The business
Vistar Media is a global technology company specialising in digital out-of-home advertising. As its international expansion continued, Japan became an important new market, and entering it successfully meant building local leadership. An existing commercial model could not simply be transferred into a market this distinct.
The challenge
The brief from Ben Baker, Managing Director APAC, was clear: launch Japan. The Country Manager would be a foundational appointment, responsible for establishing Vistar Media locally and building the relationships, credibility and commercial momentum to develop the market. The person needed to represent the business in-market and earn credibility from day one, which made it a very different hire from a senior salesperson.
That narrowed the candidate pool. The right person needed senior experience in digital advertising or Adtech, strong knowledge of the Japanese market and the ability to work effectively inside an international technology business. Direct digital out-of-home experience was not essential; the right leadership qualities, commercial network and market reputation counted for more.
Defining the search
We mapped the broader Japanese advertising technology ecosystem, including senior leaders across platforms, DSPs, SSPs, publishers and adjacent technology businesses, as well as people working directly in DOOH. The focus was on people with credibility in the Japanese digital advertising market, strong senior-level industry relationships and experience working with international technology businesses. They also needed the commercial ability to establish a new market and the leadership profile to become Vistar Media's face in Japan.
This widened the available talent pool while keeping the brief intact.
The market reality
At this level, the strongest candidates were unlikely to be actively looking, so this was a genuinely passive Executive Search. The work centred on understanding the market, identifying people with the right profile and building enough interest in the opportunity for them to consider leaving established positions. Reputation mattered heavily too: for a foundational market-entry appointment, Vistar Media needed someone customers, partners and the wider industry would take seriously from the start.
The approach
Ultimate Asset ran a targeted retained search across the Japanese Adtech market, mapping relevant businesses and senior leaders, assessing adjacent backgrounds and approaching candidates directly. Qualification looked at market standing, relationships and leadership style alongside commercial experience, and at whether each person could realistically build Vistar Media's presence from the ground up. Throughout, we worked closely with Ben and the wider Vistar Media leadership team, calibrating the brief as market feedback came in and managing the search through interview and offer.
The appointment
The search resulted in the appointment of Yosuke Maekawa as Country Manager, Japan. Yosuke brought senior experience from the advertising technology ecosystem, strong local market relationships and the credibility a launch of this importance required. His background gave Vistar Media someone who could represent the company immediately while building the longer-term commercial foundations of the Japanese business.
Ultimate Asset perspective
International expansion often starts with one critical appointment, and that first leader has to understand the local market, represent the business credibly and create the platform for everything that follows. In Vistar Media's case, the strongest answer came from understanding the ecosystem around the role and finding the person whose experience, reputation and relationships best matched what the business needed to achieve. Our role in searches like this is to look past the obvious job-title matches to the senior people capable of making a market entry work.