To contribute to the formulation of management and business strategy, the Intellectual Property Intelligence Department conducts business and IP information analysis, using IP and incorporating technology, and formulates and proposes strategies based on the interpretation of these results. The “technology-based strategy proposals” made by the Intellectual Property Intelligence Department contribute to higher level decision-making by offering technological perspectives to our management. Furthermore, by making strategy proposals that combine strategies to utilize our IP and intangible assets, we aim to maximize the value of that IP and intangible assets. Corporate IP receives these proposals and formulates the necessary IP strategies to contribute to realizing our business strategy. By promoting a “value maximization cycle” to steadily implement our IP strategy together with the business departments, we contribute to maximizing the value of our IP and intangible assets.

The Intellectual Property Intelligence Department, as the body directly under the Executive Officer for Corporate Strategy, has the function of providing analysis results using IPL and incorporating technology mainly to our management. Through this process, we provide an environment in which our management can make effective decisions to ensure that the allocation of management resources, such as investment in intellectual property, and management strategies regarding the business portfolio contribute to Asahi Kasei’s growth.

Corporate IP acts as the centralized IP organization for our Head Office divisions in assigning IP specialists to each business department and serving to interconnect our businesses. Through meetings with the leaders of our business departments, our IP personnel look over and review the IP activities of each business department and roll out our unified IP policy to each business department to strengthen IP governance throughout the Group.

High ratio of female managers*

The ratio of female managers in our IP organization is 20%, which is a high level compared to that of other Japanese companies. Not limited to management positions, the ratio of female employees in the IP organization is high at 50%. Asahi Kasei has provided work environments that respond to different life stages and continuously supported the growth of our employees, which we believe has led to the increase in the ratio of female managers. Increasing the diversity of employees in management positions contributes to greater flexibility in our IP operations through a variety of leadership with diverse sensibilities. Workplace management that takes into account the circumstances of individual employees as well as diverse workstyles is leading to a further increase in diversity and a sustainable IP organization.

*Ratio of female managers: the proportion of women in business management positions

Broad career composition

Technological innovation represented largely by AI is accelerating in recent years. To respond flexibly to cutting-edge technologies and to contribute to our business from the perspective of IP, both the flexibility to accept new technologies and IP expertise backed by experience are required in addition to diverse technological expertise. In this way, to respond to new IP issues, we believe that an organizational structure with employees of a broad range of ages is effective, and the Asahi Kasei’s IP organization is composed of a well-balanced mix of three groups: “new-graduate hires” who have been developed by Corporate IP since they newly graduated, “experienced developers” who have experience in the technology development division, and “mid-career hires” who have been recruited from outside the company.

Diverse technological expertise

Asahi Kasei operates multiple businesses in each of our three business sectors. To maximize the value of IP and intangible assets in each of these businesses, IP experts with diverse technological expertise are required. By utilizing our human resources by transferring engineers belonging to technology development departments to our IP organization and by acquiring technological experts from outside through mid-career hiring, we are constantly securing human resources with diverse technological expertise. To handle the promotion of DX activities in recent years, we have been working to enhance our IP expertise in DX-related technologies by recruiting personnel from the electronics industry taking the lead and by educating members of our Corporate IP.