At a glance

Client:
Canva

Roles (2):
1. General Manager, Japan
2. GTM Country Manager, Japan

Search Type:
Retained, exclusive and confidential

Market Coverage:
300+ leadership profiles in Japan

Finalists:
2 candidates per role

Result:
Both roles successfully filled

About Canva

Canva is ranked #5 on the 2025 Forbes Cloud 100, which places it among the most valuable private technology companies in the world.

Founded in Australia in 2012 to make design accessible to everyone, Canva has grown into a global visual communication platform. By the end of 2025, it had reached US$4 billion in annual recurring revenue, more than 265 million monthly active users, and 31 million paid subscribers.

Canva is now rebuilding itself around AI. Its co-founder describes the shift as moving from a design platform with AI tools to an AI platform with a design toolkit. Its business customer segment is also growing quickly, having doubled to US$500 million in annual recurring revenue as more organizations make Canva their standard tool for visual work.

That combination of consumer scale, enterprise growth and AI ambition is what made building Canva’s Japan leadership team so important.

The challenge

Canva needed to appoint their 2 most senior leaders in Japan at the same time: their General Manager for Japan and the GTM Country Manager. With both roles open together, the search had to be handled carefully, and had to fit Canva’s very high standards for hiring the best possible talent in the market, as well as strong cultural fit.

The opportunity had to be explained to senior candidates in the Japan market in a clear and consistent way, and the details of the search had to stay confidential from start to finish.

The hiring panel included Canva's global and regional leadership: the CEO of Canva International, the Regional Leader (CJKI), the Chief Growth Officer, the Head of APJ GTM, and the Regional Talent Acquisition Leader. Both hires needed to be leaders who could work closely with a global HQ, fit Canva's culture, and get the most out of an established local team.

Why Canva chose KurotoPartner

KurotoPartner (KP) had already placed many of Canva Japan's lead members. That meant Canva could rely on KP to conduct the search with in-depth knowledge of the team's culture, how our members work together, and the kind of leader who would make it stronger.

On top of this, KP had consistently delivered the best possible candidates for Canva Japan, with a 100% delivery rate for every exclusive role allocated to KP.

Together with their expertise in the Japan market and in approaching the right candidates in the right way, this gave Canva the confidence to trust KP with a retained search for our key leadership positions.

Hiring Panel

The hiring panel for the 2 searches included Canva’s:

• CEO of Canva International

• Chief Growth Officer

• Regional Leader (CJKI)

• Head of APJ GTM

• Regional Talent Acquisition Leader

KurotoPartner’s approach

1. Positioning the Opportunity.
KurotoPartner shaped how the roles were presented in the market, so leadership candidates understood the opportunity clearly and correctly from the first conversation.

2. Targeted Market Mapping.
KurotoPartner covered more than 300 leadership candidates across Japan.
We focused on leaders from high-growth tech companies who also had the traits specific to success at Canva.

3. Confidentiality and Data Security.
Every candidate signed an NDA before any details were shared.
Information was shared strictly on a need-to-know basis throughout the process.

4. Advising, not just Sourcing.
KurotoPartner didn't just send CVs.

We advised Canva's global leadership team on process design and on the differences they needed to consider when hiring a leader in Japan.

In the words of Ashley Huang (Regional Talent Acquisition Leader @ Canva):

“KurotoPartner’s deep understanding of the Japan talent market, Canva, and our local team meant they played a strong advisory role throughout the search.

They had a particularly good understanding of Canva’s culture and values. From the earliest stages of the search, KP was able to provide thoughtful assessments of how well candidates aligned with the values we look for in our leaders. These early assessments consistently proved valuable as candidates progressed through the interview process, helping us focus our time on the right leadership profiles.

KP also brought strong market insight to the hiring team—from the availability of target talent and realistic compensation expectations to the nuances of Japan’s working culture. This context helped educate our global stakeholders on what makes the Japan market different, allowing the team to adapt its interview approach and assess candidates through a Japan-specific lens rather than relying solely on experience from other markets.”

5. Truly Honest Assessment of Finalists.
KurotoPartner provided Canva with a truly honest review of each candidate, covering the leadership style and team fit as well as interview performance, to advise on the final decision.

6. Two Searches, One Timeline.
KurotoPartner ran both leadership searches in parallel, and both reached the offer stage in the same week.

The outcome

KurotoPartner delivered a shortlist for each role, resulting in 2 finalists for each search.
Canva selected its “General Manager, Japan” and its “GTM Country Manager, Japan” from our slate.

Overall thoughts, in the words Ashley Huang (Regional Talent Acquisition Leader, Canva)

“Like any great search partner, KurotoPartner knows how to find exceptional candidates who match what we’re looking for. They stay incredibly close to candidates throughout the process, build genuine excitement around the opportunity at Canva, bring us valuable market insights to help us make better decisions, and stay with us all the way through to closing.

But what truly sets KurotoPartner apart is their sense of ownership.

They don’t approach a search as simply filling a role for a client—they genuinely care about Canva, our team, and our success.

That level of commitment is rare in an external partner. You can feel that they’re fully invested in getting the right outcome for Canva, not just completing the assignment. It’s something I’ve personally found incredibly meaningful in working with them.

I believe that ownership is a big part of why KurotoPartner has been able to deliver for us time and again, including on some of our most challenging searches. They work with us like a true extension of our team, and they care about our success as much as we do.”

About KurotoPartner

KurotoPartner is a premier executive search firm specializing in Japan's tech sector.

Founded by David Nam, an industry veteran with 14+ years of experience, we've placed over 150 executive-level candidates at leading international Technology companies operating in Japan.