Date of birth: May 28, 1961
Appointment as a director of Meiji Holdings: June 2025
Number of Meiji Holdings' shares held: 41,503 (as of May 31, 2025)

Bunjiro Yao oversees the Meiji Group's food products business as a chief operating officer. He also serves as a director and executive officer at Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd., and as president of Meiji Co., Ltd.

Bunjiro's career in the Group's food products business spans over four decades. After joining Meiji Dairies Corporation in 1984, he contributed to raising the quality of its dairy products, developing new products, and refining marketing strategies. Through his involvement in the reorganization of Meiji Group in April 2011, he played a significant role in building the foundations of the Meiji Group today.

With the establishment of Meiji Co., Ltd., Bunjiro was appointed as general manager of the dairy business unit in the planning and administration department in 2011. Later, he was appointed as general manager of the company's corporate development department in 2013, and as an executive officer in 2015. Following his appointment as managing executive officer of the international business division in 2017, he drove the company's expansion into the Chinese market with the releases of functional yogurt and sports nutrition products, and helped raise the value of the Meiji brand. As Bunjiro continued to push for Meiji's global expansion, he was appointed as a senior managing executive officer in June 2021 and vice president in June 2023.

Having highly evaluated Bunjiro's leadership and achievements around the world, Meiji Holdings appointed him as a director, executive officer, and chief operating officer of the Food Segment in June 2025.