Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) has announced that Taro Shiroyama will be head of Japan, effective from 1 April 2024.
Shiroyama, who will succeed Yoshikazu Kobashi, will be based in Tokyo and report to Desmond Ng, head of Asia Pacific.
Kobashi, who has spent 17 years with AllianzGI, will retire from his executive position on 1 April 2024. In order to facilitate a smooth transition, he will continue to serve as a non-executive chairman for the Japan office until the end of September this year, according to the asset manager.
Shiroyama (main picture) will be responsible for leading AllianzGI’s business development in Japan and overseeing key clients and stakeholders to enhance AllianzGI’s presence in the Japanese market.
He has over 25 years of experience in Japanese asset management, including serving as Japan country head for M&G Investments since 2016. Prior to joining M&G Investments, he spent 14 years at PIMCO Japan where he held various senior positions, managing institutional and retail client relationship and product development. He began his career with Goldman Sachs Asset Management in Japan.
“We are confident that Taro Shiroyama’s extensive experience and expertise will enable us to continue driving the growth of our Japanese business while also building on our overall success in the region,” said Ng in a statement.
“We are also truly thankful for Yoshikazu Kobashi’s significant contributions and commitment over the past 17 years, which have been instrumental in establishing a solid foundation and progressive business strategy, resulting in the impressive growth of our local business.”
AllianzGI is an active asset manager with over 600 investment professionals in over 20 offices worldwide and with EUR 533bn ($583bn) in AUM as at 31 December 2023.
