Exclusive Interview with
SCAO Group CEO Mr Keigo Shiomi
FY2023 marks the final year of SHIFT2023. What must we do to ensure the SHIFTS we have been making are lasting and achieve our goals?
We have tackled various issues under SHIFT2023. We could resolve or improve some, but we still have the following issues to focus on:
Firstly, under our Full Potential Plan (FPP) initiative to ensure a sound investment portfolio, some businesses are still on the way to exit or turn around. We need to complete this task as soon as possible.
Secondly, we have to increase our profitability with our invested capital and expansion of earning base. We aim to make the Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) exceed Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) in each Strategic Business Unit (SBU)/business line, but there are still some SBUs/business lines which are struggling to achieve this target. We should try to formulate more effective KPIs/KAIs to help them realise it.
Thirdly, we are tackling various business opportunities but most of them are still work in progress. We have to achieve concrete results of scalable business in our focused areas of growth.
You place great emphasis on DE&I, with SCAO group incorporating Inclusion Targets into our performance evaluation system recently. How has this DE&I journey been for you? What do you hope to achieve for as long as you are SCAO group’s CEO?
As a global organisation, DE&I has been one of SC Group’s most important strategies since 2018. It takes time to build it, but I truly think that we are gradually changing our mindset. Our company has been so serious in executing this strategy that we have changed several systems and practices to ensure we are on track to achieving our targets.
Our business spans all over the world. It is crucial to assign the right person to the right position and conduct meaningful inclusion activities. Some day in the future, I hope the CEO of SCAO group will be a capable non-Japanese expatriate who will strongly drive our business in this region.
With beneficiaries from Club Rainbow at SCAO company dinner and dance event 2022; the beneficiaries put up a Cajon performance at the event
Do you have a secret talent that no one knows? Tell us more.
During the period of Covid-19 restrictions, I began to like cooking and realised I have the talent for it. I might be a better cook than my wife! I really enjoy eating my favourite dishes and I found that it is easier to cook them by myself than asking my wife, which sometimes causes some trouble because our likings for food and tastes are different. If I had discovered this talent in my younger days, I might have chosen a different path and led a better life….
These dishes were prepared by me! Look delicious?
You have been staying in Singapore for more than 4 years, since 2019. Tell us more about your life here, such as what you love, what you hate and what you would miss the most when you leave the country.
I love and am enjoying everything in Singapore, except for the high cost of living and it being too small an island.
It is a very convenient city with good security, advanced digital management by the government, plenty of good restaurants, good views especially the Marina Bay area, good golf courses close to the city and good people.
If the living cost is not so expensive, I would seriously consider living here for the rest of my life. My wife and I will definitely miss our lives here and will come back from time to time…
