Mr Shibato first joined Nikko AM in July 2013 as executive chairman from his role as chief operating officer at Nomura Holdings.
During his time at Nomura Holdings he performed many roles managing global investment banking, the global wholesale business, global support functions and the asset management business across Europe, Hong Kong, Boston, Kobe and Tokyo.
David Semaya has been appointed as chairman of Nikko AM and will join the company as a non-executive chairman from April 1, and is expected to become executive chairman on September 1.
Mr Semaya was most recently at Barclays as head of the wealth management business in the UK, chairman of Barclays Asset Management and chief executive of Barclays Global Investors, Europe and Asia.
He was also at Merrill Lynch for 12 years in a variety of roles in asset management and capital markets in New York and Tokyo, and was president of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers from 2002 to 2004.
Mr Semaya said as a member of the new management team he is pleased to have the opportunity to take Nikko AM to new heights for its clients on a global basis.
“We will achieve this by reinforcing the investment culture, the quality of products and services and risk management, while increasing the focus on our employees and investing in the business,” said Mr Semaya.
“As a firm, we’re taking a proactive approach to harvesting opportunities globally, and will seek to grow by enhancing our product capabilities to meet our clients' needs,” he said.
Mr Beazley said his decision to leave Nikko AM and return to the UK was due to family health issues that required his undivided attention.
“I am proud of the progress Nikko AM has made during my tenure as chief executive and have no doubt that the company will continue to prosper under the new management,” said Mr Beazley.