INSIGHTS / LEADERSHIP & MARKET ENTRY
What building Japan takes.
Company case studies on leadership, hiring and market entry. Public-record analysis sits alongside searches we have run ourselves.
Discuss a search →MURRAY CLARKE / FOUNDING PARTNER
Experience, applied with AI.
I’m Murray Clarke, founding partner of Aspiring Partners. I’ve spent more than 20 years in executive search in Japan, helping build four search firms. That includes years helping VMware hire its leadership team, two years internally during hypergrowth, and the executive-search joint venture I built with ManpowerGroup before selling my interest to the group.
These case studies connect the decisions behind a Japan leadership hire with what happens in the business afterwards. Some cover searches we ran; others analyse public company records.
This time, we’ve built our own platform and use AI extensively in the work. It helps me apply that experience more broadly in support of candidates, clients and the recruiters working with us. The technology supports the research and preparation; I remain accountable for the judgment and relationships.
More about Murray and Aspiring Partners →Chainalysis Japan: Four Country Managers in Seven Years, and What Changed in 2026
Chainalysis is on its fourth Japan head since 2019. Why the seat turned over, how the latest Country Manager search went back to zero, and what changed for the business in 2026.
Wise, Revolut and Airwallex in Japan: The Same Licence, Three Different Japan Leaders
All three started with the same Type 2 money transfer licence. One now settles with the Bank of Japan, one went through a business improvement order, and one has only just started selling.
Stripe vs Adyen in Japan: A Founder's Friend for Twelve Years, or a Rotating Country Manager
Stripe gave Japan to an engineer the founders trusted and kept him for twelve years. Adyen built licences first and rotated Country Managers. What each model built, and what it cost.