Since joining Mizuho in 1994, Hiroki Kurakagi has held senior roles across Tokyo, New York, and now London. We spoke to him 100 days into his new role as Chief Executive Officer for Mizuho EMEA about his career to date, global collaboration, and harnessing EMEA’s international mindset.
Hiroki Kurakagi's journey in the world of economics and banking began with his academic pursuits, graduating from Hitotsubashi University in 1994 with an undergraduate degree in Economics.
“I have always been interested in microeconomics because it covers a vast amount of issues,” explains Kurakagi-san. “Microeconomics deals with how we behave, and it has a lot of implications for decision making.”
After graduating, Kurakagi-san joined the Industrial Bank of Japan (now known as Mizuho) and held multiple roles across corporate banking departments. "I was in charge of Japan’s biggest steel manufacturer from 1999 to 2002, and that was my first access to a very global company," he notes.
This experience sparked his interest in understanding global business and management, leading him to pursue an MBA in the US on a scholarship through Mizuho at Dartmouth College - his first venture outside of Japan, and something that has had a lasting impact on his career.
“I was very familiar with how things worked in Japan, but my time in the US business school allowed me to understand how people interacted with each other in a global context,” says Kurakagi-san. “It was important for me to work with a group of diverse people around the world and develop my perspective to global business and global management.”
Kurakagi-san’s most recent appointment as CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa is a continuation of, and testament to, his commitment to global collaboration.
Global Collaboration and Harnessing EMEA's International Mindset
In recent years prior to taking on his EMEA role, Kurakagi-san served as Head of Strategic Planning Department in Mizuho Financial Group before moving to Mizuho Americas in New York for two years as Chief Strategy and Administrative Officer. Kurakagi-san led the formulation of Mizuho’s medium-term business plan including the global CIB strategy, and helped boost the CIB business in the US.
In his new role as CEO for EMEA, Kurakagi-san will be looking to harness the international mindset of EMEA to grow the region further, and for it to play a leading role in Mizuho’s global ambitions.
"EMEA is a truly international region, and it will be intrinsic to transforming Mizuho into a global financial institution, deeply rooted in Japan,” he asserts.
“Mizuho has laid a strong foundation in EMEA and in other regions, and now is the time to grow our business by connecting those dots.”
Hiroki Kurakagi,
CEO for Mizuho EMEA
Mizuho EMEA has recently gone through a significant period of change, optimising its entity/operating structure through the creation of a universal bank in the EU and establishment of a Regional Headquarters in Saudi Arabia for MEA, and embedding its CIB model in line with Mizuho’s global CIB strategy. At the same time, Mizuho globally has been organically developing various strengths in each region, as well as acquiring and entering into strategic partnerships in key areas, represented by the acquisition of Greenhill in 2023, in which Kurakagi-san played a critical role.
“Mizuho has laid a strong foundation in EMEA and in other regions, and now is the time to grow our business by connecting those dots,” says Kurakagi-san.
“Global collaboration is the next growth strategy for Mizuho Financial Group and is pivotal to the EMEA strategy, complementing the region’s front and corporate services with other regions’ strengths and capabilities and vice-versa to allow growth on a global scale.”
When asked about the role EMEA will play in the Mizuho group, Kurakagi-san highlights EMEA’s position as an international hub for a global financial world, and believes that EMEA can be a catalyst to change Mizuho globally.
“Mizuho EMEA’s strategic direction is to establish itself as global centre, delivering excellence to our clients by connecting capabilities, clients, opportunities and geographies on a Mizuho group basis” says Kurakagi-san.
Growth in EMEA and beyond...
100 days into his role as CEO for EMEA, Kurakagi-san reflected:
“I have been encouraged by the amount of change that has been achieved in the region in a short space of time. This is a direct result of the dedication, hard work and strong collaboration across business and corporate functions - which have all played a central role in our journey of transformation. I am proud to say we have a team of talented individuals, and I have been impressed by the positive mindset and collaborative culture within the organisation.”
Now EMEA has almost completed its organisational transformation, it will take on greater importance for Mizuho. “We are seeing signs of rebalancing in the world’s money flows and investment flows into EMEA, where there will be a lot of investment in defence, infrastructure, energy transition, and the digital space”.
Whilst the MEA region has been seeing strong growth, Kurakagi-san is also optimistic about the European economy, which has suffered a period of stagnation.
“Our internal reforms and the region’s emerging opportunities will enable the firm to leverage its own and other regions’ capabilities to gain market share in key growth segments.
The revival of EMEA overall is multifaceted and some trends that we are seeing present highly attractive business potential for Mizuho based on some observed megatrends.”
He highlights that elevating client dialogue and enhancing product capabilities, coupled with global collaboration, will be at the cornerstone of the region’s strategy to capitalise on these growth opportunities.
"In an exciting step forward for our region, Mizuho recently announced its acquisition of Augusta & Co, a London-based leading specialist financial advisory firm serving the Renewable Energy and Energy Transition sectors. "
Kurakagi-san commented: “This announcement is a significant milestone for our business in the region, strengthening our advisory platform and our energy transition credentials, in a sector that is ever more in demand.
The expertise that Augusta & Co brings, combined with Mizuho’s global reach and strong balance sheet, will further strengthen EMEA’s position as the centre of excellence for sustainability within the Mizuho Financial Group.”
As Kurakagi-san looks to the future, he is laser-focused on maximising the returns from client relationships, and positioning Mizuho as a solutions-focused institution. The addition of Augusta & Co is a key accelerator to elevate client dialogue and enhance product capabilities.