< The 2014 Tech 50: Moving Out of the Lab and Into the Cloud
48
Yasuki Okai
Head, Financial Technology Solutions
Nomura Research Institute
Last year: 48
Have a recovering economy and rising profits relieved Japanese financial institutions of their long-standing cost-cutting pressures? Not according to Yasuki Okai, who as Tokyo-based Nomura Research Institute’s head of financial technology solutions has a clear view of the investment climate. The ¥386 billion-in-revenue ($3.8 billion) information technology systems and consulting company’s clientele includes commercial and investment banks, asset managers and insurers. “Both the buy side and sell side are under tremendous pressure to reduce costs,” observes Okai, 51, who has worked for the onetime Nomura Securities International affiliate since 1988, the year its IT solutions business launched. Managements are making hard restructuring decisions, distinguishing between core businesses to invest in and noncore activities for outsourcing. The latter moves are common “especially in middle- and back-office functions,” Okai says, and NRI is at the ready. Last September it announced Post-Trade Plus, a custody and asset-servicing package for broker-dealers looking for economical infrastructure to support expansion across Asia. NRI enhanced its capabilities this year by purchasing 51 percent of Daiko Clearing Services Corp. from Nomura Holdings for ¥1.9 billion. “Clients can focus more on their core business by outsourcing,” says Okai. “They can invest more in their core business while gaining stable middle- and back-office infrastructure through us.”
The 2014 Tech 50
1
1
3
4
5
Thomas Secunda
Bloomberg Jeffrey Sprecher
Intercontinental Exchange Catherine Bessant
Bank of America Corp. Stephen Neff
Fidelity Investments Lance Uggla
Markit 6
7
8
9
10
Robert Goldstein
BlackRock David Craig
Thomson Reuters Phupinder Gill
CME Group Anna Ewing
NASDAQ
OMX Group R. Martin Chavez
Goldman Sachs Group 11
12
13
14
15
Deborah Hopkins
Citi Ventures Dan Mathisson
Credit Suisse Daniel Coleman
KCG Holdings Michael Spencer
ICAP Michael Bodson
Depository Trust &
Clearing Corp. 16
17
18
19
20
Joe Ratterman
BATS Global Markets Dominique Cerutti
Euronext Ron Levi
GFI Group Gaurav Suri
D.E. Shaw Group Charles Li
Hong Kong
Exchanges and
Clearing 21
22
23
24
25
Lou Eccleston
S&P Capital IQ Lee Olesky
Tradeweb Markets Richard McVey
MarketAxess Holdings Seth Merrin
Liquidnet Holdings Antoine
Shagoury
London Stock
Exchange Group 26
27
28
29
30
Christopher
Perretta
State Street Corp. Kevin Rhein
Wells Fargo & Co. Peter Carr
Morgan Stanley Hauke Stars
Deutsche Börse Robert Alexander
Capital One
Financial Corp. 31
32
33
34
35
David Gershon
SuperDerivatives Chris Corrado
MSCI Joseph Squeri
Citadel Tanuja Randery
BT Global Services John Bates
Software AG 36
37
38
39
40
Gary Scholten
Principal Financial Group David Gledhill
DBS Bank Simon Garland
Kx Systems Cristóbal Conde
FinTech Innovation Lab Jeff Parker
EidoSearch 41
42
43
44
45
Kim Fournais &
Lars Seier Christensen
Saxo Bank Kenneth Marlin
Marlin & Associates Tyler Kim
MaplesFS Jim McGuire
Charles Schwab Corp. Jim Minnick
eVestment 46
47
48
49
50
Steven O’Hanlon
Numerix Sebastián Ceria
Axioma Yasuki Okai
Nomura Research Institute Niki Beattie
Market Structure Partners Mas Nakachi
OpenGamma