Maverick 70-Year-Old CEO Is Determined to Shake Up Japanese Finance

Yoshitaka Kitao, who turns 71 in January, embraces the lessons of the ancient past in his quest to build the future. A lover of Chinese classics such as Confucius’ Analects, Kitao is himself the author of over 40 books. In his youth, when elite students typically sought jobs at Japan’s top banks, he opted to pursue a riskier career at Nomura Securities Co. [now Nomura Holdings Inc.], where he impressed leaders with his hard work and business success. He also wowed a client, SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son, who hired him to be the technology investment group’s chief financial officer. In 1999, Kitao founded SBI, for SoftBank Investment Corp., to focus on internet-­enabled financial services. (The meaning of the initials changed to mean Strategic Business Innovator in 2005, when the company began to separate from SoftBank.) SBI Holdings Inc. now has more client accounts than do its competitors, including Daiwa Securities Group and Nomura. Kitao has also made a push into cryptocurrency-­related ­companies—SBI is the biggest institutional shareholder of Ripple Labs Inc. and R3 Ltd.—and banking, including a two-year pursuit of a controlling stake in Shinsei Bank. Kitao spoke with Bloomberg Markets in early ­November. The interview, which was translated from Japanese, has been condensed and edited for clarity.

BLOOMBERG MARKETS: Your pursuit of Shinsei has led some people to see you as aggressive and innovative. What do you think of that reputation?