Talent Development

With the aim of enabling every employee to co-create with all internal and external stakeholders and deliver value unique to Konica Minolta, we have identified the following priority issues and are implementing measures to develop and empower talent who continue to learn autonomously, work across business and regional boundaries, and remain focused on delivering results:

• Accelerating the development of next-generation management talent and global leaders
• Strengthening technical talent to drive growth

The Company systematically assigns and develops next-generation leaders capable of managing the business. Since FY2020, we have identified high-potential talent and provided opportunities for the CEO and business leaders to hold one-on-one discussions to confirm and discuss the direction of their development. Through these discussions, we clarify organizational issues, including whether there are candidates for the next business leader and who could potentially assume such roles three to five years into the future. The CEO and business leaders then identify successor candidates and agree on the roles and assignments they should take on to further their development. Their progress is reviewed over the following year, creating an ongoing cycle through which approximately 150 individuals are systematically developed.
In FY2024, the Company also established a Talent Committee focused specifically on future candidates for President. The committee, chaired by the President and comprising executive officers responsible for business, technology, and corporate functions, selected candidates with a view to developing leaders for the 2030s. For these candidates, the Company identifies areas in which each individual needs further development through external assessments and internal programs, and is accelerating their development through cross-business assignments and external learning opportunities.

To accelerate the deployment of international talent across the Group—who account for three-quarters of the approximately 35,000 employees in the Konica Minolta Group—we are advancing global leadership development in conjunction with succession plans for key positions in each region. We identify outstanding talent in key regions, and selected individuals participate in development programs, receive mentoring from senior management, and formulate individual development plans, followed by assignments across national and business boundaries.
In Europe, where these initiatives are more advanced, individuals are given assignments that enable them to apply their expertise and experience across a broader scope. Specifically, high-potential talent are assigned as European leads for cross-business projects and contribute to business expansion across business boundaries through business visits to the Company's headquarters in Japan, closer collaboration with relevant stakeholders, and reporting to senior management. In addition, rather than limiting the scope of sales leaders' activities to individual countries, cross-border assignments enable them to take pan-European leadership roles in initiatives to improve sales productivity through digital transformation (DX) utilizing data and AI. Through these initiatives, the Company is developing talent capable of succeeding globally while also leveraging outstanding frontline talent across national and business boundaries, producing results that contribute to stronger business competitiveness.

To achieve sustainable growth and enhance corporate value over the medium to long term, Konica Minolta position strengthening the technical talent needed to execute its growth strategy as a key management priority. As the Company drives value creation by integrating AI with the core technologies it has cultivated over 150 years—such as materials, optics, imaging, and nano-fabrication—strengthening the technical talent who will drive this value creation over the medium to long term is essential.
Based on this recognition, we have begun fundamentally restructuring company-wide technical talent development as one of our core initiatives. Moving away from the previous department-based approach to development, we have established development policies aligned with business and technology strategies for specialized fields such as core technologies, foundational technologies, production engineering, and AI and data science, while reorganizing the training framework and enhancing the infrastructure for talent development. In addition, we have positioned technical talent development as a key company-wide function and introduced mechanisms to appropriately recognize employees' participation in training activities, thereby establishing a framework for sustaining these development initiatives over the long term.
Going forward, we will continue to strengthen technical talent in coordination with overall talent management and seek to sustainably enhance corporate value by improving our ability to execute our growth strategy.

At Konica Minolta, Inc., the Company builds its educational framework around four core pillars, primarily based on On-the-Job Development (OJD^*), to maximize its effectiveness. These pillars include: Selective Education, which identifies specific talent such as future candidates for President or high-potential talents expected to excel globally and invests in their development; Level-Based Education, which targets employees at key career milestones, such as when they join the Company or are promoted, as well as employees in leadership roles; Career Development Support, encompassing initiatives like mindset shifts and mentor training aimed at fostering female leaders; and Re/Up Skilling, which provides support for self-directed learning, including up to ¥1.5 million per year in self-development assistance that can be used to pursue an MBA or other degree, as well as a wide range of internal training programs. By combining these educational investments with diverse systems—like challenge evaluations, internal talent recruitment, and allowing side jobs—the Company strives to maximize individual capabilities. Simultaneously, it works to cultivate an organizational culture that enables these employees to realize their full potential.
In FY2025, training programs recorded approximately 9,000 participants totaling about 38,000 hours of instruction.

*OJD: Acronym for On-the-Job Development (skill development through work). It is an advanced form of OJT (On-the-Job Training) that involves skill development while sharing challenges under the guidance of a supervisor.

Konica Minolta has established a structured development framework to enable new and young employees to play active roles at an early stage in their careers, with the goal of helping them reach a state in which they can think and act proactively to become the professionals they aspire to be.
As key milestones, the first year focuses on building a foundation for independence, the second year emphasizes strengthening autonomy through practical experience, and the third year deepens role awareness and self-understanding to encourage further challenges and growth. Training programs and systems are designed to align with these stages. The following are examples of specific training initiatives:

To enable every employee to co-create with stakeholders and deliver value, it is becoming increasingly important to maximize the capabilities of both talent and organizations on the front lines. To support diverse career paths for employees, Konica Minolta, Inc. and its principal sales company, Konica Minolta Japan, Inc., have begun fundamentally reviewing and strengthening the traditional management system, which was centered on the concept of workplace supervision.

In April 2022, the Company abolished the conventional “manager” classification and title, which were associated with workplace supervision, and redefined management positions, transitioning from a single-track to a dual career track system. The aim was to clearly establish the role expected of future leaders as leaders of a group of “professional talent”—individuals with advanced knowledge and expertise as well as distinctive skills who think and act autonomously to solve problems. This change has three objectives:

• Strengthening leaders who energize people and organizations, commit to results, and enhance execution capabilities
• Developing and retaining highly skilled specialists who create and lead innovation
• Accommodating employees' diverse career aspirations

Under the new definition, the Company established two types of leaders. The first are organizational leaders who energize people and organizations and enhance execution capabilities. They are designated “Empowerment Leaders,” reflecting the expectation that they will maximize the individual potential of diverse talent. The second are individuals who create innovation that transcends existing boundaries and lead through their expertise. They are designated “Experts,” reflecting the expectation that they will continuously deepen their expertise and apply it to contribute to the business. “Empowerment Leaders” and “Experts” are collectively referred to as “Exempt.”
Along with this change in definition, the Company clarified four expected behaviors: having a vision and charting a path forward; having the ability to execute and deliver results; bringing out the strengths of diverse people; and continuously developing oneself. These behaviors serve as evaluation criteria. In addition, multi-rater assessments are conducted every six months to assess whether individuals are demonstrating the expected behaviors and enable them to continuously refine their behavior.
The compensation system for Experts has also been revamped, enabling high-performing Experts to receive remuneration at the executive officer level. This has also contributed significantly to attracting highly skilled external professionals.

To create an organization that continues to provide customers with new value, Konica Minolta, Inc. expects each employee, as “professional talent,” to possess advanced knowledge and expertise as well as distinctive skills, and to think and act autonomously to solve problems. To encourage such behavior, the Company has revised its assessment and compensation system for general employees. The revised system highly rewards employees who take on ambitious goals without fear of failure and act in accordance with the Konica Minolta Philosophy, while also recognizing employees who demonstrate a willingness to take on challenges regardless of the results achieved.
With regard to employee compensation, the Company excludes seniority as a factor and fairly assesses demonstrated capabilities and performance, including the degree to which assigned objectives are achieved and contributions to the organization, reflecting the results in promotions, salary increases, and bonuses. The compensation resulting from promotions and salary increases is structured to increase not only current salary but also retirement benefits accordingly.* This serves as an incentive for long-term capability development and contribution to business performance.
*Retirement benefit points are awarded each year based on an assessment of job-related capabilities, and benefits are paid based on the total points accumulated at the time of retirement.
In addition, to help each employee realize their career vision, the Company regularly provides important opportunities for employees to review their careers to date and, together with their supervisors, consider their development needs and career development goals to be pursued through their work, including the direction of and plans for their capability development. Supervisors, in turn, support employees in achieving these goals through dialogue, including by considering appropriate work and role assignments and providing feedback in the course of their daily work.

To support talent development and execute its talent strategy for business portfolio transformation, Konica Minolta, Inc. revamped its skills framework and introduced a talent management system in 2022. By registering individual employees' skills and experience in a talent database, the Company is able to identify, on a company-wide basis, where employees with particular skills are located. This enables the Company to quickly consider and implement strategic talent deployment, including anticipating talent shortages several years in advance and shifting talent to areas targeted for strengthening. Furthermore, in FY2026, the Company began considering the development of a globally integrated HR information system. Through this initiative, the Company will promote global talent management aligned with its management strategy.

As a mechanism complementing company-directed talent deployment, Konica Minolta, Inc. has introduced an Internal Job Posting System that allows employees to apply for transfers on their own initiative. The system aims to encourage employees to proactively take on challenges in developing their careers and to foster a culture that respects and encourages a willingness to take on challenges. Employees can also apply for opportunities across Group companies, including applications from employees of domestic sales companies.