Hiroki Wiesheu assumes management in Japan

Hiroki Wiesheu (32), Representative Director and Deputy President of Metzler Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. since 2019, will become President and CEO of the Tokyo-based company on April 1, 2021. Metzler Bank has been operating successfully in Japan since 2001, primarily providing asset management services for institutional clients but also increasingly offering Japanese clients support in their real estate investments in the US and Germany. The Tokyo office has about 20 employees.

"In the current low-interest-rate environment, Japanese institutional investors must diversify their investment strategies. In order to expand beyond their strong focus on domestic asset classes and branch out more internationally, investors are now investing more in foreign assets with higher yields. We want to take even greater advantage of the resulting business opportunities. I am confident that, as a strong partner for cross-border investment solutions, we will succeed in doing so," said Emmerich Müller, Personally Liable Partner at Metzler Bank.

Hiroki Wiesheu has a Japanese mother and a German father and grew up bilingual and in both countries. He is equally at home in both the Japanese and German cultures. In 2020, he became the youngest member of the Keizai Doyukai, one of the most important networks of Japanese business leaders. This shows how much his bicultural background and experience are appreciated in Japan. "As a proven intermediary between Frankfurt and Tokyo, Hiroki Wiesheu’s exceptional background and experience make him Metzler’s first choice to represent our asset management in Japan and to expand our position further," said Franz von Metzler, Managing Director of Metzler Asset Management.

Mr. Wiesheu received a bachelor’s degree in 2010 and a Master of Science degree in business administration with a focus on finance from the University of Mannheim in 2012. He spent one semester at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. From 2012 to 2015, he worked in the equity capital markets department at Commerzbank in London and Frankfurt/Main. From 2015 to 2018, he was vice president in equity advisory and M&A at Rothschild in Frankfurt/Main. In 2018, he joined Metzler. In addition to his business activities, Mr. Wiesheu is active in institutions and platforms that promote and deepen relations between Germany and Japan, e.g. the Japanese-German Business Association.