Mari Yamauchi

At an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. (“Nikko AM”) has confirmed the appointment of Mari Yamauchi as Outside Director.

With Ms. Yamauchi’s appointment, Nikko AM’s Board of Directors consists of ten – three executive and seven nonexecutive directors. Of them, five are Outside Directors, including Chairman of the Board Yoichiro Iwama, appointed in May this year. In line with its fiduciary duty, Nikko AM leverages the independence of these outside directors to ensure that it remains an objective and transparent asset manager.

Since April 2014, Ms. Yamauchi has been a visiting Professor at the Doshisha University Institute for Technology, Enterprise and Competitiveness focused on management and employment systems. Prior to this, she held roles at Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Securities Japan, and served as Managing Director and Head of Products & Services for the Wealth Management unit at UBS Securities Japan. She has also been a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley.

Nikko AM Representative Director, President & CEO Takumi Shibata said, “I am honored to welcome Ms. Yamauchi to the Board in view of her service at global financial institutions, research on management, employment and human resources, and extensive experience across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. I am confident that her expertise will contribute to strengthening Nikko AM’s governance.”

Nikko AM’s fiduciary and environmental, social, and governance principles guide its operations. The Firm stands by the highest standards of stewardship, maintaining a high level of transparency and bolstering management checks including through these outside directors.

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Nikko AM is focused on the highest standards of stewardship, and intends to leverage Mr. Iwama’s role as Outside Director and Chairman of the Board to further enhance its governance, tapping his rich insight into the asset management industry and corporate governance.

Mr. Iwama holds a wealth of managerial experience in asset management in Japan, encompassing a broad range of senior roles, including most recently Representative Director, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co., Ltd. until 2010. He also acted as Chairman of the Japan Securities Investment Advisers Association for seven years from June 2010, the self-regulatory body for the industry in Japan. In this role, he displayed strong leadership in heightening stewardship at asset managers and corporate governance at invested companies.

Nikko AM Representative Director, President & CEO Takumi Shibata said, “Asset managers must stand by the highest standards of governance in their operations, and the appointment of Mr. Iwama as Outside Director and Chairman of the Board provides further oversight to not only strengthen the role of our Outside Directors and Board, but also to broadly support our business. Under his supervision in leading our Board, we will mobilize our diverse workforce to continue to serve the needs of our clients.”

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