WASHINGTON, May 23, 2014 – World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today announced the appointment of Hiroshi Naka as Vice President and Auditor General of the World Bank Group.
A Japanese national, Mr. Naka brings more than twenty-five years of experience working with the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) and multilateral organizations, where he specialized in issues such as economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, and supervision of financial institutions.
“Hiroshi’s expertise will greatly benefit the World Bank Group,” Kim said. “He has a deep knowledge of controls and broad experience in policy coordination, foreign exchange control, supervision of international and Japanese banks, and managing complex relationships with multilateral organizations.”
In his new role, Mr. Naka will be responsible for providing leadership on evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the organization’s risk management, control, and governance processes.
At the MoF, Mr. Naka successfully introduced new regulations requiring Banks in Japan to establish internal controls in compliance with economic sanctions rules based on the Foreign Exchange Act. After his successful work organizing the 2012 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group in Tokyo, Mr. Naka became the Deputy Director General of the International Bureau, where he oversaw a number of groups responsible for economic sanctions, terrorism, anti-money laundering, and coordination among Asian finance ministries and multilateral organizations.
“The span of his career across different sectors will enable Hiroshi to bring a balance of seasoned experience and leadership to the office,” said Dr. Kim.
Mr. Naka’s appointment will be effective July 2014.
