Ex-LinkedIn exec Deep Nishar joins SoftBank as a managing director

[July 01, 2015]  TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp <9984.T> said on Wednesday it had hired former LinkedIn Corp executive Deep Nishar as managing director of investments as the Japanese telecoms conglomerate targets growth overseas to counter a shrinking domestic market.

Nishar will be based in San Carlos, California, and report to SoftBank President Nikesh Arora, it said in a statement. Since 2009, Nishar was responsible for LinkedIn's global product strategy. He was also Google's senior product director for the Asia-Pacific region, the statement added. SoftBank, which bought U.S. carrier Sprint <S.N> in 2013, is one of Japan's most acquisitive companies. Last month, it announced a $1 billion investment in South Korean online retailer Coupang, and said it was teaming up with Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan's Foxconn to invest about $20 billion in solar projects in India. (Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Miral Fahmy) [© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.