
Uniqlo’s Tadashi Yanai calls it quits for SoftBank
- Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai announced resignation from SoftBank's board of directors.
- Yanai served the board for 18 years and now wishes to focus on his fashion business.
- Yanai was one of the most vocal directors at SoftBank Group Corp.
- SoftBank is facing a difficult time following the cancelation of its subsidiary WeWork's IPO.
- SoftBank is yet to announce a replacement for Tadashi Yanai on the board of directors.
Follow Invezz on Telegram, Twitter, and Google News for instant updates >
SoftBank Group Corp
made an announcement on Friday that highlighted Tadashi Yanai’s departure from
the board of directors. Yanai is the CEO and founder of Uniqlo’s parent
company, Fast Retailing. He has served SoftBank as a board member for 18 years.
Reportedly, he
wishes to focus more on his own fashion business now. Yanai was one of three
members who were not directly part of the SoftBank group but as a director,
served his role of ally and critic because of close connections with the CEO
Masayoshi Son.
SoftBank Is
Facing A Difficult Time Following Cancelation Of WeWork’s IPO
Copy link to section
SoftBank
is already facing a difficult time after an unexpected cancelation of the
IPO of its subsidiary, WeWork. In a statement, CEO Son accepted his misjudgment
in evaluating Adam Neumann’s character who helped co-founded the company. He
further showed confidence in strategizing to bolster corporate governance to
protect its investments in the future.
The analysts, on
the other hand, have reiterated that SoftBank’s own governance is questionable
as it barely promotes independent opinions. The current system at SoftBank
fails to be flexible enough for the directors to question the CEO’s decisions. According
to Nicholas Benes, as long as SoftBank doesn’t put an effort to improve its own
corporate governance, it will be hard for it to require it from the investee
companies.
Yanai Was One Of
The Most Vocal Directors At SoftBank
Copy link to section
Yanai was one of
the few directors who was known to question and challenge Son’s decisions and
strategy. As per the sources, he was the one who criticized the CEO for
investing in WeWork; an investment that saw SoftBank post its first quarterly
loss in 14 years.
Being one of the
most vocal and active directors on the board, Yanai requires a strong
successor. However, SoftBank’s representatives have made it clear that such
decisions have not been made yet.
Previously,
Shigenobu Nagamori, the CEO of Nidec Corp had also resigned from SoftBank’s
board of directors. He was also known to be one of the strongest and most vocal
members of the body. His resignation was announced in 2017.
Although a
replacement has not been announced yet, the options include Takeshi Okazaki,
Finance Chief of Uniqlo, and Pan Ning, who heads Chinese operations for the
firm. Another option is Maki Akaida, the leader of Japan’s operational unit.
SoftBank should be making an
announcement soon to protect the stock prices of its subsidiary companies. As
of Friday, following the announcement, the stock dropped from a daily high of
4,780 JPY to 4,756 JPY where it closed for the week.
Advertisement
Want easy-to-follow crypto, forex & stock trading signals? Make trading simple by copying our team of pro-traders. Consistent results. Sign-up today at Invezz Signals™.
More industry news






