Company History
History
Origins of Headhunting
In recent years, deregulation in many industries has resulted in a greater frequency for people to change their jobs and hence has led to the growth of the recruitment industry. East West Consulting was founded many years before, when recruitment companies were limited and only few existed even globally.
Our history has been written alongside the ups and downs of the Japanese economy. Here is our introduction.
Since 1987
1987-1993 [Collapse of the economic bubble - Asian currency crisis]
EWC was founded during the height of the Japanese economy, during the same period that saw the stock price hit an all-time high, a time when the Mitsubishi Estate acquired landmarks such as the Empire State building and the Rockefeller Center in New York. However shortly after, the economic bubble had burst, ensuing a downward spiral for the Japanese economy and a bleak outlook for the talent within.
- March 1987
-
Founding
Established in March 1987, our beginning was in a small apartment office in Setagaya.
In the bubble economy, world-renowned first class global firms turned their focus towards the Japanese market, and we began supporting the executive hiring needs of these firms.VIEW MOREMany of the world's leading securities firms were looking to secure seats on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and to begin trading. These firms actively began hiring in Japan.
A significant demand arose for branch managers, department heads, and other players who were bilingual, could make an immediate impact and develop the business in Japan.
Not limited to executives, demand for securities analysts, sales analysts, stock and bond traders had also become prevalent. These recruitment activities built our foundation and was to become the source for EWC's technical basis. - 1992
-
Moved Tokyo office to Ichibancho, Chiyoda Ward
Provided recruitment and hiring support for many newly established American technology and system companies that were stretching their global reach to Japan. The same for these companies, this period saw the same demand for bilingual executives and staff that had been seen earlier during the rush of securities firms into Japan.
1994-2007 [Asian financial crisis - Collapse of the IT bubble]
With the influx of state of the art technologies like the internet and local networks, the IT industry saw significant changes. However when the IT bubble came to an end, many companies within the industry fell into crisis, and now a demand existed for executives who could revive the businesses.
- 1994
-
Established a New York City branch office
A period where leading firms with debilitating debts went through heavy restructuring resulted in an increased demand for specialized personnel who were needed for the reorganization. In addition, there was demand for personnel that would provide reemployment support and services for the casualties of such reorganization. Our services were offered for the recruitment of various occupations such as restructuring contractors, lawyers, M&A companies, financial specialists and accountants, among others, who played a vital role during this period.
- 1998
-
Moved Tokyo office to Kojimachi 3-Chome, Chiyoda Ward
- 1999
-
Established a San Francisco branch office
- 2000
-
Established a Singapore branch office
- May 2007
-
Established a joint venture with Mitsui & Co.
East West Consulting was elected as a partner to Mitsui & Co. to embark on a new headhunting business. As a search-oriented recruitment business, we had the largest track record and leading expertise in Japan.
VIEW MORELeveraging Mitsui's customer network and brand power, we have strengthened our business with an emphasis on supporting recruitment and hiring needs for Japanese companies.
2008-2018 [Lehman Brothers Collapse ~ Tohoku Earthquake]
Following the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, the global economy plunged into a recession. Many businesses were impacted and ours was no exception. However, whereas the financial industry hiring needs were dramatically reduced, other industries including manufacturing as well as chemical and medical industries were still actively looking to hire.
As 2010 approached, the wave of cloud services that had begun to appear only a few years prior in the United States and other countries, had begun to make their way to Japan, garnering interest from many Japanese firms. IT hiring needs had become very active again as a result.
Furthermore, as the recession started to recede and the global economy began turning the corner, new technologies and its consumption were flourishing, with many AI businesses in particular beginning to surface. The need for IT engineers were in high demand.
As the economy strengthened, the demand and consumption of luxury goods followed, and once again there was a requirement for a larger workforce to match surging demand.
- 2008
-
Full scale recruitment of Japanese talent
We actively support the recruitment and hiring needs of low impacting businesses in many fields. These include pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, consumer goods and IT companies, among others.
- March 2011
-
The Great East Japan (Tohoku) Earthquake
Following the Great East Japan (Tohoku) earthquake, Japan’s recovering economy had once again tumbled into a recession. Supply chains were dramatically impacted and distribution noticeably hampered. Uncertainty followed as supply could not keep up with demand both domestically and internationally.
Employees of EWC were active in volunteering, travelling to impacted areas and disaster regions to assist in cleanup and redevelopment. Also among these activities, there were coordinated visits to Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture to clean up and repair impacted houses and buildings.
We witnessed first hand the affected regions, interacted with the local residents, and contributed to the reconstruction efforts of impacted disaster areas.
- 2015
-
Moved Tokyo office to Hotel New Otani Tokyo, our current office
2019-Present [Reiwa period ~ Pandemic ~ Artificial Intelligence]
A global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic placed heavy burdens on humanity as human contact between one another saw considerable restrictions. Despite the detriment to the overall economy, fields centered around DX started seeing increased demand in the following fiscal year. With resulting changes in the work environment and the surge of telework, online businesses and delivery services had become commonplace. Now even greater demand existed for skilled engineers, including those specializing in AI. Furthermore, limited travel precipitated an increase in sales of luxury goods. And thus the demand for sales promotion and for e-commerce personnel of luxury brands also saw a significant rise.