Daisuke Suga (GEMBA 2021) has spent his entire career with NYK Group (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha), a shipping and logistics corporation with the largest transportation fleet in the world by number of vessels. From operations, to finance, to his current role in R&D, he has gained a comprehensive understanding of NYK’s current position and future prospects.

In a pioneering move, Daisuke has leveraged 16 years of industry experience to help position NYK for a timely move into the space business. For the past nine months, he has been working as a Senior Researcher in a joint R&D project between NYK and JAXA, (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). 

The project is no less than the design of the next generation of space rockets. Next-generation reusable rockets are designed be caught and retrieved after launch; if successful, this will allow space-based activities to rapidly scale up while simultaneously becoming more sustainable.
After experiencing varied roles within the company and enhancing his business acumen through the CEIBS Global EMBA programme, Daisuke had the vision to see how NYK’s shipping and logistics expertise make it the ideal partner for JAXA on this revolutionary project, which will tie the shipping and space industries’ futures together.

Making the connection 

“I’ve been with NYK since graduation,” Daisuke says. “I’ve been lucky enough to experience how the company operates across its core shipping businesses and automotive logistics subsidiaries. Having worked with the financial and operational sides, I was able to see how the space business can be a viable fit for our future business development.”

The first five years of Daisuke’s career were as a shipping operator manager, a role that allowed him to communicate directly with the ship captains, coordinating their journeys and schedules. He then spent four years in project finance for NYK’s fuel extraction and transportation vessels (LNG vessels, FPSOs and so on). Then followed a further five years as CFO of NYK Automotive Logistics Co., Ltd, a Shanghai-based subsidiary.

After exploring the company’s operational setup and infrastructure from multiple angles, Daisuke was perfectly placed to recognise an unmissable opportunity. In 2022, just as he was completing his GEMBA studies, JAXA unveiled its plans to design and build the next generation of space rockets. Daisuke instinctively understood that NYK had the technical expertise and resources to make seaborne launches and recoveries a reality.

“I saw what they (JAXA) were asking for in terms of private sector support and I took the idea to headquarters in Japan,” Daisuke recalls. “The space industry needs to overcome so many technical and logistical challenges, involving sizeable risks and great distances. As a global shipping company, we’re used to those, so I felt there was considerable compatibility between us and JAXA. Fortunately, HQ agreed!”

Engineering the future

The joint R&D project between NYK and JAXA involves plans to design the system to recapture the initial (Stage 1) module as it detaches from the rest of the rocket and returns to Earth. 
As the recent success of SpaceX in catching a first-stage rocket shows, the technical capabilities are already available. Once this approach becomes consistently successful, then the “rapid reusability” of rockets will drastically reduce their overall manufacturing costs, allowing the space industry to scale up at unprecedented speeds.

But what makes the NYK/JAXA approach so enticing is that if recovering rockets can be done safely at sea from mobile platforms, it will dramatically increase operators’ options for get their rockets to and from space. Instead of relying on a certain number of land-based sites, sea platforms will provide a viable, flexible alternative.

“We’re pushing into new ground, so there are a lot of technical challenges to overcome,” Daisuke admits. “Stabilising the platform to accommodate changing weather and sea conditions, for example. But it’s incredibly exciting to be taking what I know from an established industry and applying it to one that’s relatively very new.”

GEMBA grounding helps with the big picture

While serving as a Senior Researcher, Daisuke is also actively involved in the business development of NYK’s nascent space-based ventures. Thanks to his GEMBA studies, he can combine his knowledge of shipping and logistics with novel insights from other industries and business cultures to anticipate how NYK will adapt and grow its presence in this fledgling space sector.

“I always knew I wanted to do an EMBA, but the timing didn’t seem right until I was in China,” says Daisuke. “I was financially restructuring an automotive logistics firm in Shanghai and I really felt it was necessary to improve my business knowledge from a practical and academic perspective.”
With the help of a diverse, energetic and endlessly helpful cohort, Daisuke quickly found himself in a better position to understand both the immediate needs of the NYK subsidiary and the broader business landscape that the company was entering.

“At the time, it was clear that we needed new growth avenues,” Daisuke recalls. “And with so many crowded market spaces, it made sense to think not just globally, but beyond our planet! My GEMBA classmates and professors helped me think big, and with their insight I was able to turn an idea into a viable business approach.” 

Looking to the stars

With the R&D project well underway, Daisuke feels he is firmly in the right place to develop both his career ambitions and his intellectual interests. He aims to be at the forefront of a developing industry that has no ceiling, literally and figuratively speaking.

“NYK is only two years into the space business; change is an almost constant factor but that makes it both exciting and rewarding. So remember, if you have a big idea, whether it’s for your company or you personally, just do it. Don’t wait for the ‘perfect time’, just go for it.”
 

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