Speaking and Advisory Track Record | Hiroki Tsutsumi, Link Global

Hiroki Tsutsumi, Representative Director of Link Global, supports Japanese SMEs and local governments in expanding into Taiwan and Southeast Asia. This page summarises his speaking engagements, public-sector advisory appointments and client work.

Profile

He has worked with over 100 companies across more than 10 countries. His work does not stop at research and strategy: he conducts buyer negotiations on the ground, exhibits at trade shows, and handles export operations himself. When he speaks, he describes what actually happens in the field from first-hand experience.

He also serves concurrently as Representative Director of The Skinfactory Global JP, the Japanese subsidiary of a Korean cosmetics manufacturer.

Background

• From Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

• B.Eng. and M.Eng., Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University

• Tsinghua-MIT Global MBA, Tsinghua University; exchange semester at NUS Business School, National University of Singapore

• Established three subsidiaries in mainland China (apparel, cosmetics, sake)

• At Fast Retailing, led the integration of payment services across approximately 30 countries

• Six years living overseas, including four years in China

• Trilingual: Japanese, English and Mandarin Chinese

Public-sector advisory appointments

• Kyoto City - Foreign Direct Investment Advisor

• Fukuoka Prefecture - Overseas Expansion Advisor, Global Connect Fukuoka (appointed two years running)

• Daito City, Osaka Prefecture - Corporate Attraction Advisor

• Tachiarai Town, Fukuoka Prefecture - Policy Promotion Advisor

• Osaka Prefecture - Supporter, EPICS Acceleration Program

Selected client work

• Market entry into Taiwan for Asahikawa furniture makers, Hokkaido

• Overseas expansion and inbound tourism support for a Hokkaido winery

• Export support for sake and rice producers

• Southeast Asia market entry for a food manufacturer

• Japan market entry for a Korean cosmetics manufacturer

• Inward investment and overseas promotion programmes for local governments, including Hokkaido, Ishikawa, Wakayama and Fukuoka Prefectures

Speaking engagements

Recent engagement

Global Connect Fukuoka (Fukuoka Prefecture) - Overseas Expansion Online Seminar, Session 3: Introductory Course. "The First Step into the Taiwanese Market: Capturing Asia's Closest Market through Exports and Inbound Tourism." Online, 90 minutes, capacity 200 participants.

Global Connect Fukuoka is a support hub established by Fukuoka Prefecture inside CIC Fukuoka in Tenjin, providing comprehensive support for SME overseas expansion and business matching.

Other engagements

He speaks regularly at study sessions and seminars hosted by local governments and industry support organisations. Host organisations are not named at their request.

• Format: both online and in person

• Scale: typically 20 to 30 participants per session

• Representative themes: how to read the Taiwanese market and judge whether to enter it; how to approach exporting in practice; how to begin overseas expansion; preparing for business matching events

This record is updated on an ongoing basis. If you would like to know about experience in a specific industry or with a particular audience, please ask when you get in touch.

Speaking topics

Seven core themes, in three groups. Case studies and data are swapped in and out to match the industries and expansion stage of the audience.

Market and strategy

• The reality of the Taiwanese market, tested against the data. Several widely repeated claims no longer hold, and building a strategy on them means getting the target customer and the channel wrong from the very first decision.

• The first step in overseas expansion: choosing a market, deciding between exports and inbound tourism, and how to proceed when no one internally owns the project.

• Overseas sales channels for traditional crafts and regional products: pricing, lot sizes, lead times, and translating a product into a local use case.

Practice

• Negotiating with overseas companies: building a target list, securing the first meeting, negotiating price and terms, the clauses to check in distributor agreements and MOUs, and settling payment terms.

• Export operations: category-specific requirements and documentation, HS codes and tariffs, local certifications such as Taiwan's BSMI and NCC, and how to construct a local retail price.

• Making trade shows work: pre-booked appointments, booth presentation, and the two weeks after the show, illustrated with examples from Taiwan and Singapore.

For local governments and support organisations

• Attracting foreign companies and promoting regional exports: the common pitfalls, how to design an export promotion programme, and how support schemes are actually used on the ground, seen from both the supporting and the supported side.

Formats

• Online (Zoom and similar), open to participants nationwide and overseas

• In person, anywhere in Japan (travel and accommodation billed at cost)

• Hybrid

• Multi-session series and panel discussions

Sessions typically run 60, 90 or 120 minutes. Half-day and full-day workshop formats can also be arranged.

Enquiries

Please include your theme, preferred dates, audience and format. Email: info@linkglobal.co.jp

Link Global supports entry into Taiwan and other Asian markets, not only through research and advice but through negotiation and export execution on the ground. We welcome enquiries about overseas expansion itself, as well as speaking requests.

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日本語版はこちら：海外展開セミナー・講演の講師依頼