Brokerage firm IG Group has appointed Qu Zhao as Head of Japan, effective from the beginning of April. She replaces Tomoharu Furuichi, who recently resigned after nearly seven years in the role.
Zhao brings 15 years of experience in consumer tech and digital growth markets. Most recently, she was Chief Marketing Officer for Japan at rival brand moomoo Securities. Before that, she held the position of Head of East Asia at Tinder, leading operations across Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Earlier still, she ran BIGO, a live streaming platform, and launched her own startup.
IG saw huge growth in Japan during Furuichi’s tenure. The broker localised its offering, was the first to heavily market knockouts and ramped up marketing massively. Revenues rose around five-fold in the space of four years as a result.
By the time Furuichi departed, IG Japan had become the largest foreign-branded retail broker in the Japan OTC derivatives segment. In his exit note in January, he said the business had “become several times bigger than it used to be” and that his tenure had run its course. “I have given all I could,” he said, “and time has come for a new leader.”
Zhao is the second senior figure that IG has hired from moomoo. The company hired Gavin Chia as CEO of IG Singapore in mid-2025, after he previously held a similar role at moomoo.
