SOFTBANK
SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) today announced that Alex Clavel, currently Managing Partner at SoftBank Group International (“SBGI”), has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of SBGI, effective June 30, 2022. Mr. Clavel will succeed Michel Combes, who has decided to leave SoftBank to pursue new opportunities.
Mr. Clavel will bring seven years of leadership experience at SoftBank across Tokyo, Silicon Valley and New York to the role, in which he will oversee SBGI’s operations and investment portfolio, including its stakes in Boston Dynamics, SoFi, Fortress, T-Mobile, Arm, among other portfolio companies. Together with the SoftBank Vision Funds, SBGI is responsible for all SoftBank Group Corp. activities outside of Japan, including across Europe, the U.S., Asia and Latin America.
Masayoshi Son, Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., 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.”
Mr. Son continued, “I want to thank Michel for his crucial contributions to SoftBank over the past five years. He has played a critical role in some of our most important investments and assets, and I wish him all the best with his future plans. I’m glad he will remain part of the SoftBank family by continuing to represent us on various portfolio company boards.”
Mr. Clavel commented, “I am honored by the trust Masa has placed in me to lead SBGI and am fortunate to have worked alongside Michel. I am excited to build on our success and for what’s to come.”
Mr. Combes said, “It has been a pleasure to work with Masa and the talented teams across SoftBank. I am departing SoftBank proud of having achieved what I set out to do here, including turning around Sprint and executing its merger with T-Mobile, repositioning WeWork and successfully taking it public, and, most recently, the integration of the SoftBank Latin America Funds into the Vision Fund, as well as overseeing SoftBank’s strategic investments in French and European portfolio companies. I am pleased to pass the baton to Alex. He has been my partner for the past two years and I am confident he’s well positioned to lead the team and carry forward our success into the future.”
Alex Clavel Biographical Information
Most recently, Mr. Clavel has been responsible for managing several of SoftBank’s international platform of investments outside of the Vision Funds, including T-Mobile, Deutsche Telecom, WeWork and OneWeb. He serves as a director on the boards of numerous companies and investment vehicles, including Arm China, Boston Dynamics, InMobi, SB Energy, Goggo, and Levere Holdings Corp. Mr. Clavel joined SoftBank in Tokyo in 2015 and worked in SoftBank’s Silicon Valley office before moving to New York with SoftBank in 2018.
Prior to joining SoftBank, Mr. Clavel spent 19 years at Morgan Stanley in investment banking, where he focused on technology, media and telecom M&A. He graduated from Princeton University and speaks French, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.
About SoftBank Group
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 stakes in telecommunications, internet services, AI, smart robotics, IoT and clean energy technology providers; the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing more than US$140 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones; the US$8 billion SoftBank Latin America Funds; and investments in underrepresented founders, including the SB Opportunity Fund, a US$100+ million fund investing in Black, Latinx and Native American founders, and SoftBank Investment Advisers’ global Emerge program. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220621006036/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Venture Global and Tokyo Gas Announce 20-Year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement26.11.2025 01:00:00 CET | Press release
Venture Global’s fourth long-term contract with a Japanese company7.75 MTPA of long-term contracts signed by Venture Global to date in 2025 Today, Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd announced the execution of a new, long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). Under the SPA, Tokyo Gas will procure 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Venture Global for 20 years, starting in 2030. This deal marks 7.75MTPA of SPAs signed by Venture Global in the last six months. “With nearly 8 MTPA of new long-term commitments signed this year, Venture Global is pleased to build on our commercial momentum through this new partnership with Tokyo Gas,” said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel. “Tokyo Gas is a pioneer in the LNG industry and leading provider of natural gas to Japan, and we look forward to working with them as we grow our position as a top LNG supplier to Japan. This agreement will contribute significantly to the US-Japan balance of trade o
Airship Study: No-Code Native App Experiences Double Purchase Frequency (+140%), Offering Path to Profitable Holiday Growth26.11.2025 00:08:00 CET | Press release
New research quantifies the massive conversion lift from optimizing native app and web experiences, providing a critical no-code path for retailers to drive profitability Mobile-first customer experience company Airship today released new aggregate data analysis findings showing that no-code native app experiences significantly increase conversion for key lifecycle events and more than double purchase frequency. The Airship "Experience Impact” research, which studied over 1,000 in-app retail experiences and 1.7 billion device sessions, quantifies the impact of optimizing end-to-end customer journeys—not just sending messages—using no-code and AI-powered tools to drive loyalty and retention at scale, leading to sustainable profitability in a volatile economic environment. Key Findings Customers exposed to high-impact no-code native app experiences such as optimized onboarding flows, dynamic surveys, or embedded personalized offers, purchase 140% more frequently than app customers who do
Court Finds That Two Advanced Cell Diagnostics Patents Are Not Infringed by Molecular Instruments’ Proprietary HCR™ RNA-ISH Technology25.11.2025 17:30:00 CET | Press release
Molecular Instruments, Inc. announced today that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) of the European Union has found that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology does not infringe two patents owned by Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc. (a Bio-Techne group company). In a 2024 lawsuit filed in the UPC (proceedings no. UPC CFI 187/2024), Advanced Cell Diagnostics alleged that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology infringes European patents (EP) 2,500,439 and 1,910,572. The Court in its judgment of 18 November 2025 has rejected that claim and dismissed all of Advanced Cell Diagnostics' lawsuit, ruling that the patents are not infringed either literally or by equivalence (UPC Judgment). This 2025 UPC judgment follows on the heels of an April 2024 UK judgment in which the High Court of England and Wales had already dismissed an earlier infringement lawsuit by revoking the UK parts of the same two Advanced Cell Diagnostics patents (proceedings no. HP-2022-000026), ruling that they wer
Pure Lithium Receives Saudi Patent for Vertically Integrated Lithium Metal Battery Technology25.11.2025 14:20:00 CET | Press release
Pure Lithium Corporation, a disruptive lithium metal battery technology company, is pleased to announce that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has granted the company a foundational patent titled “Vertically Integrated Pure Lithium Metal Production and Lithium Battery Production.” This broad patent covers technology that combines lithium extraction, anode production and battery manufacturing. Pure Lithium’s Brine to Battery™ is a registered trademark in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, planting a strong base of intellectual property in the region. “The technology is particularly relevant to Saudi Arabia because it is one of the places in the world with lithium-containing brines, and even has an abundance of vanadium, which is used in our second-generation battery,” said Founder, Chairman and CEO Emilie Bodoin. “In order to displace today’s lithium-ion battery, our vision is to create global battery hubs with closed loop supply chains, not just in the U.S., but in the many places in the world whe
‘BLUE LOCK - TOKYO EGOIST -’ kicks off on Saturday, November 2225.11.2025 14:07:00 CET | Press release
“BLUE LOCK” voice actors Kazuki Ura and Hiroshi Kamiya were also blown away by the spectacle! A countdown to the new release was held together with over 2,000 fans gathered at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Plaza. In its efforts to promote nighttime tourism, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is developing new attractions that illuminate the capital after dark. As part of this initiative, projection mapping is being presented year-round on the iconic Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1, transforming its façade into a canvas of light and sound. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251121922505/en/ ©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura, KODANSHA/BLUE LOCK Production Committee. A brand-new production inspired by the internationally popular soccer anime“BLUE LOCK”, titled BLUE LOCK – TOKYO EGOIST –, began screening on Saturday, November 22. On the first day of the screening, a mini-event was held at the Tokyo M
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom