18 May 2026

Photo: UHH Business School

During a two-day research visit, Hirotoshi Nakahara worked with Prof. Dr. Martin Spindler on joint research projects and led a workshop for early-career researchers on “Careers in the Tech Industry.”

Hirotoshi Nakahara from Singapore, Senior Marketing Effectiveness Research Manager at Google, visited the School on May 7 and 8. The purpose of the visit was to collaborate with Prof. Dr. Martin Spindler and his team on research projects focusing on the application of AI to marketing challenges, particularly regarding “marketing effectiveness measurement.” A highlight was a career event for all doctoral students and postdocs at the School. During the event, Nakahara provided background information on how to pursue a career in the tech industry. In addition, he gave a research presentation during his stay titled “Justifying digital transformation in omni-channel retail: a dynamic causal inference approach to measuring online-to-offline impact.”

About the speaker:

Hirotoshi Nakahara Senior Marketing Effectiveness Research Manager, APAC CMI, Google Asia Pacific Hirotoshi Nakahara’s career spans across multiple disciplines and leading firms. He previously worked in Supply Chain Management at Accenture, conducted genetic data analysis at Kyoto University, and led initiatives in mid-to-long-term strategy formulation, technology strategy, Business Due Diligence (BDD), and global procurement transformation at A.T. Kearney. He later joined Meta (formerly Facebook), where he was engaged in data integration projects, including Advanced Matching, Advanced Analytics, and the Conversions API. Currently at Google, he is responsible for researching and developing measurement and optimization methodologies for marketing ROI using causal inference. In addition, he leads market research and proof-of-concept (PoC) initiatives across the APAC region, focusing on key industry topics such as Retail Media, the Creator Economy, promotional spend optimization, and retail in-store operational efficiency. He holds a Master of Science from the National University of Singapore.