A few seconds later, Yan Jinyu, who was in charge of external affairs and translation, opened the passenger door and sat in.
As soon as the car started, the driver began to talk incessantly, with a beaming look on her face and in high spirits.
The only small regret was that Yang Ruoqian didn't understand what she was saying.
After the driver finished speaking, Yang Ruoqian cast a puzzled look at Yan Jinyu.
Having finally found a job opportunity, Yan Jinyu's work enthusiasm was unprecedentedly high: "Boss Yang, she was just introducing the hotel we will be staying in later."
"She said our hotel is located in the heart of Rome and the suite we booked has a clear view of St. Peter's Basilica."
"Three days later, we will be arranged to take a luxury tourist train from Rome all the way to Venice. Along the way, we can enjoy the beautiful scenery, delicious food, and a private rest room."
"Well, she just asked if we were here for tourism. Mr. Yang, you can just tell me directly. I can remember what you said."
Yang Ruoqian replied: "We are here to participate in the Water City Film Festival."
The driver looked very proud: "It is one of the three major film festivals. It is very prestigious and many foreign tourists come to visit."
Yang Ruoqian secretly praised Yan Jinyu's down-to-earth translation in his heart and shook his head slightly: "We are not visiting, we are participating in the election."
When the translation was delivered intact, the driver's eyes widened in surprise: "What did you say? Participate in the competition? Did the movie you shot win an award?!"
No wonder she was surprised - this award is usually difficult to give to Eastern culture.
"That's right."
"You guys are really amazing! Are you the male lead of this movie?"
Yang Ruoqian shook his head gently: "No, I'm just an investor..."
"Is the woman next to you the lead actress of this movie?"
"No, this is my wife."
"You guys are really good looking! You'd feel a lot of regret if you didn't make a movie, right?"
“Really not…”
After the sincere praise, the driver began to talk incessantly about the scenery along the way and their own culture.
Yan Jinyu translated tirelessly: "This is..."
"The building on our left is..."
“…”
"Once we're there, their company's dedicated personnel and vehicles will be on standby at all times."
“If you don’t know what food to eat, you can also ask them for advice.”
This city has a long history and a wide variety of food, drink, and entertainment options. It is indeed a great place to spend big.
Moreover, in the past, in pursuit of high consumption, Yang Ruoqian would only choose expensive Western food, and he actually did not get to taste many things.
You can take the opportunity to try it.
Anyway, the fact of loss this quarter is already a foregone conclusion, so there is no need to pursue spending money excessively in this area.
It's not easy to get out, so it's nice to experience the customs and culture of a foreign country.
As they were talking, the convoy had already arrived at the hotel.
As soon as Yang Ruoqian got out of the car, Qi Mu, who was sitting behind him, suddenly opened the door and walked towards him with a laptop computer in his arms.
"Boss Yang, I just contacted them, and they said they are willing to talk to us." Qi Mu glanced at Chang Zhiqing, keeping a suitable distance from the two of them, "How about I help you with the room check-in procedures first?"
As an administrative secretary assistant, these are also what she should do.
Yang Ruoqian nodded, turned around and said to Chang Zhiqing: "Then you go upstairs and rest first, I'll be there soon."
"I'll go with you. I'll listen to some of your stuff, too."
"That's fine..."
More than ten minutes later, everyone had completed the check-in procedures and the three of them found a table in the lobby and sat down.
"Mr. Yang, we don't know what the specific outcome of the talks will be, but some systems in foreign companies are different from those in China. Let me tell you in detail." Qi Mu sat opposite the two of them with a serious expression.
The company system is different? Yang Ruoqian nodded curiously and asked, "What are the specific differences?"
"It's mainly about the different powers between the management, the board of directors, and the shareholders." The secretary had done her homework, so she spoke without any hesitation. "These corporate structures exist in both domestic and foreign companies, but when it comes to the details, there are actually big differences."
"First, the management team. You are familiar with this because you are the CEO of the company. You are responsible for most of the company's daily decisions, such as market analysis, product development, project establishment, etc. In short, you are the company's executor."
"The second layer is the company's owners, or shareholders. In theory, all owners should make decisions together, but many companies have too many shareholders, and it is impossible to inform everyone of every detail."
"So we come to the third level, where the board of directors is responsible for the company's major decisions...and the biggest difference between domestic and foreign corporate systems lies in this board of directors."
Yang Ruoqian listened with great interest as if he were listening to a story, and could not help but nodded: "Different board of directors?"
Although Yang Ruoqian is the only shareholder of Kuiguang Group and the only member of the board of directors, and he also serves as the CEO and holds all the power, he certainly cannot be so willful outside the Kuiguang Group.
The simplest example is that even the Shelter Company, which is actually controlled by the Kuiguang Group, has a board of directors, but Yang Ruoqian is too lazy to serve as chairman and will not interfere in the company's decision-making.
From now on, unless he acquires 100% of a company's shares, the board of directors will be an organization that Yang Ruoqian cannot avoid.
Of course... Yang Ruoqian doesn't want to get involved in the business of other companies except the Kuiguang Group.
As long as they can lose money that's a good thing.
Qi Mu continued: "The most critical and important power in the board's decision-making power is the ability to appoint and dismiss the company's management - including the CEO, COO or CFO."
“But the appointment of new directors to the board requires a board meeting.”
“Simply put, if the board is not happy with the management, it can replace the management, and if shareholders are not happy with the board, they can call a directors’ meeting and choose to replace the directors.”
“…”
“The board of directors of most companies is between 5 and 15 people… However, there is a huge difference between the logic of the board of directors of domestic companies and Western companies.”
"In China, including most companies in East Asia, the chairman is basically the absolute boss in every sense. He holds the greatest power in the company and, in most cases, holds the most shares in the company."
“Generally speaking, more than half of the voting rights on the board will act in unison with the chairman.”
“The CEO is either appointed by the chairman himself, or, like you, you take the position yourself.”
"In short, unless there are unexpected or special circumstances, the chairman has the final say among the three major structures of the company: shareholders, board of directors and management."
"Even if different voices emerge, and other forces emerge that can compete with the chairman, the competition is only temporary, and eventually it will return to a situation where only one company dominates."
Yang Ruoqian and Chang Zhiqing nodded almost in sync: "What you mean is that the board of directors of European and American companies does not follow this logic?"
Qi Mu turned the screen around and said with a smile, "That's right. Mr. Yang, Mr. Chang, I don't mean to offend you, but I want to ask you, do you know who the chairman of Tesla is?"
Tesla? Yang Ruoqian knew the answer as soon as he heard the question: "Not Musk?"
Qi Mu shook his head: "No, it's a person named Robin Denholm... You don't need to remember this person, he is not important."
“Of course, there are many European and American companies where the chairman and CEO are both involved… but you can also see that their chairmen’s duties are different and are mainly used to maintain normal discussions within the board.”
“So you see chairmen being kicked off the board without any real knowledge of the situation — because they don’t have much more power than the other directors.”
"The board of directors of companies listed on Nasdaq must have more than half of the 'independent directors', that is, shareholders who do not work in the company and do not have much business dealings with the company, to ensure the fairness of the company's decision-making and protect the interests of all shareholders rather than a few shareholders."
Yang Ruoqian finally understood what Qi Mu meant. He was stunned for a moment: "Then isn't it a bit unreliable to have so many outsiders serve as directors of the company? Are they really capable of making major decisions in the company?"
Qi Mu said so many words in one breath, her throat was a little dry, she took out a bottle of water from her bag, took two sips to moisten her throat, and continued:
"In most cases, the role of the board of directors of European and American companies is not very important. The real major decisions are made by the management, that is, the CEO. The board of directors can theoretically remove the management and has great power, but generally speaking, their responsibility is to select a qualified CEO."
"You should have done some investment. If you have paid attention to overseas investment, you will find that almost no researchers study who is on the board of directors of a European or American company. On the contrary, the CEO is the one who needs to be studied."
“So you can see that the more stable or prosperous a company is, the more power the CEO has, so much so that the board of directors dare not say a word. If the board of directors wants to forcibly remove a capable CEO, the shareholders who are waiting for dividends will definitely not agree. Before the board of directors fires the CEO, the board of directors itself will be fired by the shareholders first.”
“Even the shareholder with the largest shareholding, even the chairman himself, can only be kicked out honestly.”
“Only when the CEO is too bad and harms the interests of shareholders will the board of directors initiate a resolution to replace this person and truly exercise the power they theoretically possess.”
“In general, the boards of directors of European and American companies are supervisors, while the boards of directors of East Asian companies are decision makers.”
“That’s about it.”
After saying that, Qi Mu took the computer back and sat quietly on the sofa waiting for Mr. Yang's next order.
Yang Ruoqian listened to Qi Mu's popular science, nodded slightly and said: "In other words, if we acquire a portion of their shares, I will most likely be selected as an independent director to join the board of directors."
"Yes, I just want to tell you that if you are not satisfied with the current situation of their company, you have the power to withdraw the management. But this power needs to be used with caution, otherwise you will most likely be asked to leave the board of directors - even if you are a major shareholder."
There are so many doors and doors...
However, Yang Ruoqian had no intention of managing a company far away in Europe and the United States.
On the contrary, if the board of directors cannot sit still and wants to replace the management of the game company with someone who can make more money, Yang Ruoqian will have to do his best to protect them on the board of directors.
"Got it. I'll pay attention. You should also have a good rest. No matter how good the environment on the plane is, it is definitely not as good as on the ground." After saying that, Yang Ruoqian stood up and went upstairs with Chang Zhiqing.
There are still many activities to do tomorrow, so the right thing to do is to go to bed early tonight.
…
…
On the third day, after a thorough rest, everyone boarded the train to Venice.
Many people originally thought that Mr. Yang came three days in advance because he had something important to attend to, but he actually gave the order to rest for three days.
So some of the people with nothing to do went out to eat and drink, some went to see scenic spots, and some even took the time to visit the Vatican.
All in all, we had a lot of fun.
On the train, the crew members ate while enjoying the scenery along the way.
"Today is the day for the awards ceremony. What award do you think we will win?"
"There's no way I'm going to win the Golden Lion for Best Film and the Silver Lion for the Grand Jury Prize." Shao Yiqi stretched lazily. "I think it's the Best Screenplay Award?"
"It could be a small award like Best Newcomer or the Special Jury Award."
Director Yasuhiro also basically agreed with these views: "That's about it."
"No matter what award it is, it's very exciting. This is our first movie!"
Shang Qianyu was the dumbest and most naive: "Why can't it be the two biggest prizes?"
"Just eat your ice cream..."
…
After getting off the train and storing their luggage in the new hotel, the main cast and crew of "The Boys" went to the Watertown Film Festival awards ceremony together.
For this purpose, Yang Ruoqian specially put on the outfit that Chang Zhiqing had bought for him before, which looked neat but extremely troublesome to wear.
Chang Zhiqing changed into a pearly dress, put on a pair of even higher high heels, took Yang Ruoqian's arm, and sat down in the first row together.
However…even though there was English at the award ceremony, the two people who were considered top students and had passed the CET-6 were unable to fully understand what they were saying.
This is the gap between reality and exams...
After complaining a few words in his heart, Yang Ruoqian still had to call Yan Jinyu over and let her act as an interpreter again.
"What award is being given out now?"
Yan Jinyu answered very quickly: "Now it's the Special Jury Award, and the next one is the Best Newcomer Award."
As soon as he finished speaking, the winning crew excitedly walked down from the stage, and they were greeted with prolonged applause.
Yan Jinyu clapped softly and translated quietly, "They are about to announce the winner of the Best Newcomer Award..." (End of this chapter)
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