SoftBank Investment Advisers, which runs internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund, is considering hiring Ioannis ‘John’ Pipilis as head of financing, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Pipilis was formerly the head of fixed income trading at financial services firm Deutsche Bank. He joined the bank in 2000 as a senior trader in its global credit trading division before being appointed global head of credit structuring in 2007.
Deutsche Bank made Pipilis head of fixed income in mid-2018 to handle areas such as corporate and sovereign credit derivatives, junk bonds and leveraged loans. He left the firm last month as part of the restructuring of its bond trading division.
SoftBank set up the first Vision Fund in 2016 and recently launched the second fund. The funds make equity investments but also make use of credit lines, and one of the sources suggested Pipilis’ duties could include managing debt for the vehicles and fixed income securities for portfolio companies.
Although SoftBank Investment Advisers has yet to confirm the offer, it has hired Deutsche Bank alumni in the past, including CEO Rajeev Misra, who is also SoftBank’s head of strategic finance, managing partner Akshay Naheta and Faisal Rehman, head of investments for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
