Nikesh Arora returns to telecom after spending a decade away

NEW DELHI: With his new job at SoftBank, Nikesh Arora returns to his first love — telecom.

After spending more than a decade with Google, this will be homecoming of sorts for Arora who created his own mobile data start-up way back in 2000, and also worked with T-Mobile in various capacities including as CMO of their European business and a member of their board.

Arora will be vice-chairman of SoftBank and head the newly created SoftBank Inter net and Media (SIMI), a US-based entity powering the group’s digital plans. He will report to Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO SoftBank.

“As we enter the next phase of our expansion I can’t think of a better person than Nikesh to help us chart that course,” Son said, commenting on Arora’s appointment.

He said Arora would be nominated to the SoftBank Corp. board at their next shareholder meeting.The partnerships, directing the marketing, sales and customer activities at Google, in addition to being part of the company’s management team, provides him the requisite experience to manage the rapidly expanding SoftBank operations.

Last fiscal year, SoftBank surpassed its rival NTT DoCoMo to become the most profitable mobile provider in Japan. It bought Sprint in the US last year for $21.6 billion, and Son says his next target is to be “the world’s number-one company”

Arora starts at SoftBank in October.

THE PARTNERSHIPS, DIRECTING THE MARKETING, SALES AND CUSTOMER ACTIVITIES AT GOOGLE