Passing the Torch of Leadership While Upholding the HENNGE Way: An Interview with HENNGE Co-Founder Kazuaki Miyamoto
Cel Ogiya
Ever wonder how HENNGE manages workplace diversity and promotes leadership among its employees? Discover insights from one of HENNGE’s co-founders on how the company remains agile in a shifting tech landscape.
The Engineering and Talent Acquisition team sits down with Executive Vice President Kazuaki Miyamoto as he reflects on his beginnings as a tech enthusiast and his integral role during the company’s early years in the mid-90s. Join us as we uncover HENNGE’s humble beginnings and how the drive for change continues to catapult the company to greater heights.
Big Trees Come From Little Acorns
In the 1990s, when the commercial use of the internet became widespread in Japan, the most common way of internet access was through dial-up connections using a modem. While considered a groundbreaking innovation in its time, dial-ups were often associated with slow speeds and unreliable connections due to the limitations of telephone lines. In 1996, Japanese telecommunications company NTT launched its Open Computer Network (OCN) service, which provided users with a 128-kbps constant connection service at affordable monthly rates based on a flat-rate system.
“During the company’s early years in the mid-90s, we sold OCN lines to Japanese businesses. As students, we didn't earn much profit back then. Most of our clients were small to medium-sized companies,” says Miyamoto. “Still, we managed to achieve the highest sales of internet lines in Japan because there was not much competition at that time. We also sold a server that allowed users to create and manage web domains and send external emails.”
To attract customers, Horizon Digital Enterprise—HENNGE’s predecessor—ran a small newspaper ad, announcing that it could provide an operating system for less than 5 percent of what the major companies were charging. This modest offer turned out to be a leapfrog strategy that enabled the company to tap into the potential of emerging technologies.
To ensure profitability despite the low pricing, the company founders leaned on their creativity, resourcefulness, and entrepreneurial drive. When CEO Kazuhiro Ogura reviewed the product cost estimate from a major vendor, he saw an opportunity to combine cost-effective hardware with Linux, a free operating system, and developed a product that gave customers exceptional value at a much affordable price range.
Harnessing the Potential of Technology
Before the internet became commercially available, Miyamoto had his early exposure to computer networks when he was in junior high school. His father introduced him to the pasokon tsuushin system (パソコン通信), or personal computer communications commonly used for posting on local Bulletin Board Systems, which allowed users to connect to a central server and communicate with each other through forums.
Following a chance encounter with a visually impaired person, Miyamoto created a braille map of local shopping centers together with other forum members when he was in high school at the request of a blind lady from their community. "Technology has opened up a whole new world for me and enabled me to connect with people of all ages, not just my peers," Miyamoto says.
Addressing Barriers the HENNGE Way
Now that HENNGE has a diverse team of employees from different countries and backgrounds, one challenge is how to lead a dynamic workforce while cultivating a strong, unified HENNGE identity.
Miyamoto explains, “Japan is a high-context culture, where communication often depends on shared understanding and subtle, nonverbal cues. Moving to a highly diverse environment, some organizations may prefer a low-context approach that emphasizes clear verbal explanations to overcome the culture gap. While this approach can be effective for others, this style might slow down the flow of ideas, potentially leading to delays that could affect our overall business success. Conversely, relying on high-context communication tied to specific countries and cultures to maintain business speed can create barriers among people from different backgrounds.”
Finding a balance between low-context and high-context communication styles to enhance collaboration and understanding, the company created the HENNGE Way, a new approach to partially high-context communication that reflects HENNGE's unique corporate culture. “If everyone fully embraces the HENNGE Way, we can create a more seamless communication style that transcends countries and cultures, bringing us together through our shared values,” Miyamoto says.
Everyone Can Be a Leader
At HENNGE, everyone is encouraged to take on leadership roles and participate in various projects to encourage a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. Leadership opportunities are open to anyone who is logical, persuasive, and able to inspire their colleagues. Unlike traditional companies that follow a top-down management approach—where corporate leaders make decisions and everyone else simply follows—HENNGE fosters a culture of collaboration, where team members are encouraged to participate in projects and share their ideas freely. “They can start with smaller tasks and gradually move on to more complex challenges. Given the ever-changing nature of technology, everyone is welcome to join projects that could lead to innovative products after our flagship offering, HENNGE One,” cites Miyamoto.
Asked about HENNGE’s key to success, Miyamoto has this to say: “When we first started hiring foreign employees, it was initially a surprising challenge but ultimately became a very rewarding and stimulating experience. By welcoming global talents, we can improve the quality of our products. We must let go of old ways of thinking and embrace change to drive progress.”
Could you be the missing piece in HENNGE’s dynamic puzzle? Explore our job opportunities at recruit.hennge.com/en/ and discover how your skills can spark change and innovation.