Chapter 392 A Woman with a Very Unique Personality (4124, too late, update it first)
Park Avenue Plaza, Manhattan.
BlackRock owns 12 floors of this building, and nearly 3,000 employees come in and out of this commercial building built more than 30 years ago every day.
"Jeffrey, why hasn't Qianxun's ESG audit report been approved yet? You know, this financing was approved at the Executive Committee meeting a long time ago, and it should have gone through all the procedures last week, but it's been stuck in your department for three days now."
Robert Goldstein put the landline on his desk on speakerphone and spoke with Jeffrey Smith, BlackRock's global HRD and chief diversity strategist.
Jeffrey Smith is also considered a veteran of BlackRock. He has worked at BlackRock for ten years and previously served as HRD of Warner.
"Don't ask me. I haven't received this report yet. It's still under review by the DEI Strategy Department. You should ask Jane, oh, that woman from Da Zhou. She's still in charge of the approval process."
Jeffrey Smith shrugged and said to Robert Goldstein on the other end of the phone, "Also, this woman isn't from our department. The DEI Strategy and Development department has been separated from me. You should ask the president directly. He's now directly in charge of DEI strategy."
Jeffrey Smith sounded relaxed, but those who knew him could still hear the resentment in his words.
More than 20 days ago, Robert Capito proposed an internal restructuring plan, splitting the ESG department into three independent departments: sustainability, DEI, and corporate governance.
The external explanation is to strengthen BlackRock's ESG construction. As an ESG promoter, BlackRock should set an example in ESG construction.
The explanation given within the Executive Committee is to avoid excessive concentration of ESG power, which would breed "efficiency pests" internally and affect business.
Corporate governance remains in the hands of Jeffrey Smith, while sustainability has been handed over to Linda Robinson, head of global communications.
As for the crucial DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion) part of ESG, Robert Capito temporarily took on the role of head of the newly established "DEI Development Department" on the grounds that there was no suitable candidate yet.
Since this department has no director, Robert Capito, the president, became the direct reporting point of Jiang Nanzhen, who had just been transferred to the DEI Development Department as a senior manager.
Jane?
Robert Goldstein couldn't help but frown.
Ever since this woman went to the DEI Development Department, since there was no MD in this department, she became the de facto top person in charge of this department. She even represented the DEI Development Department in attending the monthly management meeting, which was second only to the regular meeting of the Group Executive Committee.
On the surface, this woman has no say in the business, but in reality her authority is ridiculously great.
The reason is BlackRock’s internal ESG report for each investment case.
In order to promote ESG, BlackRock will produce an ESG investigation report for all companies it invests in. If the report fails, the entire case will be sent back for re-approval.
Currently, Qianxun’s 3 billion yuan private placement agreement is stuck on the ESG report.
Before this, ESG and DEI were actually tools used by BlackRock to influence other companies. If they encountered a case they really wanted to invest in, Jeffrey Smith's department would not even look at it and would directly approve it blindly. Therefore, they never felt that there was anything wrong with this process.
But now, since the ESG split, although this woman is only responsible for a small part of DEI, she has made their business department very anxious.
The key is that you cannot publicly say that the other party's foothold is entirely based on BlackRock's DEI requirements.
For example, regarding the DEI part of Qianxun's ESG report, Jiang Nanzhen expressed doubts about two points and needed clarification from the business team.
The first point is the issue of the ratio of male and female employees at Qianxun. Although Qianxun claims to equalize the ratio of male and female employees to 1.3:1 within five years and to 1:1 or 1.1:1 within ten years, there is no trackable equalization plan or action item.
Secondly, in Qianxun’s search results, especially in Qianxun’s own Qianjiahao, there are a large number of search results that are extremely discriminatory against people such as LGBTQWER, and even contain a considerable amount of hate speech against these groups.
There is evidence that Qianxun did not effectively manage these search results and comments, and even engaged in subjective deliberate promotion. Regarding this part of the content, the business team did not mention in the report how the investment plan would affect Qianxun's management in making improvements to this part of the content.
Goldstein didn't want to communicate with Jiang Nanzhen in person, but instead asked his subordinate Jason Hawthorne, who was in charge of the case, to connect with Jiang Nanzhen.
In his opinion, the DEI department only had a temporary vacancy in the head position, which gave this woman the opportunity to make trouble. She was just a small VP-level figure and was not worth his personal communication.
As you can imagine, Jason Hawthorne was disappointed.
Goldstein nearly went crazy when he received Jason Hawthorne's report.
These are obviously the things we use to block other companies. When did our own business get blocked because of these things?
"Boss, there are currently major problems with the DEI department's operations. It's seriously slowing down our business efficiency. I think... Oh, you're here too?"
Without thinking, Goldstein knocked on Robert Capito's office door and walked in.
As soon as he entered the room, Goldstein was stunned when he saw Jiang Nanzhen sitting opposite Robert Capito, and he swallowed the second half of his words involuntarily.
"Oh? If I remember correctly, Mr. Goldstein is also a member of the DEI committee and one of the initiators. Don't you really support the advancement of DEI?"
Jiang Nanzhen, who was wearing a goose yellow cheongsam, covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Since you're here with the boss, that's perfect. I'm going to make it clear right now, right in front of the boss. Maybe Jason wasn't clear enough with you earlier. Listen, ESG and DEI are just tools, tailored to the needs of the business department. I hope you'll cooperate unconditionally in the future, rather than using DEI as a pretext to hinder business development like you are doing now."
Goldstein pulled out a chair and sat down unceremoniously.
Robert Capito couldn't help but frown.
"Rob, what's going on?" Robert Capito unconsciously straightened his tie. Since Jiang Nanzhen joined BlackRock, he has paid more attention to his image than ever before.
"It's the 3 billion Mai-yuan private placement for Qianxun." Robert Goldstein raised his chin. "The system has been stuck with her for three days! Ma'am, I hope you understand this is Maiguo, BlackRock, not the Great Zhou. Please don't bring that kind of management style here. It won't benefit you. If you want to have a career at BlackRock, please remember my words."
"Jane, I know you have some relationship with Yuzu Technology, but business is business. If you can't maintain sufficient professionalism, I can only ask you to recuse yourself from this case."
Goldstein tapped the table lightly, a look of slight disdain in his eyes.
Hearing Goldstein's question, Jiang Nanzhen couldn't help but reveal an aggrieved expression and looked at Robert Capito.
Robert Capito was distressed, but he remained calm on the surface: "Jane, is this true? This has indeed been approved by the Executive Committee. If there are no major problems, please pass it as soon as possible.
"Hey, Rob, Jeffrey has already done the background check on Jane. She has no direct relationship with Yuzi Technology, and she doesn't have a good relationship with the founder of Yuzi Technology."
Robert Capito coughed and took the initiative to speak for Jiang Nanzhen.
Jiang Nanzhen looked aggrieved. "Of course I can approve it. However, I need to explain to Mr. Goldstein first that I didn't approve this report. It wasn't because of the DEI issue, nor was it because of my relationship with Youzi Technology. It was based on my understanding of Qianxun. I don't think this is a good deal. Therefore, I hope the business department will be more cautious about this."
"Currently, half of the DEI department's work requires a dotted-line report to Bennett, who manages risk control. Faced with such risks, I have an obligation to remind the business department to pay more attention."
Goldstein couldn't help but feel angry and amused when he heard this.
Where did this crazy woman come from?
You know nothing.
Talking about business issues in front of us?
Are you qualified?
Be your vase!
Even Robert Capito, who sided with Goldstein on the surface but actually had Jiang Nanzhen in his heart, felt that what Jiang Nanzhen said was a bit too outrageous.
Not to mention the restraining value of Qianxun to Youzi Technology, just looking at Qianxun's current stock price, this deal must be a good deal.
What's more, BlackRock has enough financial tools to hedge risks.
As long as Qianxun doesn't die suddenly, they will have enough time to operate and ensure the safety of their own funds.
"In the report, I didn't see the business department give a root cause explanation for the previous Qianxun outage crisis, and no one has come up with a solution from a management and technical perspective to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future." Jiang Nanzhen said seriously, as if he didn't see the expressions of the two people.
Goldstein couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. Do you think Qianxun is a small company?
For a company like this, any technical issues will be resolved during the four-day downtime. As long as Qianxun restores access, it means that this technical loophole will definitely be filled!
This is the technical background of large manufacturers.
"I don't think there is any need to worry about this. It's impossible." Goldstein chuckled and didn't explain at all.
"Really? Mr. Goldstein, if possible, please confirm this with the risk control department. I've used the Woking system to compile all public reports from Bloomberg, Aladdin, and the media. From the time the incident occurred until now, Qianxun has never publicly stated what technical vulnerability they encountered or how they resolved this crisis."
"Woking's system has determined the risk of this private placement to be 'high'."
Goldstein lost his patience. "Ms. Jiang, this isn't your concern, and certainly not within your purview. Besides, I don't believe current AI can make more accurate judgments than BlackRock's risk management specialists, who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year."
Jiang Nanzhen pursed her lips and said, "Well, it's true that I crossed the line. I will approve this report immediately."
"However, Mr. Goldstein, Boss, I still reserve my own opinion."
After saying that, Jiang Nanzhen stood up holding the folder and left Robert Capito's office with a shaky step.
Robert Capito couldn't help but stare at Jiang Nanzhen's back, lost in thought.
"I think this woman is totally unqualified to sit in this position." Goldstein frowned and glanced at Jiang Nanzhen's back with disgust. Then he turned his head and said to Robert Capito, but found that Robert Capito didn't seem to be listening to what he said at all.
"Boss?" Goldstein frowned, suddenly feeling that something was wrong with Robert Capito, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Ah?" Robert Capito came back to his senses and smiled nonchalantly, "A woman with a unique personality, isn't she?"
Goldstein's heart suddenly sank.
Could it be that...
How is that possible?
Goldstein felt that his sudden idea was a little ridiculous.
This is Robert Capito.
The coldest-blooded, most professional and greedy capitalist in the entire BlackRock.
How could Robert Capito, who had been interested in nothing but making money since he was twelve, have seen all kinds of women? How could he be attracted to a woman like this?
——
Qianxun issued 3 billion ADS shares to BlackRock through private placement!
As soon as this news was announced, it caused an uproar in the capital market.
For more than a month, Qianxun's senior management has been living in fear every day, fearing that they would wake up one day to find that the company's cash flow was cut off, and then go bankrupt and lose their jobs.
Robert Lee was so anxious that he developed ulcers in his mouth.
The arrears of payments to unimportant suppliers can be delayed, but the fees for so many people every day are inevitable.
There are still so many hardware operating and maintenance costs that need to be paid. Many suppliers are exclusive and don’t care whether Qianxun is a customer or not. If you don’t pay, they will really not deliver the goods.
But the problem is that Qianxun’s current cash flow is too weak.
It was previously estimated that the cash flow could be maintained for two and a half months. However, in actual operation, due to various emergencies, it can now only last less than two months!
After all, many suppliers and creditors heard about Qianxun's cash flow crisis and began to demand repayment, which constituted a de facto bank run and undoubtedly made Qianxun's cash flow even worse.
If Qianxun's cash flow situation is not alleviated within two months, he will be beaten by thousands of people and will be skinned alive even if he doesn't die.
But now, all problems are solved.
With this 3 billion dollars as a foundation, Qianxun's cash flow can at least last for ten months!
When the debt collectors hear this news, they will definitely not press so hard. Chihiro's chess game will be alive again!
In order to publicize the news that Qianxun’s cash flow crisis has been resolved and to raise its stock price, Qianxun and BlackRock held a signing ceremony at the Dazhou Hotel.
Robert signed his name heavily on the supplementary agreement and handed the agreement to Ryan Stock, the new head of BlackRock's Yatai region.
Although he gave up 12% of his shares, making BlackRock the largest shareholder with a 21.66% stake and holding two board seats, the voting rights are still firmly in his hands!
"Congratulations." Rainstock took the initiative to extend his hand to Robert Lee with a bright smile on his face.
"Congratulations, you made the right decision." Robert Lee had the same bright smile on his face, but he saw a sudden commotion in the press box.
Like a dog seeing a bone.
What's going on?
(End of this chapter)
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