Rakuten Symphony has appointed Rakuten Group veteran Shinichi Sasaki as its new Chief Financial Officer. Sasaki is replacing Hironori Shimada who has been appointed as a director for Rakuten Asia's regional operations based out of Singapore.
Sasaki brings over 17 years of international executive experience across Rakuten Group’s operations in Europe and Asia to his new role, having previously held leadership positions in Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Sasaki initially oversaw the introduction of a number of the Rakuten Group’s budgeting processes across various business units from the Group’s Tokyo headquarters, before transferring to Rakuten Europe in 2013, where he joined the Group’s e-commerce leadership team from Luxembourg, overseeing operations across five countries.
He then led numerous corporate functions for Rakuten Securities from Hong Kong, where he spent four years before serving as Director of Rakuten Asia, which also encompassed the Asia-Pacific region. He is now based in Singapore.
Throughout his time at Rakuten Group, Sasaki has always been driven by the ‘Speed! Speed! Speed!’ and ‘Passionately Professional’ Shugi principles of success. “I think ‘Passionately Professional’ is really important, he said. “Of course, everyone has to be professional, but if we don't have any passion, then that doesn’t spread to other people and inspire them to be better in their work. Speed! Speed! Speed is very important – not just speed, but also quality.”
Sasaki is committed to supporting Rakuten Symphony’s strategic growth by drawing on his near-two-decades of experience across the Rakuten Group. “I want to support Rakuten Symphony’s revenue growth while strengthening budget control,” he said. “Rakuten Symphony is a truly global organization and has already made a significant impact in telecom across the world. Rakuten Symphony has a unique value proposition, and I am very excited be part of its next phase of strategic innovation.”
