Written by: Karin Wellbrock, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Masaki Wakabayashi's rise to President and CEO of GE Healthcare Japan is an incredible journey, marked by a strategic shift from pharmaceuticals to medical devices, driven by his belief in enhancing lives through early and precision diagnosis. His leadership is characterized by authenticity as well as adaptability, steering his organizations with a commitment to excellence. This story delves into the experiences that have defined his leadership approach, underscoring his dedication to cultivating a workplace that values diversity, openness, and innovation.
In our "Exceptional Leaders in Japan" series, we highlight Masaki Wakabayashi, a prominent leader in Japan's healthcare sector and the President and CEO of GE Healthcare Japan. His impressive rise, beginning with his early days at P&G to a top executive demonstrates his expertise in effecting change, promoting inclusivity, and spurring growth. Widely recognized as a steadfast supporter of women in business, he is tirelessly working towards an equal and diverse workplace. He actively champions women’s careers and shares his insights on achieving this equitable vision.
The leadership journey of Masaki Wakabayashi
Masaki’s journey to President and CEO of GE Healthcare Japan is a story of dedication and transformative leadership. Starting with foundational experiences at P&G, his career has spanned across leading organizations like AstraZeneca, Genzyme, and Siemens Healthineers, each role strengthened his expertise in leadership, innovation, and resilience. At GE Healthcare Japan, Masaki's commitment extends beyond advancing medical technology; he promotes a culture of inclusivity, openness, and collaboration. His strategic foresight and passion for improving patient outcomes through diagnostics have positioned him as a visionary leader, reshaping the healthcare industry landscape in Japan.
Breaking silos and orchestrating a group of businesses
Mid-2023, Masaki transitioned to the role of President and CEO at GE Healthcare Japan, having previously held a similar role yet with a smaller span of control at GE Healthcare Pharma Japan. From the start, he zeroed in on the importance of team unity and open communication. By enhancing internal communication and encouraging open dialogue, Masaki aimed to build a high-performing, cross-functional team that shares challenges and collaborates on solutions.
CEO reflections of 2023: Becoming a group CEO
Looking back on his inaugural year as President and CEO of GE Healthcare Japan, Masaki recounts a period marked by substantial shifts, touching not just professional aspects but also the cultural fabric of the workplace. He has dedicated himself to reshaping the company's culture into a space where challenges are addressed openly, and solutions are sought as a team. This shift from sidestepping issues to tackling them head-on has been pivotal. A critical realization for Masaki was grasping the expectations of his employees and aligning them with the practicalities of the organization's objectives.
Tough calls are part of the job
Masaki points out a crucial element of leadership: the art of decision-making. He underscores the need for clear and swift decisions, recognizing that leaders often have to balance in-depth analysis with the urgency of action. Given that a leader's day is filled with constant decision-making and communication, Masaki advises budding leaders to hone their decision-making skills early and often, emphasizing the need to strike a balance between the quality of their choices and the pace at which they're made.
Leadership influences on the way to CEO
Masaki credits his own growth to the diverse leadership styles and personalities he has encountered throughout his career, adopting the best qualities from each leader into his own leadership toolkit. Despite not having a singular role model, he values the lessons learned from various leaders, particularly the importance of connecting with employees and fostering a team spirit.
His career hit a pivotal moment during his time at P&G, stirring his leadership ambitions. The company's competitive yet nurturing environment, which emphasized recognition and upward mobility, inspired him to seek leadership positions. It was at P&G that Masaki transitioned from being reserved to becoming an ambitious, people-focused leader. The company's focus on interpersonal skills and leadership cultivation was instrumental in this metamorphosis, highlighting the impact of mentorship and the power of positive examples.
Masaki reflects on the significant role mentorship has played in his journey. Starting with the sage advice from seasoned colleagues at P&G, he gradually expanded his circle to include trusted friends from various sectors. This network has proven to be a bedrock of support, insight, and reassurance, highlighting the vital role that external connections play in both personal and professional advancement.
Finding purpose and the drive to attain the C-suite
Masaki's commitment to leadership was significantly shaped by his time at Genzyme, where he worked on treatments for orphan diseases. The rarity of these conditions and the challenges in diagnosing them deeply moved him, particularly when he encountered the struggles of patients and their families firsthand. This experience was decisive in helping Masaki discover his true calling. It sparked a powerful desire within him to bring the best diagnostic methods to patients, leading him to pivot towards MedTech and subsequently to GE Healthcare. There, he concentrates his efforts on bringing the latest and the best diagnostic tools to market, aiming to make disease detection both early and precise.
Enabling diversity by redefining roles for inclusivity
Masaki is deeply committed to fostering diversity at GE Healthcare Japan and changing the structure and mindsets. As a concrete example, he recognizes that current job designs for field engineers tended to favor men due to traditional expectations about availability and service delivery, which hindered diversity and inclusion. To address this, he's working on reshaping job roles, especially for salespeople and field engineers, by integrating remote service diagnostics and flexible working hours. This strategy aims to enhance gender diversity and support employees with varied personal commitments, helping them juggle work and other duties more effectively.
In response to these challenges, Masaki has launched major initiatives to make jobs more inclusive and appealing to a wider range of candidates, including women. He's redefining job descriptions and adjusting customer expectations to allow for more adaptable working conditions.
Promoting inclusion through education
Masaki emphasizes that promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requires extensive communication and employee education. It's not just about informing them of company changes, like flexible working hours, but more crucially, explaining the impact of these changes on each individual and the organization as a whole. He points out the need to regularly challenge traditional views of job roles. Through raising awareness and encouraging acceptance of new work models, the company strives to cultivate an inclusive culture that appreciates contributions, no matter how they are delivered.
Broadening the DEI discussion
Beyond just addressing gender diversity, Masaki stresses the importance of welcoming a diversity of thought within the organization. He believes that incorporating diverse opinions is vital for innovation and growth, driving the company to challenge assumptions and think creatively.
As a prime example, Masaki advocates for a broader discourse about work flexibility, emphasizing that the need for adaptable work arrangements extends beyond women with children to include older employees and those with other caregiving responsibilities. He calls for collaborative efforts to design flexible roles that accommodate the diverse needs of all employees.
Creating a foundation for DEI: An open culture
To foster a culture where everyone feels safe to express their opinions, Masaki highlights the need for open dialogue and inclusivity. He describes efforts to integrate a more cross-cultural perspective within the predominantly Japanese company, encouraging employees to share their ideas and learn from each other's differences.
Through these initiatives, Masaki demonstrates a hands-on approach to diversity and inclusion, focusing on practical changes to work arrangements and cultural shifts within the organization. By valuing and acting on diverse perspectives, GE Healthcare Japan is making significant strides toward becoming a more inclusive, innovative, and adaptable company.
Expectations of women in leadership
Masaki encourages Japanese women to be more vocal about their career ambitions. He notes a tendency among women to prematurely limit their career prospects due to societal or personal expectations, such as the belief that having children or household responsibilities precludes them from pursuing executive roles. Masaki's message is clear: women should articulate their career goals. This will enable collaborative planning for flexible work arrangements or other support to achieve these objectives.
Gender blind performance evaluation vs. quotas
Masaki asserts that his approach to leadership and executive roles is performance-based, without gender bias. He recognizes the unique challenges women may face, particularly regarding career breaks for family reasons, and advocates for open discussions about career aspirations and plans to address potential breaks. His stance is that solutions should be collaboratively designed, emphasizing the importance of transparency in discussions about career ambitions.
Final thoughts
Masaki's journey underscores several key leadership lessons, including the significance of understanding one's motivations, the value of mentorship and networking, and the importance of fostering a culture of openness and diversity. His proactive approach to addressing diversity and inclusion challenges at GE Healthcare Japan, particularly in redesigning roles to accommodate a wider range of employees, reflects his commitment to creating a more inclusive and innovative workplace.
As Masaki continues to transform his organization, his story offers inspiration and guidance for aspiring leaders to be on the lookout for opportunities - not only to gain work experience but, more importantly, to watch out for leadership traits and skills - to craft your own toolbox of leadership skills and develop your leadership style.
Masaki’s leadership lessons
Leading Self | Leading Others | Leading Transformation |
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This case study reflects the private opinions of Masaki Wakabayashi, derived from an interview conducted by Karin Wellbrock in December 2023.
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Karin Wellbrock, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
In addition to being a co-founder of Kay Group K.K in Japan, Karin Wellbrock is an executive coach and leadership consultant with over 30 years of global experience. A passionate advocate of human-centered, inclusive leadership, she creates exceptional results. To bring innovation to the workplace, she is conducting research in Japan and Europe to increase female representation in leadership roles. Her program "Leader-by-Design" demonstrates this. Dedicated to systemic change, Karin is a member of an all-women-led angel investment club in Asia Pacific, and mentors startup and NGO leaders and game changers in Asia and Europe. It is her mission to elevate 100 women to the C-suite.
