The Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX), a Japanese futures exchange, announced on Friday that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be stepping down at the end of June. Shozo Ohta will be replaced by Nobuyuki Kinoshita who is currently with Aflac Life Insurance Japan.

Kinoshita’s appointment and Ohta’s departure will first have to be approved by shareholders at their ordinary general meeting on the 26th of June. The board of directors will also meet after to give their final approval.

Today’s announcement follows in the wake of a positive month of trading for TFX. Volumes increased dramatically in FX as Japanese investors piled their money into the Turkish Lira. Besides a dip in trading in April, driven by shrinking Volatility , the firm has performed well in 2018.

The right choice

As such, Kinoshita will join a firm that does not need crisis management but requires a safe pair of hands to ensure it maintains its current performance levels. Given his wealth of experience, Kinoshita should be up to the task.

He has spent the past four years with the Japanese division of American insurance giant Aflac. During his time with the firm, he acted as senior advisor and was responsible for researching, and disseminating information on, the Japanese financial system.

Prior to this, Kinoshita was Secretary General of the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC). The SESC acts a regulator for the securities and futures markets in Japan.

Even with all of Kinoshita’s experience, Ohta will be a tough act to follow. The outgoing CEO has been in the financial services industry for almost 50 years. He joined TFX in 2002 when the firm was still known as The Tokyo International Financial Futures Exchange.

Over the years he moved from being Senior Director to Chief Operating Officer. He has held his current position for almost ten years, having been appointed as CEO in 2009.