Ogai will assume his new role on 1 July and will be based in Tokyo, according to a statement from the firm.
Previously, Ogai led efforts to build the firm’s investment solutions capability in Japan while serving clients as an adviser. He was a managing consultant for three years and before that was the leader of the investment team in Tokyo for six years.
Ogai will be replacing Naomi Denning, who will be leaving Willis Towers Watson to relocate to Canada with her family after 23 years with the firm.
In a second appointment, Hong Kong-based Jayne Bok will start her new role as head of investments for Asia on 1 July and will report to Ogai. She will be responsible for the firm’s investment activities in Asia-Pacific outside of Japan and Australia.
Jayne Bok, Willis Towers Watson
Bok was previously the firm’s head of sovereign advisory for Asia, where she was responsible for advising sovereign entities in Asia-Pacific on their investment arrangements. She also built the firm’s investment practice in Korea.
Chris Ford, global head of investment, said in the statement that clients are now frequently asking the firm to take on more of the decision making and execution.
“Clients in Asia-Pacific have rapidly evolved in recent years as they face increasingly complex risks in a low yield environment and wide ranging investment decisions, with limited resources and skills to deal with this,” he said.
The investment business of Willis Towers Watsons has around $2.3trn of assets under advisory and $87bn of assets under management, according to the statement.
