[No. 238] Mikio Ikeda

I applied for an internal job posting within my company and moved to London, UK, with my family at the end of 2024.

In London during winter, the sun rarely shines; the city is still dark at 8:00 AM, and the sky turns to night as early as 3:00 PM. Walking through the dim morning mist, I often found myself stopping and wondering, "How can I provide value here?"

It was during those times that the "thinking frameworks" I acquired during my student days helped me move forward, step by step.

Even when my specialty or job title changes, the "way of thinking" I learned as a student supports me—I am realizing this once again now.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Asazuma and everyone involved for giving me the opportunity to contribute to "Jukuin Raio" following a chance meeting in London.

I graduated from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2005 and completed my master's program in 2007. Under Professor Osamu Kurita, I researched Operations Research (OR) focused on urban environments. OR is a field that reinterprets real-world problems as mathematical models to support decision-making through analysis and optimization. The Kurita Laboratory dealt with particularly complex and broad subjects such as cities and social phenomena. I was attracted to the high degree of freedom in choosing themes and the fact that I could train both my thinking and technical skills.

What I learned in OR was not so much the formulas themselves, but "how to frame a question" before reaching the formulas.

For my graduation thesis, I considered how customer attraction would change between the city center and locations far from stations when building a new art museum. For my master's thesis, I evaluated the impact of MNP (Mobile Number Portability) before it began in Japan. In both cases, the thinking at the pre-formula stage—"what to measure, from what perspective, and how"—determines the results. Training that thought process through weekly seminars has become the foundation of who I am today.

I can't say I was the most studious student, but I have unforgettable memories, such as a senior in the Doctoral Programs taking me out for late-night ramen in a sports car when I was struggling, and many people teaching me the basics of programming.

In the lab, I didn't just hone my thinking and skills; I also learned the sense of not keeping things to myself, but verbalizing them and consulting others to move forward.

That, too, was a precious asset I gained at the laboratory.

Moving slightly away from research, taking a class by the late contemporary art professor Yukio Kondo led to an unforgettable memory of creating a work with students from Tokyo University of the Arts and holding an exhibition at Raiosha. I experienced the benefits of a comprehensive university—being able to connect with people from different specialties and give shape to something, using intellectual curiosity as the entry point.

Based on ideas conceived by the art students, we collected photos and videos from Keio students to create media art. The process of turning each person's ordinary thoughts and words into a work of art under the art students' ideas was stimulating and different from my usual research life.

The feeling that sprouted then—"the fun of knowing both science and art and standing between them"—influenced my subsequent choices.

Initially, I had a vague idea of working in social infrastructure, but I ended up joining the French cosmetics brand Guerlain through the LVMH graduate program.

Lipsticks lined up in dozens of colors despite only a few being bestsellers. A business where the higher the price, the more added value it seems to have. I tried to grasp the world of "beauty"—where values are placed differently than the efficiency and optimization I was used to—not just through sensibility, but as a structure.

Later, wanting to study management systematically again, I went to study at London Business School. I will never forget how my boss at the time sent me off warmly, saying, "Life is long; please carve out your own path. It's wonderful to earn two master's degrees." During my studies, the time spent refining my thoughts while debating with people from different backgrounds was a direct continuation of the "how to frame a question" from my student days.

It was also a period where I confirmed that the mental muscle for thinking can be reproduced even if the location or field changes.

After graduation, while working for the Japanese subsidiary of a foreign company, I also served as an advisor for Fashion Press, a startup founded by a Keio classmate. Fashion Press is an online media outlet that shares lifestyle information with a focus on fashion. We were looking for ways to more attractively present collection photos from Paris and Milan accumulated over more than 10 years to readers.

So, I reached out to Professor Honma, a senior from the Kurita Laboratory who was then an associate professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo. The theme was "similarity." Among a vast number of photos, what is similar and what is different? How do we define and handle the "closeness" that people feel? Through more than three years of joint research, we examined various models using the accumulated photos. Some of the research results have been implemented, so please take a look at the Fashion Press collection pages if you like.

I was happy to have a senior I could rely on even more than 10 years after graduation, and that the lab connections extended even to my private activities.

It was an event that made me realize I could create new value by moving back and forth between the world of sensibility and the world of mathematics.

Later, while working at Amazon, I developed a strong desire to work abroad and be involved in markets other than Japan. With the support of my manager who gave me advice, and the final push from a colleague who recommended me, my transfer to the London Office was realized. Currently in London, I am in charge of finance for the advertising marketing team for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) expanding their business on Amazon. My mission is to support the growth and success of SMBs across 22 markets, including Japan, the EU, and the US.

In my current department, my job involves collaborating with teams of scientists and economists to evaluate measures and support decision-making. Here, too, I stand between science and business.

Even if the industry changes, the essence of the job—"reinterpreting reality and helping decision-making"—does not change. That is the single line connecting my student days to the present.

With stakeholders all over the world and slight differences in what is considered right or high priority, it can be difficult to coordinate how much to make a common policy and what to treat as an exception. No matter the situation, I try not to be pulled by the strength of emotions and instead verbalize "what the objective is" and "what the axis of comparison is."

The "how to frame a question" trained in OR still supports my role today.

Looking back, I feel my career has moved by "trying to put things into words first." Going outside the lab to hold an exhibition, the path from employment to studying abroad, reaching out to a senior to start joint research, and talking to my boss about wanting to work abroad—it all started with small acts of verbalization.

Rather than saying anything you can imagine can be realized, I think you get closer to reality by "putting your thoughts into words, relying on people, and taking action."

The way of refining one's thinking cultivated during student days is a lifelong asset. While my current work does not directly match my research field at the time, the time I spent as a student is the foundation of who I am now. I would like to express my gratitude once again to Professor Kurita, who is retiring this year, for his guidance.

《 Previous Article [No. 237] Mariko Ikeda (FANCL CORPORATION)

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