Eric Kirsch is the executive vice president and global chief investment officer at Aflac, where he oversees the $100 billion-plus investment portfolio and investment teams based in New York and Tokyo. In part one of this interview, he discusses the nuances of leading the investment office at an insurance firm and an endowment; prepping for a turn in the U.S. credit cycle; how the new tax code positively impacts Aflac; and dealing with the fiscal and monetary headwinds in Japan.