State of the Club
With the Club set to embark on an epochal year, the Club’s representative governor ruminates on being a “good steward of the asset.”
Tokyo resembled one giant construction site at the beginning of 1964. With the opening ceremony of Asia’s first-ever Olympic Games 10 months away, the city was consumed by a frenzy of development.
Following Tokyo’s winning Olympic bid in 1959, the city set about the gargantuan task of transforming its war-scarred landscape. Plans called for thousands of new office and residential buildings, 100 kilometers of urban highways, 40 kilometers of subway lines, a $55 million monorail linking Haneda Airport and downtown Tokyo and a bullet train line between the capital and Osaka.
Amid the din and dust of renewal, the Club’s own Azabudai facilities were beginning to feel the strain of a growing membership (the Club’s rebuilding project was still eight years away).
Fast-forward 56 years and Tokyo is preparing to welcome back the Olympic spectacle. The year promises to be a historic one for the Club, too. July will see the Club welcome Team USA in its role as USA House, the hospitality hub of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee during the Games. Then, in December, the Club will unveil its first satellite facility, in Nihonbashi.
Recently reselected as the Club’s president, or representative governor, for a fourth—and final—one-year term, Michael Alfant discusses the Club’s next chapter.
INTOUCH: Why did you decide to run for representative governor again?
Alfant: Number one, I want to see both the Olympics and the Nihonbashi initiatives through to completion. Number two, I want to ensure proper succession planning and transition to a new president. Number three, I think there is still some unfinished business in terms of long-term financial sustainability of the Club. And lastly, I like doing it. It’s enjoyable and part of my commitment to community service.
INTOUCH: What have been the main challenges over the last three years?
Alfant: Fundamentally, the Club is a social club, so it doesn’t always adhere to business logic. And that can be a challenge from a governance perspective because we need to be very sensitive to the social aspects of the Club and not primarily focus on the business aspects. The other challenge is that we have so many Members with so many diverse interests and every one of them has an equal right to have their voice heard and their interests represented in the Club’s governance and development. But at some point, you have to make hard decisions on how to represent the broad Member interests equitably, fairly and transparently.
INTOUCH: How well do you think the Club represents the interests of the majority?
Alfant: Extraordinarily well, given the number of Members and the diversity of interests and backgrounds. The challenge is getting things done in a timeframe that suits the dynamic nature of the membership. Committing to five- or 10-year projects is a risky undertaking because the demographics, interests and underlying market forces change over that time.
INTOUCH: In the past few years, we’ve seen more new blood on the Board. How important is that?
Alfant: Very. We want new people to be able to break through and get elected to the Board. We don’t want calcification at the Board level. New people bring new ideas, new observations and change, almost always inevitably for the better, the dynamics in the boardroom. That’s something we set out to do three years ago and it’s working well.
INTOUCH: Tell me about the work that needs to be done on ensuring the Club’s financial sustainability in the long term.
Alfant: We have 400-odd employees, we own the land we’re sitting on and the [current] Club is now nine years old. Big picture: things don’t last forever. We still have great infrastructure with decades of life remaining. But decades pass and we need to be positioned for all our children and grandchildren to use the Club in the way we’ve become accustomed to using it, and that takes financial resources. As well, we’ve seen costs go up over the last few years, which means we need to generate more revenue to cover those costs and ensure our future with a reserve against unforeseen situations or when opportunistic initiatives may come up. As good stewards of this asset, we have to have a long-term, financial, sustainable plan in place.
INTOUCH: With a limited number of revenue streams.
Alfant: There are, but there are a limited number for any business. The things that move the needle are entrance fees and dues, food and beverage, private events and parking [fees]. Those are very healthy revenue streams. At the same time, we would be remiss if we just relaxed. Just in the last few years, we have had multiple, unforeseen occurrences—the SARS crisis, the global financial crisis, the Tohoku [disaster]. Every one of those hurt the Club financially. I want to make sure we have a financial platform that is sustainable and robust.
INTOUCH: Last year’s Member satisfaction survey revealed a record-high level of satisfaction. What did you take away from the survey?
Alfant: That’s our report card. My first takeaway is to be gratified that what we’re doing is resonating in terms of delivering satisfaction and value to Members. My second takeaway is it’s not 100 percent. We still have room to improve. My third takeaway is it’s really hard to move the needle upwards from where we are now. That’s a challenge we should undertake with some level of diligence.
INTOUCH: Club dining is a perennial source of comments. What do you make of that?
Alfant: The feedback I’m getting is that Members feel the food is getting better. The variety has increased and the quality of the ingredients, which I think is critical, has really helped. What I think we will see is a continued focus on healthy, high-quality ingredients prepared in traditional, American dishes and served with flexibility.
INTOUCH: How does the Board go about evaluating all the feedback in the survey?
Alfant: There is quantitative aspect, which are the numbers, and a qualitative aspect, which are the comments. I do think it’s important we get that feedback so we can understand and represent every voice in the Club. Every Tell TAC [comment card] and survey comment gets read by the Board, and they are actively discussed and considered in our decisions. Sometimes those comments illustrate points we hadn’t considered or thought through fully.
INTOUCH: To what extent do these help the Club adapt to changing Member interests?
Alfant: The one certainty is that things change. While we have a great club and we all love it, there’s a predisposition to be resistant to change, and I think that would be a mistake. That feedback makes me feel better that we are not missing a trend or something that hadn’t been called to light. As volunteer leaders, we need to be emotionally flexible in terms of accepting new ideas and new concepts that did not originate with ourselves.
INTOUCH: The Club takes on the role of USA House during the Olympics this summer. What does this mean for the Club?
Alfant: Primarily, it’s an experiential value that Members cannot get anywhere else. This will be something Members will remember for their entire lives. For the Club as a whole, it will be on the global stage. I’m looking forward to it.
INTOUCH: The Club is set to open the Nihonbashi satellite facility at the end of the year. What are the benefits for Members?
Alfant: There are very few opportunities in business where you’re guaranteed significant benefits and zero costs and commercial success. I think it’s a free option for Members.
INTOUCH: Who is likely to use it, do you think?
Alfant: I think it will be popular for business lunches and a good resource for people whose daily life takes them to Marunouchi, Nihonbashi, Otemachi, that side of town. We are well positioned in a part of town that will be a nexus of activity in Tokyo going forward.
INTOUCH: Any final thoughts?
Alfant: The Club is really fortunate to have Members of such quality and diversity, and it’s the engagement of those Members that drives the culture of the Club and makes it such a great place.
Words: Nick Jones
Image: Kayo Yamawaki
Photo (l–r): Michael Alfant, Club representative governor, Ginger Griggs, TAC Nihonbashi Task Force chair, and Dean Rogers, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee chair
Urban Expansion
At the 2018 Annual General Meeting, the Club’s membership voted to accept Mitsui Fudosan’s proposal to establish a satellite Club in Nihonbashi. The Club would incur no financial risk while offering Members an exciting, new venue in the developer’s Nihonbashi Muromachi Mitsui Tower.
The Board later established a task force to partner with Mitsui Fudosan to bring the project to life, and it is my honor to chair it.
Following many hours of discussion and planning in 2019, I am happy to report that the Nihonbashi facility is on track to open in early December. Naturally, much work remains to be done and the milestone green light will be the signing of the lease agreement in April.
Among the planned improvements to the original concept are an 11 percent increase in the size of the sixth-floor venue to around 1,500 square meters, an iconic, rectangular bar and a first-class workout facility. Members will also be granted four hours of free parking in the building when visiting the Club. These amenities are in addition to a restaurant.
To ensure the facility appropriately represents the Club brand, Mitsui Fudosan agreed to incorporate into its budget a project management company and designers selected by and reporting to the Club. These additional resources have been hard at work supporting our common goal: an outstanding Tokyo American Club Nihonbashi.
Words: Ginger Griggs
Image: Benjamin Parks
Olympic Extravaganza
When the curtain rises on the 32nd edition of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Members will enjoy the two-week sporting pageant from a unique vantage point.
In its role as USA House, the Club will be the hospitality hub for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) during the Games, which run from July 24 to August 9.
With Team USA accommodated on the Club’s Formal Side, the Club’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee is planning its own celebration of the quadrennial event for Members on the other side.
Committee chair Dean Rogers says TAC 2020 House will offer Members a range of exclusive experiences, including possible visits by past and present athletes, sponsor giveaways and an “Olympic zone,” complete with screens broadcasting live events and free food and drinks.
“Photo opportunities with sporting legends and medal winners will be a big anticipated highlight of this zone,” Rogers says. “You could potentially watch someone win a medal on one of our big screens and then shake their hand at TAC 2020 House a few hours later.”
The USOPC team will be resident at the Club from July 10 to August 12.
Words: Nick Jones
Image: Yuuki Ide
