Mark Topping

When Mark and his family first moved to Tokyo, he turned to running as a source of comfort.

For me, running has been big in terms of learning about Tokyo neighborhoods, and it kept me sane in the transition to the city.

It was there where he discovered his passion for running, and then his interest in our current client (ASICS). His love for the sport allows him to view everything from a runner’s perspective, and has created his persistent attitude towards his work goals.

I always wanted to run marathons, and it wasn’t until I set some intermediate goals that I was able to. In terms of projects, it also reflects on the work that we do. You need to break it down and create a process, work through those intermediate goals with the long-term goals in site. Eventually, you do achieve the goals and you adjust and change until you get to the long-term goals.

With many years of experience, there’s a lot to learn from Mark’s professionalism and structure towards work process. He believes that work ethic centers around the balance of figuring out when to pivot, when to be agile, and when to trust a process. As our clients are in the midst of a digital transformation, he seeks to take that ideology with him.

I like to think of it as I had to go through this big transformation of coming to Tokyo where the language was different and I had to figure out when do I respond to new situations in a different way and when do I persist with the values that I know work.

Outside of work, Mark is a family man. It’s hard to fathom how he’s able to juggle all his involvements at once. I secretly call him The Plant Superman, as he’s always able to do anything and everything. From attending his son’s soccer games, waking up early to cook breakfast for his kids, or staying up late at night to take several calls from international clients, sometimes it’s hard to believe that there’s only one Mark. Yet much to my amazement, Mark’s attitude towards life, and his intermediate and long-term goals may be just the secret key that he holds. Life is truly like a marathon, there may be obstacles, but depending on the adjustments you make, and persistence that you have, you can make anything possible.

Author: Kana Hihara