AGC, formerly known as Asahi Glass Company, was founded in 1907 in Japan. It has been a manufacturer of flat glass for more than 100 years.
Until 2015, when Mr. Takuya Shimamura became CEO, he found that profits for that year were just about a quarter of the 2010 levels. He knew that the company needed to change in a big way. Later, he chose ambidexterity—that is, innovating existing businesses and pursuing new ones simultaneously—as a new strategy.
Back then, AGC was not known for innovation. Mr. Shimamura realized that he had to change AGC’s corporate culture to embrace more change. Here’s what he did.
First, he diagnosed the problem by talking to AGC’s employees. He found that young employees had lots of new ideas, but they weren’t supported by their middle managers because the middle managers didn’t want their subordinates to fail. Mr. Shimamura knew that he had to change AGC’s corporate culture in order to give the company a chance to survive and grow in the long run.
Since the middle managers were the gatekeepers for changes, Mr. Shimamura decided to meet in person with employees at all levels. Each year, he visited approximately 50 worksites and had more than 150 in-person meetings. That averaged about three meetings per week, and he did that for three years. That’s what it took to successfully change AGC’s corporate culture to be more innovative.
During these meetings, Mr. Shimamura reiterated AGC’s founding philosophy, which includes the following statements:
1) “Never take the easy way out, but confront difficulties.”
2) “Trust is the best way to inspire people.”
3) “Strive to develop technologies that will change the world.”
4) “A sense of a mission leads us to advance.”
In addition, Mr. Shimamura encouraged employees to bring questions and new ideas to discuss at the meetings. He then provided resources for innovative projects and promoted employees who showed initiative.
Since then, AGC has evolved from a flat glass manufacturer to a producer of advanced materials. Currently, its core or existing businesses include architectural glass, automotive glass, displays, essential chemicals, and ceramics. AGC still looks for ways to improve existing products. At the same time, the company works on its strategic, or new, businesses, which are new engines of growth for AGC. These include electronics, life sciences, mobility, and performance chemicals. In addition to creating an innovative workforce, AGC has adopted an open innovation approach, collaborating with outside innovators, including customers, universities, research institutes, and venture capitalists.
As a result, since 2017, AGC’s profits and the proportion of profits from its strategic businesses have risen every year. The company currently sets its goal to increase the proportion to exceed 50 percent by the year 2030.
From AGC’s transformative journey, we can learn a few things.
1. An innovative company must have the right corporate culture. If the current culture is not conducive to change, it must be changed. Changing corporate culture is not easy, and it takes time. But with perseverance, it can slowly happen.
2. Middle managers may be gatekeepers of change. To build an innovative company, middle managers must have an inclination toward innovation.
3. An old corporation, a century-old company in this case, can change to become more
innovative. In other words, an old dog can learn new tricks, too!

Bibliography:
· AGC, Inc. (2023, January 20). AGC’s pursuit ofambidextrous strategy: A discussion with Charles O’Reilly. AGC Inc. https://www.agc.com/en/hub/pr/ambidextrous_strategy.html
· AGC, Inc. (2023, February 8). Toward the realization of Vision 2030. AGC,Inc. https://www.agc.com/en/ir/library/briefing/pdf/2023_0208e_3.pdf
· AGC, Inc. (2024, February 22). Mastering ‘Ambidextrous Strategy’ navigating success via business exploration and exploitation. AGC, Inc.https://www.agc.com/en/hub/pr/2023CEO-01.html
· AGC, Inc. (2025, November). Company overview. AGC, Inc. https://www.agc.com/en/ir/library/outline/pdf/c_overview.pdf
· AGC, Inc. (n.d.). Long Term Management Strategy Vision 2030. AGC, Inc. https://www.agc.com/en/company/strategy/long_term_plan/index.html
· Kaichi, T. (2022, July 29). AGC takes on new areas from long-term perspective. JapanTimes. https://sustainable.japantimes.com/unraveling/05