Son to pick successor from Softbank Group

Softbank Group Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son said that he will pick his successor from executives at group companies. At a general shareholders meeting in Tokyo, Son said his successor "will be a person who plays an important role with me in the group's management for five to 10 years, is compatible and leads the management in the same direction as I do." In 2014, Softbank Group invited former Google Inc. executive Nikesh Arora to succeed Son. But in June last year, Son said he intended to stay on for 10 more years, citing his interest in leading the telecommunications and technology group's artificial intelligence business by himself. Arora left the group as a result.