Nikesh Arora steps down as SoftBank CEO
Amidst a row with investors, the hand picked successor of Masayoshi Son, Nikesh Arora has decided to step down as the Chief Executive of SoftBank. Mr. Son said he would continue until the next CEO is appointed and that Arora would step down to "follow another path." However, Arora said he would continue in an advisory role with SoftBank.
What is SoftBank?
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Japanese multinational telecommunications and Internet corporation. It was incorporated on 3 September, 1981 and is headquartered in Tokyo. In May 2015, SoftBank was ranked as the 62nd largest public company in the world. The company is engaged in mobile communication services, sales of mobile devices, provision of fixed-line telecommunications and Internet service (ISP) services.
Nikesh Arora's amazing journey
Nikesh Arora joined Japan's SoftBank in September 2014 as the head of its global internet investments. In only nine months, Arora was appointed as the President of SoftBank. Under his leadership, the Japanese telecommunications & internet major pumped in nearly $1 billion in internet start-ups in India. He was closely associated with the organisation's investments in Snapdeal, Ola & Housing.com.
SoftBank's global investments in 2015
Under Nikesh's leadership, the company announced two huge investments in India: US$210 million in taxi app Ola and US$627 million in Snapdeal. An investment plan of US $10 billion was reserved by Arora to give a push to India's e-commerce, telecom, and aviation industries. Nikesh Arora made two big investments in South Korea which pumped millions of dollars into Coupang & Dramafever.
Nikesh Arora'pay
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, SoftBank Group Corp. President Nikesh Arora was paid 8.04 billion yen ($73 million) for the company's latest fiscal year, putting him among the top paid executives in the world for the second year in a row.
Allegations against Nikesh Arora
According to a media report, a group of investors asked for an investigation and potential expulsion of Nikesh Arora. It was alleged that there was a conflict of interest between Nikesh Arora and private equity firm SilverLake. Investor's criticized his poor performance in making investments for SoftBank. Nikesh Arora's huge compensation pakage was another reason for the investigation.
Nikesh Arora gets a clean chit from SoftBank
SoftBank's investigation cleared Nikesh Arora of foul play allegations. A special committee of independent board members reviewed the allegations against Nikesh which "were without merit." SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, stated, "As I said when these allegations first became public, I have complete trust in Nikesh and I am pleased the special committee has looked into these claims thoroughly and concluded they are without merit."
