Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial holding company and principal member of the Nomura Group, has appointed joint operations chief Kentaro Okuda as CEO to lead a turnaround of the brokerage and investment bank.
Okuda who joined Nomura in 1987, will take over from chief executive Koji Nagai, who will become chairman.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The brokerage announced the reshuffle as the company reported its strongest quarterly profit in over 17 years.
According to Reuters, the brokerage, which recorded its first annual loss in a decade last year, has been in a cost-cutting mode.
Okuda, 56, has vast experience in investment banking. He also worked overseas, including as head of Nomura’s US business. He was elevated to the post of joint COO in April 2018.
He will take over as CEO on 1 April 2020.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataOkuda said: “Nomura as a whole group can be stronger by taking good things from outside Japan. This is the area where I can show my originality.”
In May, the company was censured by regulators for leaking information on listing and delisting criteria to clients.
Consequently, the government kept Nomura away from underwriting in a Japan Post share sale and Nagai took a 30% pay cut for three months.
Nagai, 60, claimed that there was no connection between the management change and the information scandal.
Nagai said: “I have been working with Okuda on a business improvement plan after the information leak in May. I’m not worried about him taking over because I know he can continue that effort.”
Even though the firm recorded an increase in bottom line in the last quarter following a recovery in its wholesale division, the brokerage is in the midst of a restructuring, which includes cost cuts of over $1bn and the closure of some retail branches.
In October, the company said that it achieved around 60% of the JPY140bn ($1.3bn) in targeted cost cuts. Okuda noted that the company will continue the effort.
Nagai took over as CEO in 2012 after the previous chief executive quit over an insider trading scandal.
The company’s shares staged a strong recovery since the information leak, rising by nearly 60% to close up around 0.3% on Monday at JPY562.3.
