“So Much Talent And Passion”: Japanese Executive Who Spent 10 Years In India

After spending ten years in India, Suzuki Digital’s Managing Director, Noritaka Wakuda, returned to Japan. Mr Wakuda recently took to LinkedIn and shared how his time in India profoundly impacted his career, emphasising three crucial moments. He also stated that the country has “so much of talent and passion.” He said, “Thank you India! After 10 years, I have returned to Japan. I am grateful for all the opportunities I was given. I have been able to learn and grow. Value creation has become my core.”

Discussing the first instance, Mr Wakuda recalled his first day of work in India, “In April 2014, I landed in India and went to Maruti Suzuki, it was my first day in office and my boss Hashimoto san greeted me and said ‘I’m thinking of creating a new channel, please create it.’ I had no idea how to create it so I honestly told him ‘I don’t know how.’ Next words from him was ‘read some books and just do it.’ I learnt the power of an IDEA.”

He added that another pivotal moment was the Nexa launch event in July 2015. Mr Wakuda wrote on the networking website, “In July 2015, we were launching the new channel NEXA and at the launch event, Ayukawa san called me and said ‘have you read today’s Nikkei (Japan’s economic newspaper)?’ I replied ‘I haven’t so I’ll make sure to read it today’. Next words he said was ‘I’ve already committed 50% market share, it needs to be achieved’. After 1 year in India, I was smart enough not to reply ‘I don’t know how’ or else I would be told to ‘read the newspaper and just do it’.”

Then, in 2021, Mr Wakuda had a vision for an Indian technology business. “In 2021, after being a ‘project manager’ at Maruti, I had an IDEA. The idea was to build a tech company in India for Suzuki. Rather than relying on others, we would design, develop, deploy and continuously improve ourselves. Agility, creativity and ownership will increase. The solution will be used across the world to give better experience to our customers. There is so much of talent and passion in India, it was an easy choice. The company is called Suzuki Digital,” he wrote.

The Japanese executive said that he collaborated with many team members and partners who supported his vision and projects. Concluding the post, he said, “I am grateful for the extra step that you always took. Everybody on the team wanted to create more value for the people and that’s what we did. It was such a fun time in India. I will miss you. Let’s see what the next challenge will be.”

Since being shared, the post has amassed over two thousand reactions on LinkedIn.

“India and all us in the ecosystem will miss you Noritaka Wakuda San. You will always remain an inspiration to all of us. May the power be with you and hope you return to India soon,” said a user.

“You have given the right direction to the company from being a Auto leader to a Tech leader as well. Amidst the challenges, you have shown light with positive mindset and openness. You have given encouragement to new ideas and supported start ups owners to find a space at this level.
You will be missed,” said a second person.

Another added, “You are great example for execution and your story truly inspired and great qualities of an entrepreneur”