SoftBank Vision Fund Partner Who Oversees Didi, Grab Resigns
SoftBank Vision Fund partner David Thevenon has resigned to pursue other opportunities, sources say.
(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Vision Fund partner David Thevenon has resigned to pursue other opportunities, according to people familiar with the matter.
Thevenon, who is based in London, will leave after a phased transition for his portfolio companies, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the matter is private. The Vision Fund has not yet decided which executives will assume oversight of Thevenon’s portfolio companies, which include Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, Southeast Asian ride-hailing company Grab Holdings Inc. and small-business lending platform Kabbage Inc. A representative for the Vision Fund declined to comment and Thevenon didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Thevenon joined SoftBank Group Corp. in 2014 and moved across to SoftBank Investment Advisers -- the parent entity of the Vision Fund -- in December 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is also on the boards of Didi, Grab and Kabbage.
In response to the question on the fund’s website about what he hoped to accomplish there, Thevenon explained that the projects he worked on in transportation, financial services, and robotics provide an opportunity to make an impact.
“I think if we do it right, we’ll be helping people to lead better lives—helping them do what they want to do, in a more efficient and affordable way,” he said. “That gives them new opportunities. It opens up their world.”
The Vision Fund has also added partners recently. Sam Merksamer, a former associate of billionaire Carl Icahn, joined SoftBank Investment Advisers as a partner in New York this month.
--With assistance from Giles Turner.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Alistair Barr
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