Shibata will replace Charles Beazley who is stepping down as CEO and returning to the UK “for family reasons”, after just less than 12 months in the job.
Beazley joined the company from Gartmore in 2006, first based in its London office, the moving to Tokyo in 2010 to look after its Asian operations and domestic institutional business.
In 2012, he was named chairman and CEO, and in 2013 he also became president.
On his departure, Beazley said: “The decision to leave Nikko Asset Management was not an easy one for me, but I naturally chose to return to the U.K. in the face of family health issues that require my undivided attention.
“I am proud of the progress Nikko AM has made during my tenure as CEO, and have no doubt that the company will continue to prosper under the new management.”
Meanwhile, Shibata joined Nikko as executive chairman in July 2013 after what Nikko describes as a “distinguished career at Nomura”, making no mention of the circumstances under which he left.
In July last year, both Shibata and Nomura CEO Kenichi Watanabe stepped down from the bank after it was alleged its staff leaked information on share offerings to customers before it was made public. There was no assertion that either Shibata or Watanabe were directly involved in the scandal.
In addition, David Semaya, former head of the UK & Ireland wealth management business at Barclays, has been appointed take the chairman role vacated by Shibata. Semaya will join the company as non-executive chairman on 1 April, and is expected to become executive chairman on 1 September.
