'Offensive' Corporate Planning, 'Defensive' Administration: A Corporate Organization Where Talent Strong in Numbers Gathers to Accelerate Company Growth

Introduction: From Recruitment PR
This time, we interviewed CFO and Head of Corporate Planning, Mr. Itakura, and Director in charge of the Administration Department, Mr. Hatano, on the theme of "'Offensive' Corporate Planning, 'Defensive' Administration: A Corporate Organization Where Talent Strong in Numbers Gathers to Accelerate Company Growth." We asked them in detail about their collaboration from IPO preparation to the present, the division of roles between the Corporate Planning and Administration departments, and the type of talent they want to work with in the future.

Director and CFO, Head of Corporate Planning: Mr. Itakura
Engaged in corporate planning and legal affairs at a listed SIer. Later, at an app venture, he experienced the launch of corporate planning and legal departments, IPO-related tasks, and market changes to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. After supporting multiple startups at a startup support company, he has been involved in all corporate operations at our company since September 2021. Currently, he mainly oversees corporate planning and IR. Appointed as a Director in 2023.

Director, Head of Administration: Mr. Hatano
After graduating from university, he worked at a securities company for 10 years. Later, as a director of the corporate department of a venture company, he experienced the IPO of three online service companies on the TSE Growth Market and one market change to the TSE Prime Market. Appointed as a Director of our company in April 2024.

▼ A rare organizational structure with three CFO-level experienced professionals

─We are interviewing you today on the theme of "'Offensive' Corporate Planning, 'Defensive' Administration: A Corporate Organization Where Talent Strong in Numbers Gathers to Accelerate Company Growth." First, could you tell us about the characteristics of GVA TECH's corporate department?

Mr. Hatano: Yes, a major characteristic of our company is that we have three people with CFO-level experience. Mr. Itakura currently oversees corporate planning as CFO, and I also served as a CFO at my previous job. Furthermore, our Accounting Manager, Mr. Kono (*see separate note), is someone who oversaw a wide range of tasks including consolidated financial statements, disclosure operations, and IR as the Accounting Department Manager at a company listed on the TSE Prime Market. He is someone who would not be out of place as a CFO if he hadn't joined our company. In addition, there are two other members with experience in accounting at listed companies. It is quite rare to have five people who are well-versed in numbers, including three CFO-level professionals and two with backgrounds in accounting at listed companies, in a company of around 100 people.

─Why were you able to build such a well-equipped structure?
Mr. Itakura: To be frank, we were completely lacking resources (laughs). Since we were advancing our IPO while the business was growing rapidly, I was doing almost everything except monthly processing, including fundraising, IR, corporate actions, and business planning movements... I was doing almost all the IPO work by myself, including the work that members should have been doing, so I was at my limit. That's why I thought it would be more agile to clearly separate the offensive corporate (corporate planning) and defensive corporate (administration) functions.

▼ Why Mr. Hatano chose GVA TECH

─Mr. Hatano, why did you decide to join GVA TECH?
Mr. Hatano: *For details, please refer to this article* The trigger was an introduction from President Fujie of MS-Japan, who was also a shareholder of my previous company. Honestly, I didn't know about GVA TECH at first. However, when I met Mr. Yamamoto (Representative Director) on a Saturday in February 2025, I was overwhelmed by his passion. When I tried to introduce myself, he said, "I've already seen it, so it's fine!" (laughs), and we immediately started talking about the business. And above all, the service called "

OLGA
" was something I wanted myself. When I was in charge of back-office operations at a growth company in the past, I was doing exactly that—managing Excel files, folders, and versions on a server—so I truly thought, "This is what I wanted!". I was convinced that it was a service that everyone needed.

─Through the selection process, what other charms did you feel?
Mr. Hatano: In addition to Mr. Yamamoto's passion and the appeal of the service, when I had a meeting set up with the full-time executives the following week, the employees greeted me, and the personalities of the executives were very good. In some companies, there are people who are cynical or difficult, right? (laughs). But everyone, including Mr. Ariga, Mr. Ko, and Mr. Itakura, were truly wonderful people. Also, in that meeting, Mr. Yamamoto hardly spoke a word. The other executive members each spoke, and I thought, "Looking at my experience so far, this is a great group of executives."

─How did you feel when you heard about the "IPO in the Nth term" after deciding to join?
Mr. Hatano: I was quite surprised by that (laughs). When I heard that we would go public in the year I joined, I honestly thought, "I might not be useful." I had the realization that I needed to know the company for at least 2-3 years to be able to tell the IR story in my own words. But because I knew Mr. Itakura was there, the anxiety of not being able to talk about the numbers disappeared. If Mr. Itakura hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have come to this company. Since there was someone next to me who could talk about the growth of the numbers, it was good that I could think, "I can focus on the practical work."

▼ Collaboration and complementary relationship in IPO preparation

─Do you have any impressive episodes regarding your collaboration during IPO preparation?
Mr. Itakura: Mr. Hatano is a person I can truly trust, not only because of his experience but also because of his personality, and I was very grateful. Even when I threw things at him saying, "I'm sorry, this isn't done at all, and it's in this state," he handled it properly.

Mr. Hatano: Our company had a very large number of shareholders for an unlisted company, a large number of stock options issued, and we had to complete certain documents by the deadline, but we changed the service name two weeks before that... (laughs). Even so, to realize Mr. Yamamoto's thoughts and messages, the practical side worked quite hard. In particular, it was really difficult to collect documents with registered seals from nearly 100 stock option holders and nearly 50 shareholders by the deadline. Mr. Itakura and I divided the work and even visited the offices of certain shareholders.

Mr. Itakura: (Since the details are written in this note, please read it if you are interested) At that time, neither Mr. Hatano nor I could return to our desks much (laughs). We were in frequent contact almost every day, including holidays...

*It seems that state continued until February (2025) after the IPO

▼ Division of roles between the Corporate Planning Department and the Administration Department

─Currently, Mr. Itakura oversees the Corporate Planning Department and Mr. Hatano oversees the Administration Department. How do you organize your respective roles?
Mr. Hatano: Mr. Itakura is in charge of the "diplomatic side," such as external activities, for example, shareholder relations, IR, disclosures, and financial results briefings. On the other hand, I am in charge of "administrative tasks," such as labor, general affairs, the secretariat for the general meeting of shareholders, and accounting.

Mr. Itakura: Currently, I recognize the function of the Corporate Planning Department as all activities to move the business forward. For example, fundraising, IR, business planning, personnel planning/recruitment, and public relations. On the other hand, the Administration Department plays the role of preparing the foundation, with an image of solidifying the numbers and the way the organization should be.

─How is the collaboration between the two departments functioning?
Mr. Itakura: We ensure that even for members, we can explain company movements such as business explanations and changes to the articles of incorporation from both perspectives. We also hold all-hands meetings jointly between the Administration Department and the Corporate Planning Department, and the sense of distance is very close. Actually, many members of both departments have experienced both accounting and corporate planning. Since they understand each other's circumstances, communication is very easy.

Hatano: From February to April 2025, when this organization changed significantly, we saw an increase in experienced professionals and those with experience at listed companies, and it has truly become much better.

─There was a comment from an employee saying, 'Sometimes the corporate department is more lively than the business divisions.'
Itakura: That makes me happy (laughs).
Hatano: It's true, since a sense of unity was born, I think the amount of communication across the entire corporate department has increased significantly!

▼The strength of having 5 people who are good with numbers in a 100-person scale organization

─Once again, could you tell us the strengths of this structure?
Hatano: As I mentioned at the beginning, it is that we have many people who are good with numbers. We have a corporate planning team that looks at everything from business plans to budgets, and on the administration side, we have a CFO with experience and an accounting manager who was an accounting department head at a Prime Market listed company. Both corporate planning and administration are becoming more robust.
This is a huge appeal for accounting, and for corporate planning, I believe an environment is in place where one can look at numbers while maintaining an interest in the business.

─Compared to the corporate departments of other companies, what are the characteristic points?
Itakura: As an appeal unique to our current phase, tasks are not clearly compartmentalized. Since each task is interrelated, I believe it is necessary to be involved in a wide range of areas. Being able to see the entire company from a bird's-eye view is the appeal of our current phase. I think it is the best environment for those who can view this as an opportunity for their own growth.

▼A culture of 'just trying it out' even if you've 'never done it before'

─What do you value?
Hatano: I believe that you only grow by doing things you have never done before. For example, the person in charge of labor switched from general affairs to labor, so at first, they didn't know the practical aspects of stock options. But now, they have started using terms like 'that was non-qualified for tax purposes.'
Once you experience it once, you acquire problem-solving skills, meaning you know who to consult next time. I believe that as long as you can acquire problem-solving skills, such as knowing whether to ask a labor expert, a lawyer, or a tax accountant, you will be fine.

Itakura: Rather than ability or experience, it is important to just try. There is no meaning in just listening in a classroom. Actually going out and doing it is what gives it real value. Even though we have gone public, we are still a startup, and I think you can grow quickly because you do it yourself in a condensed way.

Hatano: It is also good that there is an easy-to-understand standard of being a listed company. Being able to do work that has an answer is very good for the administration side. Since there are piles of guidelines posted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, you can gain experience as work that is compatible no matter which company you go to.

▼Future outlook for the corporate structure

─As the company expands in the future, how will the corporate structure evolve?
Hatano: Very good people are gathering. Compared to when I took office, I feel that the quality of people has changed. I see this as a sign that the company will improve. As a result of going public, even better people have started to gather.
In the future, if the corporate planning side proceeds with consolidated accounting and M&A, we are building a structure to work together with a team that handles finance and M&A to support that.

Itakura: From the perspective of corporate planning, I want each member to become a Business Partner (BP). I don't want them to just handle requests from business divisions like a subcontractor, but to be in a state where they can discuss things on equal footing with the business divisions.
If they are in charge of business planning, they can exchange opinions firmly within the overall strategy together with the business division head; if they are in public relations, they can lead the entire company while understanding the business from a PR perspective—that is the image.
Of course, it is not that we are not doing this at all, but I think it is important for each individual to level up and improve their quality. I think the work itself will become even more interesting if that happens, and if we can entrust things at a higher level than now, new things will emerge, so I hope it becomes a cycle where we can tackle those.

▼What kind of talent do you want to work with?

─What kind of people do you want to work with?
Hatano: People who can work energetically. There is no need to endure; I prefer people who can work energetically and vibrantly.
As Mr. Itakura mentioned earlier, I think growth cannot be achieved through study alone but only through practice, so for people who are looking for practice and want to try new things to acquire skills, I think this is the best arena.
And I also want to convey that you don't have to hide your failures. I have failed plenty of times too (laughs). If you report it immediately even if you fail, I won't get angry. Doing nothing is the best way not to fail, but you won't grow that way. I think it is good to have people who can say they don't know what they don't know, and that they haven't done what they haven't done, without hiding it.

Itakura: I want people who can actively and positively embrace change. We do what is necessary according to the company's shape, phase, and what is required. Even in areas you haven't done before, you will be able to do them if you try, so I hope you can actively embrace that change.

Within that, 'honesty' is also important. People who can honestly and sincerely work on areas where they are not doing well or where they should do better. And people who can notice not just by being told, but by noticing the turning points that need to change and changing themselves.

─Are there any characteristics of talent you seek for the Corporate Planning Department and the Administration Department respectively?
Hatano: For the Administration Department, I want to convey that you can acquire skills that are useful anywhere. You can experience work that has answers, such as experience as a listed company, disclosure work, and the construction and operation of internal controls. You can learn work that is compatible no matter which company you go to.

Itakura: On the corporate planning side, since it is more important to be closely connected to the business, I think it is important to have an interest in the business and an attitude of wanting to know more.

▼Finally

─Please give a message to those interested in GVA TECH.
Hatano: The organization changed significantly from February to April 2025, and it has truly become much better. With this structure, which includes three people at the CFO level—myself, Mr. Itakura, and Mr. Kono—as well as two people with experience in accounting at listed companies, I want to grow the company together with you from here on out.

Itakura-san: We are an immature and still unfinished company. However, conversely, this means there are many opportunities and many areas that can be entrusted to you. It is different from a large corporation. There are risks, but I would love to work with people who can enjoy the fact that the scope of what they can do is broad.
Also, while there are many things that are not yet organized, if you are someone who can find appeal in accepting that and organizing it, you can work with a great deal of discretion and it is a phase where you can challenge yourself with a wide variety of things.

Thank you both very much!

At GVA TECH, we are hiring for various positions to realize our purpose of 'eliminating the barriers between law and all activities.' If you are even slightly interested, please let us talk, starting with a casual interview.

↓Recruitment Site

↓We started a tech blog in May 2025!
We will continue to increase the number of articles, so please take a look!

↓Company Introduction Materials