Asif Poonja
CEO / Fujitsu Americas
Asif Poonja, CEO of Fujitsu’s Americas Region, reconnects with CEO North America Magazine to provide an exclusive update on the business transformation, Uvance success, and the company’s latest strategies to stay aligned with technological advancements.
For over 89 years, Fujitsu has leveraged innovative technologies to address the challenges faced by its customers and society. Recently, the company has been through a rapid transformation, shifting from a product-centric business model to one focused on consulting and solutions.
Today, Fujitsu aims to promote sustainability by building societal trust through innovation. The company currently holds the largest market share in the IT services sector in Japan and has a growing market position in the Americas.
Leading a Bold Transformation
Since last connecting with CEO NA Magazine in 2023, Asif Poonja says he has gained many insights during the business transformation. “It’s easy to lay out a plan, whether bold or not, but it’s all in the execution. Transitions are tough, especially when it’s involving people,” he admits.
The market has responded well to Fujitsu’s transformation, with the company’s share price rising approximately three times over the last five years. Poonja says the shift from selling products to services “involves a more human-centric approach, as services are not tangible items. That’s a real test and it’s hard.”
“I think one of the challenges we still face in the market is, people who know Fujitsu from a long time ago, still think of us as a product-centric company. And so, that’s taking a lot of effort for myself and our other leaders, to get out there and tell the Fujitsu story and share what we’ve been doing the last few years.”
“We’ve been working with a particular customer, over the last few months, who struggles with regulatory filings, and we have been developing solutions to their problems by using AI. When we demoed our solutions to them, they were blown away.”
The Americas CEO says, “It’s all in how you lead through this and deal with how you move toward the future with your organization. Those are the areas that really got to us through
the transition.”
“My motto, since becoming CEO, is: let’s be laser-focused. And that’s what’s driving success.”
Uvance: Fujitsu’s Bright Future
Fujitsu Uvance is driving the company’s transition from traditional system integration to cloud-based digital services, business applications, and cross-industry solutions. For 2025, the company projects its Uvance earnings to reach 700 billion Yen, approximately $4.4 billion.
Uvance focuses on three key areas: Planet, which addresses global environmental issues; Prosperity, which aims to foster a digital society; and People, which enhances overall well-being.
Poonja reveals; “In the two short years since launching, our Uvance business is already 40% of our revenue in the Americas. That is a huge transition in such a short time period. It’s exciting to see that traction in the market.”
In the Americas, Poonja says his team is highly focused on advancing Uvance’s three major verticals. “We look at manufacturing, for example, helping automate the shop floor, collaborating with key partners, and driving solutions in circular economies.”
Uvance also places a strong emphasis on sustainability. “We know that the climate raises many big problems. But how many customers or partners are willing to take that problem forward with solutions? Fujitsu is one of them.”
“I keep coming back to our deep, industry focus, technology focus and bringing that combination together. Not all of these partnerships were all Fujitsu enabled. Some of them, the partner came to us and said: “We should do this”, and that, very humbly, is an incredible feat for Fujitsu.”
“I keep telling our teams – we’re not going in with a solution or an aim to sell ERP or profit protection or circular economy solution. We’re going in there to understand. What are our customer’s pain points? And, what do we need to do to put together to address that?”
In the retail industry, a field Poonja’s team calls “consumer experience”, the CEO says Fujitsu Uvance is working with major retailers to reduce loss through solutions like Fujitsu loss prevention, helping save companies millions of dollars that could be lost at the checkout or through POS.
The last key area for Fujitsu Uvance in the Americas is the public sector. In this field, Fujitsu Uvance focuses on automating processes, streamlining solutions, and leveraging Fujitsu AI, known as “Kozuchi,” meaning ‘magic hammer.’
“In one large regional public entity, they struggled to issue death certificates, often taking weeks or even months to complete the process.” Poonja explains, “We went in with our consultants, looked at the process and at refinement, went back to our toolkit with Uvance, and, by leveraging our technologies, we came out with a fully digitalized approach.” Citizens can now go online and receive a death certificate in less than five days. “That is powerful to me. That’s leveraging technology for the right reasons,” he proudly admits.
“I always like to combine Fujitsu Uvance with a consultative approach – to listen to the client and their problems.”
Setting Goals for Organic Growth
When Asif Poonja looks toward the short-term future, he says, “I have the team on the ground every day, focused on organic growth. I have always challenged them to look at where the IT services market is performing today and ask, ‘Can we execute or double that?’ For example, if North America is growing at 4%, can we grow at 8%?”
He admits, “We were able to achieve that last year. And I was really proud of the team. We set that same ambition this year.” For the fiscal year 2025, Fujitsu has set a global revenue target of 4.2 trillion Yen, which is approximately $26 billion.
According to Poonja, there is “a lot of nervousness” in the market right now, “especially with what the new governing body is going to do around tariffs. A lot of our customers are telling us they’re holding back or they’re going to be significantly impacted if tariffs are implemented.” The Toronto resident explains, “We also see Canadian entities starting to slow down. So that is a risk.”
Poonja is certain his team, regardless of any turbulence in the market, can remain laser-focused on achieving its short-term goals; “I still want us to see how we can get close to double the market growth in our area. To do that, I’ve asked the team to continue to stay focused and determined… It just means we’re going to have to work harder.”
“We are doubling down on our partnership and manufacturing with SAP. Just last week our team was at the manufacturing innovation hub in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. We meet with Priya and her team very regularly, and talk about customer solutions, and we bring our customers into that lab to show what’s going on collectively. And that’s a powerhouse.”
On Track for Long-Term Prosperity
“In the longer term, we are still fully committed with headquarters on Mergers and Acquisitions. I will say it’s been tougher than I thought.” Throughout the past year, Poonja and his team have looked at many different avenues in leveraging M&A in the Americas, with “lots of lessons learned.”
“There are opportunities out there, and we will leverage M&A to grow even faster,” he says. In the Americas, the company is expanding rapidly, “We just doubled the current CTO’s team. Durga, our CTO, is opening those doors to a different level of conversation that we may not have had in the past. It’s just amazing.”
Poonja is also leading efforts to achieve Fujitsu’s region-wide vision for 2030. Recently, during the company’s global Analyst Relations Day in Southern California, Poonja was impressed by the significant media attention that Fujitsu received while presenting the company’s new direction to top analysts. “I thought it was an incredible experience,” Poonja remarked. “They all recognized the benefits of where we are headed.”
A World-Wide, Collaborative Approach
Fujitsu may be headquartered in Kanagawa, Japan; however, “There’s always a dialogue between headquarters and the various regions.” “What we’re seeing and hearing in the market is that the Americas is probably the largest IT Services market in the world. It is the fastest-moving, so headquarters lean on us a lot, and I’m very honored by that.” Poonja explains, “We will share regional areas with headquarters, but always try to have a global approach in what we do.”
“When we look at our ecosystem, I’m inspired by many names out there… our ecosystem has grown significantly.” In Fujitsu’s areas of sustainable manufacturing and consumer experience, the company recently signed a global agreement with a major partner to work collaboratively on solutions.
“We’ve set up labs in Southern California and in Kawasaki, Japan, to partner and identify solutions that will benefit both parties. This deal turns back into Fujitsu’s Uvance solutions – so, I’m excited about that.” Poonja says.
Innovating the Americas
When asked what sets Fujitsu apart from its American competition, Poonja replies, “It’s our drive for innovation.” Which, the CEO says, is based on three factors: Depth of knowledge in the three core industries (in Uvance terms: Trusted Society, Sustainable Manufacturing, and Consumer Experience), taking a consultative approach and leveraging core technology.
Poonja strongly believes, “We have a solid value proposition to help our customers, our citizens, and centric organizations transform and do better. We continue to push, have the conversations, get out there, and drive hard.”
