AAA Combes steps down as SoftBank exodus continues

Combes steps down as SoftBank exodus continues

Michel Combes is leaving his post as chief executive of telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s international subsidiary after five months, as turmoil continues to surround the company’s investment activities.

SoftBank promoted Combes from president to CEO of SoftBank Group International (SBGI) in January this year, when he replaced the departing Marcelo Claure. He took over management of the company’s international activities and oversaw its $5bn Latin America Fund.

In addition to the Latin America Fund, which has backed a string of unicorns including Digital Currency Group, Sorare and Rappi, the role also involves managing stakes in some of SoftBank’s larger portfolio companies, such as robotics manufacturer Boston Dynamics and online financial services provider SoFi.

Alex Clavel (pictured), a managing partner at SBGI, will take over from Combes at the end of this month. He joined SBGI in 2015 after 19 years at investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Alex Clavel, incoming CEO of SBGI

Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank, 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 around the globe.

“I am confident that his experience – combined with the strong SoftBank team around him – will serve us well as we continue our journey as Vision Capitalists.”

Combes’s exit is the latest in a long line of high-profile departures from SoftBank’s investment team. It comes two months after the corporate announced it would be slowing down the pace of its investments.

  • Ronald Fisher, US head of SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA), the division that oversees the company’s Vision Funds, stepped down the same month, transitioning to an advisory role. He left SoftBank’s board of directors less than a year earlier.
  • Shu Nyatta and Paulo Passoni, two of Latin America Fund’s managing partners, also departed in April and appear to be working together to set up a new, as yet unnamed firm.
  • Vishal Gupta exited his director role at SBIA the same month in favour of a similar position at growth equity firm TA Associates.
  • Marcelo Claure, then also SoftBank’s chief operating officer, left the company having set up the Latin America Fund in 2019. He reportedly pushed for more capital and recognition, and for the fund to be spun off so it could operate more independently.
  • Deep Nishar, formerly senior managing partner at SBIA, announced he was stepping down in September 2021 and joined venture capital firm General Catalyst two months later.
  • Maria Khan, Carolina Brochado, Ruwan Weerasekera, Penny Bodle, Avi Golan, Ted Fike and Justin Wilson left SBIA in 2020.

The continuous churn among SoftBank’s investment teams cannot be helpful given how much some of its bigger bets have seen their market values decline in recent months.

The share prices of Uber, WeWork and DoorDash have more than halved in the past year while the declines of Asian portfolio companies such as Coupang and Grab have been even steeper, causing SoftBank to announce last month that its Vision Funds booked a paper loss of more than $27bn in the past fiscal year.

Photo of Michel Combes courtesy of Twitter. Photo of Alex Clavel courtesy of LinkedIn.

By Robert Lavine

Robert Lavine is special features editor for Global Venturing.