On October 1, 2026, Pacific Padeco International was launched as a new international operating company of Pacific Consultants Group. This new company was created by merging PADECO, which became part of the group in 2023, with Pacific Consultants' Global Company. What kind of value will Pacific Padeco International, which will lead the group together with the domestic operating company Pacific Consultants, and what are its goals? We spoke with Masanori ISHIKAWA, who has been appointed as Representative Director, President Executive Officer.
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- A new company responsible for the group's international business has launched.
- Leading to a comprehensive solution
- The corporate vision that Pacific Padeco International aims for
- What Pacific Padeco International expects from its employees
A new company responsible for the group's international business has launched.
—So, your new international operating company is finally starting up. What was the thinking behind its establishment?
Ishikawa: Pacific Consultants establishment Pacific Consultants International (PCI) in 1969, specializing in overseas operations, and has since expanded its international business. PCI steadily grew its business, and in the 1990s, it was among the world's top international consultants, providing high-value-added consulting services. In particular, its unique management methodologies such as PMM (Program Management), PM (Project Management), and FM (Facility Management) have earned high praise and significantly boosted its performance.
After a period of withdrawal from overseas operations, Pacific Consultants strengthened its compliance and implemented organizational reforms, establishment an International Business Division within the company. In 2018, it evolved into a global company, and has since resumed its overseas business. Then, in 2023, PADECO, with over 40 years of history in overseas operations, joined the group. PADECO and Pacific Consultants, as global companies, each possess different strengths, areas of expertise, and ways of working. Rather than eliminating these differences, we believe that by combining them, we can create unprecedented power, and thus we launched Pacific Padeco International.
—What are the characteristics of overseas markets today?
Ishikawa: The situation varies by region, but in Southeast Asia, in addition to traditional infrastructure development through yen loan projects, the required challenges are changing, including responding to natural disasters and climate change, and restructuring the country and cities. Currently, major challenges are how to protect people's lives and livelihoods from increasingly severe natural disasters, and how to protect and restructure the country and cities in light of climate change and rising sea levels. What is needed is not just infrastructure development to make life more convenient. It is about protecting people's lives and livelihoods, including disaster prevention and mitigation, and building a long-term foundation for the country and society.
Furthermore, in some countries and regions, building a sustainable social foundation through improving the quality of education and developing human resources is also a crucial issue. Addressing social challenges from both infrastructure and human resource development perspectives is more important than ever.
Leading to a comprehensive solution
-- There are many things that Pacific Padeco International can contribute.
Ishikawa: I believe now is the time to leverage the comprehensive capabilities of Pacific Consultants Group. When considering urban relocation or reorganization, developing individual infrastructure such as railways and roads alone is insufficient. It is necessary to comprehensively address the challenges of the entire region, from the conceptual stage to implementation and maintenance, by combining diverse technologies and expertise, including disaster prevention, climate change adaptation, and TOD (Transit Oriented Development).
Pacific Consultants possesses technical expertise and a proven track record cultivated over many years in Japan, including disaster prevention and mitigation, transportation, urban development, and infrastructure management. Meanwhile, PADECO has over 40 years of experience in international business, particularly excelling in the fields of education and human resource development. In Bangladesh, they have been involved in education projects for many years, working on human resource development and improvement of the education system, and in Egypt, they have contributed to educational reforms that utilize the principles of Japanese education.
Pacific Padeco International believes that by combining PADECO's international business experience with the technological capabilities and comprehensive strengths of Pacific Consultants Group, it can provide value tailored to the specific challenges of each country and region.
The corporate vision that Pacific Padeco International aims for
—What kind of company do you envision Pacific Padeco International becoming in the future?
Ishikawa: Pacific Padeco International is not simply a company formed by merging two organizations. It is a new company established to bring together the experience, technology, and human resources that each has cultivated, in order to create new value. While continuing our past efforts, we will expand the scope of our business with the strength of the group as our foundation. In addition to projects in the field of international cooperation, such as those with JICA, we would like to develop our business in a variety of forms, including projects commissioned by other international donors and local governments, and projects in collaboration with private companies. Furthermore, we will challenge ourselves in new markets, including developed countries in Europe, as well as Asia and Africa.
While carefully assessing the risks that vary by country and region, we are considering M&A as a future option for countries where we currently do not have a presence, by bringing local companies into our group and managing them as local subsidiaries. Although we have not been deeply involved in management until now, we would like to become a globally active company, including in this regard.
Of course, to achieve this, every single person at Pacific Padeco International must unite their efforts towards the same goal. I want to engage in dialogue with everyone to ensure that we all move forward with the same aspirations, and that is a major part of my job. Furthermore, I want to collaborate with the diverse technologies and talent within the group to create a company where people who want to take on the challenge of international business can thrive. We will grow our international business by bringing together the strengths of not only the personnel of the new company, but the entire group.
What Pacific Padeco International expects from its employees
—This company brings together people who have worked and grown in different cultures. It's important to combine our strengths.
Ishikawa: It's not easy for members of an organization with different cultures and backgrounds to understand each other. They have different areas of expertise and ways of working. I believe it's important to leverage each individual's strengths so that the organization can function effectively as one. I think of employees as the foundation of a company. Ground is strong because particles of different sizes and properties interlock with each other. It's the same with organizations; when people with diverse personalities, abilities, and experiences understand each other and leverage their respective strengths, they become a powerful force. Even in professional sports teams, simply gathering players with outstanding abilities doesn't make a team strong. A team can only become truly strong when people with different roles and strengths contribute and work together. What I aim for is an organization with that kind of organic sense of unity.
—What values do you think Pacific Padeco International should cherish?
Ishikawa: I believe it can be expressed in three Cs: Challenge, Contribution, and Co-Creation. It's about challenging ourselves without setting limits, contributing to solving global social issues, and co-creating with diverse talents and partners.
By sharing these three values, we aspire to be an organization that transforms diversity into a strength and creates new value. When employees understand each other well and recognize their respective strengths, we can become a strong organization that leverages diversity. In that sense, I want to emphasize that we shouldn't set limits for ourselves. If you stop at a point where you think you've reached your limit, you won't grow any further. It's important to maintain the spirit of not giving up and continuing to work hard on things.
People have a wide range of potential and unique personalities. These potentials and strengths are often difficult to recognize in oneself. To unlock each individual's potential and strengths, it's crucial to create opportunities for them to challenge themselves with diverse tasks and roles. Through repeated dialogue with each person, we aim to determine what suits them best and in what settings they can perform at their most effectively, thereby fostering their potential. As a diverse organization, we strive to fully utilize this diversity and create an environment where everyone can tackle challenges together. First and foremost, we want to listen to each other and actively create opportunities for mutual understanding.
--This marks the beginning of a new challenge for you, Mr. Ishikawa.
Ishikawa: For 35 years, I have been mainly involved in domestic business at Pacific Consultants. International business is a new challenge for me, but I feel that it is worthwhile precisely because it is uncharted territory. Together with colleagues who have been active on the front lines of overseas business for many years, we will combine our respective experiences and strengths to work towards creating new value.
We aim to develop Pacific Padeco International into a company that drives the group's international business and contributes to solving global social issues and the group's sustainable growth. In the future, we aspire for it to become a company on par with Pacific Consultants, which handles our domestic business.
--We look forward to seeing you all succeed.
