Ayako Kageyama

Head, Innovative Sustainable Finance at Nippon Life Insurance Company

Speaker

Ayako Kageyama is a global sustainable finance practioner with deep expertise across financial institutions and international organisations. She currently leads efforts to scale innovative finance across diverse asset classes at Nippon Life Insurance, with the strategic goal of growing the firm’s sustainable investment portfolio to JPY 5 trillion (USD 35 billion) by 2030.

Her work integrates a wide range of sustainability themes—including just energy transition, nature-positive strategies, social equity, health, and impact management—into investment strategy, portfolio design, and policy advocacy. Ayako also serves on the Advisory Committee of Impact Consortium, Japan’s Financial Services Agency, contributing to national-level sustainable finance policy development.

Prior to her current role, Ayako was based in Singapore, where she advanced sustainable finance from an Asia-focused perspective. Her career spans senior roles in both the public and private sectors, including positions at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Fidelity International, Standard Chartered Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).