Purchase, NY | Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Maypro Group, a leading global provider of nutritional ingredients and dietary supplement products has named May Yamada-Lifton as its new Chief Executive Officer. The company’s founder Steve Yamada will assume the role of Chairman, overseeing special projects and supporting the development of the group’s Asia business.
“We are very happy that May will bring her extensive corporate and innovation experience to take Maypro to the next phase of its growth,” said Steve Yamada. “Together with May, we will continue to use our entrepreneurial spirit to bring health and happiness to humankind.”
Yamada-Lifton joined Maypro as chief operating officer in 2021 after a 20-year career in the pharmaceuticals industry. During her 13 years at Pfizer, she led numerous key initiatives in internal strategy, commercial development, and marketing across numerous regions including Japan, China and Europe.
Prior to entering the pharmaceutical industry, Yamada-Lifton worked in investment banking on Wall Street and in venture capital focusing on the wellness industry. She holds an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School and two bachelor’s degrees, one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and one from the University of Tokyo.
She serves as the co-chair of Women in Nutraceuticals (WIN) Mentorship Committee. WIN is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2021 by a cohort of global nutraceutical leaders whose goal it is to leverage their extensive industry experience and connections to inspire, empower and motivate women to achieve personal and professional success, and to increase the number of women in leadership roles within the industry.
“I am very proud of my father’s incredible accomplishments as an Asian immigrant who built a large business from zero” said Yamada-Lifton. “I hope to continue his legacy as an Asian-American female CEO.”
About Steve Yamada and Maypro Group
Steve Yamada has led a storied career which was recognized by a Lifetime Achievement Award from Nutrition Business Journal. He founded Maypro Industries® in 1977 after emigrating from Japan to the U.S. The company quickly established itself as the premier U.S. distributor of Japanese dietary functional ingredients. Many of today’s specialty blockbuster ingredients — natural vitamin E, omega-3 fish oil, CoQ10, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, taurine and alpha lipoic acid — were first introduced to the U.S. market by Maypro. Maypro also became an early pioneer of proprietary, patented nutraceutical ingredients in Japan by launching U.S. ingredients such as Citrimax®, Pycnogenol®, Tonalin®, Neopuntia® and Liposan Ultra® in the Asian market. The company launched its Proprietary and Branded Ingredients (PBI) division in the U.S. in 2012 and has built a strong portfolio of clinically proven ingredients from the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Canada. Maypro Group also has Quality of Life® finished product business subsidiaries in the U.S. and in Japan.
