Shinka Talent helps foreign enterprise technology vendors build their teams in Japan, from the first hire to an established team. It is led by founder Grant Habgood.
Grant Habgood
Grant studied at the University of Auckland, majoring in Japanese in an arts degree that covered the country's language, history, culture and literature, alongside a degree in business. He moved to Japan in 2004 and lived there for sixteen years. His family ties to Japan continue today, and he works in English and Japanese.
He began recruiting in Japan's technology market in 2006 with Robert Walters in Tokyo, rising from associate consultant to associate director, and built Japan teams for vendors at market entry. In 2013 he joined SThree as director of Computer Futures in Tokyo. There he built and led a recruitment business of more than 70 consultants with full P&L responsibility, through both market expansions and contractions. Across those years he personally delivered over ¥300 million in placement revenue, at vendors entering Japan and at established global companies.
After returning to New Zealand in 2020, he ran the Auckland office of Robert Walters, then spent several years as general manager for client engagement and technology at a New Zealand company. He founded Shinka Talent to return to hands-on search in the market he knows best.
Why Shinka Talent
Shinka (進化) is Japanese for "evolve". The best recruitment partnerships are built on trust and long-term thinking, not quick wins. Having carried P&L responsibility himself, Grant understands what is at stake: the right country manager, sales leader or technical hire can accelerate a vendor's path in Japan by years, and the wrong one can set it back just as far.
Shinka Talent is AI-enabled and human-led. AI-driven sourcing extends our reach into Japan's talent market, while the judgement, market knowledge and client relationships remain human.
Beyond search
Grant advocates for neurodivergent people in employment, and serves on the community advisory group of Autism New Zealand. He has written about how Japan and New Zealand compare in the employment of neurodivergent people.