Masayoshi Son is losing a growing number of top executives at SoftBank Group, putting more responsibility on the founder’s shoulders just as the outlook for the Japanese conglomerate turns increasingly ominous.
Two more managing partners at the company’s Vision Fund, Yanni Pipilis and Munish Varma, are leaving, it was reported last week, bringing the number of top level departures from the world’s largest investment fund to at least 10 since March of 2020. Rajeev Misra, the long-time head of the Vision Fund, is giving up most of his titles and responsibilities as he starts his own investment fund. Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure left earlier this year, while Chief Strategy Officer Katsunori Sago, who had been on SoftBank’s board with Misra and Claure, resigned in 2021.
That leaves Son increasingly on his own as he plots a new course for the company he founded four decades ago. The 64-year-old is shifting focus away from the Vision Fund after steep losses and toward fresh opportunities, particularly the U.K. chip firm Arm, according to people familiar with the matter. Son is planning to reposition the chip designer and cut costs to boost profits in order to increase its appeal as he prepares to take it public next year, said the people, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
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