Miwa Ohmori, Chief Executive Officer of RGA Reinsurance Company Japan Branch, is responsible for leading all business operations for RGA in the Japan market. Miwa has 30 years of experience in banking and financial services and joined RGA in 2020.

Previously, Miwa served as Branch Manager of Bank of America, National Association Tokyo Branch (BANA), beginning in 2014 until leaving for RGA. In 2017 she assumed a dual role as both Branch Manager and Head of Japan Corporate Banking and Global Transaction Services. Prior to BANA, Miwa served as Vice Chairman, Managing Director, and as a Director of the Board for Merrill Lynch Japan Securities, and was Chief Executive Officer and Representative Director of Mitsubishi UFJ Merrill Lynch PB Securities Co., Ltd.

Miwa began her career at Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co, Ltd.  and worked as a trader in the Treasury Department. After obtaining her M. B. A., she then joined Merrill Lynch Securities where she held several leadership roles, including Head of Structured Products and Head of Regional Financials and Corporate Strategic Solutions for Merrill Lynch Japan Securities. 

Miwa graduated from Keio University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and received an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She also attended the Women’s Executive Program at Harvard University.

As Vice Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer for RGA Reinsurance Company Japan Branch, Kunihiko Iinuma works closely with various business functions of the branch and with RGAX to implement solution-based growth strategies and to further build key client relations. Kunihiko also guides these teams in identifying and developing new opportunities to bring innovation to the financial services ecosystem in Japan. He joined the company in 2020.

Kunihiko had 29 years of experience in financial services before coming to RGA, including seven years at SBI Holdings and SBI Life Insurance Company, where he most recently served as Vice Chairman of SBI Insurance Group Co., Ltd. Kunihiko has also held management and senior management positions related to financial solutions, product development, business planning and actuarial consulting with companies such as UBS Securities Japan Ltd., RBS Securities Japan Ltd., Scottish Re Group Limited, MassMutual Life Insurance Company (now Nippon Wealth Life Insurance Company Limited), ACE Insurance, the London Assurance (Japan), and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd.

Kunihiko has completed Ph.D. course work in statistical mathematics from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, and received a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in financial engineering from Hitotsubashi University, and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in mathematics from Keio University. He is a Fellow of Institute of Actuaries Japan (FIAJ).

As Vice President and Chief Underwriter, Akira Sakamoto is responsible for oversight and management of all RGA Japan underwriting operations, including the quality control of case underwriting and underwriting administrative functions.

Akira joined RGA’s Tokyo Representative Office in 2000. Since then, he has been expanding facultative underwriting services and other initiatives to grow business through underwriting expertise. When the office was licensed in 2007 as RGA Japan Branch, Akira implemented a rule of providing facultative underwriting decisions within four hours, which was a first for RGA offices around the world and established RGA’s leadership position in the life insurance industry in Japan.

Immediately prior to joining RGA, Akira was Underwriting Manager for GE Edison Life, and has played important roles in claim management, corporate sales, and administration for Japanese life insurance companies. He began his career with a life insurance company in Japan.

Akira received a Bachelor of Health Services degree from the University of Tokyo. He was a founder of the Underwriters Association of Japan (UWAJ) and served as Representative Director for the organization until 2016, helping to establish Underwriter as an expert occupation in the market.

As Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for RGA Japan Branch, Shin Yagisawa leads a team of business developers in supporting clients and delivering innovative solutions to the Japanese life insurance industry. Shin also oversees initiatives related to providing clients with expert product development support and underwriting solutions, as well as RGA Japan’s marketing activities.

Shin joined RGA in 2012 as Director, Marketing, and in 2016 he began managing the Business Development team responsible for foreign-affiliated life insurance companies. He was named Head of Business Development in 2018 and was promoted to his current position in March 2021. Shin has more than 25 years of combined experience in the insurance and banking industries, primarily in marketing and distribution for global insurance companies. Prior to joining RGA, Shin worked for Tokyo Star Bank, serving as Head of Bancassurance. He started his career at Sanwa Bank (now MUFG Bank).

Shin graduated from Gakushuin University, where he majored in law, and received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Durham University Business School in the U.K.

Simon Armand-Smith is Vice President, Business Development for RGA’s Global Financial Solutions (GFS) unit, responsible for leading all aspects of GFS for RGA Japan, and for coordinating closely with other functions in the Japan operation to further develop GFS business in that market. He is based in Tokyo.

Prior to joining RGA in 2018, Simon worked at PwC in Tokyo. He has 20 years of experience in insurance and finance, split almost evenly between actuarial roles and positions in investments and capital markets. He was previously Head of Investment Risk with Beazley Insurance, and he served in other roles with PwC in London, and with Aon Benfield and Dresdner Kleinwort in Tokyo.

Simon is from the U.K. and received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from University College, London, and a Master of Science in financial mathematics from Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA).

As Executive Director, Head of Product Development for RGA’s Japan Branch, Kazunori Hashida leads a team that provides innovative, data-driven and value-added product solutions to clients in Japan.

Kazunori has more than 15 years of product development and pricing experience in the Japanese insurance industry, and is a regular contributor to industry publications. Prior to joining RGA in 2018, he worked for MetLife in Japan, leading both the pricing actuarial and the pricing actuarial management departments. While at Met Life he also was responsible for FSA negotiations on new product approvals, successfully developing various life, Accident & Health, and retirement products. In addition, he has worked for other ceding companies, including one of the largest domestic insurance companies in Japan.

Kazunori received a Master of Science in physics from Kyoto University, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Japan (FIAJ).

 As Executive Director, Strategic Initiative, Business Development, Kayoko Tsuzuki is responsible for planning and implementing strategic initiatives to grow business and support clients by working closely with RGA Japan’s various business functions and with RGAX, the transformation engine of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated.

Kayoko joined RGA Japan Branch in 2006. Since then, she has played a pivotal role in marketing to build strong client relationships, primarily with key Japanese insurance companies, and grow business for RGA Japan. She has led a team of marketing representatives in charge of major domestic life insurance companies and developed new accounts and new areas of business that diversified the portfolio of traditional segments the Japan Branch manages.

Kayoko has more than 30 years of experience in the life insurance/reinsurance industry, including working for GE Edison Life, and has served in a variety of functional areas, including marketing, for Japanese life insurance companies. She began her career with a life insurance company in Japan.

Kayoko received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Fukushima University. She has written a number of articles on industry-related topics.