PayPay Leader Interview is a series of interviews with PayPay’s top executives that show a glimpse into their personalities and perspectives. This edition features an interview with Yuichi Hagiwara, who took up the position of Division Head of HR Division in the Corporate Group in October 2024.
Yuichi Hagiwara
Head of HR Division, Corporate Group
He joined PayPay in 2019, after working for a major manufacturer where he was involved in global HR (system planning and HRBP) and strategic planning & execution under the group’s Vice President, dealing with both domestic and international affiliates and businesses. At PayPay, he worked to enhance the resilience of the business and organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. His responsibilities span general HRM cycles, compliance, long-term manpower planning aligned with business strategy, and data-driven organizational consulting to maximize the potential of the organization and its people. He also initiated a study into an AI business venture under the SoftBank Group. He assumed his current position in October 2024.
Table of Contents
Chose PayPay Without a Moment’s Hesitation
Can you tell us about your journey to joining PayPay?
I’ve always wanted to leave a mark on society, improving it through impactful business endeavors, and have pursued this goal since my student days, aiming to become an entrepreneur or executive. Additionally, with my background in financial engineering, I always understood finance as an indispensable element for shaping the trajectory of global economic growth. When the opportunity arose to participate in creating a new platform spearheaded by Son-san, the founder of SoftBank whom I deeply respect, I didn’t hesitate to choose PayPay. PayPay endeavors to revolutionize the payments landscape with the richest user experience in the finance domain, striving to become a super app.
Fully Committed to Driving PayPay’s Business Growth
Can you tell us about the HR Division you lead?
The HR Division is a group of professionals that harnesses the diverse capabilities of talent from over 50 countries, driving the business forward to deliver value to our users.
Our mission is to elevate the “heartbeat” of the organization. To draw a parallel with running, it’s about applying the appropriate level of stress to each professional to accelerate their pace towards the same direction. The outcome we aim for is increased productivity of our group assets, and this is where our commitment to stakeholders lies.
Like we do for the overall business, “strategy shapes the organization” is the policy I follow when designing the HR Division’s strategy and organization. As business strategies evolve, the HR strategy must also change dynamically, and the organizational structure should follow suit. And we don’t simply stop at making changes; we analyze both the positive and negative aspects, continuously updating our tactics.
Additionally, maintaining a “few elite” is crucial. It’s not about increasing headcount in proportion to revenue or GMV growth, but about meticulously developing strategies from scratch and leveraging cutting-edge technology.
What aspects are you focusing on reinforcing across the division?
I’ve always believed that “enthusiasm outshines effort,” and I want to transform the HR Division into an environment where everyone is passionate about the business.
From my experience, people don’t see pursuing something they’re passionate about or skilled in as effort. As they fervently pursue their passions, their growth graph skyrockets exponentially. Rather than performing tasks begrudgingly, entering a flow state showcases people’s strengths. Unfortunately, some with extensive HR experience lose touch with what’s actually going on in the business.
Diving deep into the business, believing in how much we can improve PayPay’s and society’s future, is the key to getting immersed and taking action through passion. This is the way I envision transforming the entire HR Division.
Right after my appointment, together with the Senior Managers, I began by addressing the enhancement of group-wide productivity, a goal that had previously been somewhat vague. We approached it mathematically, as depicted in the attached illustration (beta version image), and assigned owners for each KPI. This ensures that everyone in the HR Division works towards a common goal, supporting one another, with each person taking accountability for the numbers in their work.
In terms of foundational actions, I intend to integrate cutting-edge AI into all HR operations. Utilizing AI goes beyond mere efficiency; it can generate zero to one outcomes, becoming a formidable weapon in HR strategy.
We plan to clean up employee data from recruitment to departure, tag it, and assemble it into repositories. By positioning AI at the core, I believe we’ll achieve epoch-making results previously unimaginable.
Conversely, what I absolutely want to avoid is making strategies and organizations rigid or localized, leading to high sunk costs, while creating a state with minimal cell birth or death.
Being a “PayPay Person” Before an HR Professional
What’s important to you in everyday communication?
Setting up a safety net for when challenges are faced and mistakes are made. Producing substantial results involves a lot of sacrifices and failures. I bear the responsibility for the failures, so I want my team to endlessly experience new trials and errors. This is something I always keep in mind during communication. I was delighted when someone once gave me the feedback, “Working with you makes me feel like I can achieve anything.”
In terms of structure, we host HR hackathons and awards to celebrate each other and resonate together, emphasizing collective recognition.
What motivates you in your work?
Transforming society for the better through business. In HR, we sometimes have to say what needs to be said in the interest of the business, instead of just agreeable statements. However, thinking about the value PayPay group can offer to future society fills me with excitement, fueling my passion for work. I’m thrilled whenever we receive positive feedback on new services from users or hear how convenient they’ve found them. Even hearing the PayPay jingle at the convenience store every day brings me joy.
What do you focus on in your work?
Achieving the greatest results with the smallest investment. Without fear of misunderstanding, I’d say I am not particularly attached to the HR profession. I believe that attachment signifies the end. The term “HR” is often translated as human resources, implying a degree of management. However, I avoid narrowly defining myself to customary HR practices, choosing to redefine “HR” with a business-focused mindset in the PayPay One Team.
I view myself as one among the PayPay individuals committed to delivering enhanced UX and services that better society (users), just happening to fulfill this role in HR. For this reason, I constantly return to the user perspective, aiming to act and think about the things that are truly essential.
Initiating Change from the Elite Group “HR” Supporting Business Growth
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
I want to create a world where users spend as much of their disposable time as possible using the PayPay app. For that, I’m determined to elevate the productivity of the group’s organization and people, steering towards becoming a super app in a technology-driven manner, being a tech company. In HR, being able to handle data that were once considered dependent variables (such as interactions within communication tools, meeting content, and health data) is now possible, providing endless simulation opportunities thanks to technological advancements. If we’re working the same way as we did a year ago, it’s time to feel the urgency. By fully leveraging cutting-edge technology throughout the company and within HR, we can combine professional skills to yield maximum results with minimal investment. At PayPay, where sooner is better, I aim to have at least a framework in place within six months.
A message to our readers
To better drive our business, we are hiring members with business experience, bringing together a team with diverse backgrounds. PayPay’s HR organization is a group of elite members breaking through conventional HR norms. While it is true that HR involves studying rules and principles from corporate law to labor laws, it is those who embrace ownership and relish challenges who thrive. In the BtoC app industry, it’s a “winner takes all” environment. To secure the top spot, regally adapting like a reflex to user trends is imperative. In HR, maintaining this high-speed agility sustainably requires a strong sense of ownership.
Like our business strategies, we don’t simply do what any other company would find in the archives. Uncertainty is not a discomfort, but a perfect opportunity to think of something new.
Therefore, those who find purpose solely in enhancing employee benefits and satisfaction will not fit in. Instead, we seek those passionate about driving change through business-driven HR, altering society.
Working at PayPay offers the experience of knowing it is “difficult but not impossible.”
If you are up to the challenge, join us and take action for change!
Current job openings
*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.