Yoshiyuki Izawa was named chairman, representative director and country head of Japan at BlackRock, effective May 18.
Mr. Izawa will replace Masato Degawa, the firm’s president, representative director and country head of Japan, who will remain with the firm through June to ensure a smooth transition, said a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman said the chairman title is new for BlackRock in Japan, and the title of president will be dropped.
Mr. Degawa said in a telephone interview he will be reuniting with his family in London after 13 years — the most recent four with BlackRock — commuting there from Tokyo. He said his immediate plans involve volunteer work.
Mr. Izawa will come to BlackRock from Japan Post Bank, where he has served as president and CEO for the past five years, overseeing 13,500 employees and $1.7 trillion in assets, a BlackRock news release said.
A Tokyo-based spokesman for Japan Post Bank said his team had seen the BlackRock announcement but has yet to confirm that Mr. Izawa plans to move on.
Money management executives in the region have said Japan Post has begun shifting its assets from safe but low-yielding Japanese government bonds into higher-yielding assets, making it a focus for money managers pursuing external mandates.
