Chief Operating Officer
Japan · Global perspective
Practice / Perspective
An index
of ideas.
| No. | The idea | Subject / reading |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | The hand-off is often the operating problem | Operating models 3 min read |
| 02 | Capacity is a commercial conversation | Supply chain 3 min read |
| 03 | Productivity without a quality blind spot | Execution 3 min read |
The practitioner
Akiko Takahashi
I help organisations deliver on the promises they make to customers. My work connects operating design, frontline capability and performance discipline so that growth can be supported by a dependable business.
Open to Board appointments · Advisory roles · Speaking invitations
Start a conversation- 01 / Operating model design
- 02 / Service delivery
- 03 / Supply chain resilience
- 04 / Performance improvement
- On-time delivery
- 97.6%
- Up from 81% across the network
- Cost removed
- ₹1,150 Cr
- Without reducing service quality
- Sites run
- 64
- Plants, warehouses and service centres
- Safety incidents
- −48%
- Over three operating years
Beyond the page
The record behind the perspective.
In the boardroom
- Harrow & Vale IndustriesIndependent Director · 2023 — Present
- The Manufacturing Skills CouncilAdvisory Board Member · 2020 — Present
Recognition
- Operations Leader of the YearThe Operations Excellence Awards · 2024
- Supply Chain Resilience AwardCapital & Governance Quarterly · 2022
In conversation
- “From 81% to 97% on-time without a single new plant”The Operations Excellence Journal · 2025
- “What boards should see in an operations review”The Boardroom Review · 2024
- “Episode 109 — Keeping the promise to customers”The Leadership Ledger podcast · 2023
Turns ambition into an operating system people can actually run.
Continue the conversation
Ideas are tested in conversation.
For board, advisory and speaking invitations, and for readers who want to take an argument further.
- Board appointments
- Advisory roles
- Speaking invitations
office@akikotakahashi.example