As Chief Investment Officer, I am responsible for all investment-related activities of AIG companies in Japan and Korea. Insurance companies invest the premiums received from policyholders so that there will be enough funds available to pay insurance claims when accidents happen. As CIO, I am responsible for assuring that we have an appropriate framework for these activities. As a member of the board, I am accountable for the corporate governance. Corporate governance is a very broad but important concept.

Launch reception of the AIG Institute in Osaka

I am also serving as the Senior Fellow of AIG Institute, located in Osaka. Utilizing my expertise in risk management, I have led the initiative to launch this research institute on risk management as a CSR activity of the insurance company. We officially launched the Institute on December 1^st, 2017 and hosted the first forum on January 30^th, 2018 in Osaka to discuss pre-event risk management for the long-expected Nankai Trough earthquake focusing on risk finance and District Continuity Planning (DCP).

In your current capacity, what do you see as the main opportunities and challenges for the Japanese insurance industry over the course of the next five to ten years?

I would like to mention two things, which can be both opportunities and challenges. First, consumer behavior is drastically changing. When people do different things, they face different risks and need different insurance coverages. Consumers’ buying points are also shifting and, probably most importantly, the Japanese are not one homogeneous cohort as they used to be. We have a very wide range of people with different backgrounds and philosophies. Any service providers, including insurance companies, need to be highly adoptive and agile.

Visiting the Diet with MEP classmates

Secondly, advancement in technologies is exceeding anybody’s wildest imagination. We talk about the singularity, the moment when machines reach a level of intelligence that exceeds that of humans, which might or might not come within 5 to 10 years but we will feel accelerating changes. We need to keep asking ourselves, “What is insurance?” 

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your work? And what have been the most interesting or rewarding aspects of your career thus far?

The biggest challenge I face is the transition. Working as a management team member of a large company is like navigating a huge oil tanker, which I’ve never done to be honest and oftentimes I’m just guessing. We see changes ahead and try to steer but the bulk of our body is still moving with the momentum from the past. We have a large number of customers and business partners, whom we need to sail together with.

The most interesting and rewarding aspect of my career so far is that I’ve never got bored. I’ve always made sure that I don’t get bored by finding enough challenges and it has worked well so far.

You did both your master’s and Ph.D. at GRIPS. What led you to GRIPS? What is the most important thing you got out of your studies here, and how has your experience at GRIPS prepared you for future endeavours?

Receiving the Dean’s Award for my MEP work

What led me to GRIPS, that’s a good question. I was getting into politics in 2009 and 2010 and got to know Prof. Yosuke Yasuda via Twitter. I visited GIRPS in April 2011 to meet him for the first time and he pushed my back. I earned undergraduate degrees both in the US and Japan and was feeling that it’s probably easier for me to pursue advanced studies in English than in Japanese. So, the Macro Economic Policy program was perfect for me. When I finished my master’s degree, I felt that I shouldn’t lose the momentum I had built and continued studying.

I got two very important things out of my time at GRIPS. The first one is, of course, the training in academic studies. I think I was an OK scholar in undergrad but definitely got rusted over the years. The work at GRIPS made me feel like a sharpened knife again. The other thing is the network of friends. How many people in Japan do you think can say, “Oh, I’ve got friends at the Bank of Thailand, the Government of Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Maldives, and….”?

How do you maintain a balance between your work and the rest of your life? And what is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

This is a very difficult question for me because I don’t really differentiate work and life. I work because I like what I’m doing. It’s only one piece in the portfolio of things I like and do.

When I’m out of my office, I like to do what I cannot do in the office, of course. My most favorite thing is scuba diving. I also love exercising in the gym and playing music (mostly guitar and ukulele). I won’t call those things “work” because I don’t earn any money. But I also like to read and think, which helps me to earn money so I might call that “work” as well.

What are some of your fondest memories of your time spent at GRIPS?

Koenji Awaodori with MEP classmates

Definitely the parties, both in the cafeteria and at IH1 in Nakano. Eating, drinking, and talking with friends from all over the world is the best thing I had.  

If you could give one piece of advice to anyone considering studying at GRIPS what would it be?

I honestly believe GRIPS is a very rare set up at the center of Tokyo, where students from overseas and Japan can study together at a very high level. If you have a chance to study at GRIPS, grab that chance. It is small and cozy, which makes you easily interact with other students and professors. 

How would you like to maintain involved with the School? What do you expect from GRIPS as an alumnus and do you have any suggestions on how to further utilize the GRIPS alumni network?

With fellow students at the reception after MEP graduation

There are a few ways I’d like to be involved with GRIPS in. First, as I mentioned earlier, I am serving as the Senior Fellow of AIG Institute. I’m sure there are things we can do together in risk management studies. Secondly, I have worked, or survived, in the financial industry for over 25 years and consider myself as a seasoned financial professional. I am happy to volunteer my time and experience for the good of GRIPS as I believe financial management of higher education institutions is becoming more and more challenging and important. And lastly, I love teaching. I taught one course in Capital Markets at Hitotsubashi University’s ICS, their English MBA program, before joining AIG and I really enjoyed it. All the things I’ve learned in finance and corporate management over the years are ready to be shared.

There’s only one thing I expect from GRIPS as an alumnus, which is transparency. GRIPS may be a good school as is but will be a much better and stronger organization with stronger support from its alumni, and we need to know more about what’s going on in order to support.