Rakuten Group has announced a leadership change at its Bengaluru-based technology hub, Rakuten India.

Tsubasa Shiraishi, currently Vice Chairman, will take over as CEO on August 5, 2025.

He also serves as General Manager of Rakuten Group’s IT Strategy Department and has nearly 20 years of international leadership experience.

Shiraishi has been with Rakuten India for five years and helped develop it into a strategic R&D center with around 2,000 employees.

He will succeed Sunil Gopinath, who has led the company since 2017. Gopinath is stepping down to pursue other opportunities after overseeing advancements in AI, ecommerce, and fintech.

Rakuten India is a key technology hub for the Rakuten Group, supporting global operations in ecommerce, fintech, and other services.

🔗 Source: Rakuten Group

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Strategic elevation of global tech hubs amid industry-wide leadership shifts

Rakuten’s leadership change at its India operations reflects a broader industry pattern where technology hubs in emerging markets are gaining strategic importance within global tech organizations.

Rakuten India has grown from a support center to house nearly 2,000 professionals focused on cutting-edge areas including AI, fintech, and e-commerce, making it the largest Rakuten R&D center outside Japan 1.

This transition comes during a period of significant leadership changes in the technology sector, with 2024 seeing 2,221 CEO departures—the highest annual total since tracking began in 2002 2.

By appointing Shiraishi, who simultaneously serves as General Manager of Rakuten Group’s IT Strategy Department, the company is signaling tighter integration between its Indian innovation hub and global headquarters, a strategy increasingly common among multinational tech firms seeking to maximize cross-border collaboration.

The emphasis on strengthening “cross-border collaboration” mentioned in Rakuten’s announcement aligns with industry trends where 86% of tech CEOs express confidence in their company’s growth prospects despite economic challenges 3.

2️⃣ Leadership transitions carry measurable performance implications

Rakuten’s careful handling of this CEO transition reflects awareness of the high stakes involved, as research shows nearly half of leadership transitions fail within two years.

Organizations with effective leadership transitions are 90% more likely to meet their performance goals, while struggling transitions can lead to a 15% drop in performance and 20% increase in employee disengagement 4.

The direct costs associated with leadership transitions can reach up to 213% of a leader’s annual salary when accounting for recruitment, onboarding, and potential disruption 4.

Rakuten’s approach of appointing Shiraishi, who has already worked with the India team for five years as Vice Chairman, aligns with best practices that emphasize the importance of familiarity with organizational culture and team dynamics during transitions.

This leadership change incorporates elements from the four critical phases identified by leadership experts: Learn, Assess, Communicate, and Act—with particular emphasis on communication as evidenced by the supportive statements from both outgoing CEO Gopinath and Rakuten Group CIO & CTO Kurozumi 5.

3️⃣ Tech innovation hubs evolving from service centers to product creators

Rakuten India exemplifies how global tech companies are transforming their overseas operations from cost-centered service providers to innovation-driving product creators.

The development of SixthSense, an AI-enabled observability platform launched in the US market, demonstrates Rakuten India’s evolution into creating exportable enterprise products rather than merely supporting existing ones 6.

This product development capability has positioned Rakuten India as a “globalization hub” supporting over 75 business verticals across the company, showing how regional tech centers can drive innovation for global operations 6.

The center’s focus on developing next-generation tools like AI-powered chatbots for internal IT processes and integrating global membership platforms reveals how such hubs increasingly contribute core technological capabilities to their parent companies 1.

Rakuten’s Product Conference in 2024 further highlighted this shift, showcasing innovations in Enterprise SaaS and AI-driven customer strategies developed at the India center, reinforcing its role as not just an implementation center but a source of strategic technological direction 7.

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