with the ambition to become an “UPDATER” — not just an analyst, but someone who actively transforms industries and drives significant social impact — Zigexn’s multifaceted arena should represent the ultimate challenge.
ConsulNext Senior Consultant
Masahito Tsukada
Project Holdings Inc. — Company Information
| Company Name | Project Holdings Inc. |
| Founded | January 4, 2016 |
| Address | Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower 24F, 1-3-1 Azabudai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0041 |
| Capital | ¥50,000,000 (as of end of December 2024) |
| Consolidated Employees | 287 (as of end of March 2025) |
