• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

3

Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

3

Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
TechSoftbank

SoftBank Shareholder Criticizes President Nikesh Arora

By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 23, 2016, 1:06 PM ET
SoftBank leaders special lecture
SoftBank Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son and group President & COO Nikesh Arora attend companys special lecture in Tokyo, Japan on October 22, 2015. SoftBank Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son and group President & COO Nikesh Arora discuss the SoftBank Group's Global Strategy, Leadership and other themes in a special fireside lecture (without fire) as part of the SoftBank Academia series. Via the series, which is also broadcast via webcast, SoftBank hopes to inspire and recruit potential leaders of the company. (Photo by Shingo Ito/AFLO)Photograph by Shingo Ito — AFLO

A group of SoftBank shareholders, led by a Swiss consultant named Nicolas Giannakopoulos, has called for an internal investigation of company president Nikesh Arora, according to Bloomberg.

A “sharply critical” letter sent by the shareholders to SoftBank in January accuses Arora, the Japanese telecom giant’s second-in-command, of making bad deals, earning too much money, and having conflicts of interest. But absent of some misconduct that the shareholders have not yet revealed, it appears to be a flimsy set of allegations. (Via email, Giannakopoulos directed me to an associate who did not respond to request for comment.)

Regarding the bad deals, Arora’s mandate was initially to make investments in media and entertainment companies. One of those deals, DramaFever, didn’t pan out, and SoftBank has since sold it. When Arora was promoted to president, he began investing in mature tech startups, mostly in emerging markets. One of those deals, Housing.com, has been a failure. It’s too soon to tell how well SoftBank will fare on the rest of Arora’s deals, which include highly valued startups such as SoFi, Ola Cabs, SnapDeal, and Oyo Rooms. Venture capital investments, even at the late stage in which SoftBank is investing, can take years to pay off.

But the biggest reason the “bad deal” argument is flimsy is because SoftBank’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is himself an erratic dealmaker. He is known for taking big, bold risks, which sometimes create big rewards, as with SoftBank’s investment in the Japanese arm of Vodafone, and which sometimes nearly tank the company, as happened during the tech bubble crash of 2001.

Regarding the excessive pay, Arora does not come cheap. To align his interests with SoftBank’s, last year he took on personal debt to buy $483 million worth of SoftBank stock. He can also take some credit for SoftBank’s 500 billion yen share buyback, which has helped boost the company’s slumping share price this year.

Lastly, Giannakopoulos’ group has accused Arora of a potential conflict of interest with private equity firm Silver Lake. Silicon Valley is so clubby and interconnected that every power player seems to have ten different conflicts so, when conflicts arise, the Conflicted Ones recuse themselves from negotiations. Regardless of whether a conflict exists, the mere appearance of one can lead to problems. Activist investor Carl Icahn used that argument against Marc Andreessen to split up eBay (EBAY) and PayPal (PYPL).

Arora has defended his advisory role at Silver Lake, telling Bloomberg he only spends 10 to 20 hours a year advising the firm and that he may end the relationship when his contract ends. That lines up with what he told me last year, as part of a profile I wrote in November. I asked Arora who he turns to for advice. He mentioned Yahoo (YHOO) founder Jerry Yang, his boss Masayoshi Son, and Egon Durban, a managing partner and managing director at Silver Lake. I asked which companies he advises at Silver Lake. His response is below:

Oh, I don’t do any companies. I met Egon in London 11 years ago, he had just moved there. I had just gotten off of an advisory gig at Apax because I didn’t feel like I had connected, so I said, “No I’m not doing it anymore.” A Spencer Stuart headhunter who helped me hire all the people for my first startup said, “Look, you have to meet this guy.” So I met Egon.

I said, “I don’t want to do board meetings, I don’t want to sit in rooms, I don’t want to be bored to death.” He said, “It’s very simple. I’ll call you for advice when I need you and if you are not conflicted, you tell me what you think. And if you’re conflicted, just tell me, ‘I’m conflicted’ and I won’t ask.” So that’s the arrangement.

About the Author
By Erin Griffith
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Why is it so hard to get ROI from AI? Because building from first principles isn’t easy
NewslettersEye on AI
Why is it so hard to get ROI from AI? Because building from first principles isn’t easy
By Jeremy KahnJune 11, 2026
6 hours ago
SpaceX lowballed its bankers on fees. Goldman Sachs has another way to win big
Startups & VentureFinance
SpaceX lowballed its bankers on fees. Goldman Sachs has another way to win big
By Shawn TullyJune 11, 2026
7 hours ago
Three ways that Asia’s enterprises are adopting AI—and where they are falling behind
CommentaryOracle
Three ways that Asia’s enterprises are adopting AI—and where they are falling behind
By Garrett IlgJune 11, 2026
9 hours ago
Dr. Shiv Rao speaks
Startups & VentureHealth
Abridge wants to be the operating system for medicine—and NVIDIA and Eli Lilly are helping build it
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 11, 2026
11 hours ago
Silicon Valley insiders warn U.S. defense supply chain is unprepared for modern warfare
AIBrainstorm Tech
Silicon Valley insiders warn U.S. defense supply chain is unprepared for modern warfare
By Sebastian HerreraJune 11, 2026
12 hours ago
Exclusive: Consumer device giant LG Electronics to launch blockchain to place and sell ads
CryptoBlockchain
Exclusive: Consumer device giant LG Electronics to launch blockchain to place and sell ads
By Jack Kubinec and Ben WeissJune 11, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
1 day ago
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
3 days ago
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
Innovation
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
By Amanda GerutJune 9, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 11, 2026
16 hours ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
4 days ago
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.