Episode #122: Mario Munoz, President of Mölnlycke, Japan

Mario Munoz is presently the President of Mölnlycke in Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Munoz has a long-standing history with Japan, having first come to Japan in 1979, he was studying in middle and high school until 1982. He moved to France for the rest of high school, where he continued studying Japanese. Mr. Munoz was one of the lucky foreigners who was immersed in the Japanese language and culture at such a young age. He went to the US to continue his education and attended Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona. He had an affinity for an international career and with the program’s heavy emphasis on international business, this was the right choice.

Mr. Munoz says that to increase innovation, there are ranges provided in terms of targets provided to an individual. He says the target numbers are set but the way in which the representatives handle the accounts differ. Mr. Munoz speaks about encouraging his staff to speak. He has made Townhall meetings, there is a section called “Ask Mario” where people are encouraged to ask questions, a hot topic on their mind or something that they are curious about.

A few things have worked from Mr. Munoz to gain trust. He walks around the office to talk to people and there are two engagement surveys done a year. Mr. Munoz says something that works in Japan is analyzing the surveys and addressing low hanging fruit and pain points. In Japan he has found, flexible time schedule and encouraging people to take their holidays goes a long way. Mr. Munoz encourages people via personal messages to take holidays.

Mr. Munoz has a lot of advice for people coming into Japan. Firstly, he advises individuals to be themselves and not try to be Japanese. He also suggests learning a little bit of Japanese would be helpful in communication, as most Japanese people can read and write in English, but they aren’t as comfortable speaking English. Mr. Munoz also emphasizes that the Japanese are very patient, especially with foreigners. It helps foreigners to be patient while in Japan as well. Mr. Munoz suggests keeping an open mind, have good open communication and be ready to be flexible in the Japanese work setting. He ends by saying that investing in Japan is likely to be fruitful if you are patient.