Makoto Okubo

Makoto (Mack) Okubo
Mack is assigned as General Manager, International Affairs, Nippon Life Insurance Company, now based in London after spending 9 years in New York, and responsible for global business strategies, international regulatory, accounting, sustainability, and other policy matters.

Among other global activities, he has served as the Sherpa of the Asia Pacific Financial Forum (APFF) Insurance and Retirement Income Network, promoting sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development in the Asia-Pacific region. He actively promotes SDGs in collaboration with the United Nations, G20, WB/IMF, OECD, IFRS Foundation, APEC, etc.

He is also known as a multi-talented entertainer and has launched the Music for SDGs Project, which aims to provide opportunities for the public to deepen their understanding of SDGs through music, movies, fashion shows, and art in collaboration with the UN, NGOs, and talented artists.

Formerly, he was employed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel, Switzerland, and served as a member of the IAIS Secretariat, sponsored by FSA Japan, responsible for standards implementation, including technical assistance, training of insurance supervisors over 150 countries, and coordination with other international organizations.

Before the BIS, he also spent 5 years in New York as a lead researcher at
NLI Research Institute on insurance, banking, securities, and pension sectors in the US and Canada. His website, Mackglobe.com, a research portal site is used by industry professionals, regulators, and researchers in over 90 countries.

He holds a Bachelor of Law from Kyoto University, and an MBA/MS in Finance from HEC School of Management, France. He speaks Japanese, English, French, Spanish, and some German.