SoftBank Group Announces Corporate Governance Enhancements and The Appointment of Corporate Officers
SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) today announced changes to its Board of Directors and appointment of Corporate Officers as part of the Company’s continued efforts to strengthen its corporate governance. These initiatives are aimed at increasing the proportion of External Board Directors on the Board, and separating the management decision-making function from the business execution function to clarify the persons responsible for business execution.
Four of SoftBank’s Internal Board Directors, namely, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Katsunori Sago, Executive Vice President Rajeev Misra, and Governor and Board Member of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan, have resigned from SoftBank’s Board of Directors as of today, bringing the size of the Board to nine members with a greater proportion of External Board Directors. The Board has also appointed Masayoshi Son, Ronald D. Fisher, Marcelo Claure, Katsunori Sago, Rajeev Misra and Yoshimitsu Goto as Corporate Officers.
"On behalf of our shareholders and the Board, I want to express my deep appreciation to Marcelo, Sago-san, Rajeev and Yasir for their dedication and their service on the Board,” said Representative Director Masayoshi Son. “The changes to our Board build upon the enhancements we made in June, including ensuring we have a greater proportion of External Board Directors, and further highlight SoftBank’s commitment to corporate governance.”
With the directors’ departures, the Board members include: Masayoshi Son; Ronald D.Fisher; Yoshimitsu Goto, Chief Financial Officer of SoftBank; Ken Miyauchi, President and Chief Executive Officer of SoftBank Corp.; Simon Segars, Chief Executive Officer of Arm Limited; Masami Iijima, Representative Director, Chairman of the Board of Directors, MITSUI & CO., LTD.; Yutaka Matsuo, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo; Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Founder and Chairman of Walden International, Inc., and Yuko Kawamoto, Professor, Waseda Business School (Graduate School of Business and Finance).
SoftBank announced in June 2020 the appointment of two new External Board Directors, as well as the formation of a Nominating & Compensation Committee comprised of a majority of independent directors and no less than three Board Directors. SoftBank will continue to strengthen its corporate governance.
In addition, SoftBank also announced today that Robert Townsend, Chief Legal Officer of SoftBank and SoftBank Group International, will transition to the role of Senior Advisor to SoftBank, effective by the end of this month. Group Compliance Officer and Deputy Head of Legal Unit, Tim Mackey, has been appointed to the role of Chief Legal Officer.
Masayoshi Son added, “Rob has been a trusted advisor to me and to SoftBank for many years and his contributions have been immeasurable. Most notably, Rob was instrumental in the execution of some of SoftBank’s most important transactions, including the Sprint-T-Mobile merger, the creation of the Latin America Fund and the monetization of SoftBank assets. He also played a critical role in strengthening our governance standards and practices. I am grateful for everything he has done for us and look forward to continuing to work with him.”
List of Directors and Officers after the Change
1. Board Directors
| Representative Director | Masayoshi Son |
| Board Director | Ronald D. Fisher |
| Board Director | Yoshimitsu Goto |
| Board Director | Ken Miyauchi |
| Board Director | Simon Segars |
| External Board Director | Masami Iijima |
| External Board Director | Yutaka Matsuo |
| External Board Director | Lip-Bu Tan |
| External Board Director | Yuko Kawamoto |
2. Corporate Officer
| Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO | Masayoshi Son |
| Corporate Officer, Vice Chairman | Ronald D. Fisher |
| Corporate Officer, Executive Vice President & COO | Marcelo Claure |
| Corporate Officer, Executive Vice President & CSO | Katsunori Sago |
| Corporate Officer, Executive Vice President | Rajeev Misra |
| Corporate Officer, Senior Vice President, CFO, CISO & CSusO | Yoshimitsu Goto |
| Corporate Officer, Senior Vice President | Kazuko Kimiwada |
| Corporate Officer, Senior Vice President & CLO | Robert Townsend* |
| Corporate Officer, Senior Vice President | Gary Ginsberg |
Robert Townsend will resign, and Tim Mackey will be appointed to Corporate Officer.
About SoftBank
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing up to $100 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones, and the SoftBank Latin America Fund, the largest venture fund in the region. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en.
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