Enriching people's lives through spatial creation: A challenge in management planning to shape the future of the company.

Join the Nomura Co., Ltd. Group, which handles every aspect of spatial creation. Maki Amano works tirelessly in the Corporate Planning Office, which is responsible for the company's future strategy. After gaining experience in the Human Resources Department, she joined the Corporate Planning Office last year. She played a significant role in formulating the medium-term management plan and the company-wide presentation. She discusses her own philosophy of "enriching people's hearts" and how it aligns with Nomura Co., Ltd.'s business, and shares her vision for her future self.

By combining the strengths of each individual, we will paint a vision for the future together.

The Management Planning Office, where Amano works, focuses on the overall management planning of the Nomura Co., Ltd. Group, envisioning the future. This department works closely with each other to promote company-wide operations.

Amano: "The role of the Corporate Planning Office is to handle corporate planning for the entire group. Among those tasks, last year our main job was to formulate the medium-term management plan that would start the following year and to communicate its contents to employees. This year, as it is the first year of the medium-term management plan, we are in charge of managing and promoting the overall process so that the plan is put into action and the desired future state is realized."

The Corporate Planning Department at Nomura Co., Ltd. is comprised of members with diverse backgrounds.

Amano: "Our team is comprised of half members from business divisions and half from administrative divisions, so we have members with diverse strengths. Unusually for a corporate planning department, we also have many young members. Everyone is very positive and full of vitality."

As the entire department works together to consider the future of the company, there is a policy that Amano values highly.

Amano: "It's about carefully considering, thinking about, and communicating the background behind 'why' we're doing something. We tend to focus on what we're going to do, but if we only do that, our direction will become scattered."

When I first transferred to this department, I often felt that I lacked knowledge about the business. At those times, the members of the Corporate Planning Department shared the history and background with me, which greatly deepened my understanding of the business. This attitude and way of thinking is deeply rooted in our department. In corporate planning, which requires collaboration with various departments, we are now more conscious of sharing background information in order to ensure that everyone is moving in the same direction."

I was drawn to the company's warm and humane culture and joined the company. My experience in HR led me to believe "it can get even better," and I moved into management planning.

During his university years, Amano studied international business administration in the Faculty of Business Administration. He says that he encountered Nomura Co., Ltd. at a joint company information session he attended during his job search, and that he became increasingly drawn to the company as he went through the selection process.

Amano: "During my job search, I focused on finding a job that could 'bring richness to people's hearts.' I've been practicing modern ballet since I was three years old, and I've always believed that the emotional shifts and experiences I feel through the real space of the stage contribute to the richness of life."

In that context, I consider it a miraculous coincidence that I came across Nomura Co., Ltd., a company that specializes in creating spaces. As the selection process progressed, I became increasingly drawn to the charm of the employees. For example, instead of asking standard questions, the interviewers actively asked questions about things that interested them, and seeing how vividly they spoke about themselves, I thought their culture, full of humanity, was wonderful."

I joined the company in 2020 as a staff member. For the first six months, I was assigned to the Quality, Environment, and Safety Promotion Department to learn about the fundamentals of Nomura Co., Ltd.'s manufacturing process. For the following four and a half years, I gained experience in two different departments within the Human Resources Division.

Amano: "In the Human Resources Planning Department, I was mainly in charge of work related to work style reform. Even though I had just joined the company, I felt a sense of fulfillment in the environment that allowed me to take on challenges from a young age, such as conducting and analyzing employee surveys across the entire group, and traveling to offices and branches nationwide for town hall meetings where management directly interacted with employees."

In 2022, I was transferred to the Human Resources Development Department as part of a departmental reorganization. This was a challenge for me in the field of human resource development, which I had been interested in since my university days.

Amano: "Although it was an area I had no practical experience in, our company culture encourages challenges, and with the support of external partners, I spent three years going through a process of trial and error. During the previous medium-term plan period, we were particularly focused on strengthening human resource development, and the launch of the 'Nomura Training Program' was a crucial period. The experience of developing various training programs from scratch and repeatedly going through the planning and execution cycle has become invaluable to me today."

There was a sentiment that Amano held dear while being involved in company-wide training.

Amano: "My top priority is that every single employee at Nomura Kogeisha shines. Through my work in the Human Resources Development Department, I met many employees. The appeal of the employees that I felt during my job search became an even stronger feeling as I became involved in company-wide employee development. My motivation has been to create an environment and system where individuals can continuously demonstrate their value in their own unique way amidst a diverse group of people."

Amano has about four and a half years of experience in human resources. Based on the insights and challenges she gained while working on company-wide surveys and talent development, she takes action with the passion to believe that "we can do even better."

Amano: "I thought that in the Corporate Planning Office, which has a cross-departmental role, I could connect the issues I've noticed and the information I've seen so far and contribute to the company. So I took advantage of the 'self-declaration system,' which allows employees to express their career aspirations, and was able to transfer to the Corporate Planning Office in 2025."

The essence of our business, as revealed during the formulation of our medium-term management plan: To deliver this message to all employees, we will create the best possible stage.

After his transfer, Amano was involved in formulating the medium-term management plan and was entrusted with the analysis that would become the cornerstone of the human resources strategy.

Amano: "Because the employee surveys I was in charge of during my time in HR had been accumulated as historical data, I was able to conduct a multifaceted analysis by combining it with various business data from a management planning perspective. I was able to contribute to the analysis that forms the foundation of HR policies by utilizing the problem-solving approaches I learned in university and the data analysis skills I cultivated in HR, and I felt that 'everything I had been working on up until now had connected.'"

During the numerous meetings with management to refine the plan, one realization left a deep impression on Amano.

Amano: "During the discussion, we had to return to our company's management philosophy. That's when I truly understood the essence of our business: Nomura Co., Ltd. is not just a company that designs floors, walls, and ceilings to create spaces, but a company that designs human-scale spaces for communication between people, between people and things, and between people and information."

During the meeting, someone said, "This might be the company that can increase happiness the most in Japan," which I remember very well. It was a moment when my own desire to "enrich people's hearts" aligned with the essence of the company's business.

To ensure that the completed medium-term management plan was understood by all employees of the group, Amano was selected to be the main person in charge of the company-wide presentation held in February 2026.

Amano: "We started with the theme of 'making this a meeting where all employees can fully understand the direction the company will be aiming for over the next three years.' I struggled a lot with how to get employees from all positions to understand and empathize with it."

As someone in a project management position, Amano was burdened with a wide range of tasks, both large and small, but what motivated him to move forward was his strong feelings for the employees he had supported throughout his career.

Amano: "Through formulating the medium-term management plan, I was able to rediscover the appeal and potential of the Nomura Kogeisha Group, and that's why I approached this event with the determination to deliver an absolutely great experience. My driving force was the desire to create an event where employees could once again feel, 'I'm so glad I work for this company.'"

Amano's wish came to fruition through the positive feedback he received from the employees who participated that day.

Amano: "The mid-term plan presentation was held in two venues, Tokyo and Osaka, and approximately 1,900 employees from the Nomura Kogeisha Group from all over the country participated. I was nervous as the day approached, but the sight of all the employees gathered together was overwhelming, and I was relieved by the enthusiasm at the reception that followed. From the post-event survey, we received comments such as, 'It was very easy to understand the overall picture of where the group is headed,' and 'I felt that if we can combine the strengths of so many individuals, we can achieve even big goals.'"

What made me happiest was when a new employee said, "After listening to today's talk, I understand that the work I'm in charge of is a challenge in a new field that the company is aiming for." It was a moment when I felt that the company's vision had been conveyed to them, regardless of their length of service.

Furthermore, at the regular meetings held at each headquarters on a later date, the contents of the medium-term management plan were discussed in a cascading manner, and I truly felt the effect of the medium-term plan announcement meeting."

I want to expand the company's potential together with colleagues who can think through things without compromise for the sake of the future.

While looking at the company's future from the management planning office, Amano contemplates even greater possibilities.

Amano: "While aiming to achieve our medium-term management plan, we have also begun considering our long-term future. As stated in this medium-term plan, 'The Nomura Co., Ltd. Group is responsible for every aspect of space,' and space creation is still an area with many possibilities. I want to explore those possibilities further and deliver 'richness to people's hearts.' The work in the Corporate Planning Office, where I can take on such challenges, is very rewarding. Personally, I want to broaden my horizons even more and be someone who is constantly updating themselves, perhaps by taking on global work in the future."

Amano is excited about the future because the people and businesses at Nomura Co., Ltd. have a unique appeal.

Amano: "There are many people here who are very curious and live life with a sense of excitement. They are all people with unique sensibilities, and conversations tend to expand from casual small talk, which makes it very enjoyable."

As a business, we are proud of our ability to deliver value to the world, as demonstrated by our achievements at last year's Osaka-Kansai Expo, and above all, our uniqueness that cannot be confined to the framework of the display industry is what makes us so appealing."

What kind of person can thrive in such a unique group of companies? Finally, Amano describes the mindset he looks for in new team members.

Amano: "I think this job is suitable for people who have a strong desire to make society a little bit better, and who can think seriously and persistently without compromising. I believe that our unwavering commitment to quality until the very end is what has earned us the respect of our customers and society as a whole. We would love to have people who can think, ponder, and enjoy the process of bringing ideas to life join our team."

* The information provided is current as of June 2026.