Arm Holdings announced on April 21, 2026, that Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas has assumed the additional role of CEO of SoftBank Group International (SBGI). The appointment, which became effective April 20, 2026, tasks Haas with overseeing the strategic coordination of SoftBank’s global semiconductor and artificial intelligence portfolio while he maintains his current leadership position at Arm.
SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese conglomerate that holds a roughly 90% stake in Arm, confirmed the appointment as part of a broader effort to integrate its various hardware and software investments. Haas will serve in a part-time capacity at SBGI, reporting directly to SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son. This structural change follows a period of significant growth for Arm, which reported record annual revenue of $3.2 billion in its most recent fiscal year, driven by the expansion of its v9 architecture and increased adoption in data center applications.
According to the official statement from SoftBank, Haas’s primary mandate at SBGI is to synchronize the technological roadmaps of portfolio companies involved in the AI supply chain. This includes entities within the SoftBank Vision Funds and direct holdings. The initiative aims to leverage Arm’s foundational architecture to create synergies with SoftBank’s investments in robotics, autonomous systems, and generative AI infrastructure. Haas replaces the outgoing leadership at SBGI, bringing a technical background that SoftBank executives stated is essential for navigating the current AI-first investment landscape.
Rene Haas has served as CEO of Arm since February 2022, succeeding Simon Segars. Under his tenure, Arm successfully completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq in September 2023, which was the largest listing of that year. Before becoming CEO, Haas spent seven years as president of Arm’s IP Products Group. His new role at SBGI does not involve a departure from Arm; the company clarified that his day-to-day operational focus remains on Arm’s long-term product development and its transition toward providing complete compute subsystems.
The move coincides with SoftBank’s renewed focus on semiconductor manufacturing and AI deployment, often referred to internally as the Izanagi project. Masayoshi Son has recently emphasized a shift from venture capital toward direct operational involvement in the semiconductor industry. By placing the head of its most valuable asset at the helm of its international investment arm, SoftBank signaled a desire for tighter technical oversight. SBGI, headquartered in London, serves as the primary vehicle for SoftBank’s non-Vision Fund international operations.
Arm’s board of directors has approved the dual-role arrangement, noting that the alignment between Arm and SBGI’s objectives justifies the shared leadership. No changes were announced to Arm’s executive committee or its board composition. SoftBank confirmed that Haas will continue to be based in the United Kingdom and the United States, splitting time between Arm’s headquarters in Cambridge and SoftBank’s international offices.