Softbrain Appoints Kōsaku Shima as CMO to Promote its Products

Softbrain Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hirofumi Toyoda; hereinafter referred to as Softbrain) has been selected for the "One Company Only, Completely Free Support Project" launched by Shinfield Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shinya Taniguchi), in which Kōsaku Shima serves as the official ambassador. As part of its promotional measures for the CRM/SFA "esm (e-Sales Manager)", Softbrain is pleased to announce the appointment of Kōsaku Shima, the protagonist of the popular manga series "The Kōsaku Shima Series", as its CMO (Chief Marketing Officer).

Moving forward, Kōsaku Shima will appear in various special content and promotional initiatives for Softbrain and esm (e-Sales Manager), conveying the importance of "scientific sales" that utilizes customer contact information while addressing the challenges faced by sales teams, management, and executives.

Special Page: https://www.e-sales.jp/lp-cmo-shima/

About Kōsaku Shima and "The Kōsaku Shima Series" (Original: Kenshi Hirokane / Kodansha)

Kōsaku Shima first appeared in 1983 as the protagonist of "Kachō Kōsaku Shima" in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine "Morning".

The series, which depicts overcoming difficulties and rising through the ranks while portraying the realities of business professionals and the socio-economic and political climate of the time, has sold over 47 million copies and continues to be serialized today. (As of June 2026)

Background and Objectives for Appointing Kōsaku Shima as CMO

In Japanese companies' sales environments, improving productivity amidst a declining labor population has long been a critical issue.

This is due to a structure where information assets such as customer information, sales know-how, and management methods tend to become personalized. This personalization affects the decision-making and actions of sales teams, management, and executives, becoming a significant management challenge that impacts a company's sustainable growth.

Softbrain has been addressing these social and corporate challenges for over 25 years. By providing CRM/SFA "esm (e-Sales Manager)", we have supported improvements in sales productivity by visualizing personalized sales activities and utilizing customer contact information as organizational assets.

Kōsaku Shima, who has overcome challenges in various positions from sales to management and executive roles, is a symbol of the Japanese business scene.

Kōsaku Shima has a high affinity with the value of esm in supporting the resolution of issues faced by sales teams, management, and executives. We have appointed Kōsaku Shima as CMO to communicate our initiatives more clearly and accessibly, and to connect with more companies to solve their problems.

About the "Corporate Support Project for a Better Society"

The "Corporate Support Project for a Better Society" is a project operated by Shinfield Inc. that supports companies aiming to solve social issues and improve the world through the power of IP (Intellectual Property). Kōsaku Shima, a popular character from "The Kōsaku Shima Series" (Original: Kenshi Hirokane / Kodansha), which has been serialized for over 40 years, also participates in this project. By leveraging his influence, the project aims to contribute to creating a better society by supporting corporate advertising, sales promotion, and branding.

About esm (e-Sales Manager)

Since launching Japan's first CRM/SFA in August 1999, Softbrain has provided solutions that transform all customer contact operations, including marketing, sales, and after-sales service, through both IT and services. With the high-performance CRM/SFA "esm (e-Sales Manager)" at its core, we possess practical know-how in customer contact process management gained from the implementation of the MA (Marketing Automation) tool "esm marketing" and the after-sales service management tool "esm service". We continue to contribute to maximizing our customers' productivity by offering solutions that combine these elements.

esm (e-Sales Manager) This is a CRM/SFA that supports centralized management of customer information and efficient sales activities. By sharing and visualizing customer information, deal information, and sales activity progress across the entire organization, it promotes the accumulation and utilization of sales information that tends to be personalized, and realizes the visualization and improvement of sales processes. Furthermore, it reduces the workload and improves the productivity of sales representatives through automatic reflection of necessary information to each field with a single input, as well as current analysis via dashboards and AI-powered operational support functions.

We also offer comprehensive consulting services before and after implementation, providing know-how based on over 6,000 implementations, as well as customer success services for education and system adoption, offering services tailored to customer needs with a retention rate of 95%.

Product Details: https://www.e-sales.jp

About Softbrain Co., Ltd.

Company Name: Softbrain Co., Ltd. Location: 11F, Nomura Real Estate Ginza Building, 6-18-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Representative: Hirofumi Toyoda, President and CEO Established: June 17, 1992 Business Activities: Development and provision of cloud applications/platforms for all customer contact operations URL: https://www.softbrain.co.jp

Inquiries Regarding This News Release

Ayako Akimoto, Public Relations and Marketing Department 11F, Nomura Real Estate Ginza Building, 6-18-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo TEL: 03-6779-9800 FAX: 03-6779-9310 MAIL: [email protected]