June 9, 2021

For Aki, “Takeda-ism” is a family affair.

Takeda’s values have shaped Aki Yamada’s life long before he worked here. In fact, they were part of his own family’s values long before he was born.

In the early 1950s, his grandparents met and married while working at the company. His grandfather went on to have a 40-year career at Takeda, working his way up through the organization in Japan. His grandmother raised the family and opened a pharmacy using the skills she gained as a manufacturing scientist.

Some of Aki’s earliest memories are hearing his grandparents’ stories about their time at Takeda.

“They have always taken great pride in Takeda and its values,” he says. “The whole philosophy of Takeda-ism – Integrity, Fairness, Honesty and Perseverance – is something they instilled in me at a young age.”

“Although I didn’t understand all those details at the time, I remember feeling proud of my grandparents,” says Aki. “I knew I wanted to follow in their footsteps one day.”

When Aki was ready to start his career, he knew he wanted to work for a purpose-led organization, one that put patients and people before business. Today, Aki is part of the sales organization in the U.S. and draws on the company’s 240-years-history and his own family history to continually drive his development.

His favorite part of his job is seeing how his team embodies Takeda’s values and sharing those stories with his grandparents.

“Although they are both over 90 years old now, they are very pleased to hear that a new generation of 50,000 colleagues in over 80 countries still share, cherish and demonstrate Takeda-ism,” he says.