Ex-SoftBank COO Nikesh Arora awarded $128 mn to lead Palo Alto networks

Nikesh Arora could become one of the highest-paid U.S. executives after being named to lead Palo Alto Networks Inc., which granted him a pay package worth about $128 million. Arora, 50, is entitled to equity awards worth as much as $126 million when he takes over as chief executive officer on June 6, the Santa Clara, California-based company said Monday in a regulatory filing. 

About half of it will vest only if the firm’s shares more than double, while the rest is tied to his remaining on the job. Arora, who spent two years at SoftBank Group Corp. as founder Masayoshi Son’s No. 2, became Japan’s best-compensated public company executive in 2015. Regulatory filings show that the tech giant dished out 31.5 billion yen ($290 million) in compensation and related expenses during his tenure, a sum that rivals Silicon Valley’s richest pay packages.

Former Google exec Nikesh Arora named CEO of Palo Alto Networks

Former Chief Business Officer at Google, Nikesh Arora has been named the CEO and Chairman of the US-based security firm Palo Alto Networks. After leaving Google in mid-2014, the high-profile executive became president of SoftBank and was heir apparent to its charismatic founder Masayoshi Son. But Arora left two years later amid some controversy, recode.net reported on Friday. Arora has replaced Mark McLaughlin, who will now serve the cybersecurity company as Vice Chairman. Arora said that while he had long wanted to become a CEO, he would be working closely with McLaughlin and also co-founder and CTO Nir Zuk, the report said. "I may not have a background in security, but with my background as an engineer, I can sit down with Zuk to help guide the next generation of products we can offer," recode.net quoted Arora as saying. McLaughlin said that the decade-old Palo Alto Networks now serves 50,000 companies globally and has 5,000 employees.

Former Google exec Nikesh Arora in the running to take Travis Kalanick's Uber job

Wanted: a seasoned executive to take the top position at a troubled technology start-up. Must be willing to fix a broken culture, deal with an aggressive predecessor, battle a risky lawsuit and prepare the company for an initial public offering. Self-starters preferred.

This is essentially the pitch that Uber is making to potential chief executive candidates after Travis Kalanick, the ride-hailing company’s co-founder, was ousted from the top spot last month. By some accounts, the job appears to be a thankless one at a company whose reputation is in the toilet. So who would want it?

Quite a few people, as it turns out.

Despite a series of scandals that have rocked Uber to its core this year, competition for the chief executive position is robust, according to people familiar with the search who asked to remain anonymous because the process is confidential. The company has received a flood of interest since Mr. Kalanick vacated his seat in June, and Uber’s board has interviewed multiple candidates.

For those applicants, the calculus is easy. Despite Uber’s problems, executives see an opportunity to shepherd the company — which operates in more than 80 countries and pulls in billions of dollars each quarter — through the most trying time in its eight-year history.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who’s wired for problem solving and wants to make their mark by turning around the image of the company,” said Jason Hanold, managing partner at Hanold Associates, a boutique executive search firm. “Yes, they’re inheriting Uber’s entire toxic culture. But they’re also getting thousands of employees who are hungry to change it.”
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