Choosing Change: The Mindset Shaping Yanmar CE’s Digital Future

Some transformations begin with technology. Others begin with a decision.

For Shigenobu Tanaka, Head of Digital Transformation and IT Infrastructure at Yanmar Compact Equipment (Yanmar CE), that decision came after 35 years in global engineering and software roles. “I wanted to use what I’d learned in a new environment,” he says.

Joining Yanmar CE in 2020, Tanaka helped replace manual, spreadsheet-based reporting with real-time dashboards using Dr. Sum and MotionBoard. The result: shared data, faster decisions, and teams across Japan, Europe, and the U.S. working as one. In 2022, he was asked to lead the newly created Digital Transformation Department.

His approach, known as “grassroots DX,” puts people at the center. Internal communities now connect more than 200 employees, encouraging experimentation and shared learning. “Mindsets change when people learn together,” Tanaka says.

He applies the same pragmatism to AI. “AI is like a new employee—you guide it,” he notes. Used wisely, it accelerates insight without replacing human judgment.

For Tanaka, digital transformation is ultimately cultural. “Technology evolves,” he says, “but people move the organization forward.”