Reinventing the Familiar: How Fujifilm Is Turning Transformation Into Belief

When Anthony Farina talks about joining the Fujifilm Corporation, he doesn’t describe it as a career move. He calls it, “Stepping into one of the most compelling transformation stories in modern business.”

For decades, Fujifilm was synonymous with photography. Today, it is a diversified global company spanning healthcare, life sciences, advanced materials, and imaging technologies — a reinvention that few legacy brands have achieved at such scale. Anthony Farina’s role of Chief Corporate Communications & Brand Officer places him at the center of communicating that evolution: aligning storytelling with strategy, and purpose with measurable business outcomes.

“What excited me,” he explains, “was the opportunity to help connect a powerful innovation story to the company’s long-term contribution to society.” He stepped into the role in April 2025.

The challenge, however, is not transformation itself. It is recognition. Or more precisely, belief.

Anthony Farina defines his responsibility as closing the gap between what a company has become and what people think it is.

Transformation, in this sense, is not a marketing announcement. It is a comprehension process.

View a Clip from the Interview

Explaining Complexity Without Losing Meaning

Fujifilm operates through more than twenty group companies spanning highly specialized industries. The task of communications is not to make them identical, but understandable — helping stakeholders move from knowing the name to understanding the business.

Rather than simplifying the company, Farina focuses on clarifying its meaning: translating innovation into relevance employees and partners can recognize in everyday decisions.

Purpose as Practice, Not Slogan

Fujifilm’s purpose — “Giving our world more smiles” — resonates with Farina’s long-standing belief that corporate purpose must be anchored in real operations. In an era when some marketers speak of “purpose fatigue,” he reframes the issue as one of credibility.

Credibility increasingly replaces aspiration as the measure of intent.

Purpose, he argues, is no longer primarily a messaging exercise. It must be visible in systems, behaviors, and leadership choices. At Fujifilm, that means connecting innovation in healthcare and life sciences directly to tangible societal impact, while reinforcing a culture of transparency and ownership across the organization.

Communications as a Business Function

Anthony Farina has consistently championed the idea that communications earns its influence by driving measurable outcomes. At Fujifilm, success in the first year is defined less by campaigns than by integration: aligning business, marketing, and cultural objectives into a unified framework.

The company’s investment in AI-enabled content, analytics, and brand journalism reflects this philosophy. Technology, in Farina’s view, should clarify rather than amplify noise — strengthening trust by making information more accessible and relevant.

The objective is alignment — creating shared understanding across employees, partners, and audiences about what the company actually does and why it matters.

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In this Trendsetters conversation, we discuss:

• You’ve been part of some extraordinary transformations—but they’ve always been very different kinds of companies. What excited you personally about Fujifilm at this moment in its evolution?

• Fujifilm is a brand everyone knows—but not everyone knows what it has become. When you explain your new role to friends outside the industry, what do you find yourself emphasizing first?

• You’ve stepped into an organization with deep heritage, multiple businesses, and strong leadership already in place. What did you want to listen for before you decided what to change—or protect?

• Fujifilm may be one of the most fascinating transformation stories of our time—from imaging to healthcare, life sciences, and advanced materials. From a communications perspective, what’s the hardest part of telling a diversification story without confusing people?

• You now oversee communications across 20+ group companies operating as a shared service. How do you balance consistency with relevance—so each business feels seen, but the brand still shows up as “one Fujifilm”?

• Fujifilm talks about “Value from Innovation.” How do you translate that from an idea into something employees and external stakeholders actually recognize in daily decisions?

• You’ve long been associated with purpose-driven leadership—and Fujifilm has a clearly articulated purpose of “Giving our world more smiles.” But the language around purpose is changing. Do you feel that purpose today needs to be shown more through systems and behaviors than through messaging?

• You’ve always argued that communications earns its seat at the table when it drives measurable outcomes. At Fujifilm, what does success look like in year one—and how will you know you’re on the right track?

• If we were to have this conversation again in three years, what would you hope people say about Fujifilm—not just as a company, but as a corporate citizen?

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A Long-Term Narrative

Fujifilm’s transformation is ultimately less about moving beyond film than sustaining relevance across decades. Success will not be defined by repositioning, but by recognition of contribution — innovation understood in terms of the lives it improves.

For Farina, that is the role of modern leadership: connecting heritage to future impact and ensuring change is not merely declared, but believed.

Key Takeaways for Marketers

• Transformation fails when audiences understand change intellectually but not emotionally
• Purpose lives in operational decisions, not brand messaging
• Communications leadership aligns strategy, culture, and narrative
• Technology builds trust only when it clarifies
• Credibility has become the primary measure of reputation