Makoto Watanabe

• Leadership of AWS Alliance Team
  • Managed a cross-functional team of 12 members
    • 4 Alliance specialists
    • 8 Delivery experts
  • •Continuously improved team productivity and efficiency
  • Maintained and enhanced high levels of customer satisfaction
• Strategic Marketing Initiatives
  • Planned and executed regular large-scale joint seminars
  • Strategic sponsorship participation in key industry events
  • Planned and implemented effective exhibit and audience attraction strategies for AWS Summit
  • Strengthened lead generation through effective digital marketing campaigns
• Business Development and Joint Proposals
  • Developed and successfully executed comprehensive Go-To-Market plans
  • Identified cross-selling opportunities and optimized deal sharing processes
  • Established and grew new revenue streams through AWS service reselling
• Enhancement of Technical Capabilities and Service Quality
  • Hosted regular internal technical seminars and hands-on workshops
  • Implemented systematic solution review processes for all projects
  • Promoted AWS certification acquisition across the entire team
  • Developed and deployed innovative AWS-based assets based on customer needs

• Cloud Migration Sales Strategy: Led the planning and execution of sales strategies to accelerate cloud migration for Enterprise customers using Microsoft products.
• Free Assessment Tool Deployment: Promoted the deployment of a free assessment tool that visualizes optimization for customers if customer migrate from on-premise environments to the cloud, achieving pipeline numbers more than 2000% over the previous year and service delivery numbers over 600%. Specific activities included:
  • Enablement Sessions and Meetings: Conducted enablement sessions and participated in various meetings to raise sales awareness.
  • Internal Campaigns for Sales Motivation: Implemented internal campaigns to motivate sales proposals.
  • Partner Awareness and Enablement: Conducted enablement sessions and events to raise partner awareness.
  • Individual Strategies for Partners: Proposed and implemented individual strategies for partners.
  • Customer Awareness and AWS Roadshows: Enhanced customer awareness through AWS roadshows across Japan

• Cloud Era Transformation Leadership: Led a company-wide transformation appropriate for the cloud era in licenses, contracts, and operations for Microsoft, partners, and customers. Managed a project team consisting of dozens of internal stakeholders. As the liaison with the US headquarters, implemented multiple special measures required by the Japanese market, successfully transitioning without significantly impacting sales worth tens of billions of yen.
• Partner Community Engagement: Managed information sharing and training sessions for the Microsoft partner community, strengthening relationships with partners.
• Microsoft License Website Management: Led the operation of the Microsoft licensing website, outsourcing site management and achieving agile localization. Enabled Japanese translations of updates from the headquarters site to be reflected within a week.
• License Contracts Training: Held monthly company-wide training on license contracts. Improved the knowledge level of employees, focusing on sales, and effectively shared the latest information. Also served as an instructor for onboarding training for new hires and mid-career employees.

• Microsoft License Specialist for Enteprise Agreement: As a specialty sales driving the new and renewal contracts for Microsoft Enterprise Agreement with enterprise customers, collaborated with account sales, solution sales, etc., to achieve upselling and cross-selling, contributing to an increase in revenue. Was responsible for ensuring customers understood complex licensing and contract content, facilitating smooth contract conclusion.
• **License Compliance Monitoring and Assessment Leadership:**Conducted monitoring to ensure customers were using the appropriate licenses and led assessments when necessary.
• Training and Knowledge Enhancement: Regularly conducted training to enhance account sales knowledge on licenses and contracts, focusing on Microsoft365, Dynamics365, and Azure.
• Automation of Internal Approval Processes: Realized an automation project for internal approval processes that were previously conducted via email using Power Platform, significantly improving sales operations.

• Handled Business Development for Thomson Reuters' Global Tax Solution 'ONESOURCE': Supported tasks related to transfer pricing and direct/indirect taxes, facilitating tax compliance and accounting decision-making worldwide.
• Managed Client Relationships and Business Development Activities with 20 Major Japanese Global Corporations: Especially focused on strategic accounts for Thomson Reuters Japan.
• Drove Revenue Growth Through Partner Channel and Development Initiatives.

• Enterprise Service and Consulting: Managed business development and consulting tasks utilizing Microsoft-centric third-party software products for Enterprise customers within the Enterise Service division. Contributed to revenue expansion in collaboration with sales and service delivery teams.
• SPLA Deployment and Success: Proactively marketed the Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA) for hosting, managed services, SaaS, and cloud service providers. Pioneered HP's license subscription revenue model, achieving significant success and increasing revenue by more than 20 times during tenure.
• License Procurement Service Project: Led and realized the project to introduce license procurement services for global companies in Japan. This service enabled global customers to procure in bulk and bill overseas subsidiaries in local currency. It also facilitated web-based software product ordering, significantly improving the order-to-delivery operations. The introduction of this service contributed to securing large-scale projects with major groups such as Sony, Fujifilm, JR East Japan, GMO, and Nomura.
• Channel Partner Relationship Management: Led the establishment and maintenance of positive relationships with Japanese channel partners. Aimed for case acquisition through collaboration with partners and conducted periodic negotiations to reduce purchase prices, aiming to expand profits.

• Inside Sales Excellence: Thrived as an Inside Sales in the Consumer Sales Division, earning recognition and being promoted to manage a team of approximately 10 members. Achieved over 150% of the team's target rate for six consecutive quarters.
• Enterprise Sales Performance: Acted as an Enterprise Sales Representative, proposing and selling servers, storage, and PCs, with a record of achieving over 100% of the target rate throughout four years.
• Specialty Sales for Third-Party Software and Peripherals: Served as a Specialty Sales for third-party software and peripheral sales, engaging in upselling activities for opportunities unearthed by account sales. Reached a peak achievement rate of 240%.

• Led the Launch and Management of a Call Center Supporting a Patented English Learning Player: I was responsible for initiating and overseeing a call center dedicated to supporting a patented English learning player. This involved training and managing a team of call center operators.
• Developed Detailed Product Manuals, Call Flows, and FAQs to Assist Operators in Handling the Product: I created comprehensive product manuals, call flow guides, and a collection of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to facilitate smooth operations within the call center. This ensured that operators were well-equipped to handle customer inquiries and product-related issues efficiently.

• **Involved in the Launch of a CS Satellite Broadcasting Call Center:**Actively participated in setting up a call center for CS satellite broadcasting, where I handled operator training and management.
• **Managed the Launch of a New Call Center Following a Merger with Another Broadcasting Company:**I played a key role in the establishment of a new call center in the wake of a merger, responsible for the recruitment and onboarding of approximately 300 operators. Successfully spearheaded the smooth initiation of the new center's operations

Overview:

• Project Objective: To facilitate the migration of customers using Microsoft products on-premises to AWS Cloud.
• Main Activities:Utilized AWS's complimentary assessment tools to understand clients' current system operations and license usage. Conducted cost calculations for cloud optimization and proposed migration plans to customers. Provided enablement (knowledge and skill enhancement) to the internal sales team and partner companies, promoting engagement in cloud migration.

Results:

• The project significantly increased the pipeline by over 2,000% compared to the previous year.
• Delivery numbers also grew by more than 400%, greatly accelerating interest and implementation in cloud migration.

Contributions:

• Demonstrated the ability to accurately understand customer needs and current situations, proposing optimal cloud solutions.
• Fostered cooperation with internal and external stakeholders, playing a crucial role in the project's success.
• Significantly contributed to improving customer satisfaction and expanding business opportunities.

Overview:

• Project Objective: To lead the company-wide retirement of the traditional licensing program for compliance reasons, and launch its successor.
• Main Activities:Formed and led a dynamic project team consisting of about 30 leadership team members and internal stakeholders. Shared the latest information from the US headquarters, and executed the planning and scheduling of announcements for partners and customers. Consolidated feedback and requests from both internal and external sources, effectively escalating to the headquarters. Divided each issue into task teams, overseeing member assignments and progress management. Led meticulous negotiations with the legal, finance, product management, and operations departments over approximately one year.

Results:

• Achieved the introduction of a unique multi-tier distribution and leasing sales for the Japanese market in the new licensing program, a groundbreaking accomplishment not seen in other regions.
• Efficiently coordinated the necessary modifications to the ordering system, resolving compliance-related challenges.
• Facilitated a smooth transition to the new program, ensuring a seamless switch from the traditional program.

Strategic Impact:

• Skillfully navigated complex organizational structures and global stakeholders, successfully leading a major transformation.
• Utilized excellent skills in change management and communication to encourage company-wide initiatives.
• Employed cross-functional teamwork and strategic thinking to implement measures tailored to the Japanese market.

Overview:

• Project Objective: To address the complexities of license procurement faced by global companies, accelerating the implementation of global procurement services at HPE Japan.
• Main Activities:Resumed a stalled project and invited the implementation PM from Australia to Japan. Formed organizational consensus through coordination with finance, purchasing, logistics, and legal departments. Solved technical issues, including B2B integration with Microsoft's ordering system. Successfully launched the new service within just 5 months.

Specific Solutions:

• The new system enabled billing to overseas branches in their local currencies based on a consolidated contract in Japan.
• Significantly simplified operation costs and complexities of withholding tax calculations.

Results:

• Streamlined the license procurement process for clients, achieving cost reductions and ease of management.
• Successfully led major deals such as with Sony Group Asia (annual sales of approximately 3 billion yen), Fujifilm Group (annual sales of 1 billion yen), and Nomura Securities Group (annual sales of about 200 million yen).

Strategic Impact:

• The introduction of a new service catering to the needs of global companies significantly enhanced HPE's market position and profitability.