About Le Grand (English)

Le Grand is a consulting firm founded by ex-Overture/Yahoo! senior Japanese executives with a wealth of international educational and professional experiences. We are specialized in online marketing activities and following are the examples of our services to be provided in English for non-Japanese companies that are interested in Japanese market;

1. Consultation on Search Engine Marketing
2. PPC Listing optimization and management
3. Market research of internet industry in Japan
4. Strategic advice on market entry (e.g. incorporation, hiring, marketing/PR,
   tax, financial management, etc.)

Please feel free to contact us by sending an e-mail in English to info@LeGrand.jp

News

Management

Hiroto (Rod) Izumi, Co-CEO & Founder

Joined Overture Japan in 2002 as one its start-up members and grew its business from scratch to multi million dollar business just in three years as Director of the Board and Senior Director in charge of SEM Consulting, Finance as well as Business Planning. Founded Le Grand in early 2006 and has been running SEM workshops across the country while offering SEM consultation to help Japanese advertisers as well as advertising agencies optimize their SEM campaigns. Before joining Overture, spent 10 years at a Japanese bank leading project/corporate finance deals in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and two years at Ford Motor Company being in charge of Asia Pacific operations, then moved to Bertelsmann AG to start up e-Commerce business in Japan. Hold BA in Economics from Keio University, Tokyo, Japan and MBA from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA.

Hitomi Yamabe, Co-CEO & Founder

Joined Overture Japan in 2002 and grew from a start-up business to a thriving, well-respected internet business as Senior Director in charge of Marketing, PR and Customer Service Operations. Launched various marketing programs and PR events to acquire small and medium size of enterprises (SME) and oversaw the growth of its SME segment from scratch to more than $200M in revenue in three years. Founded Le Grand in early 2006 and has been organizing various workshops, seminars and events in major cities while offering consultation on marketing programs and PR events for foreign companies entering into Japanese market. Before joining Overture, spent a few years in a Japanese bank and 5 years in Lehman Brothers as sales/trader. Moved to AT&T, then Palm Computing to run marketing programs to launch new product/service as Director. Hold BA in Business Administration from Saint Mary's College of California.

Major Track Records

Japan Market Entry

Formed a strategic alliance with The Technology Works, a technology unit of The Search Works, the largest SEM agency in UK, to jointly market, BidBuddy®, SEM campaign management tool to Japanese advertising agencies. Our services include market/industry analysis, customer acquisition as well as legal/financial services to set up its office in Tokyo including hiring of key personnel and payment processing.

Press Release made by The Technology Works:
http://www.thetechnologyworks.com/news-read.php?id=515

Organized the first annual conference and cocktail reception of The Technology Works at Grant Hyatt Tokyo on April 19, 2007.

Industry/Company Analysis

Worked with topnotch investment firms and private equities in US & Europe to provide customized reports and/or interviews with the latest ‘in-depth’ information about Japanese internet industry and key market players.