Keiko YAMAGISHI (Director, General Affairs Division, Human Resources and General Affairs Department, AstraZeneca plc)

From Research Planning Staff to Secretary to the President

While in the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ms. Yamagishi’s job hunting went smoothly thanks to a recommendation from her former teacher. Professor IWATA Heitaro of the Pharmacology Laboratory was a junior to and good friends with Chibata Ichiro, head of both the Research and Development Headquarters and the Research Planning Office at Tanabe Pharma (now: Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma), at the former Naniwa High School. “So,” said Ms. Yamagishi, “I’ve never actually done serious job hunting. It’s pretty hard to believe when you look at today’s job-hunting landscape.”

When asked about her days as an undergraduate student, she replied, “It was busy, especially in my fourth year. Since I had secured a job early on, I was completed focused on my experiences. After I found a job, I just thought ‘I’m happy I have so much free time now.’”

The Research Planning Office where she was assigned performs tasks such as investigating literature and digging up any seeds of research related to product development, etc. In other words, it’s the back office for research and development. For six years, Ms. Yamagishi served as the assistant for her immediate supervisor, involved in creating documents and performing investigations for academic conference presentations. However, that particular superior became president of the company, and with him, Ms. Yamagishi, who had also helped the president this whole time, also took the role of secretary to the president.

While joining Tanabe Pharma was a serendipitous outcome for her, become a secretary “was also completely unintentional,” she laughs.

A smooth return to work thanks to her family’s support

After becoming secretary to the president, she was met with a wide ranges of tasks from various directions. She had to take a look at materials for the stockholders’ meetings. She had to study accounting. She also participated in creating a draft for the management policy for the company. She says she “had to glance in all directions” at things like the economic climate and industry trends both in Japan and overseas.

She had to also learn about things that were completely different from the world of pharmaceutical sciences. Ms. Yamagishi must have had some difficulties, but, she says, “I want to enjoy whatever task was given to me to its fullest.” It was this way of thinking that saw her take on any task. “I hate losing.”

She had just given birth at the time. “It was a crazy time in my life, but I was able to get back to work right after giving birth thanks to support at home.” Because she married within the company, she was able to hear about the goings-on in the company from her husband every day, which allowed her to make a smooth transition back to the workplace.

Selected as Best Secretary

In her 3rd year as secretary to the president, she was approached by the director of the secretarial division, who encouraged her to apply for the Secretary Contest held by the Japan Secretaries & Administrative Professionals Association When Ms. Yamagishi replied with a surprised “Me?” her director said, “You’ve got selling points, so I think you can get an award.” According to Ms. Yamagishi, “it’s rare for a secretary to the president to have expert knowledge in science and be able to read and comprehend materials on new drug development.” She is also internationally-minded, able to use English to serve as the president’s assistant at international conferences.

When she submitted an application per the recommendation she received, her director turned out to be correct in his prediction: Ms. Yamagishi was named Best Secretary in 1992. “At the award ceremony, the president and my former teacher at OU were both there to celebrate. I just happen to fall into this position, but I’m so grateful that I was able to bring my accomplishments to fruition.”

Ms. Yamagishi went on the build her career as secretary to the president, but eventually, she yearned take on a new job. As a step up, she took the directors’ test, and passed. After serving as director of the secretarial division, and the head of the secretarial office, she became responsible for training such as new hire training as the chief of the human resource development department. “Using my experience as a secretary, I held courses myself on reception, etc.”

From 2004, as chief of the Human Resource Development Division in the Sales Office, she was tasked with providing test-taking strategies to new medical representatives (MR) for the MR certification exam. Just like a private tutor, she closely guided employees’ studies. Using the pharmaceutical knowledge she cultivated in the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, she took Tanabe Pharma’s long-stagnant pass rate of 80% to a perfect 100%.

Her accomplishments recognized, she reaches a turning point

At the time, the pharmaceuticals industry was in a whirlwind of reorganization. Seeing Tanabe Pharma pushing towards a merger with Mitsubishi Well Pharma, Ms. Yamagishi made a decision.

“Raising the pass rate for the MR certification exam caught the attention of AstraZeneca. I thought it was the perfect opportunity and accepted their offer.” The human resource development knowhow adapted to the Japanese climate that Ms. Yamagishi possessed was attractive to AstraZeneca, a foreign pharmaceuticals manufacturer aiming to make a breakthrough in the Japanese market.

But, even after she had accepted the position, she continued to help young employees with their studies’ until the very end. “I changed jobs at the end of December 2007. The MR certification examination takes place each December. I could have changed jobs earlier, but I wanted to do my best for my current students until their examinations had finished.”

In January 2008, she entered AstraZeneca, taking the position of Education Planning Group Manager. She currently takes on heavy responsibility as the Director of the General Affairs Division in the Human Resources and General Affairs Department.

Develop your self-promotion skills

Ms. Yamagishi gives things her all anytime, anywhere. Being busy makes her really treasure her hobbies.

She practiced Japanese dance from the age of 3 until she was a 5th grade elementary school student, but recently, she has begun to practice once again. “Spending time doing your hobbies is a good way to reset yourself. Rather than start something from scratch, you’ll perform better by taking up hobbies you have experience with in the past, even if you’re out of practice.”

She’s also an expert in calligraphy, even serving as the manager of the Calligraphy Club. She put these skills to use during her time as secretary to the president, writing thank-you letters by brush and never forgetting to show consideration for their recipients.

Even now, Ms. Yamagishi continues to submit her calligraphy pieces for display in exhibitions. She enjoys life even outside of work with a positive mindset.
Finally, she gave advice to students, especially those who wish to work at overseas manufacturers, from a corporate human resources perspective.

“The corporate side doesn’t judge students based on whether they’re a liberal arts major or a science major. The question that corporations are concerned with is, ‘What can you do for our company?’ We want to know a person’s overall ability. It’s necessary to have language and basic academic skills, but the ability to communicate is even more important. I want you to be able to use your own words to appeal the things that you’re devoted to. Osaka University is a wonderful comprehensive university with a long history, making it a place where all kinds of people can interact with each other. I want you to use what you learned at Osaka University and be proactive both while you’re still at university and after you graduate.”

This is a reprint of the article posted in the Osaka University NewsLetter No. 60 (June 2013).