Matthew Wagner, Consultant

Matt Wagner is a 22-year veteran of Japanese manufacturing operations in the U.S., where he guided teams through the unique challenges of working across different languages and cultures.

Early in his career, Matt untangled linguistic webs of technical jargon, regional dialects, and shop floor slang as an interpreter/translator for Panasonic. Soon, he was made the personal translator of the company president and given additional responsibilities, including business intelligence and market forecasting.

From Panasonic, Matt moved on to TS Tech, a Japan-based automotive supplier affiliated with Honda Motor, with its North and South American operations headquartered in Ohio.

While continuing to work fulltime, Matt went back to school to obtain an MBA from the Ohio State University, where he received accolades for strategic problem-solving. He progressed into a series of leadership roles, where he was recognized for inventive ways to solve complex business problems against the backdrop of the linguistic and cultural barriers among Japanese and local staff.

In typical Japanese fashion, Matt’s management journey traced through several seemingly unrelated disciplines, including Internal Audit, IT, Compliance, and ultimately Human Resources. The list of letters at the end of his name grew longer as he invested time and effort to study each new field.

In early 2020, just as a worldwide pandemic was about to throw the global economy into chaos, Matt took the daring step of leaving TS Tech to become an independent consultant and entrepreneur. His multi-faceted career has yielded a very diverse range of expertise, including continuous improvement, talent management, corporate governance, internal controls, strategic planning, digital transformation, project management, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Education & Certifications

  • BA, East Asian Studies, History (double major) – Wittenberg University
  • MBA – Ohio State University
  • Diversity and Inclusion for HR Management Certificate – Cornell University
  • Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
  • Senior Certified Professional, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM-SCP)
matthew wagner