FWD Group Holdings Limited has announced that Tsuyoshi Ijichi will take on the roles of representative director, president, and chief executive officer for FWD Japan starting Jan. 14.
Ijichi brings extensive experience from over 25 years in Japan’s financial services sector, covering areas such as life insurance, banking, and consumer finance. Most recently, he served as director, representative statutory executive officer, and deputy president at MetLife Insurance KK in Japan.
Ijichi expressed enthusiasm about joining FWD Japan, noting that the company is well positioned to grow with its customer-driven and technology-enabled approach to insurance solutions.
“I’m very excited to be joining FWD in Japan at a key inflection point in its history. FWD is well positioned for growth, with a customer-led and digitally enabled approach to its protection and savings focused strategy,” he said.
FWD Group CEO Huynh Thanh Phong said he looks forward to seeing Ijichi lead FWD Japan’s next phase of growth.
“Our Japan business remains incredibly important to FWD. With Ijichi-san’s leadership, I’m confident we’ll further scale our Japan business by changing the way people feel about insurance,” he said.
Phong also recognised the contributions of Hideki Yamagishi, the outgoing CEO, who will transition to an advisory role.
Yamagishi’s leadership over the past four years focused on strategies to enhance capital efficiency and advance the company’s individual protection business.
“I’d like to thank Hideki Yamagishi for his many accomplishments leading our Japan business over the last four years and wish him well as he transitions to an advisory role,” Phong said.
FWD Japan, which began operations in 2017, has built a distribution network comprising independent financial advisors and e-commerce platforms. In 2024, it surpassed 2 million in-force insurance policies and ranked among the top providers for income protection and cancer insurance products, based on data from TokumaShoten.
FWD Group reported significant growth in its new business metrics for the first nine months of 2024, reflecting its strategic initiatives across Asia.
The company’s value of new business (VNB) reached $623 million by the end of September, a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2023. New business sales also climbed by 13% year-on-year to $1.379 billion.
The group launched several initiatives during the period, including a partnership with healthcare firm Roche to introduce a diagnostic-focused health insurance solution under its HealthyMe product line. This product leverages diagnostic innovations to enhance customer coverage.
Additionally, FWD renewed its partnership with INSEAD to support leadership training for agency managers and marked its 11th anniversary with the creation of community grants in areas such as financial literacy and social entrepreneurship.
