Willis Towers Watson has appointed Taro Ogai as head of investments for Asia-Pacific. Ogai will start his new role on July 1 2017 and will be based in Tokyo.

Ogai will succeed Naomi Denning, managing director and head of the Asia-Pacific investment business, who after 23 years with the company, will be leaving the company to relocate to Canada in a long-planned move with her family.

With 14 years of business management and client service experience at Willis Towers Watson in Japan, Ogai will also draw from his diverse career working in asset management and management consulting roles, to build on the strong business foundations that Naomi has created.

Ogai has most recently led efforts to build the company’s investment solutions capability in Japan while serving a number of large clients as trusted adviser.

Previously, he served as managing consultant for the diverse Willis Towers Watson business in Japan for three years, and prior to that Ogai was the leader of the investment team in Tokyo for six years.

Ogai began his career in asset management, and before joining Willis Towers Watson worked at the management consultancy McKinsey & Company. Ogai has lived and studied in Japan, England, the Netherlands and the US, and has worked with multinational and local clients during this time.

Following a review of the investment business’ operating structure in the region, Jayne Bok has been appointed as head of investments for Asia. Bok will be responsible for Willis Towers Watson’s investment activities in Asia-Pacific outside of Japan and Australia. Based in Hong Kong, Bok will start in this newly created role on July 1 and will report to Taro Ogai.

Bok will transition from her current role as Willis Towers Watson’s head of sovereign advisory for Asia, where she has been responsible for advising a wide range of sovereign entities in Asia-Pacific on their investment arrangements.