Xiqiao Liu Serves as Judge at Growth Hub Conference Pitch Contest “Growth Heroes”! What Perspectives Do Growth Professionals Share? | Event Report

Hello! This is Sunny-chan from SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP’s PR team ☀️

On Friday, February 13, Xiqiao Liu, President and CEO of SUNNY SIDE UP and Director of Billcom Inc., served as a judge at “Growth Heroes,” the main pitch contest event of the Growth Hub Conference held at SHIBUYA QWS.

Growth Hub Conference is a conference aimed at providing all growth leaders with “essential learning that is not swayed by trends or buzzwords.” Growth Heroes, in particular, is a pitch contest where players who have led business growth present their achievements and the reasoning behind their decisions, and the venue was filled with great excitement.

Six Growth Leaders Take the Stage

Six individuals selected through document screening and interviews took the stage at this year’s Growth Heroes.

Based on their respective Growth Track Records (past achievements and experiences of actually growing businesses), they presented:

• What challenges they faced
• What decisions they made
• How they grew their businesses

through their presentations.

Rather than simply sharing success stories, each presenter shared their real stories, including failures and struggles, and the venue was enveloped in a serious atmosphere.

“Don’t Limit Your Role” — What Growth Professionals Need

After listening to all the presentations, Xiqiao Liu commented, “The first thing I was taught at P&G, where I joined as a new graduate, was ‘Marketers should do everything.’ Commit to results regardless of the means. Forgetting that you’re a marketer makes the work easier.”

What the presenters had in common was that they did not limit themselves to the role of marketing, but stepped into the entire business, including recruitment, supply chain, finance, and more.

Without drawing lines around their areas of responsibility, they act based on “what is necessary to grow the business.” This attitude was identified as the characteristic shared by all six “growth professionals.”

The Winner is Kengo Seki from Oh my teeth Inc.!

After all presentations and judging were completed, Kengo Seki from Oh my teeth Inc. was selected as Growth Hero 2026.

His strong commitment to business growth and his attitude of seeing things through to achieve results were recognized, earning him the victory.

This year’s Growth Heroes concluded in this manner. The six presentations and the judges’ thoughtful comments made for a memorable experience.

SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP will continue to have various members share insights through events and lectures to spread the power of PR and communication to society.