by Sam Nussey
TOKYO (Reuters) – SoftBank Group announced on Wednesday the appointment of Alex Clavel as chief executive of its subsidiary SoftBank Group International (SBGI) to replace Michel Combes, appointed just six months ago.
Having become in a few years one of the main world players in high technologies by betting big on high-potential start-ups via its financial branch, Vision Fund, SoftBank is today forced to review its ambitions due to the sharp drop in sector valuations.
SBGI manages a portfolio including, among others, semiconductor designer Arm, which it hopes to IPO, and stakes in satellite operator OneWeb, US mobile operator T-Mobile US and robotics specialist Boston. Dynamics.
Alex Clavel worked for Morgan Stanley Bank for 19 years before joining SoftBank in 2015.
Michel Combes, who led Vodafone Europe, Alcatel-Lucent and Altice among others “decided to leave SoftBank to pursue other opportunities”, specifies the Japanese group. He will, however, continue to represent SoftBank on the boards of several companies.
(Report Sam Nussey, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)
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