CEO’s speech at the welcoming ceremony for new recruits (summary)

Masayoshi Son, President and Chief Executive Officer of SOFTBANK CORP., spoke to the 273 new employees on behalf of the SOFTBANK Group at the Group’s welcoming ceremony. A summary of his address is as follows

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the SOFTBANK Group!

I believe that people will acquire the ability to overcome the difficulties and thus develop themselves after they experience various challenges in their lives.

The Group has experienced various difficulties for the twenty or so years since its establishment. However, each time we overcame them, we acquired further wisdom and knowledge, and the group has now grown to the point where we can welcome such a large number of new employees here today.

Until now, I have conquered various hardships to achieve my goals and have fulfilled my dreams step by step. I set up a goal in the recent acquisition of Vodafone K.K.; “to definitely become No.1 in the industry and have people all over the world use our services and platforms.” There will inevitably be a fierce competition, but I believe that we can make most dreams come true if we picture our goals and milestones clearly and specifically.

People often ask me, “SOFTBANK has become a business group with revenues of more than one trillion yen. What are you still striving for?” I would say that is because the Group will undermine its own raison d’être if we lose the spirit of challenge. However hard it is, as long as we continue to have ambitions, we can promote the IT revolution, which we have employed as our management policy since our establishment, and provide happiness and new lifestyles to people around the world.

Today will be a major turning point in each of your lives. Please do not stop pursuing your dreams and ambitions throughout your lifetime.

We aim to be the “Global No.1 Corporate Group.”

Stepping up our efforts towards this goal, let’s live a wonderful life together!