Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest brokerage, named Junko Nakagawa as the company's first-ever female chief financial officer, replacing Masafumi Nakada.

Nakagawa, 45, currently codeputy CFO and an executive managing director, will start her new role on April 1, the Tokyo-based firm said in a statement Monday.

Nakada, 52, will become president of Nomura Trust & Banking Co.

The Tokyo-based company also said it created an office for global strategy that will report to Chief Executive Officer Kenichi Watanabe and Chief Operating Officer Takumi Shibata. The office, headed by Hiromasa Yamazaki, will help the company respond to financial regulatory changes being implemented by groups including the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Nomura said.

Nomura is aiming to expand outside of Japan and has tripled overseas staff following its acquisition of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. assets in 2008 to make up for waning growth prospects at home.