Nomura Hires First Female CEO - Junko Nakagawa

According to BBC News, Nomura made a very bold move this week by appointing its first female CEO. Junko Nakagawa joined Nomura Securities Co. in 1988, working at its underwriting and finance divisions before leaving the company in 2004. This could start a trend in upward mobility for women in the investment banking field:

Japan's largest brokerage house, Nomura, has appointed its first female chief financial officer in an unusual move for a top Japanese company. Junko Nakagawa will take up her position on 1 April. Nomura also announced the promotion of Jesse Bhattal to deputy president of the firm's wholesale banking division. The move is part of a wider effort by some big Japanese companies to offer roles to foreigners to help them move into overseas markets, analysts said. "We have not named Ms Nakagawa as chief financial officer because she is a woman but because she has the capacity to do this job and assume the responsibilities," Nomura said. "That said, we think is good to encourage diversity in our business." The promotion is an unusual move in Japan where senior business positions are generally filled by men. "It is rare for a Japanese financial institution to give this type of promotion to a woman," said Azuma Ohno at Credit Suisse in Tokyo."It's an impressive move."
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