Euglena to hire an under-18 CFO who wants to make the world a better place

On August 9, biotechnology startup Euglena Co., Ltd announced that it will create a new under-18 CFO (Chief Future Officer) position to recruit a young talent who is willing to become a real change maker. The startup is named after the single-cell microorganism Euglena. With the corporate philosophy of providing healthy options to the next generation and Mother Earth, this biotech startup is known for its innovative business, transforming its research and development outputs from the Euglena microorganism into food products and the commercialization of biofuels.

The idea of welcoming an under-18 talent into the executive team came from the interview they conducted with a group of children, who are concerned that adults aren’t doing enough to deal with the pressing environmental issues caused by climate change. In talking with these children, vice-president Akihiko Nagata realized that children’s perspectives are instrumental in making impactful changes for a brighter future and bringing positive influences and drive to the team.

Euglena takes a serious approach to the SDGs (sustainable development goals) manifested by United Nations Development Program, providing nutritious euglena cookies to children in Bangladesh where the malnutrition level is among the highest in the world. The company hopes that this would help end hunger and poverty in the country.

The responsibility of the under-18 CFO will be to determine the company’s new goals for the SDGs at company summits, coordinate necessary actions and strategies, and raise general awareness about the goals. Therefore, they will be required to attend shareholder meetings and other associated events, delivering speeches and presentations. In addition to this under-18 CFO position, the company will also welcome 10 under-18 interns who will also participate at company summits to be part of the decision-making process.

The new CFO and 10 interns will take up the roles between October 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2020, and the prospective candidates will be selected based on their essays. Therefore, they have to choose the topic that interests them the most out of the 17 SDGs (which includes areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice), and express their ideas about how the company can contribute to achieving them.

While diversity management of human resources including foreign nationals and women is slowly spreading across Japan, this under-18 CFO project by Euglena will be one of the first examples where the focus is on young adults. The project will be a great opportunity to empower young citizens to shape a better future for themselves.