The speaker was Carl, senior vice president of Baofeng Electric Company.

There was no trace of regret on his face. Instead, he seemed a little excited. If Joe Austin really resigned, then Carl would have a chance to get the CEO position. No wonder he couldn't contain his joy.

"Penny? That department store?" Han Chudong asked in surprise.

"That should be the case. I didn't ask in detail, but apart from JCPenney, I can't think of any other company that would poach Joe."

JC Penney is a retail giant with annual sales exceeding US$5 billion.

The structure is diversified, with businesses covering pharmaceutical sales, clothing and home decoration retail, restaurants, supermarkets, real estate, financial services, etc.

Han Chudong had seen the profile of this company when he was investigating Walmart. Since it occupied an important position in the Citigroup Group, it was specially marked out when collecting relevant data on supermarkets. He still had some impression of it.

It is not clear whether this means that JCPenney intends to enter the home appliance retail market, but Han Chudong thinks it is more likely.

Assuming he was really poached, they wanted Joe Austin to give up his current superior salary and take on various breach of contract clauses for unilateral resignation. Together with other old employees who resigned, this is enough to prove that the poaching force is rich and ambitious. At least the benefits are great enough to make Joe Austin choose to betray.

The bad news is obvious.

The good news is that we no longer have to bother investigating who the traitor in the company is.

Han Chudong thought that there was a tacit understanding between himself and Joe Austin. After all, he was one of the most senior employees in the group. He couldn't figure out whether it was because too many "old employees" positions were adjusted last year, which made him feel disheartened, or for some other reason. Anyway, leaving without saying goodbye was enough to explain many problems.

I felt unhappy but also a little emotional.

There is no need to talk about feelings. No matter how high or low the position is, as long as you don't hold shares, you are just an employee. Since you are all working hard, of course you will choose to work for the company that offers the highest price. This is human nature.

Although he didn't hate Joe Austin, he poached so many employees and might become a competitor of Baofeng Electric, so don't expect Han Chudong to remember Joe Austin's kindness and wish him a bright future.

Now they are eager to dig up his company, make use of Joe Austin, and then kick him out, leaving him penniless.

In this way, Han Chudong could make a few sarcastic remarks in front of that guy and satisfy his desire to talk nonsense.

…

Leaving a job itself is not important.

Three-legged frogs are rare, but two-legged executives are hard to find? More importantly, the departure of Joe Austin and dozens of old employees will have a negative impact on Baofeng Electric employees, who will feel uncomfortable, even more uncomfortable than being betrayed by partner Bushnell.

But Han Chudong didn't show it on his face. He pretended to be indifferent and said, "Just leave. There are so many companies that have started businesses based on our model. We can't afford to miss one more. You must lead your people well. If Qiao really leaves, I will select an experienced and capable executive to take over Qiao's position. You know how to manage this company better, and you should be able to select a new CEO from among those present."

After he finished speaking, seeing their eyes shining like hungry wolves, Han Chudong added helplessly: "Don't contact me privately. Use your performance and ability to prove it. I originally wanted to tell Qiao that I would give him some shares as a reward when the company goes public. Now it seems that someone here will get the advantage. Three independent directors, what do you think?"

"Independent director" is not a new term, but it is still relatively rare. The three independent directors of Baofeng Electric do not work in the company. The three electrical appliance manufacturers sent them to supervise the daily management of the company.

Since Han Chudong holds the controlling stake, the company's performance is booming, and the investment has already paid off, he usually just sits there and rarely takes the initiative to participate in decision-making. Moreover, even if he makes any suggestions, whether they will be adopted or not depends on Han Chudong's opinion.

One of the independent directors said decisively: "I also think it is better to select from within the company. In order to prevent losing market share, I personally suggest speeding up the expansion and occupying more market share before Penney starts competing with us. If Penney really plans to open a home appliance sales business, it is worth our serious attention. As far as I know, it is very good at imitating the business models of other companies."

"I know this. I'm a shareholder of Walmart. It seems that its chain convenience store business was established after the success of Walmart." When Han Chudong spoke, he suddenly thought of the Penguin Company in later generations. These large companies with money, people and strength like to learn from other successful business models, and then use their own advantages to turn around and crush their previous learning goals.

Fortunately, considering the current scale of Baofeng Electric, it is no longer a small enterprise that can be bullied at will. It has sufficient funds. Even with the help of Joe Austin, it is hard to say who will bully whom.

Baofeng Electric has a complete supply chain and can support price wars. The old-for-new campaign in December last year has made many competitors feel uncomfortable, and a large number of small and medium-sized home appliance retail stores have collapsed.

Another independent director stayed up late last night and began to doze off right after the meeting started. He then said, "If you are short of funds, you can get financing from Panasonic. Based on last year's performance, less than 30 million US dollars is definitely not a problem."

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

"We'll talk about this later. The company is not short of money for now. If everything is fine, then we can continue the discussion. I have another meeting waiting for me in the morning..."

Han Chudong asked someone to bring another cup of coffee.

I had a great time on vacation, but I wasn’t in the right shape when I returned to work, especially after hearing bad news one after another. I felt completely out of spirits.

In addition to the company's plans, he set some small goals for himself this year. Buying a winery and getting a plane are already a thing of the past. He has also bought the island. The yacht that he had not originally planned to buy was used to pay off a debt by accident. There is almost nothing he lacks in terms of material things.

There is no other way but to think about earning another tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to satisfy the addiction of being the richest man. I am just a little bit away from surpassing old Paul Getty. It would be best if I could buy more sports teams and collect more artworks.

There is no need to worry about the hundreds of millions of dollars of debt. It doesn't need to be paid off all at once. With inflation so fast, money is the least valuable thing.

Looking at the matter of accelerating the development of the IT industry, Han Chudong suddenly thought of the situation on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, which made him think it necessary to think carefully again, so as not to become a historical sinner...