世界240カ国のうちほとんどが伸び盛りだ--ジャンフィリップ･クルトワ上級副社長（国際戦略担当プレジデント）《特集マイクロソフト》

Of our 240 Countries Worldwide, Most are Growing----Jean-Philippe Courtois, Senior Vice President of Microsoft Corp. and President of Microsoft International

Weekly Toyo Keizai asked Jean-Philippe Courtois, Senior Vice President of Microsoft Corp. and the immediate senior of Yasuyuki Higuchi, Microsoft Japan President and CEO, about global strategy at Microsoft.

Q: Why is France the base for operations in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Latin America, the Asia Pacific and Japan?

A: I am French and I live in France with my family. That is a big part of it. But there are other reasons as well. Actually, France is a very convenient location to base our global strategy. If I travel halfway around the world to the west, I reach North and South America, and if I travel halfway around the world to the east, I reach Asia. Microsoft currently has 105 subsidiaries worldwide and sells to 240 countries, so I have to visit 35-40 countries every year. I spend the majority of my time in airplanes. (laughs) That is why France is such an excellent location to base our operations, because of its easy access to the entire world.

Q: So France is the center of the world?

A: I do not mean that France is the center of the world, but it is at least the center of Europe. Paris is 1 hour 20 minutes by train from Brussels, the headquarters for the European Union. It is also centrally located when going to England, Germany, Italy and other countries.

Q: Google has an overwhelming share of search in Europe. What are you doing to try and catch up?

A: Firstly, we are enhancing our research and development capabilities through such things as opening three technical centers to drive improvements in search. Secondly, we are developing a new business model for search. We have to work to break down Google's monopoly.