Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, President & CEO of SBI Holdings Inc. will be joining Ripple’s board of directors.

Mr. Kitao brings over four decades of insights into global financial markets to Ripple’s board.

“I am excited to welcome Mr. Kitao to our board of directors. From conventional financial markets to digital asset markets, his deep understanding of the financial services industry will offer valuable business insights to help Ripple continue to scale,” said Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple and Executive Chairman of Ripple’s board of directors. “Approximately half of our customers are located in Asia-Pac today, and we’re rapidly expanding our global footprint across the region. Mr. Kitao comes at a perfect time for Ripple as we look to deepen our customer base in Asia and beyond.”

Yoshitaka Kitao established SBI Holdings Inc. in July 1999. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President and CFO of the Softbank Corporation. He began his career at Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., where he was engaged in the investment banking business.

Kitao will be replacing Takashi Okita, CEO of SBI Ripple Asia, the joint venture between Ripple and SBI Holdings, on Ripple’s board.