Takashi Nawa received his MBA from Harvard Business School (as a Baker Scholar), and Bachelor of Arts in Law and Political Science from the University of Tokyo.

Professor Nawa worked at McKinsey & Company for two decades. Most recently, as a Director of the firm, he serviced the manufacturing sector as Practice Leader for the Asia-Pacific Region, and the telecom, media, and high-tech sectors as Practice Leader of the Japan office. After that he served as a Senior Advisor for Boston Consulting Group for 6 years. Prior to joining McKinsey, Professor Nawa worked at Mitsubishi Corporation for 11 years, spending four years in New York City. Professor Nawa currently serves Fast Retailing, Ajinomoto, SOMPO Holdings and NEC Capital Solutions as a board director, and is a senior advisor and consultant to a number of global companies. He is also the founder and CEO of Genesys Partners, Inc., Japan, a boutique change agent specializing in fundamental transformation and global growth.

Professor Nawa has published several books. One of his main publications, Familiarity Advantage, introduces a new growth strategy called the “Smart-Lean” model, and a dynamic organization model called the “Möbius” cycle. He also co-authored High Performing Manufacturers Sell Services with colleagues in McKinsey. One of his earlier publication, New Frontiers at Harvard Business School, is considered a tutorial book for MBA candidates. Professor Nawa has written articles for Diamond Harvard Business Review, and Nikkei Business on various topics, including IPR (Industry Process Restructuring), VCRAFT (Value Creation by Applying Financial Technology), and emerging business and alliance models.

Professor Nawa is currently involved in projects on emerging business models and regional collaboration across Asia. He is also organizing the CSV Forum, which brings together representatives of nearly 30 major Japanese companies to develop a next-generation CSV model from Japan for global markets.