Ex-Japan Finance exec elected new ADB chief

MANILA, Philippines - Takehiko Nakao has been unanimously elected president of the Asian Development Bank by its Board pf Governors, a statement from ADB said Friday.

Nakao, 57, Japan's former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, will assume office as ADB's ninth president on April 28 and will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, who resigned in March.

Nakao will finish the unexpired term of his predecessor, which ends Novermber 23, 2016.

“The ADB Board of Governors looks forward to working with Mr. Takehiko Nakao and his strong leadership of the institution,” said P. Chidambaram, Chair of the ADB Board of Governors and Finance Minister of India. “His extensive experience in international finance and development and broad and deep knowledge of the Asian region will serve ADB well in pursuing its vision of an Asia-Pacific region free of poverty.”

Nakao, whose career spans more than three decades, has held senior positions in the Ministry of Finance of Japan.

He also served as Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in 2010 and 2011, teaching international finance. Nakao holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.