Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said Thursday that Deputy President Toru Nakashima will be promoted to president and CEO after his predecessor Jun Ota died last week.
The appointment of Nakashima, 60, will take effect on Friday, the company said. Ota died of pancreatic cancer on Saturday.
Nakashima will be tasked with improving efficiency and propelling operational reforms at one of Japan's largest financial groups, which has a wide range of businesses including leasing operations and a securities brokerage.
A graduate of the University of Tokyo, Nakashima joined Sumitomo Bank, a forerunner of the financial group's core banking unit Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., in 1986.
He served in various executive roles at the bank before becoming the financial group's deputy president in April this year. He has long worked in the bank's business planning division and was seen within the group as a CEO candidate.
