Bolivian Marcelo Claure resigns as Softbank’s COO

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Claure led key Softbank projects in recent years such as “the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, the repositioning of WeWork or the launch of Latin America’s largest venture capital fund,” the company said in its press release, although the reasons for the executive’s departure were not detailed.

The conglomerate’s hitherto COO, executive vice president and head of its international arm “has greatly contributed to the company, which thanks him for his dedication and wishes him success in his new phase,” said Softbank’s founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son.

Claure thanked his “mentor and friend” Son, and said that during his 9 years at the Japanese group he “invested in some of the most innovative and disruptive companies that will be industry leaders for years to come,” according to Softbank’s release.

The Japanese conglomerate also announced that Claure’s replacement as COO and head of international business will be Michel Combes, a Softbank’s board of directors member and former CEO of U.S. Sprint telecommunications company.

Claure’s departure was reportedly prompted by his differences with Son over his salary, which was among the highest in the company, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, citing sources close to the company.

Japanese analysts believe that his departure could affect Softbank’s plans for Latin America, since Claure was the main promoter of investments focused on the region launched by the Japanese group in 2019, the largest of its kind to date at US$5 billion.