45: Timothy Connor, Managing Director & Founder, Synnovate Advisory

<p>Timothy Connor, Managing Director of Synnovate Advisory has been a veteran of Japanese business, having worked in Japan for over 30 years. He originally came to Japan under the MEF program (currently known as JET, a program that provides opportunities for internationals to teach English in Japan) and lived in Morioka City in the Iwate prefecture where he quickly learned Japanese.</p> <p> </p> <p>While teaching in the evenings, Mr. Connor studied fashion design at Esmod Japon and eventually began his own apparel brand still in his 20s. He specialized in making clothes for Japanese and international clients who were either very tall or small, so did not fit standard sizes. He calls the experience “great fun” and made various outfits including a wedding dress. After four years, Mr. Connor transitioned into the more promotional aspect of the creative business and began marketing for other artists and designers. As this was the 80s, Mr. Connor recalls enjoying the boom time in Japan like eating gold speckled sushi. Mr. Connor then moved on to importing artists work and promoting them in Japan, acting as the marketing arm for boutique designers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mr. Connor then began working in a corporate environment in a senior strategy and marketing role in a firm of 25 staff within a large Japanese conglomerate in the printing industry. Stepping into a corporate leadership position for the first time, Mr. Connor found it challenging to lead a diverse group of Japanese and non-Japanese employees in a company with a traditional age-based culture. Mr. Connor was careful in finding the right balance between being part of a team but also maintaining a certain degree of distance as this is what was expected from leaders in the company. Having led a diverse number of teams in various industries, Mr. Connor also noted the difficulty in setting goals and targets with people from different backgrounds and set of expectations. Mr. Connor claims: “one of the tricky balancing roles and balancing challenges was to paint the ri