New Delhi: Only yesterday, the President of SoftBank Nikesh Arora was given a clean chit in an investigation into alleged foul play with Indian start-ups Oyo Rooms and Housing.com. And today, SoftBank Group’s heir apparent announced that he will be stepping down from his position of the group’s president and COO, effective from June 22.
However, he will remain with the company as an advisor.
Arora, a former Google Inc. executive was recruited by Masayoshi Son, billionaire chief executive officer of Softbank two years ago.
Son, in a media interaction, said, “I was thinking of handing over my job as CEO when I turn 60, but thought maybe I’m still a bit too young, and still have energy to continue.”
"The difference of expected timelines between the two leads to Arora's resignation from the position of Representative Director and Director of SBG with the expiration of the term of office and his next steps," the company said in a statement.
"Arora assumed the position of Vice Chairman of SBG and CEO of SB Group us, Inc. (the former SoftBank Internet and Media, Inc.) in September 2014, and has been deeply involved in the establishment and execution of the growth strategy of the Group. He then assumed the position of Representative Director and Director of SBG in June 2015," added Softbank.
Son was the man who had supported Arora when a group of investors asked the board to investigate and dismiss the India-born executive.
Nikesh Arora was the third-highest-paid executive in the world last year, according to Bloomberg with about 16.6 billion yen (Rs. 910 cr approx.).
SoftBank was founded in 1981 by Son, which later acquired Vodafone Group PLC’s Japanese operations in 2006. Then it was rebranded as SoftBank, transforming it into Japan’s third-largest mobile-phone service provider.
