Under fire from investors, SoftBank Group Corp President Nikesh Arora is stepping down, marking an abrupt end to the tenure of founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son’s handpicked successor.
SoftBank was founded as a software distributor in 1981 by Masayoshi Son. It acquired Vodafone Group PLC’s Japanese operations in 2006, rebranded it using the SoftBank name and transformed it into Japan’s third-largest mobile-phone service provider. The company is attempting another turnaround at Sprint Corp, which it acquired in 2013, but those efforts so far have been difficult.
Since joining SoftBank nearly two years ago, Arora has spent nearly $4 billion investing in startups around the world in a hunt for a break-through technology company capable of driving future growth.
Arora had already come under fire from shareholders over some of those deals, as well as his compensation, and some investors had questioned his qualifications. Arora is one of the highest-paid corporate executives in the world, receiving $135 million in 2014 and another $73 million last year.
His resignation was announced a day after SoftBank said a special committee investigating allegations raised by one group of investors found that the group’s claims were without merit.
Arora has been the President and Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Group Corp, since June 19, 2015. He has also been a Senior Advisor at Silver Lake and is part of the Value Creation Group. Arora has served as the Chief Executive Officer of SB Group Us, Inc.
Arora holds an MS degree from Boston College and an MBA from Northeastern University, both of which were awarded with distinction. He holds the CFA designation. In 1989, he graduated from the Institute of Technology in Varanasi, India with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
Arora had already come under fire from shareholders over some of those deals, as well as his compensation, and some investors had questioned his qualifications
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