Saburota Yamada
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Tokyo Imperial University in 1927 and joined Toppan Printing the same year. He became a Director in June 1937, Managing Director in September 1941 and Senior Managing Director in June 1943, and President in December 1948. A career employee who reached the presidency 21 years after joining, he also served during his tenure as Chairman of Toyo Ink Manufacturing and as President of Tokyo Shoseki, Toppan Shiki Kogyo and Tokyo Cellophane Paper.
Selection
He rose from Senior Managing Director to President during the reconstruction period right after the March 1945 air raids destroyed the head office and the Shitaya and Honjo plants. In May 1949, the year after he took office, the company listed its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but in July of that year banknote printing by private companies was abolished entirely, costing the company 36% of its operating revenue. The change entrusted the rebuilding of a company cut off from its government revenue source to a Senior Managing Director who had spent 20 years inside it.
Initiatives
In December 1961 he introduced a divisional system. In May 1965 the company set up Toppan Moore Business Forms as a joint venture with Moore of Canada, extending printing into business forms for office processing. Net sales grew from ¥3.6 billion in the fiscal year ended May 1953 to ¥45.9 billion in the FY ended May 1967, and net income from ¥0.2 billion to ¥1.7 billion.
Career
Career
Toppan
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1927 | Joined |
| Jun 1937 | Director |
| Sep 1941 | Managing Director |
| Jun 1943 | Senior Managing Director |
| Dec 1948 | President |