James Haines joins ING as Japan country manager

ING has announced the appointment of James Haines as its new country manager in Japan, taking over from Riko Kikuchi, who held the position for the past three years. Haines brings a wealth of experience, having spent 25 years working in the Japanese financial market.

Before joining ING, Haines was at Aozora Bank, where he served as general manager and deputy group head. In this role, he was responsible for leading the bank's real estate activities outside of Japan and managing critical relationships with global real estate lenders and investment firms.

His extensive background also includes senior positions at Bank of America, where he functioned as chief operations officer for Global Corporate & Investment Banking in Japan and co-head of corporate credit risk. Additionally, Haines contributed to origination and risk management during his tenure at Shinsei Bank.

Haines began his professional journey in sales and marketing at Hakuto Co., Ltd, a technology trading company in Japan. He holds a bachelor's degree from Amherst College, a master's from Columbia University, and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

With his extensive experience and deep understanding of the local market, Haines is poised to lead ING Japan into its next chapter.