SoftBank Group Corp. (SoftBank) announced that Alex Clavel, Managing Partner at SoftBank Group International (SBGI), has been appointed as CEO of SBGI, effective June 30, 2022. Mr. Clavel will succeed Michel Combes, who is leaving SoftBank to pursue new opportunities.
What is Clavel’s industry expertise?
Mr. Clavel will bring seven years of leadership experience at SoftBank across Tokyo, Silicon Valley and New York to the role, in which he will oversee SBGI’s operations and investment portfolio, including its stakes in Boston Dynamics, SoFi, Fortress, T-Mobile, Arm, among other portfolios. Together with the SoftBank Vision Funds, SBGI is responsible for SoftBank Group Corp. activities outside of Japan, including across Europe, the U.S., Asia and Latin America.
Mr. Clavel joined SoftBank in Tokyo in 2015 and worked in SoftBank’s Silicon Valley office before moving to New York with SoftBank in 2018. Prior to joining SoftBank, Mr. Clavel spent 19 years at Morgan Stanley in investment banking, focusing on tech, media and telecom M&A. He graduated from Princeton University and speaks French, Japanese and Mandarin.
Mr. Clavel has been responsible for managing several of SoftBank’s international platform of investments outside of the Vision Funds, including T-Mobile, Deutsche Telecom, WeWork and OneWeb. He serves as a director on the boards of numerous firms and investment vehicles, including Arm China, Boston Dynamics, InMobi, SB Energy, Goggo, and Levere Holdings Corp.
What are the executives’ thoughts on the appointment?
Mr. Clavel said, “I am honored by the trust Masa has placed in me and am fortunate to have worked alongside Michel. I am excited to build on our success and for what’s to come.”
Mr. Combes said, “It has been a pleasure to work with Masa and the talented teams across SoftBank. I am departing SoftBank proud of having achieved what I set out to do here, including turning around Sprint and executing its merger with T-Mobile, repositioning WeWork and taking it public, and the integration of the SoftBank Latin America Funds into the Vision Fund, and overseeing strategic investments in French and European portfolio firms.”
“I am pleased to pass the baton to Alex. He has been my partner for the past two years and I am confident he’s well positioned to lead and carry forward our success into the future.”
Masayoshi Son (Masa), Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said, “Building on more than two decades of experience in corporate development and investing, Alex has long been a trusted leader at SoftBank in multiple locations across the globe. I am confident that his experience – combined with the strong SoftBank team – will serve us well as we continue our journey as Vision Capitalists.”
Mr. Son continued, “I want to thank Michel for his crucial contributions to SoftBank over the past five years. He has played a critical role in some of our most important investments and assets, and I wish him all the best with his future plans. I’m glad he will remain part of the SoftBank family by continuing to represent us on various portfolio company boards.”
