Blackstone has hired Ryusuke Shigetomi as Chairman and Representative Director of Japan to support its expansion in the country.
In his role, Shigetomi will oversee Blackstone’s businesses in Japan and help navigate the local financial and regulatory environments, the private equity firm said on Monday.
Shigetomi joins Blackstone from Morgan Stanley, where he served as Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley Global Investment Banking and Managing Director of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities’ Investment Banking Division and its Head of Telecommunication, Media and Technology Banking.
Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, said: “Ryusuke brings nearly four decades of experience in Japan’s financial industry and a reputation of excellence. We are thrilled to have him join at an exciting time of growth for Blackstone in Japan. The firm announced the best year yet in the market last year with landmark transactions across both real estate and private equity, introduced the Private Wealth Solutions business to serve a broader range of clients, and expanded support for the team with the key appointment of Eiichi Hasegawa as Senior Advisor, who was previously Special Advisor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.”
Ryusuke Shigetomi said: “It is humbling to join Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager and one of the most distinguished in Japan, at a significant time of growth for the Japan business. I look forward to working with the various teams and leaders across the firm to build Blackstone’s presence in Japan, a key market in Asia for the firm.”
Prior to Morgan Stanley,Shigetomi held a number of positions with The Industrial Bank of Japan and led high-profile deals in the telecom, media, technology and energy sectors.
Mr. Shigetomi holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Tokyo. He will assume the role effective November 1, 2021, from Katsuyuki Kuki. Mr. Kuki will step down from his day-to-day role as Chairman and continue to support the firm as an Executive Advisor. Since joining the firm in 2017, Mr. Kuki has helped support Blackstone’s investing and capital raising efforts in Japan.
Blackstone has been active in Japan for more than three decades and opened its Tokyo office in 2007.
Last year, the firm had a record year in Japan with $7.3 billion in investments across real estate and private equity, including the biggest real estate deal ever and the largest private equity deal in the country since 2017. This year, the real estate team bought an eight-hotel portfolio in Japan’s top tourist destinations from Kintetsu Group Holdings.
