Jack Ma Leaves SoftBank Board Amid Record Losses and Activist Pressure
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma steps down from SoftBank's board as the company adds new directors to appease activist investors. The shake-up occurs while SoftBank faces massive financial losses and continues massive share buybacks.
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma officially resigns from SoftBank's board of directors as he continues to step away from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. His departure marks the latest exit of a high-profile ally for SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, following Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai's resignation late last year. Ma previously retired as Alibaba's executive chairman last September.
To fill the void and address mounting pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, SoftBank proposes three new board members for election at its June annual general meeting. The new nominees include SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimoto Goto, Cadence Design Systems CEO Lip-Bu Tan, and Waseda Business School professor Yuko Kawamoto. Kawamoto brings much-needed diversity to the board as the only female director, directly answering Elliott's demands for better corporate governance and a new subcommittee to oversee the $100 billion Vision Fund.
This leadership shake-up happens as SoftBank grapples with severe financial headwinds, including a record overall loss driven by the Vision Fund's third consecutive quarterly operating loss. To stabilize its floundering stock price, the company's board approves a second 500 billion yen tranche of its 2.5 trillion yen share buyback program. SoftBank currently pledges to sell down $41 billion in assets to raise cash, leaving its highly valuable Alibaba stake as a likely target for future monetization.