From building a global wireless empire to leading Sprint and SoftBank International, the Bolivian-American entrepreneur has created a career defined by scale, transformation and a constant willingness to think bigger.
Marcelo Claure’s career has unfolded across some of the most competitive industries in the world — telecommunications, technology, private equity, artificial intelligence, fashion and professional sports.
Born in Guatemala to Bolivian parents and raised largely in Bolivia, Claure has become one of the most prominent Latino business leaders operating on the global stage. His trajectory is not simply a story of corporate advancement. It is the story of an entrepreneur who repeatedly entered industries undergoing transformation and found ways to build, restructure and invest at scale.
Today, Claure is Founder and CEO of Claure Group, a multibillion-dollar investment firm whose portfolio spans sectors including artificial intelligence and technology, energy transition, fashion, entertainment and sports. He is also Partner and Co-Chair of Brightstar Capital Partners, Chairman of Latin America-focused growth equity firm Bicycle Capital, and Co-Chair of Harvard Business School’s Digital Data Design Institute, known as D³.
From an Entrepreneurial Idea to a Global Company
Claure’s rise in business began with Brightstar.
Founded in Miami in 1997, Brightstar started as a relatively small wireless distribution business. Under Claure’s leadership, it evolved into a global wireless distribution and services company, generating more than $10 billion in annual gross revenue by 2013.
The scale of that expansion established Claure as an important figure in the telecommunications industry and ultimately brought him into the orbit of Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank.
But Brightstar would prove to be only the beginning.
Transforming Sprint
In 2014, Claure became CEO of Sprint at a particularly challenging moment for the U.S. wireless carrier.
His tenure placed him at the center of one of the most consequential periods in American telecommunications. He led Sprint through a multiyear transformation and later became its executive chairman as the company moved toward its combination with T-Mobile.
The proposed merger was valued at approximately $26 billion when announced in 2018 and ultimately closed in 2020, reshaping the competitive landscape of the U.S. wireless industry. Claure subsequently joined T-Mobile’s board of directors, where he continues to serve.
The experience reinforced a pattern that has followed Claure throughout his career: taking on complicated businesses and operating in environments where transformation is not optional.
A Global Role at SoftBank
Claure’s responsibilities expanded considerably during his years at SoftBank.
He served as CEO of SoftBank Group International and Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Group between 2018 and January 2022. In those roles, he participated in the management of a vast portfolio of technology companies and investments around the world.
According to the World Economic Forum, Claure managed a portfolio exceeding $450 billion in assets during his time leading SoftBank International. He also served as executive chairman of WeWork during a pivotal period for the company.
The move from entrepreneur to operator and eventually global investor gave Claure a perspective that few executives possess: experience building companies from the ground up while also overseeing businesses and investments at enormous institutional scale.
Investing in the Next Generation
Claure’s current chapter is increasingly focused on capital allocation and identifying the companies that could shape the next generation of business.
Through Claure Group, he invests across several high-growth sectors. He also serves as Partner and Co-Chair of Brightstar Capital Partners, a private investment firm focused on middle-market companies and increasingly on the practical application of technology and artificial intelligence to business transformation.
His investment activities also include Bicycle Capital, focused on growth-stage companies in Latin America, and the Open Opportunity Fund, which supports Black and Hispanic technology founders in the United States.
That combination is significant.
After spending decades participating in the expansion of technology businesses, Claure is now positioned on the other side of the equation: identifying entrepreneurs, allocating capital and helping companies scale.
Betting on Latin America
Latin America remains an important part of Claure’s investment philosophy.
As Chairman of Bicycle Capital, he is helping direct growth capital toward companies emerging from a region that has produced an increasingly sophisticated technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
For Claure, Latin America is not simply a place connected to his heritage. It represents an investment market with the potential to create globally relevant companies.
His involvement also illustrates a broader evolution among successful Latino entrepreneurs: capital, knowledge and international networks accumulated in the United States and other global markets can increasingly be reinvested into the next generation of Latin American companies.
Business, Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has become another important component of Claure’s current work.
In addition to investments involving AI and technology, he serves as Co-Chair of the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Business School, an initiative focused on understanding how artificial intelligence and digital technologies are changing business and society.
The role reflects an important shift in Claure’s career.
He is no longer focused only on building individual companies. Increasingly, his attention is directed toward understanding the technologies and business models that may reshape entire industries.
A Passion for Football
Claure’s business interests also extend into professional football.
He is closely identified with Club Bolívar, one of Bolivia’s most historic football institutions, and currently serves as its president. Under his leadership, the club has pursued a long-term strategy centered on professionalization, infrastructure, youth development and international partnerships.
Club Bolívar became City Football Group’s first Partner Club in 2021, giving the Bolivian organization access to expertise in areas including scouting, coaching, technology and commercial development.
Claure also holds interests in Girona FC in Spain and New York City FC in the United States through his relationship with City Football Group.
For him, football represents more than ownership. His projects in Bolivia have incorporated infrastructure development and opportunities for young athletes, connecting business strategy with a long-term vision for the sport.
A Latino Leader Operating at Global Scale
What makes Marcelo Claure’s story particularly relevant is the scale at which he has operated.
He has moved from entrepreneur to Fortune 500 CEO, from telecommunications executive to global technology investor, and from company builder to capital allocator.
Throughout that evolution, his connection to Bolivia and Latin America has remained visible.
His career represents a version of Latino success that is increasingly important to recognize: leadership that is not limited by geography or by a single industry, but capable of influencing companies, capital and ideas across international markets.
For the next generation of Latino entrepreneurs, Claure’s trajectory offers a powerful example of what can happen when ambition is paired with execution, adaptability and the ability to continuously reinvent one’s role.
Marcelo Claure is no longer simply building companies.
He is helping decide which companies — and which entrepreneurs — may help build the future.
Photo by : Marco Bello/Bloomberg via Getty Images
