It has been one year since we announced our goal of becoming an AI-Native company. Mercari, which boasts a 100% usage rate of AI tools among its employees, has chosen the theme “designing HR and AI as a unified system” as the next phase of its AI transformation. On June 1, 2026, Mercari AI Task Force leader Shunya Kimura (@kimuras) assumed the positions of Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Chief AI Officer (CAIO), and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Japan Business. Why is @kimuras, who has long served as the head of the engineering organization, now responsible for HR? We asked @kimuras about the goals of building an AI-Native organization and how he intends to drive the company’s transformation.

This article was composed and written using AI tools based on the day’s audio recording. This English version was translated from Japanese using a custom generative AI model interface. Both language versions of this article were post-edited for accuracy.

The next milestone in AI-Native transformation as demonstrated by AI Pods

—First off, could you tell us about how you moved from CTO to CHRO?

@kimuras: Well actually, I’d been speaking with Mark (Executive Officer and Senior Vice President of Japan Business) about how AI promotion and HR would need to move forward in lockstep at some point. As the divide between people and AI fades, discussing HR and AI separately won’t yield the answers we need. I feel that we have entered an era where workstyles, evaluations, and organizational structures must be thought of on the premise that people and AI will work together as one.

—What strengthened your conviction that we have to think about these things as one?

@kimuras: The AI Pods experiments that we’ve been running over the past few months played a big part in shaping this thinking. The AI Pods are an initiative in which we leverage AI to complete the development process in smaller teams. Once we launched the initiative, we discovered that there were challenges when connecting various systems and stakeholders across multiple areas. For example, it was difficult for engineers to take on project management and to create design systems from scratch.

In other words, we found that there was still a lot of left to do. Even though we thought that we made significant progress with AI-Native development over the past year, when we actually experimented with restructuring the organization more deeply with AI, there was still room for improvement. This discovery was not limited to engineers; it was relevant to the entire organization.

—And that awareness is what led to your involvement in the HR field, right?

@kimuras: That’s right. What I learned through AI Pods is that trying something new inevitably puts a burden on the members, which leads to fatigue. Therefore, instead of changing the entire company all at once, we must take a layered approach that involves experimenting; I felt that I needed to immerse myself in HR to advance that design.

It was at that moment that I received the offer to become CHRO, which was a gutsy decision on my part since it was not in my area of expertise, but I set my mind to following through.

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Changing the goal of 100% AI usage into a starting point

—At one of our all-hands meetings, you said that the HR division will play a central role in leading Mercari’s transformation into an AI-Native cCompany. Could you elaborate a bit more on what that means?

@kimuras: I believe the term AI‑Native itself is quite abstract. Thanks to everyone’s help, we have reached a state where 100% of our members are now using AI tools. However, this is not our goal but rather a starting point.

There are actually four things that we really need to do: Re-evaluate our workstyles from the ground up; envision what the optimal organizational structure looks like; improve our decision-making process and create a system that allows for quicker decisions; and utilize data to make evaluations and talent management faster and simpler. These are about restructuring the operational foundation of people and organizations based on AI. To design and implement these actions, HR must take center stage and lead the way.

—If HR is leading Mercari’s transformation, does that mean that the CHRO needs to have a deep understanding of the AI field?

@kimuras: Yes, that’s it precisely. How to use AI, how AI will change people’s workstyle, and how organizations should maximize the use of AI—this vision should be demonstrated and executed not only by the CHRO but by all members of HR. I see this as the nucleus for our future direction.

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The AI-Native transformation of HR in two stages

—Mercari’s Roadmap says that HR’s vision for becoming AI-Native consists of two stages. What can you tell us about this?

@kimuras: The first thing to know is that Stage 1 is the AI-Native transformation of the HR organization itself. The HR divisiondepartment is extremely busy every day, making it hard for its members to delve deep into learning and experimenting with AI while also handling the day-to-day operations. That is why we’ll start by incorporating AI into routine tasks in order to work faster and create time to innovate. I will also take the lead and participate in the process so that HR members really come to understand the potential of AI.

Then we move on to Stage 2, the phase where we use the time we’ve managed to save to redesign our workflows. We will redesign the work of HR, premised on using AI and spread this concept throughout the company. Our goal is to present a vision where AI-driven frameworks—such as our evaluation system, talent management, organizational structure, or even the AI Pods approach currently being tested in product creation—can be leveraged company-wide.

—I’ve heard that our colleagues who have been promoting the AI Task Force will also join HR as part of the approach.

@kimuras: Yeah, that’s right. I feel very confident that we’ll be able to advance HR’s transformation as a continuation of AI promotion. Members who have experience using technology in organizational change management will take part in the discussions within HR. I believe this will be a powerful tool in advancing future transformation.

—I’d like to shift the conversation to the use of AI in evaluation and talent management. At a recent all-hands meeting, you mentioned that HR will be approaching this on an experimental basis, since these are sensitive areas. How do you envision this experimental approach?

@kimuras: First, I want to be clear that this does not mean we’ll be entrusting the evaluation process itself entirely to AI. Considering the current level of AI technology and our own proficiency with AI, it is essential for humans to take responsibility for evaluations for the immediate future.

With that said, AI can provide people with hints and support. For example, when our members are writing their self-evaluations, AI can efficiently gather information from sources like Notion and GitHub about what people have done in their daily work, providing the necessary data for evidence-based evaluations. When managers write feedback, AI can help make members’ contributions more visible, thus significantly contributing to the efficiency of gathering preliminary information.

—Could you elaborate on what you mean by “make members’ contributions more visible”?

@kimuras: This is what I consider the most important aspect of evaluations in the AI era. As our workstyles change, members are able to make an impact in a wider range of areas. This is because they are using AI to extend their reach to different tasks and areas that were previously unexplored. We are entering an era where managers will no longer be able to keep track of everything.

If managers are not able to track everything a member is doing, even when someone has made a real impact and delivered results, their contributions may go unnoticed and unrecognized. This is something we must absolutely avoid. So rather than having AI evaluate people, we want to use AI to make sure each person’s contributions are properly visible. We’ll work together with this division of roles going forward.

We see potential in talent management as well. Without AI, identifying high performers was inevitably subject to bias. By looking at the various achievements and growth of an individual, we can broaden our thinking and examine whether someone might be ready for a new challenge or if taking on certain challenges could open up new possibilities for them. However, we’ll start off with projects on an experimental basis in consultation with the security, privacy, and AI governance teams, so that members don’t feel uneasy.

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Not disrupting the current HR organization—transformation grounded in respect

—After you shared and explained your approach internally, what kind of feedback did you receive?

@kimuras: Right after the announcement, I started receiving all kinds of feedback via Slack and in one-on-ones. Honestly, I’ve received a roughly equal balance of positive expectations and candid concerns.

There were two main types of questions that came up most often. The first asked how far we actually intend to go about making changes, even as we say that we won’t dismantle the systems that already exist. This question concerns the speed and scope of the transformation. The second type of question came from the perspective of inclusion and diversity. Some people voiced concerns about whether I, as a Japanese man, would listen to the voices of women and non-Japanese members.

We’ve also received positive feedback saying that, with this structural change, Mercari has established a system capable of seriously advancing organizational transformation in the AI era, which I appreciate. At the same time, it’s natural for people to feel anxious, so I was prepared to hear both positive and negative feedback from before my new role was announced. That is exactly why I want to address these issues one by one now.

—Could you shed more light specifically on your approach to addressing these issues?

@kimuras: When it comes to the speed and scope of transformation as well as inclusion and diversity, I believe it’s important not to rely solely on my personal stance, but to ensure these are supported by organizational systems. The systems I’m thinking about consist of three elements: the premise of not dismantling HR (which I will get into in a bit), the governance provided by the HR Board, and the mechanisms for ensuring diversity. I will design these three elements as a single unit.

—Speaking at a recent all-hands meeting, you said, “For starters, we will not dismantle the current HR organization. That I can say for sure,” which I found particularly memorable.

@kimuras: I believe that HR is, in the truest sense, the foundation of the company. If HR fails, the company fails, and this has a direct impact on our members’ lives. So, we will not disrupt our current operations as a matter of principle. This is where we will first focus our efforts.

HR has supported Mercari’s growth and has been responsible for organizational transformation for the entire lifespan of the company. Because of this deep respect for these achievements, we are eager to discuss how to shape the future.

—What kind of decision-making process will we follow in advancing our future transformation?

@kimuras: If I were the sole decision-maker, there would be some concerns that linger. To mitigate this, we’re establishing a new decision-making forum called the HR Board Meeting. In addition to the HR leaders, Mark and Shuji (Executive Officer and Senior Vice President of Management Strategy) will also participate. This is positioned as the HR version of the Engineering Board and Product Board.

In these meetings, I can propose bold new initiatives and get honest feedback. The board asks about things like whether an idea might be too bold and inquires about whether there are any governance concerns. No matter what decisions are made, we have established a system with safeguards in place, so we can pursue bold initiatives with confidence. The organization aims to ensure this balance is maintained.

—It was also mentioned that to ensure inclusion and diversity, we’ll rely on systems rather than individual awareness.

@kimuras: Inclusion and diversity is important not because it’s demanded by society, but because it is important for Mercari’s growth. This premise will remain unchanged going forward.

But with that in mind—to be perfectly frank—I am a Japanese man who has been working in development for a long time. I am well aware that some members might feel uneasy about having someone like me as the head of HR. I want to take the concerns raised—especially those from women and non-Japanese members—very seriously.

Precisely because I am a man in this leadership role, I will continue initiatives to improve the organization’s gender balance, and I want us to take even greater responsibility for this than ever before.

The key point here is that decision-making shouldn’t fall into a situation where everything relies on people coming to consult with me. As an organization, we’ll ensure there is a system in place to continuously reflect diverse perspectives in our decision-making. The kind of organization we are fundamentally aiming for using AI is one that ensures such diversity. We’ll promote initiatives that balance both technology and the culture of our organization.

—I have one last question. What kind of people would you like to join Mercari now as partners in building an AI-Native organization?

@kimuras: The AI-Native company we’re aiming to become involves more than just using AI tools. We are going to redesign our workstyles, decision-making and approval processes, organizational structure, and resource allocation with AI as the foundation. To achieve this, we need to create an environment where each member can focus on core tasks and creative challenges, and we need to build this environment ourselves.

The advancement of technology is remarkable, and in a few years, our roles and workstyles may change even further. At Mercari, we don’t fear change—we enjoy it. Mercari envisions a future organization guided by its value of Go Bold, and one that continually updates its approach to organizational structure. Amid this momentum, we are looking for new team members to take on fresh challenges with us.

There may still be areas where we can improve, but we want our HR organization to foster open dialogue and collaborative decision-making. Working together, we hope to build an organization that excites and inspires.

Photography: Tomohiro Takeshita

Please watch the interview video with CHRO / CAIO Shunya Kimura!