Robert Townsend to join Softbank as chief legal officer
Softbank Group has appointed Robert Townsend as chief legal officer and senior vice president of Softbank. He will also take on the same role at SoftBank Group International.
In this newly created role, Townsend will lead the group’s legal, compliance operations and corporate governance program on a global basis, Softbank said in a company statement.
Townsend will be based in SoftBank's Silicon Valley office, and report to Masayoshi Son, chairman & CEO of SoftBank, and Marcelo Claure, director, executive vice president COO of SoftBank and CEO of SoftBank Group International.
Townsend, who is widely recognized as one of the top global M&A advisors by leading independent authorities, is currently co-chair of Morrison & Foerster's Global M&A Practice Group. He has worked closely with SoftBank over the last several years to complete numerous transactions, including Sprint's proposed merger with T-Mobile, as well as SoftBank's acquisitions of ARM Holdings and Sprint Nextel.
“Rob has been a trusted partner and valued adviser for many years,” said Son. “We are very pleased he has agreed to join SoftBank as we transition the company into a leading global investment firm focused on the technologies that will drive the next phase of the information revolution.”
Claure added, “Rob's extensive experience and proven track record of advising global companies, as well as his deep involvement in the SoftBank Group's largest and most complex transactions over many years, make him the perfect choice to serve SoftBank and its global portfolio of companies.”
Townsend’s appointment will take effect from September 17, 2018.
China Unicom appoints Zhu Kebing CFO
China Unicom, the country’s second mobile carrier by subscribers, has appointed Zhu Kebing as its new chief financial officer, with effect from August 10.
Zhu replaces Li Fushen, who stepped down as CFO last week due to “change in work arrangement”, and remains on the company’s board as an executive director, Unicom said in a filing to Hong Kong Stock Exchange [PDF].
Steve Vamos to retire from Telstra board
Telstra announced that its director Steve Vamos will retire from the company’s board from October 16.
Vamos has been a director since September 2009 and is currently a member of the nomination and remuneration committees.
Vamos’ decision to retire comes months after his appointment as CEO of New Zealand accounting software firm Xero Limited in April, said Telstra chairman John Mullen.
“Xero is a growing company and following his appointment as CEO Steve has made the decision to narrow the range of his other commitments,” Mullen said.
“On behalf of the board I thank Steve for his valued contribution over the nine years he has served as a director.”
Telstra said the company will appoint a new non-executive director in due course.