This story was submitted by Will Hou, grade 11.
Harker’s CareerConnect student organization, which connects upper school students to mentorship and professional career insight, recently visited Rakuten USA, a global technology and e-commerce platform, for an exclusive opportunity to learn about the company’s operations, leadership, and future directly from its C-suite executives.
Students began with a tour of Rakuten’s offices before hearing from Koushik Gattu, Chief of Staff at Rakuten Rewards and Amit Patel, CEO of Rakuten International and Rakuten Rewards.
Gattu discussed his responsibilities as Chief of Staff and how different teams across the company contribute to the overall success of Rakuten. Specifically, he discussed the different strategies the company uses to position their products, giving an example on Kobo, a direct competitor to Amazon’s Kindle, whose marketing efforts are consolidated in Europe where Amazon’s direct market share and competition is lower. Students were then given the opportunity to ask questions regarding the impact of AI on the future of Rakuten and how Gattu views his role evolving over the next decade.
Patel shared his perspective as the CEO of the company, highlighting his role as the “50-50” decision maker who makes the tie-breaking decisions and takes responsibility for the outcomes. He explained how the position requires balancing time between the executive team and the company’s various divisions in order to stay informed and make effective decisions. He concluded by sharing Rakuten’s plans for global expansion while maintaining its Japanese roots and corporate identity.
“Walking away from Rakuten, I’m convinced the most valuable thing a company can build isn’t a product, it’s a network of trust. The brand image Rakuten has built shows that a company has to go beyond just their product and idea, and really empathize with the end user and build a brand people want to take part of and represent,” sophomore Aditya Gupta reflected.
Overall, the visit gave students first-hand insight into the executive leadership and decision making within Rakuten, leaving students with a better understanding of business strategy, competitive positioning, and future impact of AI on operations.
