Softbank Group Corp (SoftBank) announced today that the company and Marcelo Claure have mutually agreed to part ways after a successful nine-year partnership.
Michel Combes has been appointed to succeed him as CEO of SoftBank Group International (SBGI).SBGI includes SoftBank Latin America Funds and the SB Opportunity Fund.
Combes said on his appointment to succed Marcelo Claure: “I am extremely grateful to Masayoshi Son for this opportunity and to Marcelo for his friendship and partnership.”
Masayoshi Son, Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said, “Marcelo has made many contributions to SoftBank during his time here and we thank him for his dedication and wish him continued success in his future endeavors. I have great confidence in Michel Combes and the talented SoftBank team to continue with the great work we have underway at SBGI.”
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. , an investment holding company that includes stakes in telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing more than US$140 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones; the US$5 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest venture fund in that region; the US$3 billion SoftBank Latin America Fund II; and the SB Opportunity Fund, a US$100 million fund investing in Black, Latinx and Native American founders in the U.S.
In SBGI since 2020
Combes has significant leadership experience at multinational companies across industries. He joined SBGI as President in April 2020 and serves on several boards of directors of SoftBank portfolio of companies, including WeWork Inc., OneWeb, SoFi Technologies, Inc, Contentsquare, Jellysmack and Swile. Mr. Combes also serves on the boards of directors of Philip Morris International and Etisalat Group.
Before joining SBGI, Combes served as CEO of Sprint. Before Sprint, he had been CEO of several companies, including: Altice, Alcatel-Lucent and Vodafone Europe. The new CEO of SBGI is a graduate of École Polytechnique, Télécom ParisTech and Paris Dauphine University.
From the T-Mobile/Sprint merger to repositioning WeWork
As CEO of SBGI and Corporate Officer, Executive Vice President & COO of SoftBank, Marcelo Claure helped lead highly consequential projects over the last several years, including the turnaround of Sprint and the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the successful repositioning of WeWork, the launch of Latin America’s largest venture capital fund, and the launch of the SB Opportunity Fund to invest in underrepresented racial minorities.
Claure said, “I will forever be grateful for my experience at SoftBank over the last nine years. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the world’s great executives and entrepreneurs, and tackle several immense professional challenges, which makes the success we achieved together that much more rewarding. Beyond the value we have created for SoftBank stockholders, we have invested in some of the most innovative and disruptive companies that will be industry leaders for decades to come. I am particularly grateful to Masayoshi Son, who gave me the opportunity to thrive at SoftBank and served as a mentor and friend during my tenure.”
Image over the headline.- Left to right: Michel Combes (CEO of SBGI). Marcelo Claure. Photos,© SoftBank. Composition,© Eastwind.
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