Tesla appoints former head of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund to its board

Tesla has appointed Hiromichi (Hiro) Mizuno, former head of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, to the board of directors.

Today, Tesla announced that its board has authorized the number of directors on the Board of Directors to increase from nine to 10 in order to appoint Mizuno.

Mizuno was executive managing director and chief investment officer of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund until last month.

He was recently praised by Tesla CEO Elon Musk when he announced that the fund would stop lending money to short sellers.

Tesla’s stock has often been the most bet against by short sellers on the NASDAQ.

The longtime finance industry expert is now a member of the Audit Committee of Tesla’s Board.

Over the last few years, Tesla has taken heat for its board not being independent enough from Musk and his family.

A year ago, Tesla announces that four board members were going to leave and they made efforts to add more independent board members, including billionaire Larry Ellison.

Musk also had to step down from his role as chairman of the board.

Here’s Tesla press release in full:

We are pleased to welcome Hiromichi (Hiro) Mizuno to Tesla’s Board of Directors and Audit Committee, effective April 23, 2020.

Hiro’s entire career has been in finance and investment, spanning Tokyo, New York, London, Hong Kong and Silicon Valley. Most recently, Hiro served as Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, which is the largest pension fund in the world with approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management. During his time there, Hiro emphasized the importance of environmental considerations in portfolio management and became a global thought leader in sustainable and responsible investment. He also challenged many established market practices, including short-selling, to promote long-term value creation by corporations.

In addition to his understanding of financial markets and economics, Hiro brings to the Tesla Board an expertise in international policy, as he is member of numerous business and government advisory boards, including the board of the PRI, an investor initiative to promote responsible investment in partnership with the United Nations, the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council, and the Japanese government’s strategic fund integrated advisory board.

We are excited that Hiro has joined our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.