Hiroya Ishida

Versatile Agile Project Manager and Scrum Master with a strong international background, passionate about improving team performance and cultivating healthy, high-trust cultures. Experienced across aviation IT, marketing, and game development, with proven success in coaching, stakeholder management, and leading multicultural teams in startups and large corporations through transformation and delivery improvement.

I am a Project and Operations leader with over five years of experience spanning Agile project management, post-M&A integration, people leadership, and business operations in international environments. I have led cross-functional and cross-border teams across Europe, APAC, and North America, working in industries including aviation IT, gaming, digital services, and education.

My background includes managing large-scale Agile delivery and governance, most recently at SITA, where I coordinated multiple product teams as part of the post-M&A integration of Materna IPS, overseeing delivery alignment, stakeholder communication, and risk management across Dutch and German teams. I have extensive experience operating in scaled Agile environments, improving delivery predictability, reducing time to value, and driving measurable quality improvements.

I also bring strong people and operations management expertise. At Epic Games, via 5CA, I managed a fully remote, multinational support operation for Fortnite Japan, leading teams of up to 12 agents, owning day-to-day operations, stakeholder coordination, KPI management, and quality assurance. This work consistently achieved the highest global customer satisfaction scores and resulted in the highest performance evaluation in company history.

Earlier in my career, I founded and led a study abroad business with seed funding from a private investor, building the organisation from inception. I owned the full business lifecycle including strategy, marketing, operations, partnerships, and financial performance, managing international contracts across Asia, Europe, and North America, and generating 7.5 million yen in operating income within the first year.

Across roles, I am recognised for combining structured delivery, strong stakeholder management, and hands-on leadership, with a proven ability to build teams, stabilise operations, and deliver results in complex, multicultural environments.

I hold a degree from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), a globally oriented institution known for its multicultural environment and English-based education. My academic background was strongly international in focus and complemented by hands-on, entrepreneurial experience alongside my studies. During this period, I engaged in cross-cultural projects, international programs, and business initiatives that laid the foundation for my later work in global operations, stakeholder management, and cross-border leadership.