Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management (SuMi Trust), one of Japan’s largest asset managers with US$748bn AUM (as at August 2025), has named Takahiro Kobayashi as its new president and CEO. Kobayashi will replace Yoshio Hishida, the firm’s president and CEO since 2018, as part of a phased transition of responsibilities, the company said in a statement today. Hishida will remain a non-executive director and will take on the role of Global Asset Management Officer for the whole SuMi TRUST Group. Kobayashi – who has 20 years of experience – joined Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in 2004 and became executive officer of SuMi TRUST Asset Management in 2023. As the saying goes, ‘The ears of rice bow lower as they bear fruit’ – I want to embody that spirit.”