SoftBank Corp., the wireless carrier led by billionaire Masayoshi Son, has hired Google Inc.'s Nikesh Arora to help steer its global expansion.
Arora will join as vice chairman in October after nearly a decade at Google, including time as the search company's chief business officer and head of European operations, Tokyo-based SoftBank said in a statement Friday. He will also be CEO of newly formed Softbank Internet & Media Inc.
Softbank, which last year gained control of Sprint Corp., is said be considering a bid for T-Mobile US Inc. in a move that would create a larger third-ranked U.S. wireless operator. Before joining Google, Arora worked for T-Mobile and also created his own mobile data startup in 2000, the company said.
"As vice chairman, he will work closely with me in defining, implementing and managing our global growth strategy," Son said in the statement. "As CEO of SIMI he will be directly responsible for overseeing our Internet, telecommunications, media and global investment activities."
Softbank has an 80 percent stake in Sprint and also owns more than 30 percent of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, making it the largest shareholder in China's biggest e-commerce operator.