New York, August 27, 2017 – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that Katsuyuki Kuki will join Blackstone as Chairman and Representative Director for Japan. Mr. Kuki will advise and support Blackstone’s investing and capital raising efforts in Japan as the firm continues to expand its presence in the country.

Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Kuki was the Chairman of Banking at J.P. Morgan in Japan and spent nine years at the company in various leadership roles within their Investment Banking division. He began his career at the Japan Development Bank and at Shearson Lehman Hutton in New York, and has also held senior leadership positions at UBS Securities and Lehman Brothers in Japan. Mr. Kuki has a BA in International Relations from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, said: “Katsuyuki Kuki brings a wealth of insight to Blackstone from his 30 years of experience as a senior leader in Japan’s financial services industry. We look forward to his leadership and expertise in the country and greater Asia Pacific region, which is an increasingly important part of our business.”

Katsuyuki Kuki said: “I am excited to join Blackstone – a firm with such a strong reputation for excellence across the globe. Alongside the talented existing team in Japan and senior leaders from across the firm, I look forward to continued growth and success in the country.”

Blackstone has been one of the most active investors in the Japanese real estate market since 2010 and has committed to and/or invested in JPY 650 billion ($5.7 billion) of total transaction value which includes the acquisition of the GE Japan residential portfolio, the privatization of Japan Residential Investment Corporation, the proposed privatization of Croesus Retail Trust and the proposed acquisition of the real estate portfolio from Astro Japan Property Trust. Blackstone has also established strong relationships with Japanese investors with over $15 billion of limited partner capital raised since 2009.


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Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with over $370 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Contact:
Christine Anderson
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Christine.Anderson@blackstone.com