Wantedly to Host "FUZE2026" Event on September 25th to Lead Recruitment and Organizational Development

Wantedly Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Akiko Naka; hereinafter referred to as "Wantedly"), the operator of the business social media platform "Wantedly," will hold "FUZE2026 (Fuse 2026)," an event focused on leading recruitment and organizational development, on September 25, 2026, at Tokyo Midtown (Minato-ku, Tokyo).

About FUZE2026

"FUZE" is an event hosted by Wantedly with the concept of "leading recruitment and organizational development." Anyone involved in organizational development, not just HR and recruitment professionals, is welcome to attend.

The theme of FUZE2026 is "The Answer to Recruitment in the AI Era Lies in the 'Essence.'" In today's recruitment activities, AI is rapidly advancing efficiency through measures such as automating document screening and rapidly generating scout messages. However, Wantedly believes that no matter how much processes are streamlined, it is the "essence" of a company's beliefs and passion, which AI cannot replace, that truly moves a job seeker's heart to want to work for that company.

Therefore, FUZE2026 will offer programs to help participants learn and deepen their understanding of how to effectively utilize AI in recruitment activities and how to engage with each company's unique "essence," thereby updating recruitment and organizational development practices.

FUZE2026 Content

Featured Talk: "Building a Winning Team in the AI Era"

We will invite Tetsuto Soyama, Executive Officer and CHO of CyberAgent, Inc., and Nobuyuki Sakuma, TV producer, to speak on the theme of "Building a Winning Team in the AI Era." They will discuss organizations where excellent individuals gather voluntarily, regardless of organizational size or attributes, and provide insights into organizational development in the AI era.

Speakers

Tetsuto Soyama (Executive Officer, CHO, CyberAgent, Inc.)

Graduated from Sophia University, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Department of English. Ranked 3rd in the national "Dance Koshien" during high school. Joined Isetan Co., Ltd. in 1998, where he was involved in men's apparel sales and e-commerce site development. Joined CyberAgent, Inc., then a company of about 20 employees, in 1999. After leading sales in the internet advertising business division, he was appointed General Manager of the HR Division in 2005. Currently, as Executive Officer and CHO, he oversees all HR operations. He has published books such as "Textbook for Young Talent Development," "Creative HR," and "Leveraging Strengths." He also owns the professional dance league team "CyberAgent Legit."

Nobuyuki Sakuma (TV Producer, Sakuma Nobuyuki Office)

Born in 1975. From Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. As a producer at TV Tokyo, he created programs such as "Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!" (though not explicitly stated, this is a common association with his work), "God Tongue," "Audience with the Stars," "Pirameki-no," "Urelo☆ Series," and "King-chan." From April 2019, he hosted the radio show "Nobuyuki Sakuma's All Night Nippon 0." He left TV Tokyo at the end of March 2021 to become a freelance TV producer. He has worked on Netflix productions such as "Talk Survivors 1, 2, 3," "Bato-mura," and "LIGHTHOUSE," and DMM TV productions such as "Incidents 1, 2." His YouTube channels "NobrockTV" and "BS Nobrock" have a total of 3.7 million subscribers. His books include "Nobuyuki Sakuma's Cunning Work Techniques," "Techniques to Make You Feel Good," and "Ask Sakuma About That Worry."

Expert Session: "The 'Essence' Needed for Recruitment in the AI Era"

We will feature Toshimitsu Sowa, author of "The Theory of HR and Recruitment" and CEO of JINZAI KENKYUSHO, and an AI expert, who will discuss "The 'Essence' Needed for Recruitment in the AI Era." Additional speaker information will be announced on the official website at a later date.

Speaker

Toshimitsu Sowa (CEO, JINZAI KENKYUSHO Co., Ltd.)

Born in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, raised in Kansai. Graduated from Nada High School and Kyoto University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Psychology. During his university years, he worked as a mathematics instructor at a major cram school in Kansai. After graduation, he held recruitment and HR management positions at companies such as Recruit and Lifenet Insurance Company. He then founded the HR consulting firm JINZAI KENKYUSHO. He provides consulting, training, lectures, and writing on HR and recruitment for a wide range of organizations, including large Japanese corporations, foreign-affiliated companies, mega-ventures, long-established companies, SMEs, startups, and government agencies. His books include "The Theory of HR and Recruitment," "Management Biases of People and Organizations," "Habits of Effective and Ineffective HR Professionals," "Interview Manual for Socially Awkward People," and "Why Do Companies Founded by Bad People Grow?"

Workshop

This workshop aims to deepen understanding of the "essence" in recruitment scenarios and to utilize it in recruitment situations, under the concept of "Verbalizing Your Company's 'Essence.'"

*Program details are subject to change without notice.

Keynote: "Wantedly's Vision and Strategy"

Our CEO, Akiko Naka, will discuss Wantedly's future outlook.

Wantedly Awards 2026

The "Wantedly Awards 2026," an awards ceremony to honor the efforts of Wantedly user companies over the past year, will present awards in three categories: "Team of the Year," "Craft Category," and "Best Episode."

The "Team of the Year" category recognizes overall recruitment strength from the perspectives of recruitment branding and empathetic recruitment. Winning companies will be selected by Wantedly based on information accumulated on the Wantedly platform. The selection criteria for this category are not disclosed.

The "Craft Category" honors companies that have made extensive use of Wantedly's features in their recruitment activities, offering four awards: "Match Craft" for companies that posted the most effective job postings for creating encounters, "Story Craft" for companies that created compelling stories, "Scout Craft" for companies that sent impactful scout messages, and "Profile Craft" for companies that created profiles that showcase their members. Winners will be selected for each.

The "Best Episode" category celebrates stories of encounters between people and companies born through Wantedly. The top three episodes will be selected, and from those, one company will be awarded for creating the most outstanding episode. In collaboration with a popular and talented manga artist, "recruitment manga" based on the top three episodes will be produced and released.

After Party & Casual Networking

This is an opportunity for participants to network and exchange information while enjoying food and drinks.

"FUZE2026" Details

Event Name: FUZE2026

Date and Time: September 25, 2026 (Fri) 14:00 - 20:10 (Reception opens at 13:00)

Venue: Tokyo Midtown Hall & Conference (9-7-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052)

Target Audience: Individuals involved in organizational development (HR, recruitment staff, executives, etc.)

Capacity: First 750 people

Fee: Free

Organizer: Wantedly Inc.

Registration: Apply here

"FUZE2026" Official Website

Day's Schedule

13:00 Door Open (Reception starts)

14:00 Opening

14:10 Expert Session

14:50 Workshop

15:40 Networking Break

15:55 Sponsor Session

16:10 Featured Talk

16:55 Keynote

17:15 Wantedly Awards 2026

17:50 Award Winners Interview

18:25 After Party & Casual Networking

20:10 Close

*The schedule is subject to change without notice.

Wantedly Inc.

"To foster people who are passionate about work through the ultimate in person-job fit." Wantedly provides "Wantedly," a business social media platform that enables everyone to immerse themselves in their work, achieve results, and experience growth as a result, by realizing the ultimate in person-job fit. Since the official service launch in February 2012, the platform has surpassed 44,000 registered companies and 4.5 million individual users.

In September 2021, Wantedly launched "Engagement Suite," a suite of services to support employee retention and engagement. In November 2024, the recruitment management system "Wantedly Hire" was released.

Wantedly aims to become the "infrastructure for all workers" by pursuing the ultimate in person-job fit and promoting its engagement business, which supports employee retention and engagement after joining the company.

<Company Overview> Company Name: Wantedly Inc. URL: https://www.wantedly.com Head Office Location: Ebisu Garden Place Tower 5F, 4-20-3 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Representative Director: Akiko Naka Established: September 2010 Business Overview: - Business social media platform "Wantedly" used by over 4 million people: https://www.wantedly.com/ - Wantedly People: Records encounters and shares achievements https://people.wantedly.com/about - Wantedly Assessment: Deepens self-understanding and develops strengths - Engagement Suite: - Employee benefits service "Perk" https://engagement.wantedly.com/perk/ - Online internal newsletter service "Story" https://www.wantedly.com/stories - Team management service "Pulse" https://www.wantedly.com/about/engagement/pulse - Learning recruitment management system "Wantedly Hire" https://hire.wantedly.com/