Sustainability | SocialHuman Resources Development
Our Approach
To achieve TDK Transformation, our long-term vision, TDK continuously implements and enhances its Global Management Development Programs. The program is designed to develop next-generation leaders, promote diversity in leadership positions, and advance succession planning to meet evolving business needs and requirements.
Looking ahead, we will continue to refine our learning and development initiatives through diverse approaches, with the aim of unlocking the full potential of our talented team members. By integrating both people and business perspectives, we strive to cultivate leaders equipped with the capabilities required to address the changing demands of the future.
Through these efforts, we strengthen our ability to realize the TDK Group’s long-term vision and enhance sustainable corporate value over the long term.
Global Management Development Programs Overview
Governance
Global Executive Management Program (GEMP):
This program is designed for newly appointed Corporate Officers and corporate officer candidates, who are selected by the President & CEO and the CHRO. Its objective is to strengthen the management foundation that supports sustainable corporate value creation by developing the next generation of executive leadership.
In the final stage of the program, participants present their self-developed vision and strategic proposals to members of the Board of Directors. Directors provide constructive feedback, taking into account alignment with TDK’s corporate strategy and long-term direction.
Through this initiative, TDK not only develops future executive leaders but also creates structured opportunities for Directors to advise and mentor newly appointed Corporate Officers and candidates. This interaction enhances the effectiveness of the Board’s oversight function and strengthens governance across the TDK Group.
Global Advanced Management Program (Global AMP):
This program aims to develop core talent who will assume key management roles in the future, thereby reinforcing TDK’s leadership pipeline. Participants are nominated by the heads of Business Companies and HQ functions.
The President & CEO, the CHRO, and the head of Corporate Strategy HQ share insights on TDK’s key management challenges and strategic priorities. Based on these discussions, participants formulate proposals that contribute to addressing corporate challenges and supporting mid- to long-term growth.
In the final stage, participants present their proposals to Corporate Officers and receive constructive feedback from the perspectives of strategic alignment and execution feasibility. This process enhances the quality and practical application of their proposals, strengthens dialogue with senior management, and contributes to improving the effectiveness of governance.
Global Management Program (GMP):
This program is designed to develop future management talent. It is led by executives and business leaders from Business Companies and HQ functions.
Drawing on insights gained from actual business operations; program leaders continuously review and refine the curriculum. Through coaching, mentoring, and the sharing of real-world experiences, participants are provided with practical learning opportunities.
By strengthening participants’ ability to address complex management challenges and fostering close interaction with senior leadership, the program contributes to enhanced governance across the TDK Group.
Territorial Career Development Program (TCDP):
This program is conducted at the regional level to develop future leadership talent. It is led by regional business leaders and executives.
Program leaders are responsible for participant selection and program oversight. They also attend final sessions to share leadership insights and provide mentoring.
Through this approach, the program enhances participants’ leadership capabilities and deepens their understanding of regional decision-making and business execution. Structured dialogue with senior management further contributes to strengthening governance throughout the TDK Group.
Please see the link for the governance system of human resources as a whole.
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Strategy
Enabling continuous growth of TDK’s team members:
The Human Growth department assists TDK’s team members to recognize, develop and realize their full potential so that TDK can meet existing & future business demands in a sustainable manner.
Human Growth provides integrated and inclusive learning opportunities to increase the value of human capability:
- TDK’s valued Team Members experience personal fulfillment as they are well prepared, empowered, and engaged to achieve their goals.
- TDK management can rely on highly competent Team Members to support and continuously develop our business.
- Our HR Community benefits from being part of the TDK Group and succeeds in their mission to attract, develop, and retain human talent.
- The TDK Group of companies can continue to perform successfully with a high-level of adaptability and sustainability in the future.
Risk Management
Ensure quality of program content:
Feedback given by team members, managers, and executives is evaluated to ensure an impactful learning experience for TDK’s future leaders. Evaluation results are reported on an annual basis to the respective stakeholders and are integrated into a continuous improvement process.
Ensure quality of diversity:
TDK believes that enhancing its organizational value creation capability requires bringing together diverse talent, who share the common goal of striving for TDK Transformation, whilst contributing their unique perspectives. Diversity of thought and experience is essential to driving innovation and sustainable growth.
Accordingly, when selecting participants for its leadership development programs, the Human Growth team identifies high-potential talent from a wide range of backgrounds, including different regions, genders, functions, and cultural contexts.
As part of its commitment to embedding diverse perspectives into organizational decision-making, TDK aims to increase the representation of women in leadership positions. In line with this objective, particular attention is given to ensuring meaningful female participation in the Global Management Development Programs.
Ensure the quality of candidate profiles:
The corresponding committee and board members identify and select the high potentials to be included in the programs. The Succession Planning process combined with the Executive Development activities also contributes to building a sustainable global leadership pool.
Metrics and Targets
Medium- to Long-Term Targets
The Human Growth department provides integrated and inclusive learning opportunities to increase the value of human capability and accelerate transformation by connecting Talent across TDK.
Execute Global Management Development:
Develop future-ready leaders, manage succession plan for TDK key positions, and enable talent mobility.
Our leaders lead by example. They actively demonstrate inclusive practices, are capable of driving transformation whilst performing, experience and leverage the unique strength of diversity at TDK. They promote clear goals, open feedback, broad & collective value creation.
Targets and Achievements in FY March 2026
| FY March 2026 Targets | Achievements |
|---|---|
| TCDP: Continue the program and evolve the design through tailored learning content that reflects TDK's strategy and changing business environment. Due to the high demand, the program is expanded in some regions from 100 to ~130 participants in total worldwide. |
Successful continuity of the TCDP in all territories by combining on-site and online facilitation. With 131 participants worldwide joining the program. Quantitative benefit of TCDP Every year, the participants of the TCDP deliver on average five entrepreneurial project ideas. These TCDP projects are an essential component of the program’s curricula, aiming to discover and provide creative solutions for specific business cases embedded into TDK’s strategic focus areas (e.g. sustainability or digital transformation). Throughout the project mode, the participants utilize available resources, identify challenges, apply knowledge, and set clear standards of quality and delivery. The project groups present to the TCDP Committee – several members of the regional management - near the end of the training program, with the ambition of impacting the organization on a regional scale. Recent TCDP project examples: TDKfit This TCDP project is an initiative to promote health & wellbeing within TDK. While various health promotion activities had already been implemented at group companies and countries, TDKfit was developed by leveraging these best practices and scaling them across regions. In 2024, a new program designed to promote regular exercise habits was launched for all TDK Group companies in Europe. In 2025, the initiative was expanded globally across the TDK Group, featuring the “Global TDKfit Challenge” held in conjunction with the World Athletics Championships. According to a post-program survey, 95% of participants reported overall satisfaction, 82% stated that they felt a stronger sense of “TDK United,” and 79% indicated that the program helped them establish healthier lifestyle habits. |
| GMP: Successful run of the cohort by creating effective synergies and conveying a deep understanding of TDK’s structure (50 participants per year). | In the context of increasing leadership complexity, live the strengths of TDK United and develop essential inclusive leadership practices and management skills. The GMP welcomed 54 participants in the FY March 2025 cohort. |
| Continue developing executive talent, transformative leadership competencies and future-readiness capabilities through Global Advanced Management Program (Global AMP). Accelerating connections across TDK to enable transformation. |
The participants experience the TDK United spirit and build a strong bonding and networking throughout their journey. With the objective of maximizing the impact of learning, program design evolves with the changing business circumstances and strategy of TDK. Every year, Global AMP the participants deliver on average four Impact Projects. The impact projects are a critical component of the Global AMP journey. The projects are aimed at solving strategic issues at the TDK Corporate level or tackle opportunities/challenges shared by clusters of companies. The participants are invited to collectively identify what value-creation activities will maximize the enterprise value for TDK, support the new mid-term plan and the long-term vision. They are asked to integrate financial and pre-financial value in their project which they present to the ECM near the end of the training program, with the ambition of impacting the organization on a global scale. Recent examples: TDK Failure & Cost Reduction Journey using AI: This impact project team worked on a major problem; Operating Profit swallowed by Quality Issues. The team presented a solution to reduce failure costs by over 30% with AI Process Mining. They estimated 1.4BJPY saving in 2 FYs by running 3 pilots in different factories, from very different technologies and Business Companies proving the solution is scalable. “GAMPBot: Connecting Innovators, Accelerating Transformation”: This Impact project team worked on a solution to resolve a pain point which has been expressed in our team member engagement surveys: remove barriers to execution and increase productivity. The team developed a scalable generative AI solution (in experimentation phase) that can conduct human-like conversations to connect innovators. The positive outcome is to connect the experts, increase the speed of sharing, production and material know-how and by this accelerate product innovation as TDK United. Other Initiatives: In addition to the projects described above, participants have also worked on strategic themes such as advancing digital transformation, enhancing product creation and sales capabilities through the use of Context-Aware AI, and strengthening portfolio management. Through these initiatives, TDK aims to reinforce a sustainable management foundation that integrates talent development with long-term corporate value enhancement. |
| Prepare for the third cohort (FY March 2027) of the Global Executive Management Program (GEMP) |
The design of the GEMP journey is adapted to the changing business circumstances and addresses the future challenges of TDK. The aim is to create a long-lasting and valuable experience for the participants, who will build their vision and strategy for TDK and materialize innovation and entrepreneurship within TDK. Example from last GEMP: Creation of a new Company (TDK SensEI), expanding the Business Portfolio and enabling TDK to ride on both AI and Sustainability mega trends to contribute to energy efficiency, decarbonization through smart manufacturing. |
Evaluations and Future Activities
| FY March 2027 Goals |
|---|
| TCDP: Successful run the cohort while continuously evolving the training design on TDK’s business & strategy to maximize the impact of the program. Focus on developing diversified team members, increasing female representation, and expanding network and connections to enhance innovation, competitiveness and promote culture. Due to the high demand, the program has been expanded in some regions (100 - 130 participants annually worldwide). |
| GMP: Successful run the cohort by creating effectful synergies and conveying a deep understanding of TDK’s structure (50 members per year). Actively integrating inclusive leadership practices, sharing expertise and perspectives, increasing gender diversity to create leadership impact. |
|
Global AMP: Successful run the FY March 2025 cohort (~25 participants per year and passing the number of 130 alumni). Focus on enhancing business entrepreneurship and innovative capabilities to meet the changing needs of the future, driving transformation whilst performing in today’s business, accelerating connections across TDK to enhance agility, experiment the unique strength of diversity at TDK and lead-by-example to inspire. |
| GEMP: Further development and integration of the GEMP initiatives into the long-term strategy of TDK. The program creates a process – beyond training – that materializes innovation and entrepreneurship within TDK. The next GEMP cohort will be in 2026 (10-15 participants in FY March 2027). |
Initiatives
TCDP (Territorial Career Development Program)
TCDP is a 10-month journey encompassing in person and virtual modules in four territories: Greater China, Other Asia & Japan, Americas, and Europe.
Training is focused on leadership essentials, managing self, managing a team through empowerment and inclusive leadership practices, mobilizing and communicating to drive change, communicating and presenting to inspire, and materializing value through a business project providing the opportunity to apply what the participants are learning, and accelerating connections and networking across functions, companies and countries.
The goal of TCDP is to strengthen the performance, engagement and professional maturity of talented team members (employees), to develop leadership and management competencies as to ensure the continuity of talented management within the TDK Group.
Business benefits:
- Develop talent: TCDP develops the next generation leaders.
- Transform human capability: TCDP supports global succession planning for key positions and the development of globally capable leaders who can contribute to diverse fields and cultures.
- Integrate inclusive leadership: TCDP enables deep understanding of management methods and principles, develops leadership skills, increases team member engagement and self-awareness.
- Drive TDK United: TCDP participants build stronger bonding and partnership among TDK members. Global succession planning for key positions and the development of globally capable leaders who can contribute to diverse fields and cultures.
GMP (Global Management Program)
GMP is a 2-year journey, with 6 in person modules taking place in different TDK locations worldwide. It is a program for engaged managers with several years of experience and high potential for higher positions within the TDK Group.
The program widens perspectives beyond own business and functions, increases leadership skills, creates awareness about the challenges of General Management. It creates strong bonding and partnership among the participants from different TDK entities, functions, business environment & culture.
The modules are very diverse: participants learn, among others, about leadership in a global and intercultural context, business strategy, speaking and presenting with impact and TDK’s diverse technologies and business by visiting different sites and interacting with the local management.
A dedicated online GMP curriculum is available in the TDK Digital Learning platform ‘Weconnect’ which enriches the learning experience.
Business benefits:
- Drive diversity & global collaboration: GMP enhances participants’ network, knowledge, inclusive leadership practices and understanding of TDK organizational structure & challenges.
- Develop talent: GMP supports global succession planning by empowering participants in their career development towards upper management positions.
- Create value: GMP widens the perspectives of the participants beyond their business scope and to learn about the complexity of General Management.
- Foster TDK United: GMP expands partnership among TDK network members towards TDK United.
Global AMP (Global Advanced Management Program)
Global AMP is an 8-month journey encompassing 3-in-person modules, 1 online module and several virtual sessions. Participants are General Managers and Deputy General Managers (or candidates who are newly promoted to such positions).
The goal of the program is to support & empower participants to be future-ready leaders, to learn and practice the tenets of transformational and inspirational leadership while creating stronger bonding and partnership among TDK Group companies.
An integral part of the Global AMP journey is the projects-based learning approach which is linked to TDK strategic issues and enables collaboration and knowledge sharing in the TDK context and value creation for the organization. At the end of the Global AMP journey, the participants present their project and strategy to execution to the TDK Top Management.
Business benefits:
- Transform business: Global AMP is built upon and serves the TDK Corporate values, cultures, and mid-term plan.
- Culture of diversity: Global AMP supports global succession planning by empowering participants in their transition to executive level roles.
- Drive innovation & complexity: Global AMP develops the ability for strategic vision and thinking, innovation and strategy execution.
- Live TDK United: Global AMP participants create stronger bonding and partnership among TDK Group companies towards TDK United.
GEMP (Global Executive Management Program)
GEMP accelerates bonding and collaboration at the highest levels of the company, bridging Eastern and Western leadership philosophies. It is an 8-month program, with 3 in-person modules of a week each. Participants are potential or newly appointed Corporate Officers. The program is triggered by the revision of the mid-term plan.
Long term vision and strategy are brought into projects with the objectives of exploring the future with an entrepreneurial mindset and of getting TDK’s Top Management approval for strategy execution.
GEMP’s dynamic design supports TDK in its mission of creating a stronger resilience through the deployment of inspiring and transformative top class leadership crossing borders and cultures.
Business benefits:
- Lead by example: The GEMP program reinforces TDK’s United spirit, transformation and value creation mindset among the participants, related group companies, and corporate functions.
- Drive transformation: GEMP brings the participants to a higher level of awareness regarding the mega trends and major transformations; as well as creating synergies to increase business / cost efficiency / overall resilience of TDK.
- Create a sustainable future: GEMP puts the participants in the position of envisioning TDK’s sustainable growth and contribution to the world, while preparing the foundation for the next mid-term plan (and potentially long-term strategy). The program provides a space to materialize innovation and entrepreneurship within TDK.
World-wide Communication & English Training
The Global Communication & English (GCE) program is dedicated to fostering seamless communication among TDK team members. We have implemented an annual enrollment system that incorporates a Blended Learning approach, designed to maximize outcomes. Each year, English training commences in April, following a comprehensive assessment of training needs conducted through an oral English proficiency evaluation.
Beyond the standard training offerings, the GCE project is committed to supporting targeted team member profiles who necessitate enhanced English proficiency to fulfill their specific roles. These individuals may be engaged in international assignments, participating in management development programs, or emerging as global leaders.
The GCE team is now advancing to the third stage by introducing informal learning through the TDK English Club. This initiative provides a safe space for team members to practice English within the organization.
TDK MAKER DOJO (Japan)
As part of our efforts to promote experiential learning and encourage autonomous challenges, TDK operates the “TDK MAKER DOJO.” TDK MAKER DOJO is an internal platform built on the concept of “Make & Share,” where team members learn from one another across departments and roles. When an idea emerges, participants first create a prototype (“Make”) and then share the results with colleagues (“Share”). Dialogue centered around tangible prototypes generates new insights and creates a cycle that leads to further challenges and innovation. Utilizing facilities such as 3D printers and other fabrication equipment, members from diverse functions—including engineering, sales, and corporate departments—engage beyond hierarchical and organizational boundaries, from new hires to experienced professionals. Through mutual learning and collaboration, the DOJO fosters an environment where team members elevate one another’s capabilities. As a platform for practicing internal open innovation, TDK MAKER DOJO unlocks team members’ creativity and spirit of challenge, contributing to the enhancement of organizational value creation across the TDK Group.
Related Information
