Google's Nikesh Arora to join SoftBank

Search giant struggles with mobile revenue

In the court of internet advertising, sometimes it's hard to be the king.

Long the reigning champion of online search advertising, Google faces a persistent headache: Consumers are increasingly moving from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets, where the desktop advertising formats of old are not as alluring because of the screen-size restrictions of mobile. And as mobile ads increasingly become a larger part of its business, Google is less able to charge the same premiums that it has for its lucrative desktop ad business.

The price that advertisers pay each time someone clicks on an ad - or "cost per click," in Google talk - dropped six per cent from the year-ago quarter, largely because of the shift to increased mobile advertising.

"The revenue opportunity is very, very high, but right now mobile does not monetise as well as other forms," Nikesh Arora, Google's chief business officer, said on a conference call with analysts.

It will no longer be the problem, however, of Arora, who is in charge of the company's ad business. The company announced on Thursday that Arora planned to depart his position of the past decade for a new job at SoftBank, the Japanese telecommunications giant, as vice-chairman.

Omid Kordestani, a longtime Google employee and senior advisor to Larry Page, Google's CEO, will fill Arora's old position for the time being, according to a company statement.

ARORA’S NEW INNINGS
Google’s veteran business chief Nikesh Arora will become vice-chairman of SoftBank Corp in October after spending nearly a decade at Google. He was in the news earlier this month for his lavish wedding in Italy with Ayesha Thapar, CEO of Indian City Properties, the real estate arm of the Thapar Group. Here’s a snapshot of his career so far:

LIFE AT GOOGLE…

• Arora, who joined Google in 2004, has been senior vice-president and chief business officer since January 2011
• Previously he held multiple senior operating leadership roles at Google, serving as president, Global Sales Operations and Business Development, from 2009 to 2010; president, Europe, Asia and Africa from 2007 to 2009; and vice-president, Europe Operations from 2004 to 2007
• Since 2007, Arora has also served as a senior advisor to Silver Lake Partners, a PE firm

LIFE BEFORE GOOGLE…

• From 2001 to 2004, Arora served as chief marketing officer of the T-Mobile International Division of Deutsche Telekom AG
• He was CEO and Founder of T-Motion PLC, which merged with T-Mobile International in 2002
• He began his career at Fidelity Investments in 1992, holding several finance and technology management positions, ultimately serving as vice-president, Finance of Fidelity Technologies

FUTURE CHALLENGES…

• As vice-chairman of SoftBank Corp, Arora will help define, implement and manage the company’s global growth strategy
• As CEO of the internet unit, he will be directly responsible for overseeing web, telecommunications, media and global investment activities

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• He holds a master’s degree from Boston College and an MBA from Northeastern University, both with distinction
• In 1989, he graduated from the Institute of Technology in Varanasi, with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering

Sources: Google, Bloomberg and Forbes

 
Google's revenue for the quarter was $15.96 billion, an increase of 22 per cent over the year-ago quarter. Net revenue, which excludes payments to the company's advertising partners, was $12.71 billion, up from $11.1 billion last year. Analysts expected gross revenue of $15.6 billion.

Net income in the second quarter rose nearly six per cent to $3.42 billion, or $4.99 a share. Excluding the cost of stock options and the related tax benefits, Google's profit was $6.08 a share.

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