Episode 42

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Published on:

1st Feb 2024

Listening to the Market with Ashley Harvey

Welcome back to the FocusCore podcast. We are excited to bring you another year of insightful and inspirational guests, as well as timely and topical solo episodes. This week we have our first guest of 2024, Ashley Harvey. Ashley is a C-Suite leader, with a 25-year international career beginning in sales and expanding out into marketing, branding, partnerships, hospitality, destination management and leadership. Ashley has a wealth of knowledge to share with us about being a business leader globally and in Japan specifically. This discussion is a master class in how to thrive as a new business leader navigating the unique benefits and challenges of the Japanese market.

In this episode you will hear:

  • How the Japanese market differs to other international markets and why it has been a good fit for Ashley
  • Advice for business leaders looking to expand their reach in Japan
  • The importance of having a strong employee acquisition strategy
  • How flexibility and nimbleness as a leader helps weather unforeseen challenges, like COVID
  • The importance of creating an environment where open and honest communication can thrive


About Ashley Harvey:

Ashley Harvey is a C-Suite leader, with a 25-year international career which brings the benefits of a breadth of knowledge, diverse experience and interdisciplinary thinking to an ever increasingly complicated business landscape.

Building from a sales background, Ashley’s career grew to build a depth of experience in marketing, branding, partnerships, hospitality, destination management and leadership.

He successfully built & led marketing strategies, tactics and teams in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as in the UK.

Past roles and clients include VisitBritain, Go Central Japan, Brand USA, Tourism Switzerland, a giga project in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Tourism Authority, NYC & Partners, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Shangri-La Hotels, Hilton, Dusit Thani Group, Andaru Niseko, and, Marriott. 

His MBA (2005) comes from the University of Leicester, UK. In 2022 he completed the Mini MBA Marketing from Marketing Week.


Connect with Ashley Harvey:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyjohnharvey/


Connect with David Sweet:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdavidsweet/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/focuscorejp 

Facebook: :https://www.facebook.com/focuscoreasia

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/focuscorejp/ 

Website: https://www.japan.focuscoregroup.com/ 



“Doin’ the Uptown Lowdown,” used by permission of Christopher Davis-Shannon. To find out more, check out www.thetinman.co. Support independent musicians and artists.

Mentioned in this episode:

Find out more about salaries, the job market, hiring and what's important to both companies and individuals looking for a job specifically in Japan.

2025 Salary Guide

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About the Podcast

The FocusCore Podcast
Meet interesting and inspiring and entertaining people who show why Japan is a unique, fulfilling and sometimes frustrating place to do business.
We will discuss how to hire, train and retain talent. How to create values that motivate, and review best practices that have worked and attempts that have failed. David will be speaking to company presidents, CEOs, CFOs, HR professionals, coaches, consultants as well as sharing with you some of my own experiences and opinions discovered over the years in this great country.
The focus is simple: To explore how to succeed in business in Japan.

About your host

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David Sweet