Ex-LinkedIn executive Deep Nishar joins SoftBank as MD

SoftBank Group Corp 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 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 <2354.TW> to invest about $20 billion in solar projects in India.