Keith Yamashita, Founder

Keith Yamashita is dedicated to using creativity as a powerful catalyst for change in the world. For the past two decades at SYPartners, he has worked with leaders at Activision Blizzard, Apple, eBay, Emerson Collective, Facebook, IBM, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Oprah Winfrey Network, Nike, and Starbucks, among others. From 2009 to 2011, Keith also served as The Charles and Ray Eames Brand Fellow at IBM, working to build a culture of design across the organization.

SYPartners has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Fortune for its unique, human-centered approach, applied to both business and social challenges. In 2014, SYPartners joined Tokyo-based Hakuhodo DY Holdings and is now helping to establish kyu—a new strategic unit that serves as a home for a small, distinguished portfolio of the world’s most entrepreneurial and generative agencies, design firms, and consultancies.

Keith is also an author and essayist on leadership and design, having published in the Harvard Business Review and several journals. He has lectured at the Yale School of Management, Stanford Business School, and the Jack F. Welch Leadership Center, and was also an on-air commentator with Maria Bartiromo on the CNBC’s global primetime series, The Business of Innovation. Keith holds an M.A. in Organizational Behavior and a B.A. in Quantitative Economics from Stanford University.