Koichiro Watanabe
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Dai-ichi Life Insurance in April 1976. He became a Director in July 2001, Managing Director in April 2004 and Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer in April 2008. Like his predecessor Katsutoshi Saito and Tomijiro Morita before him, he was a career employee who rose to the board of Dai-ichi Life while it was a mutual company. He spent 34 years inside the mutual company, from joining in 1976 until demutualization in April 2010.
Selection
In April 2010 he moved from Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer to President, succeeding Katsutoshi Saito, who became Representative Director and Vice Chairman that month. In the same month, the mutual company that had existed for 108 years since its founding in 1902 converted into a stock company and listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A career employee from the planning side was entrusted with its first year as a company with shareholders.
Initiatives
In May 2011 he acquired all shares of TAL Group, making it a wholly owned subsidiary, and in March 2014 did the same with Dai-ichi Frontier Life. In February 2015 he made Protective Life Corporation of the US a wholly owned subsidiary, using the fundraising capacity gained from the listing to buy an American life insurer. In October 2016 the company renamed itself Dai-ichi Life Holdings and shifted to a holding company structure, moving the core insurance business into an operating subsidiary.
Career
Career
Dai-ichi Life Holdings
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1976 | Joined Dai-ichi Life Insurance |
| Jul 2001 | Director |
| Apr 2004 | Managing Director |
| Apr 2008 | Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2010 | Representative Director, President |
| Apr 2017 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Apr 2017 | Stepped down as President |
| Jun 2020 | Chairman |