Episode #70: Antony Cundy, former President & CEO, McCann Worldgroup Japan

Antony Cundy, former CEO & President of McCann Worldgroup Japan first arrived in Japan in the mid-90s to teach English and completed his Post-Graduate Studies at Tokyo University. Through connections, he landed a role in a Toyota subsidiary working on marketing Lexus. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Cundy started working at Hakuhodo Lintas working with large global consumer brands. Mr. Cundy then became general manager at DDB’s Japan office and then moved to London to lead the strategy and account services. Mr. Cundy then became head of planning and account services for Beacon Communications. In 2016, Mr. Cundy joined McCann Worldgroup.

During his first few years of leadership, Mr. Cundy admits he “did not do a good job” as he found it challenging to engage and motivate his team to work towards a set vision and goal. Through experience, he realized being clear and consistent with his messaging and communication was crucial to lead the team. “You have to tell people as realistically and in as much detail as you can, this is what we're going to do. This is what I expect, everyone. This is your job. Make sure that people understand that at their level they're expected to do this.” Moreover, he highlights the need to communicate not just to one’s direct report but to people at all sections of the organization.

As the strategic and account lead for DDB in London, Mr. Cundy worked to build client relationships across vast markets in Europe. There, he found that people worked like a “steam train” in which people kept running ahead but did not look back to evaluate their work. As a martial arts enthusiast, Mr. Cundy values Zanshin 残心 meaning remaining mind, or having a state of awareness once something has occurred. Therefore, Mr. Cundy put a stronger system in place to be able to evaluate the team’s work and create templates to improve future performance. As Mr. Cundy matured into his leadership role, he explains delegating became much smoother for him. When he trusts his team to deliver on their own instead of relying on him to provide all the answers, Mr. Cundy found that the team started to trust him back and became more accountable to their work.

On his advice to foreign leaders coming to Japan, Mr. Cundy recommends talking to all levels of people in the organization to get a wholesome picture of the company. Secondly, he emphasizes the diversity of the Japanese market, as the North and South of Japan have very different needs. As the leader, Mr. Cundy says one should be making sure every level and every part of the business understands these differences. Thirdly, Mr. Cundy notes clarity and consistency in communication, and being oneself is important. Lastly, he explains: “you have to believe in the fundamentals of your business plan. You have to have some flexibility. You're not going to achieve it through a straight line, but you should never take yourself away from it because the Japanese are saying, that's going to be tough. If you're there for the mission you need to deliver on the mission, you just got to realize that it's not going to be as straight as you think.”