Partners, an Asset Management Company, Receives "Career Ownership Management AWARD 2026" Encouragement Award. "Will-Driven Organization Building" Drives 120% Year-on-Year Sales Growth.

Partners Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Taku Yoshimura; hereinafter "the Company") has received the Encouragement Award in "Career Ownership Management AWARD 2026." Under the vision of "pioneering the future of people and society as partners for a better way of life," the Company has always positioned career support as a core element of its "management strategy." This organization building, which promotes the autonomous growth of each and every member, drives the Company's high business growth, including a 120% year-on-year increase in sales. This award recognizes our achievements and mechanisms that realize "both individual growth and corporate value improvement."

What is the "Career Ownership Management AWARD"? The "Career Ownership Management Award*" was established to discover and share advanced initiatives that aim for sustainable corporate value improvement through the autonomous growth of working individuals, and to make them the "collective intelligence" of society. "Career Ownership Management," as defined by the award, refers to a management approach that links management strategy, business strategy, and human resource strategy to increase the number of self-reliant and self-driven individuals who proactively engage with their work. This fosters an equal relationship between individuals and the organization, achieving sustainable growth for both. The Company was selected for the "Encouragement Award" as one of the companies embodying this philosophy. *https://co-consortium.persol-career.co.jp/com-award/index.html Organizers: Career Ownership Management AWARD Executive Committee, Co-organizers: Career Ownership and Future of Work Consortium Secretariat

Background and Concept of Career Ownership Management To embody our mission, "pioneering the future of people and society as partners for a better way of life," we must continuously confront "questions without clear answers." In that process, we believe that the ability of each employee to "make their own judgments" based on high ethical standards and a sense of ownership is required to correctly operate all means, such as business and technology, in line with our objectives. We believe that "autonomy," which involves thinking and making decisions independently rather than waiting for manuals or instructions, is fostered by each employee's inner "will." Therefore, the Company positions "fostering autonomous talent" as a critical management challenge and promotes organization building centered on individual will.

Three Mechanisms Driving Organizational Evolution This initiative links the following three mechanisms to create an environment where individual will directly connects to actual roles and business growth.

① Options to draw out will: Assignment by "proposal" not "decision" In addition to "GLOW Challenge," a self-declaration system where employees can apply for transfers or role expansions themselves, we have introduced "proposal-based assignment," where management or supervisors offer new roles. What we value is not a top-down "decision" from the company, but rather a "proposal" of options. By presenting new possibilities from an objective external perspective, and ultimately going through the process of "choosing the challenge by one's own will," we build the foundation for career expansion.

② Institutionalization of consent: A process based on "choice" by one's own will as a prerequisite At our company, multiple 1-on-1 meetings with supervisors and HR are mandatory for all personnel changes, including department transfers and position changes. Instead of a unilateral order, we align expectations and performance criteria through dialogue, making it a prerequisite that the individual accepts and chooses the role with conviction. By institutionalizing this dialogue process in all reassignments, we create an environment where employees can always face new challenges with a sense of ownership and responsibility.

③ Connection to management: Fostering "ownership" where individual will drives the company We provide opportunities for direct dialogue between management and the front lines, such as "Executive Lunch" where employees have lunch with executive members, and "All Employee Management Meeting" where members can propose new businesses and initiatives. In fact, employee opinions are reflected in new systems, creating a mechanism where individual voices are utilized in management. The feeling that one can be involved in their working environment and business creation through their own will, not just their career, fosters a higher level of ownership.

◾️Comment from Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ryota Seike We, Partners Inc., gratefully accept the "Career Ownership Management AWARD 2026" Encouragement Award and view it as part of our ongoing efforts to evolve the organization. Moving forward, we will continue to promote organization building where each employee can grow autonomously and contribute to improving customer value and corporate value, maximizing "human power," which is the source of our competitive advantage. Partners Inc. Company Overview Partners Inc. aims to "pioneer the future of people and society as partners for a better way of life."