Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has appointed Hiro Shimizu and Sakae Suzuki as directors for KKR Japan.
Shimizu joined KKR Capital Markets from Goldman Sachs Japan, where he most recently served as managing director and head of the financial institutions group within the financing group.
Suzuki joins KKR Capstone from McKinsey, where he most recently served as a principal with particular expertise in telecom, media and technology, and operations.
In their new roles, Shimizu and Suzuki will work alongside KKR’s team in Tokyo led by Shusaku Minoda, managing director and chief executive officer of KKR Japan. This increases KKR Japan’s team to 12 people based in Tokyo.
"The addition of directors for both KKR Capital Markets and KKR Capstone in Tokyo evidences KKR’s optimism for and commitment to the Japan market," says Joseph Y Bae, managing partner of KKR Asia. "Hiro and Sakae will increase KKR’s ability to bring value-add to Japanese companies as they increase their global competitiveness."
"We are pleased to welcome world-class talent like Hiro and Sakae to the KKR Japan team," says Minoda. "Hiro will use his extensive experience to expand the presence of KKR Capital Markets in Japan, while supporting and expanding our large and growing base of Japanese investors. As a member of the global KKR Capstone team, Sakae will apply his skills in operational improvement across a wide range of industries to support the growth of KKR investments in Japan and worldwide."
