Terumo Corporation

1. Background

Transforming the mindset of a diverse employee base is a tremendous undertaking—it doesn’t happen overnight. Terumo confronted this challenge head-on, committed to developing a new generation of leaders who could champion their ambitious business transformation. In partnership with GLOBIS, they crafted a specialized program aimed at emerging talents, targeting the roots of innovation and leadership within the company. This strategic move showcases their dedication to not just change, but meaningful and lasting evolution long-term.

“The tagline for our ongoing business transformation is ‘from devices to solutions.’ This reflects our shift as a company toward focusing more on solution-based approaches to meet market needs. And HR strategy plays a big role in making that happen.

Our strategic HR plan is based on two pillars: achieving transformation and enhancing associate experience. The first pillar revolves around developing global leaders, strengthening our organization, effectiveness, and efficiency across the board, as well as developing critical skills.

The second pillar focuses on improving the experience for associates through cultivating an inclusive workplace, recognizing them for the value they create, and nurturing their well-being.

These pillars are integral to our Growth Strategy 2026, under which we, in partnership with GLOBIS, have launched the Mirai for Emerging Talents program to meet our HR objectives and instill a growth mindset among our associates. My personal mission in this endeavor is to help create an environment where our associates—and consequently, Terumo—can thrive.”

Growth Mindset in Focus

For Laure, fostering a growth mindset has been at the heart of the initiative from the very beginning. She is a staunch believer that with the right mindset, transformative company-wide initiatives aren’t just possible—they’re inevitable.

“As a medical device provider, we recognized the need to shift our focus from merely supplying devices to providing complete solutions to remain relevant, contribute to society, and enhance patient quality of life. However, this shift demands different skills and approaches. The concept of a ‘growth mindset’ by Carol Dweck inspired us and has become a key factor in our L&D endeavours.”

“Fostering a growth mindset is important because altering your mindset can incite powerful behavioral changes. Of course, these changes don’t occur overnight, but we have already observed many positive effects. We must therefore continue to invest in and support the drive for this growth mindset, as it remains a central element of our talent development strategy.”

2. Mirai for Emerging Talents Program: Implementation & Review

The Mirai for Emerging Talents program is tailored for young professionals, highlighting Terumo’s commitment to embedding a growth mindset across the organization for enduring impact. While many companies recognize the importance of nurturing young talent, few invest significantly in their development. Terumo sets itself apart by dedicating substantial resources to this group, emphasizing their role in shaping the company’s future and fostering potential leaders. This strategic focus underscores Terumo’s dedication to cultivating the next generation of leadership within its ranks.

Program Goals

At the start of the program development, Laure and her team were clear: they wanted a diverse global talent pool, filled with individuals bringing unique skills and perspectives.

“Our main goal with the Mirai for Emerging Talents Program was to develop a pool of global leaders across Terumo for the long-term. That’s why we are focusing on junior contributors who are eager to advance in their roles. We provide them with the right opportunities to accelerate their growth through the program and set them on this trajectory.

The aim is to enable them to identify what they need to develop and focus on early in their careers, with guidance from their managers and opportunities to interact with peers from different countries and business units. This way, they can expand their views and really feel the diversity of Terumo. We also believe in the power of personal growth and encourage our employees to get in the driver’s seat. In this program and through their own stretch project they have the opportunity to grow their own way.”

With its diverse international workforce, Terumo recognized the importance of addressing this aspect from the start.

“Another important goal was to make the program truly global. Terumo has undergone considerable transformation over the last 15 years and continues to evolve as a global entity. To sustain our success and societal impact in the future, it is essential that we maintain and leverage our reach globally.

This underscores the importance of fostering the development of global leaders.

Finally, it was also essential for us to be able to deliver results and return on investment. Our senior management has been deeply engaged and supportive throughout the process, and an important goal was to showcase the successful outcomes of investing in people early in their careers.”

Program Expectations

Setting clear expectations was instrumental in optimizing the program’s efficiency and achieving its goals. It was important not only to align participant expectations, but also to demonstrate how investing in emerging talents could significantly impact the organization at every level.

“Our main objective was to enable participants to push their boundaries and invest in themselves. This is not an easy thing to do. It requires real personal effort – sometimes even after working hours. But that is a part of the learning process that we asked them to invest in.

We aimed for our participants to develop courage, willingness, and perseverance in their learning—an endeavor that is more about cultivating the right mindset than anything else.”

Terumo established clear communication to make sure everyone understood what was expected at the beginning, during and after the program.

“During the program, we expected the participants to maintain this growth mindset. They were encouraged to try new things, speak in public, and actively engage during workshops and reflection sessions. In a nutshell, we wanted to nurture a culture that incorporated three elements: experimentation, valuing progress, and learning from others.

By the end of the program, we were pleased to see that participants continued to grow, learn, and develop. Our goal had been for them to broaden their understanding and perception of Terumo as a whole, explore beyond their job roles, and ultimately build confidence and networks across Terumo globally.

The partnership with GLOBIS definitely has allowed us to define these expectations and share them more clearly with our participants and stakeholders.”

Program Challenges

Large-scale structural organizational change does not happen overnight. Terumo’s aim to foster a culture of experimentation and growth within the risk-averse and cautious medical sector was a big challenge. Every step, from getting stakeholder buy-in, to finding the right solution, to providing solid results, required a complex and well-thought-out plan.

“There are always challenges when you start something from scratch. For us, the biggest challenges revolved around developing and running programs globally. We had to agree on what ‘talent’ meant universally, decide on the best partners for global projects, and figure out the right tools for keeping track of talent effectively. But all these challenges created opportunities for lively and enlightening exchanges with people passionate about development.”

Laure was in the small team that spearheaded the initiative from Europe and witnessed the challenges of global implementation from beginning to end.

“Change was sparked by a small group of passionate people who believed in the power of a growth mindset to make a significant impact. Because this was to be a global program, we had to involve and communicate with many stakeholders. At the outset, our priority was to gain the support and understanding of all branches within Terumo, ensuring they recognized the significant value it would generate for each of them. Some initially questioned the merit of investing in a global program for young professionals, arguing that local investments should come first.

At this stage, we had to rally support from our CEO and CHRO and conducted sessions with our top 50 executives to showcase the scientific backing and advantages of a growth mindset. This led to the implementation of workshops and other initiatives which had a positive ripple effect. We have since established a network of executive representatives across all Terumo entities to facilitate the integration of these initiatives into daily operations.”

Following the kickoff of the global program, the challenges shifted in nature. Program design, project management, participant outcomes and results emerged as focal points demanding attention.

“Once we started running the program, the main challenge was fostering a diverse mindset and understanding among the participants throughout the process. We needed flexibility and both proactive and reactive approaches.

Bridging the gaps between various cultures and positions to create an environment where everyone feels safe to voice their opinions and share their ideas was the first step. And that is not easy. You cannot just tell people to ‘transform’ and start experimenting suddenly. You need to create the right support mechanism, safety nets and ensure good dialogue between managers and peers.

Another hurdle was integrating different aspects of the program successfully into the project management framework. Managing a large and complex project with a small team presents its own unique challenges. Just orchestrating the logistics and arrangements for 90 participants spanning 13 different time zones is a daunting task in itself. Additionally, the program featured diverse workshops and personal stretch projects, involving stakeholders at various levels.

Thankfully, the support from GLOBIS played a pivotal role in equipping us with the necessary management skills and expertise to cultivate the right mindset among our participants and encourage learning agility.

I would say that communication – relentless communication – has been key throughout the entire process.”

A Global Program Experience

The Mirai for Emerging Talents Program was tailored to Terumo’s needs and expectations, running over the course of 10 months. Designed to integrate microlearning with GLOBIS Unlimited, workshops, senior leadership interaction, Q&A sessions, and individual stretch projects, it was executed across 13 time zones with 90 participants. GLOBIS engaged 15 dedicated lecturers and consultants across the world to support this structure.  

“The program fulfilled what we set out to do: nurture a growth mindset through encouraging a culture of experimentation, valuing progress, and learning from others.

The emphasis on experimentation – in all its forms – was especially important. Like I mentioned before, this is very hard to achieve without good dialogue with superiors, a safety net, and support mechanisms. However, in the program, participants were encouraged to speak up during their class and exchange their views across different cultures – these activities are forms of experimentation.”

“Additionally, they were tasked with developing stretch projects with their manager – a big difference from just staying in their roles and completing tasks. By getting the participants out of their comfort zone, they had to develop a mindset that would enable them to engage with their managers, find courage to articulate their thoughts and opinions, and interact with others beyond their level of influence.

The overall program execution was truly global, bridging multiple time zones, countries and cultures. In addition to fostering the right mindset, this also enabled participants to continue to network with fellow students across the world afterwards through our internal global talent platform.”

Getting stakeholder support was crucial to the execution of the program, as it enabled both participants and managers to experience the benefits of it first-hand.

“This program would not be successful if we didn’t have the support of key stakeholders. Success hinged on a tight-knit collaboration with the HR departments of different entities. These teams partnered with managers to identify the right candidates for the program and acted as conduits for the project team, linking them with local organizations—including participants, managers, and leadership teams. This collaboration was crucial for managing local program facets, such as the stretch project and the final presentations.

I’m especially thankful to our CEO and CHRO, who initiated both cohorts of the program, as well as to our three company presidents who engaged in Q&A sessions during the past two years.

Finally, direct managers of the participants were also instrumental in the program’s execution. Their role was to help participants pinpoint areas for personal growth, and to offer guidance and encouragement to maintain a growth mindset throughout the process.”

Long-term Impact on Participants

In response to the rapidly changing demands of the sector, the Mirai program focused on enhancing the soft skills, mindset, and strategic thinking of the participants to better support Terumo’s mission and approach. A central goal was to instill a learning mindset while building the resilience and courage necessary to handle new challenges to further positive impact on society.

“The most rewarding aspect of the program for me has been to see the change in the participants. They started off with a self-evaluation of their learning agility, and some were skeptical about their assessments, even showing reluctance towards the feedback provided. However, at the end of the program, when they shared their project results and program learnings, it was amazing to see that all of them recognized their initial blind spots.

We could also witness how much they improved their listening and participation skills in the various workshops. Their self-confidence, self-awareness, and their ability to humbly recognize that learning is a never-ending journey have improved throughout the program. This is also the feedback we got from their managers.”

3. Reflection on GLOBIS Partnership

It’s been a year since Terumo partnered with GLOBIS to boost their global talent development. Laure reflects on her experiences collaborating with GLOBIS in Europe from the very first meeting.

“GLOBIS has been a great partner from the start and the team has really been co-creating the program with us. Many learning institutions or business schools say they want to design tailored programs but in the end, they sell you “off-the-shelf”’ solutions. This was not the case with GLOBIS. They incorporated the leadership competencies we wanted participants to develop, and welcomed our co-facilitation of certain sessions.”

“Co-creation stands out as a crucial aspect of their approach. Skillfully managing both proactive and reactive strategies is difficult, yet so important. We valued their forward-thinking and thorough planning to structure programs effectively without leaving anything to the last minute. Additionally, their flexibility to adapt and improve based on observations, even midway through the 10-month journey, was fundamental to our success.

Because GLOBIS has facilitators worldwide, they could accommodate our need to divide our cohort of 90 participants into four groups, and additionally also manage this workload logistically. This allowed us to conduct the workshops in appropriate time zones for the participants.

Finally, they actively supported the participants in their preparation of their stretch project presentations to our various leadership teams. GLOBIS ensured that the sessions allowed all voices to be heard, encouraging the more ‘quiet voices’ to speak up and the more ‘dominating’ ones to practice their listening skills.”

Diverse perspective and ideas with the GLOBIS team  

“It’s been a pleasure to work with their team! Just the diversity, including Toru from Japan, Aiste from Lithuania with experience in Belgium and Japan, and Cecilia from Italy, brought valuable perspectives. They were professional, responsive, and service-oriented. They listened to us but also challenged our thinking.

I remember our first meeting was easy and friendly – we connected right away. I very much appreciated that they didn’t try to immediately sell me their solutions but listened to our needs.”

If I were to describe our partnership in three words, they would be: co-creative, collaborative and, enriching.”

4. Thoughts for the Future

Laure has an optimistic vision for Terumo’s future, emphasizing its commitment to sustainable healthcare, quality of life and talent development.

“Terumo has more than 100 years of history and I strongly believe we have a bright future. I think there are significant opportunities, given the evolving nature of healthcare, which is a fundamental human need. Terumo’s mission to contribute to society through healthcare positions us well in this regard. Rooted in a long-term, Japanese cultural approach, the company prioritizes impactful, sustainable healthcare contributions rather than short-term financial gains.

And then there’s the matter of quality of life. With people born today likely to live beyond 100 years, ensuring that this extended lifespan is accompanied by good health and wellbeing is a major concern. Terumo is deeply committed to addressing this issue and aims to enhance its efforts in this area.

We will be able to achieve our goals and missions thanks to the contribution of skilled, empowered, passionate associates who will embrace the future of healthcare. HR and learning development are essential in creating an environment where employees can thrive and contribute effectively to the company’s mission.”