About
Meet Rowan
Rowan Gillespie, Founder, and CEO of Clarizent, Inc., works with Japanese and international companies to help them develop deep and impactful innovation capabilities.
Rowan brings a unique perspective to his clients, having extensive global consulting firm experience, as well as having held leadership roles in a Fortune 100 company. He has worked with a wide range of organisations and industries and has directly experienced the challenge of driving change inside a large, complex multi-national organisation.
He understands first-hand the specific challenges of trying to drive innovation in an environment that has been optimised for operational consistency rather than creativity, experimentation, and learning.
Rowan brings a unique perspective to his clients, having extensive global consulting firm experience, as well as having held leadership roles in a Fortune 100 company.
Born in New Zealand, Rowan spent his childhood years in New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Japan, before attaining his two degrees in Computer Science (BSc) and International Business (BBS) in Auckland. After beginning his consulting career in Auckland, Rowan returned to Japan in 2003. Bilingual and multi-cultural, he appreciates the necessity of diversity in innovative organisations.
Prior to Clarizent, Rowan was an executive in AIG Japan and played a key role in the organisation’s transformation agenda. As head of the project portfolio management office, he designed and led the implementation of the framework used to assess,
select and execute all strategic project investments. Enabling the organisation to effectively innovate and become more nimble and agile were key parts of his mandate.Rowan also has extensive consulting and advisory experience with Ernst & Young in Japan and Cap Gemini in New Zealand, working with clients across many industries including banking, insurance, life sciences, energy, government and tech.
When not working you can find Rowan pursuing his quest to climb all of Japan’s “100 Famous Mountains”, running or cycling in the hills outside of Tokyo.
Our Values
Whether in an advisory, consulting, or coaching engagement, we apply the following values to our work
Pragmatism
We always focus on delivering quick and tangible outcomes. That means being flexible with plans and adapting our methodology to your unique needs and environment.
Partnership
The most innovative companies succeed by building innovation capabilities in-house. That is why we work closely with our clients to transfer our knowledge and skills to them, rather than creating a dependency on us.
Transparency
We will always be direct with you and challenge your thinking. We tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.
Simplicity
We do everything we can to cut to the heart of something and strip away unnecessarily complexity.
How We Work With You
You and I will jointly define the objectives for the project and agree on a plan to achieve those objectives. We determine who should be involved, and what value the project should create, to ensure we focus on the right things.
We are adept at running engagements remotely. Remote engagements are designed specifically to leverage the unique benefits of remote working situations and technology, rather than merely trying to replicate in-person experiences.
We charge a fixed flat-fee for our services, so you never need to worry about the clock running.
You work directly with me, the principal consultant, not with junior staff
Ways to work with us
Advisory
Gain unrestricted priority access to my expertise on an ongoing basis. I will work with you backstage as a trusted advisor to help you drive your organisation’s innovation agenda and avoid costly mistakes. This includes acting as a sounding board, reviewing work, and providing candid feedback, insights and recommendations.
Consulting
When you have a specific set of objectives in mind, we partner with you on a customised engagement. Our consulting services focus on all key aspects of innovation, including strategy, innovation management, portfolio management, leadership, culture, and innovation practice.
Coaching
Top professionals, whether they are athletes, actors, or business executives, recognise that working with a coach can help them bring out their best selves. As a coach, I work with leaders individually or in small groups, to change behaviours, develop capabilities, and drive performance to new levels.
Case Studies
Innovation Delivery Process
Putting in place an innovation delivery process to move the company from innovation theatre to tangible results.
Innovation Portfolio Governance
Accelerating innovation results through a robust yet light-weight innovation portfolio governance framework.
Developing a more effective Innovation Department
Raising the bar on an under-performing Innovation Department, to realise the CEO's innovation agenda.
Work with Rowan
Let’s talk about how we can partner together to dramatically enhance your individual, team, and organisational innovation capabilities.