About OBATA
Clarity Drives Impact
Headquartered in the Midwest and serving clients nationwide, OBATA is a leading strategic and creative communications partner, transforming complex corporate challenges into clear, actionable solutions across sustainability, brand, and digital platforms. Our collaborative approach enables seamless remote engagement with teams across industries and geographies.
We help organizations articulate strategy, strengthen stakeholder confidence, and drive long-term value creation through communication that is precise, credible, and design-led.
Our proven methodology provides a cyclical, insight-driven system that aligns strategy, story, and design, ensuring communications remain clear, consistent, and effective over time.
With a multidisciplinary team bridging analysis and creativity, OBATA enables organizations to communicate with purpose, make informed decisions, and translate complexity into clarity for investors, employees, and external stakeholders.
OUR STORY
From Design Heritage to Strategic Impact
OBATA began in 1948 as a design studio founded by Kimio Obata, grounded in precision, craftsmanship, and a commitment to clear communication. Over more than seven decades, we have guided organizations through the evolution of corporate communications: from early identity and design systems to today’s integrated brand, sustainability, and digital ecosystems.
What has never changed is our core principle: clarity enables better decisions, stronger trust, and sustained impact.
Today, serving clients nationwide and internationally, we help organizations meet rising expectations for transparency, performance communication, and stakeholder engagement. We ensure that strategy, sustainability commitments, and brand expression reinforce one another across every channel, creating communications that are clear, credible, and aligned with business priorities.
Headquartered in midwest and serving clients across corporate, industrial, and technology sectors, OBATA partners with global organizations navigating rapidly shifting expectations around sustainability, transparency, and brand relevance.
OUR METHODOLOGY
Delivering Impact Through Strategic Clarity
We’ve developed a proven four-phase methodology for aligning communications with organizational goals, market dynamics, and stakeholder expectations. Through continuous cycles of Discovery, Strategy, Execute, and Optimize, we ensure your communications evolve with your business, and consistently drive stakeholder impact.
DISCOVERY:
Aligning Around Reality
We identify the strategic, sustainability, and stakeholder drivers behind your organization’s decisions.
Outcome:
Shared clarity on what matters most.
STRATEGY:
Architect the Narrative
We translate insights into a communication structure that connects business strategy to sustainability positioning, brand messaging, and reporting frameworks.
Outcome:
A unified foundation that guides all communications.
EXECUTE:
Bring Strategy to Life
We design and develop communications that deliver clarity, credibility, and engagement across reports, brand systems, and digital experiences.
Outcome:
High-impact execution anchored in strategic intent.
OPTIMIZE:
Sustain Alignment Over Time
We assess performance, refine content, and ensure communications evolve with stakeholder expectations and organizational change.
Outcome:
Continuous improvement and long-term narrative consistency.
This framework guides every service we deliver — from sustainability strategy and reporting to brand identity, digital experience, investor communications, and corporate storytelling.
OUR SERVICES
Connecting Strategy, Story and Design
To deliver clarity at scale, we connect strategy, story, and design into a unified communication system. This integration enables organizations to articulate who they are, what they stand for, and why it matters, clearly and consistently across every channel.
Sustainability Consulting & Advisory
Define focused sustainability strategies that align priorities, governance expectations, and disclosure requirements.
Sustainability Reporting & Communications
Translate complex sustainability data and ESG performance into credible, investor-ready communications.
Annual Report & Proxy Design
Develop corporate and investor communications that clarify performance and strengthen market perception.
Branding & Identity Design
Build strategic brand systems that express value, differentiate positioning, and enhance stakeholder trust.
Websites & Digital Experiences
Create intuitive digital experiences that clarify complex information and elevate user engagement.
OUR IMPACT
75 Years of Strategic Communications Excellence
For more than 75 years, OBATA has partnered with leading organizations across industries — helping them clarify strategy, communicate progress, and elevate brand perception. Our team holds accreditations from DMI, AMA, GRI, and CFI, ensuring rigorous expertise across every engagement.
Impact Highlights
Other Notable Highlights
Recognition & Awards
Our work has been recognized by leading global communications and design organizations, including:
- International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
- APEX Awards for Publication Excellence
- MarCom Awards
- Hermes Creative Awards
- Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) Awards
- Davey Awards
- League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Awards
- St. Louis Ad Club
- St. Louis Art Directors Club
Trusted by Global Organizations
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Guided by Experience. Driven by Strategy.
“We see every client challenge as an opportunity to deliver clarity through smart strategy, design excellence, and meaningful storytelling.”
Our leadership team brings decades of experience helping global organizations navigate complex communication challenges. From strategy and sustainability to brand and digital experience, OBATA’s leaders ensure our work is grounded in insight, driven by clarity, and aligned with business outcomes.
Paul Gassett
Chief Executive Officer
Paul is a strategic marketing leader with deep expertise in branding strategy, corporate communications, and positioning. He understands that marketing is more than differentiation — it’s about aligning message, purpose, and performance to drive growth.
Paul’s focus spans marketing and branding strategy, thought leadership, writing, public relations, and client communications. He is certified in ESG Fundamentals and ESG Disclosures by the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) and serves as an adjunct professor of business management and international business at Lindenwood and Maryville Universities.
Adam Franke
President & Creative Director
Adam is a communications design expert with over 15 years of experience across corporate and sustainability reporting, digital strategy, and web experience design. His leadership unites design precision with strategic insight, ensuring every project delivers impact and integrity.
Since joining OBATA in 2007, Adam has advanced from senior designer to creative director and now serves as president and creative lead. He holds certifications in Digital Marketing from the DMI and AMA, and a BFA in Graphic Design from Maryville University.
Mary Riddle
Vice President Sustainability Strategy
Mary is a sustainability strategy specialist with more than a decade of experience guiding both private and public companies through ESG strategy development, goal setting, and performance disclosure. She helps organizations articulate their sustainability commitments through clear, actionable communication.
Mary holds a Master of Science in Sustainability Solutions from Lipscomb University and a Bachelor of Arts from Warren Wilson College. She is a GRI Certified Sustainability Professional and a contributor to OBATA’s sustainability communications publications.
Rich Murphy
Member, Board of Directors
Rich brings more than 35 years of experience serving OBATA’s clients through strategic business communications, visual storytelling, and integrated content solutions. His leadership continues to shape the firm’s culture of quality, innovation, and client partnership.
He leads OBATA’s videography and photography services, supporting corporate storytelling across global industries. Rich has captured visual narratives in over 30 countries and holds Digital Marketing certifications from the DMI and AMA.
Our Leadership Philosophy
OBATA’s leadership believes clarity drives performance. By integrating strategic thinking, design excellence, and sustainability insight, our team helps clients communicate with authenticity, elevate stakeholder confidence, and create long-term value.
CAREERS
Careers at OBATA
At OBATA, we believe great work happens through collaboration — when strategists, designers, writers, producers, developers, and project managers unite around a shared commitment to clarity, creativity, and measurable impact.
We offer a highly collaborative and creative environment where each team member contributes to shaping corporate, sustainability, and digital communications for some of the world’s leading organizations. Our culture values curiosity, accountability, and purposeful design.
Why Work at OBATA
OBATA team members work on brand transformation, sustainability storytelling, and digital experience design projects that make a tangible difference. Whether on-site at our St. Louis headquarters or working remotely, you’ll join a team that values strategic insight, design excellence, and authentic communication.
Full-Time Position Benefits Include:
- Flexible Work Policy – hybrid and remote options
- Time Off – paid holidays and competitive PTO
- Traditional Benefits – health, dental, vision, life insurance; 401(k); and short- and long-term disability coverage
Open Positions
We’re growing our team of strategic thinkers and creative problem-solvers. If you’re passionate about sustainability reporting, brand strategy, or digital experience design, OBATA offers opportunities to shape stories that matter.
Current Openings:
Senior Designer
Sustainability Writer
Or submit your resume and portfolio to careers@obata.com for future consideration.
Our Culture
At OBATA, clarity is more than a philosophy, it’s a way of working. Our culture is collaborative, analytical, and committed to helping clients communicate with purpose and precision. We bring together strategists, designers, writers, and digital specialists to create communications that are both insightful and impactful.
WHO WE ARE
Distinct, Trusted, and Purpose‑Driven
OBATA is a U.S.-based strategic communications and design partner — distinct from similarly named global agencies — specializing in sustainability strategy and reporting, brand identity design, investor communications, and digital experience design.
Our work is grounded in clarity, creativity, and accountability. Through our proven cyclical methodology, we align strategy, story, and design to help organizations communicate with precision, build stakeholder confidence, and translate complex information into clear, actionable insights.
GET STARTED
Ready to Drive Impact Through Clarity?
If you’re navigating complex communication challenges, we can help you bring clarity to your strategy, sustainability narrative, brand, and digital experience.