State Street creates new Japan country head role in latest APAC leadership appointment

The appointment follows a string of major hires by State Street for its Asia-Pacific business in recent months.

By Wesley Bray

State Street has appointed a new country head for Japan, a newly created role by the firm to help accelerate its growth in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Taro Kuryuzawa has been promoted to the role effective immediately after initially joining State Street in May this year.

As country head for Japan, Kuryuzawa will be responsible for State Street’s business activities, including driving strategy, developing talent and pursuing growth opportunities.

He will also be responsible for managing relationships with Japanese clients, partners, officials and regulators. 

Before joining State Street, Kuryuzawa was head of institutional investor coverage in Japan and global lead client service partner at Deloitte Tohmastu group.

Prior to Deloitte, Kuryuzawa held various senior positions at Citigroup for almost a decade, including its global private equity fund, CVC International.

In his new role, Kuryuzawa will be based in Tokyo and will report to Mostapha Tahiri, chief executive officer for APAC.

“We created this country head role to bring all State Street’s offerings together for our clients in Japan. Japan is one of our most important markets in Asia-Pacific and during our past 35 years of presence we have built a unique position supporting our clients with a comprehensive and innovative suite of solutions,” said Tahiri.

“With two decades of on-the-ground experience, Taro has a keen understanding of the unique needs of our Japanese clients. I am confident that his leadership will help us continue to expand and accelerate our growth in Japan.”

Kuryuzawa’s appointment follows a string of major hires by State Street for its APAC business.

Earlier this month, Madhavi Dananukar was appointed CEO and country head of State Street India. Additionally, Jeslyn Tan joined State Street as APAC head of product management, based in Singapore.

Meanwhile BNY Mellon, State Street’s global custody rival, has also made numerous appointments for its Japanese operations, including the hire of Ryushi Watanabe as its new head of asset servicing and digital for Japan in June, and the appointment of Mark Militello as Japan country executive in February.

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