Chairman Profile

Atsuro Yamada, the founder and president of Gramco Limited was born and raised in Kobe, Japan. He studied law at Keio University in Tokyo while working part-time at Yamaha Corporation doing design and planning work. Before graduating from Keio University, he formed a group initiative designing corporate graphics. After graduation, Yamada joined Marubeni, a major trading company based in Japan. During his tenure, he trained and worked in Europe. After his departure from Marubeni in 1987, Yamada established Gramco Limited to engage in corporate identity design and branding. Since its founding, Yamada has remained Representative Director and President in addition to serving as Chairman of Gramco Shanghai.

Beyond his day-to-day role as company president, Yamada is also the manager of the Corporate Identity Council of Japan (CICJ), a member of the Japan Graphic Designers Association (JAGDA), chairs the Okinawa Chura-shima Brand Committee under the Cabinet Office, chairs and member of several committees at Tokyo Metropolitan Government and member of several committees at Tokyo Olympic/Paralympic Games 2020. Throughout his professional experience, Yamada has been involved in over 100 corporate identity and branding projects while developing Gramco Limited into one of Asia’s leading branding firms. He regularly delivers lecture seminars and has published several books about branding.