Yoshitaka Kitao Joins Ripple Board of Directors

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–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.

About Ripple:

Ripple provides one frictionless experience to send money globally using the power of blockchain. By joining Ripple’s growing, global network (RippleNet), financial institutions can process their customers’ payments anywhere in the world instantly, reliably and cost-effectively. Banks and payment providers can use the digital asset XRP to further reduce their costs and access new markets. With offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney, Ripple has more than 200 customers around the world.

Contacts

Emi Yoshikawa
[email protected]

This article published with permission from Business Wire