Softbank reorganized their international groups under Softbank Int'l, a newer, more streamlined spaceship for the rest of the world:
SOFTBANK Corp. Organizes for Rapid International Expansion; Creates Global Ventures Group to Manage Markets Outside of Japan
Source: BUSINESS WIRE
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000--SOFTBANK CORP. announced today a new organizational structure that will position the company for rapid international expansion. All private equity organizations of SOFTBANK based outside of Japan will be grouped into a unit called SOFTBANK Global Ventures, reporting to Ron Fisher who will be CEO, SOFTBANK Global Ventures (SBGV). Mr. Fisher and all Japan-based operations will report directly to SOFTBANK CORP.
President and CEO, Masayoshi Son.
"Over the past year, SOFTBANK's international growth has been exceptional, with new operations in the United States, China, Latin America and Korea and important partnerships with News Corp., Vivendi, and the World Bank," said Masayoshi Son. "We are committed to bringing the advantages of the Internet to markets all over the world and need a business structure that helps us manage this enormous rate of growth efficiently. SOFTBANK Global Ventures under Ron's leadership will enable our organization to do that while not losing focus on our equally impressive expansion here in Japan."
SOFTBANK Global Ventures will have two divisions: SOFTBANK Venture Capital (SBVC), headed up by Gary Rieschel, President and Executive Managing Director, SBVC, and SOFTBANK International Ventures (SBIV), headed up by Eric Hippeau, President and Executive Managing Director, SBIV. In keeping with the team approach that characterizes management in SOFTBANK, the company will also operate with a Global Executive Committee that will include: Masayoshi Son, Ron Fisher, Gary Rieschel, Eric Hippeau, Yoshitaka Kitao, President, SOFTBANK Finance Corporation and Executive Vice President and CFO, SOFTBANK CORP. and Ken Miyauchi, President and CEO, SOFTBANK Commerce Corp.
SOFTBANK Venture Capital will incorporate the successors to the two primary SOFTBANK funds in the United States. The initial SOFTBANK Venture Capital, headquartered in Silicon Valley, has managed venture capital funds focused primarily on early-stage Internet companies. Its past and current portfolios include Internet companies such as E- Loan, GeoCities, Interliant, MessageMedia, Net2Phone, and [TheStreet.com]. SOFTBANK Capital Partners, headquartered in Newton Center, Massachusetts, has focused on later stage Internet investments. Its investments include buy.com, Global Sports, law.com, OptiMark Technologies, SmartAge, PeoplePC, Webvan and Webhire.
All other markets outside of Japan are now organized under a newly- named unit, SOFTBANK International Ventures, headed up by Mr. Hippeau. Included in SBIV are: SOFTBANK Latin America Ventures, the partnership with the IFC of the World Bank called SOFTBANK Emerging Markets, the partnership with News Corp. in the UK called eVentures, the partnership with Vivendi for continental Europe called @viso, SOFTBANK Europe Ventures, SOFTBANK UK Ventures as well as units operating in China, India, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
"The creation of the SOFTBANK Global Ventures group will help us leverage the strength of these individual units, as well as the opportunities we have with our various international business partners and strong brands. SBGV will seek out the most promising Internet business models worldwide and leverage SOFTBANK's global network to build them into global best of breed Internet companies," said Ron Fisher. "We have such a talented management team - smart people with diverse backgrounds and demonstrated success in bringing great ideas to market. Taken together, these strengths position us to bring the advantages of the Internet to businesses, consumers and markets around the world."
Mr. Fisher has been with the SOFTBANK organization since 1995, serving as Managing General Partner of SOFTBANK Capital Partners and Vice Chairman of SOFTBANK Holdings Inc. He is also on the Board of SOFTBANK CORP. Prior to joining SOFTBANK, Mr. Fisher was CEO of [Phoenix Technologies, Ltd.], the leading developer and marketer of system software products for personal computers. He has also held executive positions with Interactive Systems Corporation, Visicorp, TRW and ICL (USA).
Mr. Rieschel joined SOFTBANK in 1996 as Executive Managing Director of SOFTBANK Venture Capital. Prior to this, he held a number of executive positions with nCube, [Cisco Systems], Sequent Computer Systems and Intel Corporation.
Mr. Hippeau has been the CEO of [Ziff-Davis Inc.] since 1993. He will continue in his role as CEO of Ziff-Davis until that company's strategic alternatives process concludes, at which time he will become the non-executive Chairman of the ZDNet, Inc. Board of Directors.
About SOFTBANK CORP.
SOFTBANK has emerged as one of the world's leading Internet market forces. Through its ownership positions in more than 300 Internet companies and its unique Internet management concept, it is able to create market synergies for its family of companies on a global scale. In Japan its activities encompass distribution, publishing, Internet media platforms, a broad range of e-commerce businesses, and joint ventures with companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, the National Association of Security Dealers, and many other market leaders. In the US, SOFTBANK is the largest shareholder in leading Internet companies including Yahoo!, E TRADE and ZDNet, in Europe has established Internet joint ventures with News Corp. and Vivendi, and is helping build Internet companies in Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, India, China and Korea. (www.softbank.com)
Note to Editors: There is an asterisk in the company name between E and TRADE.
Publication date: Mar 08, 2000
¸ 1999, NewsReal, Inc.
MULTILINKTM
Ziff-Davis Inc
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Phoenix Technologies LTD.
TheStreet.com
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