Nomura has appointed its first female chief financial officer and promoted Jesse Bhattal, former Asia head at Lehman Brothers, to deputy president, in a further effort to transform itself into a global player.
The promotion of Junko Nakagawa to the top finance job is an unusual move for a large Japanese company. Japanese companies have attempted to diversify over recent years, particularly by handing senior roles to foreign executives in their pursuit of faster-growing markets abroad. However, it is still extremely rare for women to be appointed to senior positions.
Mr Bhattal will become the bank’s third most senior executive. The former Lehman executive had previously become the first foreigner to join Nomura’s executive committee.