Toshiharu Kojima appointed to lead UBS in Japan

Reflecting its ongoing commitment to Japan, UBS has appointed Toshiharu Kojima as Country Head Japan, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UBS Securities Japan (UBSSJ), effective 21 January 2009.

As Country Head, Kojima will advise the Chairman and CEO of UBS in Asia Pacific on formulating and implementing UBS’s strategy in Japan. He will also help develop strategies for the wealth and asset management businesses. In addition, Kojima will lead UBS’s governmental and regulatory relationships, as well as the firm’s charity and community affairs programs.

In his role as Chairman and CEO of UBSSJ, Kojima will be responsible for enhancing and implementing strategy to drive the continued growth of UBS Investment Bank’s businesses in Japan.

Kojima will report to Rory Tapner, Chairman and CEO of UBS Asia Pacific, and Jerker Johansson, Chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank. Subject to the relaxation of Japanese firewall regulations, Kojima will assume, in his capacity as country head, direct executive responsibility for the management of all UBS’s business groups in Japan.

In a career spanning more than 35 years, Kojima has become one of the most respected figures in Japan’s financial services industry. In 2006, he was vice chairman of Citigroup Principal Investments Japan Co., and before that, CEO of the landmark joint venture Nikko Salomon Smith Barney Limited (now Nikko Citigroup Limited), a position he held from 1999 until 2004. Kojima began his career at Nomura Securities Co. before joining Salomon Brothers Asia Limited in 1983.

“Kojima-san’s experience, international perspective, and client focus will be invaluable in helping UBS fulfill its goal of creating the premier, client-focused financial services firm in Japan,” said Tapner.

“Having a visionary leader of Kojima-san’s stature to guide our businesses will provide significant impetus to our continuing growth in Japan,” said Johansson. “This appointment signals UBS’s resolute determination to capture the opportunities presented by the world’s second-largest economy,” he concluded.

“I am honored to be granted the opportunity to lead UBS’s future growth in Japan,” said Kojima. “Across its different businesses in Japan, UBS has demonstrated a profound commitment to the market over many decades. Its investment bank has leading businesses in equities sales and research, prime services, capital markets, and M&A advisory; its global asset management has shown strength, particularly in the wholesale sector; and, as a global leader in wealth management, UBS has helped develop that industry in Japan. I am looking forward to guiding UBS’s Japan businesses to ever-higher levels of achievement.”