Masayoshi Son acknowledged the outlines of a succession plan, addressing what may be the single biggest concern among investors, and name-checked the head of SoftBank’s telecom unit Junichi Miyakawa.
Son said he plans to hold SoftBank’s reins another 10 years, but added he has several candidates for its next chief in mind from within the Japanese technology group, speaking during a general shareholders’ meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The candidates work alongside the billionaire every day, although he hasn’t disclosed who they are to anyone, the 67-year-old said.
While saying that he is healthy and intends to lead, Son added, "If I should become a barrier to growth, SoftBank should move to its next phase.” He then listed Miyakawa — who is now in charge of rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure within Japan — as someone who’s doing "an extremely solid job.”
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