Principal, HealthTech

The Company

Star is a global consultancy that connects strategic endgames, strategy, design and engineering services to help companies accelerate product innovation and achieve their business goals. With over a decade of constant annual growth, we are rapidly expanding our consulting services, geographic footprint and industry expertise. The role of Principal, HealthTech will be instrumental in getting us there.

Star works for businesses in a variety of industries, including Automotive & Mobility, HealthTech, FinTech and AdTech globally. Our clients include NTT Data, BMW Group, SAIC, Lufthansa, Denso, NIO, Panasonic, AppyWay, Zeiss, Walmart and Dolby, amongst many others.

We support our clients in every step of their digital journey. Through co-creation, we guide them from ideation and concept crafting to full-stack development. We always remain focused on supporting our clients, whether enterprise customers, investors or start-ups, to win the hearts and minds of their (end) customers.

At Star, we blend strategy, insights, design and engineering into a seamless workflow devised to support our clients - no matter how long or complex their journey. We anchor everything we do in clear and compelling endgames, which in turn enable our multidisciplinary teams to create superior solutions and support impressive commercial returns for our clients. 

Star is truly global in its footprint and its outlook. That is why we are the first major consulting company with no single headquarters. Instead, clients have many routes to Star, spanning Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Beijing, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Copenhagen, Kyiv, Wroclaw, and other vibrant design, technology and creative nuclei of the world.  Our spirited and growing strong Star Crew takes great pride in working side by side with their trailblazing counterparts at some of the largest enterprise clients and global brands, with highly profitable mid-market players, as well as the world's most disruptive "unicorn" startups.

Our passion is to make every great person, every great idea and every great company shine. That's why we're called Star. 

The Opportunity 

Working directly for the Managing Director, Japan, you are an energetic, empathetic, and sales & execution-oriented Principal who will lead ​our business development & sales growth ​in​ ​Japan, with a clear focus on revenue generation and associated profitability (with other assignments as may be required and agreed). This is a strategically important role in one of our ​most​ ​important markets, and the successful applicant will be a critical contributor to our HealthTech revenue and profitability growth. As our new Principal, HealthTech, you will focus on acquiring new logos for Star building the Japan client base across the HealthTech vertical.

You will feel passionate about introducing the Star Way - a unique and organic blend of strategy, design, and engineering - to companies that embark on transformational business journeys or complex roadmap implementations, blending a mix of business development and sales orientation, client problem-solving skills and pragmatic, hard-headed sales execution, delivering on clear revenue goals.   

You know how to open doors that may seem closed initially and build connections with all manner of decision-makers from C-level/executive level downwards, as well as with corporate intrapreneurs. You are well-versed in healthcare & life science market trends and dynamics and have worked with major healthcare & life science clients for a number of years. You are a true challenger of conventions who knows customers’ value drivers and can confidently take control of the customer conversation while offering a unique perspective and recommending solutions to client problems, leading to increased Star revenues.

As a Principal at Star, you will define, create, sell and run (as well as own) initiatives that will expand HealthTech revenues in Japan, increase margins and add to Star’s market share through our ability to attract and retain customers via impactful, high-value-adding offerings and you will be able to do this in both the Japanese and English languages.

Responsibilities 

• Report to the Managing Director, Japan, on all business development, including sales and project-related activities based upon clear business development and sales targets;
• Be a Star leader in client relationship development, client management/business development & sales and become recognized as such by clients in Japan for HealthTech; 
• Lead Japan’s sales growth for HealthTech, with a focus on new logo / new client acquisition;
• Manage the entire sales lifecycle from research, opportunity identification & qualification through to closing deals, overseeing successful sales contract closing, ensuring effective delivery against client requirements, and last but not least, increasing client satisfaction;
• Take strategic responsibility for identifying target clients and businesses and defining a Japan sales plan;
• Execute the sales plan and close projects with large enterprises, well-funded start-ups, and strategic investment portfolio businesses (private equity investments);
• Work closely with our strategy team, our global design & engineering teams, and our regulatory consulting team to generate a pipeline of high-potential projects in strategy and business operations, design (including consumer, industrial, and digital design), engineering and regulatory consulting, and sell these/close the deals;
• Spend a significant amount of time in the field in Japan, developing and leveraging relationships through personal meetings, presentations, and relevant networking with potential clients;
• ​Work​ ​with clients​ ​and​ ​the broader Star ​team​ ​to​ ​determine​ project ​requirements​ ​and​ ​specifications;
• Build​ a unique​, client-centric ​value​ ​proposition​ for each target client, and ​​shape​ ​and​ ​close​ ​new​ ​projects​ ​with​ clients that are revenue-rich and profitable for Star;
• Own​ ​the​ ​commercial​ ​funnel for HealthTech in Japan, ​ensuring​ ​that ​there​ ​are high​-potential ​clients​ ​at​ ​each​ ​stage​​ ​and​​ ​a continuous​ ​and​ ​growing​ ​flow​ ​of​ ​new​ ​relationships,​ ​new​ ​deals​, ​and​ ​repeat​ clients;
• Drive operational efficiency and effectiveness by optimizing organizational processes, implementing best practices, and streamlining cross-functional collaboration;
• Influence junior team members and act as a mentor in their development, as well as taking ownership of projects with internal functional departments;
• Foster a culture of empowerment, providing opportunities for growth and professional development;
• Develop a high level of confidence, trust and credibility with clients based on the quality of work delivered by the team;
• Provide concise, mature, and constructive feedback where required.

Qualifications

You must:

• Have 8-12 years’ proven experience in strategy, design, technology, and IT consulting services and in working in the digital world. This should be in either: 
  • a top management consulting firm;
  • a technology and solution provider; and/or
  • a technology solution provider to the healthcare & life science sectors.
• Provide thought leadership and specific knowledge of key topics, including emerging technology trends and cutting-edge developments within HealthTech, including digitalization of vehicles, supply chains and the overall technology environment;
• Demonstrate a proven ability to understand the challenges facing a typical enterprise client in the Healthcare & Life Science sector, as well as other actors in the sector; 
• Have an ability to meet consistently and over-achieve sales targets;
• Demonstrate the​ ability​ ​to​ ​manage​ ​all​ ​phases​ ​of​ ​the​ ​customer​ ​engagement​ ​and​ ​sales process, including but not limited to customer acquisition, sales, customer management, account management, and client development (both “hunting and farming”); 
• Possess a strategic mindset and experience using consultative​ ​approaches​ ​to​ ​bring​ ​new​ ​clients​ ​on​​ board​ ​through​ ​a​ ​disarming and empathetic​ ​attitude;
• Demonstrate exposure to the technology and corporate innovation ecosystems and experience engaging with C-level leaders and the management layers below, as well as with start-ups;
• Have experience with software platforms and technologies (the Web, mobile, cloud, embedded) and an early adopter mindset with a passion for the latest technology trends, apps, gadgets, and companies in Japan and globally;
• Demonstrate the ability to balance a self-starter mentality with the need to adhere to agreed processes; 
• Have the ability to lead and influence people by example, even those you are not reporting directly to, and you should:
  • mentor on both a formal basis (with assigned mentees) and an informal basis; 
  • encourage collaborative feedback interactions with all team members; and,
  • have advanced proficiency in the Japanese language (being a native speaker or possessing near-native fluency), as well as excellent English for advanced business interactions.

You also should have:

• A high-growth company mentality and willingness to challenge convention; 
• A clear focus on clients and solving their problems and success in bringing short, medium and longer-term revenues to Star;
• Leadership skills;
• A clear understanding of design thinking & software development and engineering processes; 
• A demonstrated ability to deal with differing customer groups across Healthcare & Life Science and wider manufacturing clients, start-ups and others within Japan;
• A willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ and seek to build longer-lasting client relationships.

What will you get

We offer a rewarding compensation and benefits package, an intellectually and creatively stimulating environment, professional flexibility and unique international travel opportunities. 

Star is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that equity, diversity and inclusion are key to our ability to provide our clients and crew members with unique business and career outcomes. Your race, color, ancestry, religion, gender, identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability have no effect on our hiring decisions. If you have a special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.