KREIS & Company

What KREIS & Company does

KREIS & Company Inc. (株式会社クライス＆カンパニー) is a Tokyo-based executive search and recruitment firm founded in November 1993, specializing in high-class (¥8M+ annual salary) career placements in the Japanese market. The company operates exclusively within Japan from its headquarters in the Shiodome district of Minato-ku, serving both enterprises seeking executive talent and candidates pursuing senior management and CXO-level roles. Its core offering centers on five specialized verticals: CXO/executive placement, consulting, venture capital / CVC, digital transformation (DX), and product management, each supported by a dedicated team of consultants and a dedicated job-search portal. The portfolio includes kandc.com (main site) and vertical-specific portals for executives (kandc.com/exe/), consultants (kc-consul.com), venture capital (kandc.com/vc/), digital professionals (kandc.com/digital/), and product managers (kandc.com/eng/). Supporting the placement business are content and community assets including the Product Manager Career Radio podcast (launched February 2022), the Career Lounge online seminar series (March 2023), the Shiodome Academy event series, the Turning Point interview series, and Kreis Publishing — a wholly-owned subsidiary established in 2007 for career-related book publishing.

The business operates on a success-fee model in which candidate-facing services (registration, mid-to-long-term career consultation) are provided free of charge, while revenue is generated exclusively from client companies upon successful placement of a candidate. The fee rate is not publicly disclosed but follows the standard industry model for executive search. The company employs 43 staff, of whom 23 are specialized consultants segmented by vertical — CXO, VC, PM, DX, and Consultant — with the remaining staff in support functions. Consultants receive over 100 hours of annual training and many hold GCDF-JAPAN and Grade 1/2 Career Consulting Skills national certifications. The proprietary matching data system "Matrix," introduced in 2004, underpins internal candidate-position matching workflows.

The client base spans a wide cross-section of Japanese enterprises, from large corporates (Money Forward, Sansan, Omron, Suntory, TVer, Raksul, Nissay) to venture-backed startups (andpad, SmartHR, kubell/Chatwork, Soup Stock Tokyo), with 9,240+ publicly listed positions and 380+ CXO positions (¥15M+ salary) that have grown approximately 2.2x over five years. Key performance metrics reported for 2024–2025 include a 62.2% first-interview pass rate, 75.4% of placements connected directly with company leadership, 94.8% consultation satisfaction, and an NPS of 69.5. Critically, 71% of high-class positions and 89.3% of CXO positions (¥15M+) are non-public, giving KREIS exclusive distribution access to confidential executive searches. The company reported FY2024 revenue of ¥1.82 billion (fiscal year ending September) and remains privately held with no disclosed external investors, operating through two wholly-owned subsidiaries (Kreis Publishing and Regional Style) plus a minority-held affiliate (ICSS).

Name

KREIS & Company

Legal name

株式会社クライス＆カムニー (KREIS & Company Inc.)

Website

https://kandc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KREIS & Company is a Tokyo-based executive search firm founded in 1993 specializing in high-class (¥8M+ salary) placements across CXO, consulting, VC, DX, and product manager verticals in Japan, operating on a success-fee model with dedicated specialist consultants per vertical.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search & Recruitment Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technology & Product Leadership Search (CIO/CTO/CDO/CPO) (BPACAAAC), General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• High-class talent placement
• CXO recruitment
• Headhunting consulting
• Career transition support

Headquarters

HQ city

Shimbashi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 人材紹介・ヘッドハンティング成功報酬: クライス＆カムニー的人才紹介サービスの収益は、成功報酬型の手数料です。候補者（求職者）からは無料で услуги 提供し、クライアント企業（求人企業）からの成功報酬で収益を上げています。手数料率は明示されていませんが人材紹介業界の標準的なモデルに基づいています。

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

KREIS & Company is a Tokyo-based executive search and placement firm specializing exclusively in high-class (manager-level and above) career transitions for senior professionals. The firm operates five vertical practices covering CXO/executive, management consulting, venture capital, digital transformation (DX), and product manager roles, providing confidential candidate placement under a success-fee revenue model where client companies pay placement fees and candidates receive services free. It leverages dedicated specialist consultant teams, an in-house matching system, and direct senior management dialogue at 75.4% of client companies to access a 71% non-public senior position pipeline.

Product overview

KREIS & Company operates as a high-class executive placement firm offering specialized career transition services across multiple segments. The company provides a comprehensive portfolio including CXO executive placement, consultant career support, VC career services, digital professional (DX) placement, and product manager recruitment. Supporting these core services are career consultation events (汐留アカデミー), mid-to-long-term career planning, confidential job postings (71% non-public), and content platforms including the 'プロダクトマネージャーのキャリアラジオ' podcast and 'ターニングポイント' interview series. The company maintains specialized job search portals for each vertical (CXO, consultant, VC, DX, PM) and offers both immediate career transition support and ongoing career development consultation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• クライス汐留アカデミー (Kreis Shiodome Academy): Offline/online career seminar and networking event series organized by the company, featuring talks by industry professionals and executives on career strategy topics.
• クライス汐留アカデミーPLUS (Kreis Shiodome Academy PLUS)
• クライス Career Lounge
• プロダクトマネージャーのキャリアラジオ (Product Manager Career Radio)

Products and services

• CXO Executive Career Placement (CXO転職) Specialized executive-level career transition and placement service connecting CXO candidates (CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CHRO, CIO, CDO, CPO and other senior leadership personas) with leadership positions at client companies. Includes inbound scout responses, mid-to-long-term career consultation, and access to non-public confidential positions (89.3% of CXO roles above ¥15M annual compensation are non-public).
• Consultant Career Placement (コンサル転職) Career placement service for strategy, operations, IT, and digital transformation consultants, supporting transitions into post-consulting corporate roles, boutique consulting practices, and high-growth startup/scaleup environments. Includes dedicated consultant team interviews, selection exam preparation, and 84.1% selection exam pass rate outcomes (2023-01 to 2024-06).
• Product Manager Career Placement (PdM転職) Specialized career placement service for product manager candidates (including current PMs seeking their next role and aspiring PMs moving from adjacent functions), backed by content ecosystem (Product Manager Career Radio podcast since 2022, PM Career note publications, PM-specific interview series) and PM-specialist consultants. 90.4% selection exam pass rate for candidates recommended by KREIS, serving 4,500+ registered and 12,000+ cumulative candidates, with 94 publicly disclosed transition decisions.
• Digital Professional (DX) Career Placement (DX転職) Career placement service for digital transformation and IT professionals, covering IT consultants, systems engineers (SE), CIO/CDO roles, and corporate IT leadership positions. 73% of DX-domain placed candidates transitioned into corporate roles (2024-01 to 2025-12) with average compensation rising from ¥14.99M to ¥15.22M. 93.7% interview satisfaction among ¥10M+ IT consultants/SEs.
• Venture Capital Career Placement (VC転職) Career placement service for professionals seeking positions at venture capital (VC) and corporate venture capital (CVC) firms across Japan. KREIS's network covers approximately 90% of Japan's independent VC firms, providing access to senior investment, venture partner, and operating roles at growth- and late-stage funds.

Quantifiable outcome

• 一次面接通過率62.2%（登録者実績）
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• 株式会社リージョナルスタイルminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2009大都市圏から地方へのUターン・Iターン転職を支援する人材紹介会社の全国ネットワークとして2009年9月に設立された関連会社。クライスの地方転職支援サービス向下游拓展のリレーション。
• クライス出版minorOthers · 1 November 2007キャリアに関わる書籍の企画・出版を行う関連会社。社长丸山贵宏の著作『キャリアコンサルティング』『そのひと言で 面接官に嫌われます』『自分に合った働き方を手に入れる！転職面接の話し方・伝え方』等を出版。
• ICSS（有）インディペンデントコントラクター協会的活动サポートminorOthers特定非营利活動法人インディペンデントコントラクター協会（ICPA）の活动支持を担当する関連会社。キャリア领域的的社会貢献活动との連携。

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hays Japan: Global specialist recruiter with Japan offices focused on technology, digital transformation, and senior-level placements — overlaps with KREIS's DX/IT and mid-senior segments.
• Argo 21: Japanese executive search firm focused on senior management, digital, and consulting professionals — directly comparable to KREIS in target persona and placement tier.
• Robert Walters Japan: Global executive search and professional recruitment firm with a strong Japan presence, placing mid-to-senior professionals across technology, consulting, and digital — directly competing with KREIS in the high-class tech and CXO segments.
• JAC Recruitment: One of Japan's largest specialist recruitment firms focused on mid-career and executive placements, with dedicated verticals for management, technology, and consulting — the most direct head-to-head competitor to KREIS in Japanese executive search.
• Michael Page Japan: International recruitment group with established Japan operations covering technology, consulting, finance, and executive search — comparable to KREIS in serving senior-level candidates and large-enterprise mandates.
• Diamond Human Resources: Japan-based executive search boutique affiliated with Diamond publications, focused on senior management and CXO placements — comparable specialist positioning to KREIS, particularly for confidential C-suite mandates.
• Skillhouse Staffing Solutions: Japan-based specialist recruiter focused on IT, digital, product management, and consulting roles — directly comparable to KREIS's DX and PdM verticals and a head-to-head competitor for tech-leadership mandates.

Broad incumbents

• en Japan: Major Japanese recruitment platform operating across mid-career, executive, and digital verticals — overlaps with KREIS in high-class digital/PM placements but serves a much broader market including volume hiring.
• RGF Executive Search Japan (Recruit): Executive search arm of Recruit Holdings, the dominant Japanese HR services conglomerate, offering C-suite and senior management search across industries — overlaps with KREIS at the top end but operates with vastly greater scale and resources.

Emerging players

• VisasQ: Japan-based expert-matching and advisory platform with a growing presence in CXO and senior advisory placements — an emerging digital-native alternative that could erode KREIS's specialist position over time, particularly among startup and tech-savvy clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kandc_com
• YouTubepodcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kreis-pm
• Facebookfacebook.com/kreis.and.company

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KREIS & Company