Michel Combes | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1962-03-29)29 March 1962 (age 63) Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Education | École Polytechnique Télécom ParisTech Paris Dauphine University Conservatoire national des arts et métiers |
| Occupation | CEO |
| Employer(s) | France Telecom(2003–2006) Vodafone(2008–2012) Alcatel-Lucent(2013–2015) Altice (2015–2017) Sprint (2018–2020) SoftBank Group International (2022–present) |
Michel Combes (born 29 March 1962) is a French businessman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) ofSoftBank Group International ("SBGI").[1] Previously, he was CEO atSprint, and has held CEO roles atVodafone Europe, Alcatel-Lucent and Altice.
Combes was born on 29 March 1962.[citation needed] He attended theLycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, then graduated fromÉcole Polytechnique in 1983,[2]Télécom ParisTech,Paris Dauphine University andConservatoire national des arts et métiers (Cnam).[3]
After holding several positions at ministries,France Télécom andTDF, Combes was CEO ofVodafone Europe from 2008 to 2012.[4]
On 22 February 2013 theAlcatel-Lucent board of directors appointed Combes as the company's CEO, succeedingBen Verwaayen (effective April 1).[5] On 19 June 2013 Combes announced plans to focus Alcatel-Lucent's operations on networking products and high-speed broadband in order to cut costs by 1 billion euros by 2015.[6] He left Alcatel-Lucent in September 2015, afterNokia announced its intention to buy the company but before the merger was complete, to joinAltice as COO.[7] He became Altice's CEO in 2016, and resigned in November 2017.[8]
Combes was appointed as theCFO ofSprint in January 2018,[9] andCEO in May of the same year.[10] His tenure ceased when Sprintmerged with T-Mobile US in April 2020.[11]
Following Sprint, Combes joined SoftBank Group International as President in April 2020 and was appointed to his current position of CEO on 28 January 2022, where he oversees SBGI's operating and investment portfolios, including the SoftBank LatAm Funds.[1] He is on several boards of directors of SoftBank portfolio companies, includingWeWork,Cybereason, Contentsquare, Jellysmack,Kavak,OneWeb,Sorare,Swile,TelevisaUnivision and Vestiaire Collective.[12]
Combes is married to Christie Julien, an acclaimed French concert pianist. Combes has three children.[13]
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | CEO ofAlcatel-Lucent 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | CEO ofAltice 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | CEO ofSprint since 2018 | Succeeded by incumbent |