SoftBank adds former McKinsey partner Michelle Horn as chief people officer
SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) has hired Michelle Horn, former partner and director of client service personnel at McKinsey & Company, as its senior vice president and chief people officer.
In the newly created role, Horn will lead the recruitment and development of leaders within the SBG global organization. She will also be available to the high-growth portfolio companies in which SBG is invested, creating new approaches to increase value and scale within companies. Horn will report to Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SBG, and Marcelo Claure, SBG’s director and executive vice president COO.
“The addition of Michelle reinforces the quality of our leadership team, as well as the expertise and resources that we can provide to our global portfolio of companies,” Claure said in a statement. “Disruptive technology companies need access to both financial and human capital to fuel their growth and a culture that is able to sustain that growth over time. There is no better person in the world to help SoftBank and our companies in these areas, and we are thrilled to have Michelle on the team.”
Horn joined McKinsey in 1995, and became partner in 2000. In addition to her aforementioned duties, Horn was also chief of staff to Dominic Barton, McKinsey’s global managing director. She was also a member of the company’s Leadership Development Council, which revolves around global leadership and its development. Her roles at McKinsey were greatly involved with organizational “talent-based transformation” – experience and skill that will serve her well at SBG.
“I am deeply committed to SoftBank’s unparalleled vision and mission to support the unique talents and business drivers of its portfolio companies,” Horn said. “In today’s highly competitive and global technology market, it is more important than ever for companies to build innovative strategies for talent development that help to create a sustained performance edge and drive long-term value. I am eager to work with the entire SoftBank team and the leaders of its portfolio companies to help attract the right people in the right places to achieve their business goals.”
Horn’s is the latest in a series of high-profile McKinsey departures from the company. Former partner Nick Brown late last month left the company to join UK-based management consulting firm Eden McCallum. Taimur Khan Jhagra, also a former McKinsey partner, left a prominent position at McKinsey’s Dubai office to serve as the provincial finance minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, in Pakistan.
SBG is a global technology player with aims to fuel the Information Revolution. It is under the umbrella of the SoftBank Group Corp, which has a global portfolio of companies such as artificial intelligence, smart robotics, internet services, and advanced telecommunications.
