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Shin Ishikawa CEO GDH K.K. Last BCG Position: Consultant Last BCG Office: Tokyo

If Shin Ishikawa were the hero of one of his company's many cartoon features, his days would be spent conquering new markets, fighting the scourge of digital piracy, and carrying forward his nation's proud tradition of anime. Anime (ah-NIH-mee) is the now global term for Japanese-style animation. But, fortunately for Shin, the focus of his day-to-day tasks is much more reality-based. As chairman of the Japanese animation house GDH, he's leading his organization's drive to become the world's top source of state-of-the-art anime programming. GDH is now a golden brand in a nation that seems never to get enough of this graphically intense, action-driven style of animation. Its pipeline is filled with a range of promising new programs for the global television market. Its horizons are expanding as new technologies converge to present new opportunities. But Shin remains vigilant, aware of how fickle viewers' tastes can be and of how quickly new players can emerge in the digital landscape.

"I think the biggest challenge GDH now faces is growth," the BCG Tokyo alumnus said recently. "We want to grow very fast. There's a huge potential global market out there right now, but capturing it from Japan, even using my BCG skills, is a big undertaking." However, that's not the first obstacle Shin's faced in his past five years at the helm of one of Japan's premier sources of anime programming. The nation has had a long-standing love affair with cartoon-style graphics that are a natural extension of what the Japanese call their Manga culture. This nationwide fondness for comic book-style publishing supports 13 major weekly magazines, 10 biweeklies, and no fewer than 20 influential monthly magazines.

Anime distinguishes itself from most Western-based animation styles through characters whose artistic renderings typically include huge eyes, brightly colored hair, and exaggerated emotional responses. Today, anime programming can be found in almost every major global market, ranging from the irresistible, and now ubiquitous, kiddie favorites such as Pokemon and Digimon to the darker and more mature narratives such as Kurosawa's Samurai 7 or the wildly popular vampire chronicle Hellsing. Behind it all are a string of Japanese production companies constantly struggling to match evolving digital graphics technologies with the fundamental need for quality content. Near the top of the list is the firm whose creation Shin Ishikawa presided over.

GDH was formed five years ago through the merger of two prominent anime brands, Gonzo and Digimation. The former was a leading-edge animation house long known for the unique quality of its creative product. The latter was one of Japan's early pioneers in the adaptation of digital technology to the animation process, which had invested in a massive state-of-the-art digital infrastructure. The market for GDH's output was expanding even before the ink on the merger agreement was dry. The reach of the Internet and the expansion of broadband connectivity worldwide created a sudden dearth of quality programming just as a new, animation-friendly generation began to ask for something more than MTV-style videos. Melding the two entities' cultures represented one of Shin's first and most delicate tasks. "We intentionally separate business and creative management, but we attach equal value to both. The goal was to get the best out of each without compromising too much." In this case, getting the best from a product standpoint meant delivering continually fresh creative content. Here again, GDH's tactics were driven by a long-term strategy.

"We never hire creators, either animators or directors, as full-time employees. They are basically freelancers. They can work at any studio." The draw of GDH's leading-edge digital infrastructure and the lingering power of Gonzo's reputation have strong appeal within the Japanese creative community. The result, from Shin's perspective, amounts to a significant competitive advantage in terms of keeping GDH's product fresh in a highly competitive global programming market. "It's actually a hedge against becoming obsolete, because you're not dependent on a single creator who will over time become old and boring to an audience."

Shin remains very conscious of the importance of preserving his brand's identity and maintaining the strong connection GDH now has with its core audience of anime devotees. He feels focusing strictly on creating new programming will both protect the brand and become GDH's best hope for new growth. "Content creation is where future growth lies." As far as his company's current global outlook, Shin couldn't be happier. "International licensing now represents 50 percent of our revenue, and we expect it to grow proportionally in the next few years." In fact, GDH is already in negotiations with major U.S. and European distributors regarding three new feature-length animation films it plans to release within the next five years.

When it comes to his own career development, Shin believes the number one advantage BCG gave him was a global network of contacts. The second was exposure to a broad range of industries and business models. In his eight years at BCG he learned to recognize the difference between good and bad decision making. "I can judge on the spot whether or not something is reasonable from a business standpoint." That instinctual ability has served him well in an industry where complex deals involving tens of millions of dollars and dozens of global markets have to be either agreed to or rejected in fairly short time frames. "My work involves making a lot of immediate decisions and dealing with Hollywood people, who are sometimes very difficult, so I have to be good. I have to deliver. My training at BCG has made much of that possible," Shin said. Then, as if sensing a new global anime opportunity, he said, "Make me a main character of BCG. I can license it to them." He added with a laugh, "But it will be expensive." Shin Ishikawa, Action CEO, coming soon to a theater near you.