Nikesh Arora, President of Japan's SoftBank will step down from his role, the company said today.
His resignation was announced a day after SoftBank said a special committee investigating allegations raised by one group of investors found that the group’s claims were “without merit.”
Arora, who took over as president of SoftBank in May 2015, was seen as a potential successor to billionaire CEO Masayoshi Son.
"Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SBG, had been considering Arora as a strong candidate for succession. Son's intention was to keep leading the Group in various aspects for the time being, while Arora wished to start taking over the lead in a few years' time. The difference of expected timelines between the two leads to Arora's resignation from the position of Representative Director and Director of SBG with the expiration of the term of office and his next steps," SoftBank said in a statement.
Before joining SoftBank, Arora was a longtime executive at Google Inc., where he oversaw all revenue and customer operations at the internet giant as well as marketing and partnerships.