Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 77 His Company
Zhang Yong first glanced at his watch, then looked around the room and saw that all the seats were full and all the attendees had arrived. He then asked Song Ci, "President Song, it's almost time, let's begin the meeting."

Song Ci nodded, indicating that he could begin.

Zhang Yong cleared his throat and said loudly, "Comrades, please be quiet. The meeting is now in session. I will be chairing today's meeting, and the main topic will be matters related to the reorganization of Tengda Technology into a group company."

After Zhang Yong took the lead and attracted everyone's attention, he continued, "Tengda Technology's revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan in just six months in 2004. The specific operating data has already been reported in the year-end summary, so I will not repeat it here."

Under the leadership of General Manager Wang Jing, Tengda Culture has achieved profitability in all its businesses, including advertising, film and television, and special effects.

With the combined workforce exceeding 1500, and considering the company's current size, the chairman has decided to merge Tengda Technology and Tengda Culture into the Tengda Group, in order to integrate resources, coordinate development, and improve operational efficiency.

The expressions of the people present varied. Some remained calm and composed, clearly having heard some rumors beforehand and were already prepared.

Some people who had just learned about this were uneasy, wondering how the group would change and whether it would affect their positions and income within the company.

Zhang Yong paused for a moment, giving the company executives a minute or two to process the information, and then instructed his secretary to distribute a stack of materials.

"Everyone can take a look at the materials that have been distributed; this is the group's restructuring plan."

The main point is that, aside from administrative, financial, and legal departments, the group will establish seven directly affiliated business units: Toutiao.com, TT Mail, TD Games Platform, Game Development Center, TT Video Network, Weibo (to be established), and Qianqian Music Network (to be acquired), as well as three second-tier subsidiaries: Tengda Culture, Southern Cinemas, and Tiangong Special Effects.

This group structure was the result of discussions between Song Ci and Zhang Yong. Originally, Song Ci wanted to set up large business units like Tencent in the future.

However, considering that Tenda's current scale is far from that of the future Tencent Group, it is tentatively decided to establish a directly affiliated business department, which will be directly managed by the group. After the company grows and expands in the future, a second reform will be carried out to adopt a business unit structure model.

Zhang Yong explained the group's business structure in detail, and everyone immediately started whispering and discussing among themselves.

Wang Jing carefully flipped through the plan in her hand and couldn't help but sigh. She had already seen the first draft of the company's restructuring plan a few days ago, and Song Ci had also informed her in advance that she would be appointed as the group's chief operating officer, second only to CEO Zhang Yong.

Although I was promoted, I still felt a little reluctant to leave. The establishment of the group did not have a significant impact on Tengda Technology, but Tengda Culture, which was originally on par with Tengda Technology, was downgraded to a subsidiary of the group.

At the same time, Southern Cinema Circuit and Tiangong Special Effects were spun off, and Blueprint Copyright Company was also transferred to TT Video Network. It can be said that Tengda Culture, which she founded, will henceforth be just a film and television company.

The meeting room was somewhat noisy and disorderly. Song Ci tapped the table and said to everyone in a cold voice, "Quiet down, pay attention to meeting discipline, and let General Manager Zhang continue."

When the big boss spoke, the entire room fell silent. Everyone still maintained a sense of awe towards Song Ci, the chairman who was rarely seen.

Zhang Yong, with a smile on his face, adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and continued speaking unhurriedly:
"Each directly affiliated business unit has a president who is fully responsible for the development of its respective business segment. Subsidiaries are independently accounted for and have a general manager who is the legal representative of the company and is responsible for daily operations."

Song Ci did not have Zhang Yong announce the personnel appointments at the meeting. In order to maintain stability and development, the original department heads were basically promoted on the spot, so there was no need to waste time.

He then interjected, "The group will issue official appointment documents for the president and general manager after the meeting, and will also send a copy to the internal email of all employees for notification and public announcement."

These seven presidents and the general managers of the three subsidiaries hold high positions of power and are important senior executives of Tengda Group. They will all enjoy stock option dividends, and when Tengda Group goes public in the future, billionaires will be within easy reach.

"The above content is the general development framework of the group. For specific details, please refer to the plan."

Next, I will introduce the group's newly established job level system. After introducing the main organizational structure, Zhang Yong dropped another bombshell.

"The group will categorize all positions into three categories: technical positions, including design, development, and operations; internal positions, including human resources, administration, and finance; and field positions, including sales and after-sales service."

Each job category will be divided into 14 levels, with different levels corresponding to different salary standards and benefits.

The group's human resources department will comprehensively consider employees' business capabilities, work attitude, daily behavior, and moral character, and will formulate corresponding rating rules and assessment methods for each type of position.

People are the core driving force for enterprise development, and an effective and reasonable compensation system can motivate employees to actively engage in their work and improve work efficiency.

Therefore, Song Dynasty poets paid special attention to salary and benefits, and after thorough deliberation and research, they introduced this system of job ranks.

Zhang Yong's mouth was dry from talking. He took a few sips of the mineral water in front of him and continued explaining: "After the meeting, the Human Resources Department will send the job level system details to every employee and begin to rate all employees."

After the results are released, those who have objections can submit a review application. Furthermore, every March, employees who feel they are qualified for promotion can also apply for a rating, once a year.

Fearing that the senior executives present might not take it seriously, Song Ci personally emphasized: "Here I want to stress that the job level system is designed to enhance employees' creativity and initiative, and to ensure their upward mobility."

In addition to salary, each level has corresponding benefits. The group will gradually introduce a series of welfare systems in the future, including those related to retirement, medical care, housing, and children's education. Please pay close attention and cooperate with HR to communicate these systems to every employee.

"Please rest assured, Chairman, I will definitely cooperate with General Manager Zhang and urge the entire group to do this work well." Wang Jing made a timely statement, as Song Ci had already entrusted her with full responsibility for this task before the meeting.

Time passed by, and the meeting proceeded smoothly. Zhang Yong explained the various work tasks to the attendees.

As midnight approached, Song Ci announced, "Meeting adjourned!" This three-hour-long group meeting finally came to a close.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Wang, come to my office for a moment." Song Ci stood up and said to the two of them, then left the conference room first.

"Go get three meals and deliver them to the chairman's office," Zhang Yong hurriedly instructed his secretary, then called to Wang Jing and followed Song Ci.

After catching up with Song Ci, he leaned closer and said, "President Song, it's past 12 o'clock. I'll have my secretary bring up some food."

Song Ci nodded and agreed, "Okay, let's talk while we eat." Wang Jing, wearing high heels, also caught up with the two of them and they entered Song Ci's office together.

The spacious office was somewhat dimly lit. Song Ci drew back the blinds, and suddenly bright sunlight streamed in through the glass, creating an instant sense of warmth.

Song Ci pointed to the sofa, "Sit."

After the three of them sat down on the sofa around the coffee table, Song Ci personally poured tea and water for the two of them. "There are a few things we need to discuss."

As the saying goes, small matters are discussed in large meetings, and big matters are discussed in small meetings. Currently, only a very small number of people in Tengda Group can truly decide the company's development and the interests of its employees.

Song Ci took a sip of tea to relieve his thirst and said seriously, "Old Zhang, Sister Jing, keep a close eye on things down there these next few days. If anyone tries to cause trouble or stir up trouble and incite the employees, don't be lenient. Fire them on the spot."

There are beneficiaries of group reform, and there will inevitably be those whose interests are harmed. Songci naturally has to take precautions and promptly remove the bad apples.

"Okay." "I'll be careful."

Zhang Yong and Wang Jing immediately nodded in agreement, promising to maintain the group's stability.

Song Ci shifted to a more comfortable position, leaning lazily against the leather sofa. "Sister Jing, you can continue to serve as the general manager of Tengda Culture for a while longer. As for the new general manager, I already have a candidate in mind. You can hand over the responsibilities after he takes office."

"I know." Wang Jing originally thought that after her promotion, Song Ci would let Liu Rong take over. She never expected that Southern Cinema would be directly upgraded and become a second-level subsidiary of the group, just like Tengda Culture. Jiang Tiantian was too inexperienced to take the position. She also didn't know what kind of person Song Ci's preferred new general manager was.

After deciding that Wang Jing would serve as the group's chief operating officer, Song Ci had already begun searching for a new general manager for Tengda Culture. After careful consideration, he chose Zhang Zhao, the former president of LeTV Pictures.

Zhang Zhao has extensive experience in the film and television industry and is currently the artist director of Enlight Media. After a headhunting company contacted him, the two parties hit it off immediately.

Being able to take charge of Tengda Culture, which has recently gained a reputation in the industry, is more than ten times better than being an artist director at Enlight Media. Given such a good opportunity, Zhang Zhao was naturally willing to switch jobs.

After speaking with Wang Jing, Song Ci turned to Zhang Yong and said, "Old Zhang, I've been thinking about this recently. The group aims to reach 30 billion yuan in revenue this year. In addition to the plans we finalized before the new year, we still need to focus on developing Toutiao's unlimited value-added services."

When Mobile Dream Network was first launched in 2001, the market size of wireless value-added services was only 19.8 billion yuan. But by 2002, it had reached a market size of 93.6 billion yuan, an increase of 373% over the previous year.

By 2007, China had over 5 million mobile phone users and the wireless value-added services market had exceeded 1500 billion yuan. If Toutiao.com could capture 10% of the market share, it would be enough to make Tengda Group the largest internet company in China.

Zhang Yong revealed a refined and confident smile, "President Song, rest assured, since I have made a solemn pledge, I am naturally confident in leading the group to achieve the revenue target of 30 billion yuan."

The company originally planned to vigorously develop its SP (Service Provider) business this year. Since you've given this instruction, I've asked the staff to put in even more effort and focus more on expanding wireless value-added services.

"It's good that you're confident." Song Ci nodded slightly; he trusted Zhang Yong's abilities.

He paused slightly when talking about Song Dynasty poetry, picked up his teacup and gently rubbed it in his hand. His eyes were fixed on Zhang Yong and Wang Jing, his gaze calm and deep, as if he were reminiscing about the past. The two of them also looked at him quietly, without saying a word.

Song Ci didn't keep them in suspense. "Old Zhang, Sister Jing, the two things I just mentioned aren't the main ones. I specifically called you here because I'm going to fulfill my promise to you. Once the group's restructuring is complete, I will transfer 3% and 2% of your shares to you."

After careful consideration, he decided to transfer 3% and 2% of Tengda Group's shares to Zhang Yong and Wang Jing, respectively.

The two men in front of him were, firstly, the CEO whom he had invited back from Donghai to help him establish Tengda Technology, and secondly, the founding member who had followed him the earliest and worked tirelessly, and was entitled to enjoy original shares.

As for the company's other senior executives, they can enjoy stock options based on their contributions to the company, but they shouldn't even think about equity for now, as Song Ci will not easily give it to others.

"Thank you, President Song!" Even Zhang Yong, with his composure, couldn't help but show his joy. He had given up a high-paying job at Shanda for this very moment.

He didn't mind that the shares offered by Songci were too small. Given Tengda Group's current size and profitability, these 3% of shares were already worth three or four hundred million. Even after dilution, the shares would still be worth at least one billion when the company went public in the future.

Wang Jing immediately beamed with joy and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, President Song!"

Her mindset was different from Zhang Yong's. Although she had 1% less shares than Zhang Yong, she didn't feel that Song Ci had treated her unfairly.

The only advantage she had was that she was early on. Her work ability and contributions to the group were no match for Zhang Yong's, so she was already very satisfied with having 2% of the original shares.

Song Ci waved his hand, "Old Zhang, Sister Jing, you are my right-hand men, so there's no need for formalities. In addition, I will set aside 10% of the company's shares as an option pool to incentivize employees."

Tengda Group adopts an A/B share structure. Song Ci herself, along with Zhang and Wang, hold Class B shares with 10 times the voting rights. After Song Ci relinquished 10% of her shares as an employee stock option pool, Tengda's shareholding structure became:
Song Dynasty poetry: 30%
Sino-Singaporean Investment: 25%
Shanhai Capital: 30%
Zhang Yong: 3%
Wang Jing: 2%
Options pool: 10%
However, the equity in this 10% option pool is still held by Song Ci on his behalf, so he still controls 95% of the voting rights and firmly controls the company.

At this moment, Song Ci was filled with lofty sentiments and passionate enthusiasm: "From now on, let's work together to develop Tengda Group into a world-class multinational corporation."

"I absolutely believe in you and firmly believe that Tengda Group can become a multinational giant." Wang Jing has known Song Ci for four years and has witnessed miracles time and time again. She has absolute confidence that Song Ci can develop Tengda into a multinational group.

"The company is currently developing well and has no plans to raise funds or go public in the short term. The group's top priority is to acquire a piece of land and build its own office building. Land prices in Beiping are rising every day. If the building is not completed before the Olympics, the cost of building it later will be too high."

"I will keep an eye on this matter and actively communicate with the Beiping government to try to get a plot of land approved for us this year." As the group's CEO, Zhang Yong had no choice but to take on this responsibility.

Song Ci breathed a sigh of relief. Having a capable CEO was indeed a relief. "Then I'll leave it to you, Lao Zhang. Keep in touch."

Just then, the secretary brought up the food, so the three of them ate and chatted, discussing and deciding on several important matters concerning the group.

(End of this chapter)