Early Life
Raúl Marcelo Claure Bedoya was born in Guatemala on December 9, 1970, to Bolivian parents. Due to his father's career as a diplomat, he lived in Morocco and the Dominican Republic before settling in La Paz, Bolivia, where he spent most of his childhood. He attended the Instituto Domingo Savio and the American Cooperative School in La Paz, graduating in 1989. He then attended the University of Lowell before transferring to Bentley College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in economics and finance in 1993.
Rise to Success
Claure's entrepreneurial journey began early. While at Bentley University, he traded frequent-flyer miles. His career took off when he founded Brightstar in 1997, a wireless services company that grew to become the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. He sold Brightstar to SoftBank in 2014. Claure later became CEO of Sprint, leading its turnaround and overseeing its merger with T-Mobile. He has also held executive positions at SoftBank, where he served as COO and CEO of SoftBank Group International. In June 2023 he launched Bicycle Capital, a Latin America-focused venture capital fund targeting $500 million. In February 2023, he was appointed chair of the Latin American operations of Shein, a fashion firm and was appointed Shein's Group Vice Chairman in October 2023. In April 2025, he became Partner and Co-chairman of Brightstar Capital Partners.
Key Business Strategies
Claure is known for his strategic vision and ability to identify and capitalize on market opportunities. His focus on service and customer satisfaction was key to Brightstar's success. At Sprint, he implemented a turnaround strategy that improved the company's financial performance.
Philanthropy
Claure is actively involved in philanthropy. He co-founded the One Laptop Per Child program and the 1Million Project Foundation. These initiatives focus on providing educational resources and internet access to students.
