Yoshito Hori
Globis Group
Globis Group
------------

### Globis Corporation

Hori established [Globis Corporation](/wiki/Globis "Globis") in Japan on August 1, 1992 with 800,000 yen (about $7,500 USD) in capital. He first approached his alma mater about opening a Harvard Business School franchise in Japan but was turned down. A licensing agreement was made, however, allowing Harvard case studies to be used. Hori started teaching a single marketing course based on the case study method from a small rented classroom in Shibuya, Tokyo. Additional business subjects such as finance were subsequently introduced. This started Globis Management School (GMS), the company’s business education department.

By 1993 Globis Management School had expanded to three campus locations in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. A joint MBA program with the University of Leicester was launched in 1996, later discontinued in January 2008\. In 2003 the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (GDBA) was launched, a non\-degree program and predecessor to the later MBA degree offered after the establishment of [Graduate School of Management, Globis University](/wiki/Graduate_School_of_Management%2C_Globis_University "Graduate School of Management, Globis University"). GDBA was discontinued in 2013\.

Globis expanded into several new business areas following Globis Management School. In 1993 a corporate training service was launched. In 1995 Globis’s first MBA book series was published. Executive training programs were added in 2005\. In 2016 the online learning service GLOBIS Manabihodai was launched. The company introduced a LMS platform in 2018\. By 2022, Globis had 691 employees, offices in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, Fukuoka, and Yokohama, and overseas subsidiaries in China, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Belgium.

### Globis Capital Partners

In 1996 Hori founded [Globis Capital Partners](/wiki/Globis_Capital_Partners "Globis Capital Partners") (GCP) as a hands\-on VC firm to support various startup portfolio companies. That same year an initial $5 million venture fund was raised, with $1 million coming from [Sega Enterprises](/wiki/Sega "Sega")’ chairman [Isao Okawa](/wiki/Isao_Okawa "Isao Okawa"). In 1999 the Apax Globis Japan Fund worth $187 million was jointly raised with [Apax Partners](/wiki/Apax_Partners "Apax Partners"). Five additional funds were raised in 2006, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022\. Global Capital Partners reported it reached a cumulative fund size of over ¥160 billion JPY (approximately $1\.2 billion) invested in over 190 Japanese companies in 2022\. Notable portfolio companies that went public include e\-commerce platform [Mercari](/wiki/Mercari "Mercari"), internet media company [GREE](/wiki/Gree_%28company%29 "Gree (company)"), and news aggregator app SmartNews. Japan's [Government Pension Investment Fund](/wiki/Government_Pension_Investment_Fund "Government Pension Investment Fund") (GPIF) disclosed in 2022 that it would invest in Globis Capital Partners’ latest VC fund, a first in Japan.

### Globis University

Since founding Globis, Hori's goal had been to create a graduate school of management, but the financial and legal requirements to establish a university in Japan proved too difficult. However, in April 2003, the , which was created by the [Second Koizumi Cabinet](/wiki/Second_Koizumi_Cabinet "Second Koizumi Cabinet"), allowed provisions for a new . This paved the way for Globis to offer higher education degrees accredited by [MEXT](/wiki/Ministry_of_Education%2C_Culture%2C_Sports%2C_Science_and_Technology "Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology"). Globis established a new entity, the [Graduate School of Management, Globis University](/wiki/Graduate_School_of_Management%2C_Globis_University "Graduate School of Management, Globis University"), which was accredited by MEXT in December 2005 as a for\-profit university established by a private company.

A first batch of 78 students enrolled in the Japanese taught two\-year part\-time [MBA](/wiki/MBA "MBA") in April 2006, offered at campus locations in Tokyo and Osaka. By 2007, Hori had decided that the Graduate School of Management, Globis University should become a . This change would establish an endowment fund supported by retained earnings and donations, which would support the educational environment and campus facilities over the long term. MEXT approved the entity change in April 2008\.

As of 2022, the university has a total enrollment of 2,683 students and an annual intake of 1,050 students, making it the largest business school in Japan. Domestic campuses are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai, Yokohama, and Mito. Four additional overseas locations are maintained in Singapore, Thailand, San Francisco, and Brussels.


Where are Globis's offices located?