Career Journey at Ataway: Thomas Wilson Kurosawa 5

１．氏名（Name）
Thomas Wilson Kurosawa

２．所属ディビジョン(Division)
PMCM Division

３．入社年(join year)
2019

４．職階(job title)
Senior Consultant

５．Ataway入社前の略歴(Career before Ataway)
After graduating from a university in the United States, I started work in fashion retail – doing everything from leading back-office operations to selling clothes on the sales floors in Ginza. After three years, I made the switch to the IT industry. Although I entered as a translator because I did not have IT experience per se, I quickly learned the ropes and became a system engineer. I spent seven years in this position. During this time I served as team leader and assisted my company on several global M&A projects.

６．なぜAtawayへの入社を決意した(Why Ataway)
A few months before hearing about Ataway, I had begun reflecting on my career path and – given my work history and background – decided that I wanted to go into IT consulting and specialize in global projects. Though I was not actively looking for opportunities, I happened to cross paths with one of Ataway’s directors, and I was intrigued to find that what he told me about the company closely matched what I had in mind for myself.

That was how I learned about Ataway, but in my interviews and in my subsequent research, I also found that the company was serious when they talked about global focus. For example, I met seven people from Ataway during my interviews, and they – just the seven of them – represented

Six different countries! Another thing that I learned was that Ataway was known for being “that consulting company with a lot of bilingual people.”

The more I discovered about Ataway, the more evidence I found of their specialization in global projects, and that is the chief reason I chose to join Ataway.

７．Atawayへ入社後に学んだこと、感じたこと (What did you learn/ feel after joining Ataway)
– I do not know if this comes from the company’s relative diversity in terms of age, gender, and national background, but the people here are generally approachable and open-minded. There is mutual respect among the employees, and it is a company where I feel comfortable being myself.

– The management level is very open, and it is easy to broach even delicate topics with them.

– The view of the Imperial Palace from Ataway’s office is something else.

８．ご自身の成長と成果の振り返り(Reflect on your progression/achievement)
I have been assigned to a number of projects as a PMO at Ataway. I think it is safe to say that the quality of interactions with my clients and the quality of my output have improved with each project. A big difference is that I am ever more aware of the best practices pertaining to consulting and PMO, and these are gradually becoming second nature to me.

A part of this is due to the experience I have gained, but I attribute the improvement chiefly to the time and effort my experienced colleagues have taken to guide me through my journey as a consultant. Overall, it is my observation and experience that Ataway has a culture of mutual assistance. This is exemplified by the first element of Ataway’s pledge which states that “we succeed as a team.” I believe that this culture is the cornerstone of the company’s success, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a company.

All this being said, I am noticing increasingly that I have more room for improvement, and I look forward to being stretched further.

９．Atawayにご興味がある方へのメッセージ (Message to people who are interested in Ataway)
– If you are looking for a company in which you can be challenged, Ataway is surely the company for you. It is a relatively compact company, and there is always the chance for you to embark upon novel and challenging projects.