SoftBank's Rajeev Misra exiting group to start his own venture
In yet another high-profile exit, key SoftBank executive Rajeev Misra is leaving the Japanese investment group to start his own venture, the media reported on Thursday.
Rajeev Misra, who joined SoftBank in 2014, will stay in a reduced capacity with the group's first $100 billion Vision Fund, reports The Wall Street Journal.
"Misra will stay on in a reduced capacity at SoftBank, overseeing the original Vision Fund investments, while stepping back from oversight of its successor Vision Fund 2," the report said, citing an internal memo that was sent by SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son.
Misra, CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers and Executive Vice President, SoftBank Group Corp, was previously a senior managing director and partner at Fortress Investment Group.
Prior to that, he served as the global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities at UBS between 2009 and 2013, and global head of credit and emerging markets at Deutsche Bank between 1997 and 2008.
He earned a BSc in mechanical engineering and an MSc in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
The high-profile exit of Misra comes at a time when SoftBank is facing tremendous pressure in the economic downturn where tech and startup companies are bearing the brunt.
Last month, French businessman Michel Combes, who joined as SoftBank Group International CEO in January this year, resigned abruptly.
According to the company, Combes has decided to leave SoftBank to pursue new opportunities.
Combes' departure comes as several SoftBank employees have exit the company in recent months as the company's global operations shrink.
The Japanese investment giant in May reported a huge net loss of $13.14 billion for the year ending March 31, saying that it would be forced to cut startup funding by more than half this year.
The conglomerate also reported its biggest-ever quarterly net loss at $16.2 billion for the January-March quarter.