SoftBank Overseas Business Chief Michel Combes Exits in Latest Churn

SoftBank Group has appointed Alex Clavel as chief executive of its SoftBank Group International (SBGI) unit.

By Reuters | Updated: 22 June 2022 17:37 IST

SoftBank Overseas Business Chief Michel Combes Exits in Latest Churn

Alex Clavel spent 19 years at Morgan Stanley before joining SoftBank in 2015

Highlights

Alex Clavel is replacing Michel Combes
Masayoshi Son will address shareholders on Friday
Alex Clavel participated in restructuring of WeWork

Japan's SoftBank Group said on Wednesday it has appointed Alex Clavel as chief executive of its SoftBank Group International (SBGI) unit, replacing Michel Combes who leaves after just six months in the role.

SoftBank transformed the tech industry with big bets on late-stage startups but the conglomerate has turned over much of its executive team and has been forced to radically scale back investing activity through its Vision Fund as its portfolio slumps.

Clavel takes charge of a hodgepodge of assets including chip designer Arm, which SoftBank hopes to list, and stakes in satellite company OneWeb, telco T-Mobile US and robotics firm Boston Dynamics.

South Korea Hits Dozens With Travel Bans Amid Terraform Labs Crypto Probe

The executive, who spent 19 years at Morgan Stanley before joining SoftBank in 2015, participated in the restructuring of office space-sharing firm WeWork and the integration of Latin American funds into the Vision Fund following the departure of Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure.

The recent exits underscore the dominance by chief executive Masayoshi Son of the Japanese conglomerate and its board at a time of strategic drift. Son will address shareholders on Friday.

Son "needs people to provide safeguards, give him advice, and make him even more successful," outgoing SoftBank board member Lip-Bu Tan wrote in a statement earlier this month, adding that "poor choices made too quickly can have negative consequences for the company".

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Missed Apple's WWDC 2022? We discuss every major announcement on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.