America: My Time

Chapter 140 Bell
Chapter 140 Bell
Mentioning the Bank of Japan, those old guys grit their teeth in hatred. The Bank of Japan played a huge role in John's extraordinary achievements. Without the Bank of Japan's strong support, John could not have developed so quickly and expanded so wildly in so many industries.

Neon Bank's strong support for John is purely for profit; they recognize his abilities, hence their generous assistance. Although John carries a huge debt, it's not a crisis; he could easily repay it if he wanted to. The gaming world's current market value is astonishing; everyone sees its incredible potential. Legendary Entertainment is no exception. Look at NBC; it's only been a short time since they took over, and it's completely transformed, with its market value skyrocketing.

While Morgan was discussing countermeasures against John's expansion, other financial groups and Wall Street giants were doing the same thing. They were all shocked by John's frenzied expansion and horrified by his cunning. At this point, everyone understood that John had indeed seen through the changes in the gold futures market; otherwise, he couldn't have set up such a perfect scheme to deceive everyone. By the time everyone realized what was happening, it was all over.

If the gold futures exposed by Hurricane Investment had previously attracted the attention and suppression of those old guys, now that they have fully understood John's plan, they are inevitably shocked. Some even began to doubt whether Hurricane Investment's system was just for show, merely to attract attention. If so, the previous large investments were probably just a waste of money.

Despite the enormous profits in gold futures, John did not choose to continue investing in financial futures but instead expanded into other industries. Does this mean that his goal was not in financial futures but in the real economy?

There are almost no secrets on Wall Street. The acquisition offer Morgan received was quickly known to other giants. When they saw the detailed acquisition list, all the Wall Street giants were shocked and envious of Morgan's good fortune. Only then did they realize that Morgan was the most cunning. Although they had shielded John from a lot of pressure before, they gained much more.

The pressure on the old guard intensified when they sensed John's renewed expansion. They felt he was building a new conglomerate, and the disorganized layout was a shadow of that conglomerate. Although this shadow of John's conglomerate had significant flaws and was far inferior to traditional banks—Integrity Bank was merely a minor player in their eyes, insignificant—they were still aware of its major flaws.
Did John not continue to expand into banking after his success in gold futures? Yes, but only on a small scale, and he avoided the focus of conglomerates, choosing to acquire a Chinese bank, East West Bank. Those giants still didn't take him seriously; their concern was John's rapid development and high-speed expansion in high technology.

At this point, some of the old guys really regretted it, feeling that they shouldn't have handed Bell Labs over to John, especially since it was given away for free. But it was too late for regrets. John had already taken over Bell Labs and was reforming it according to his own ideas, cutting all research that wasn't in the plan to save money.

Bell Labs' annual expenses were staggering. After acquiring Bell Labs, John made an unprecedentedly audacious decision: to establish a conglomerate centered around Bell Labs, a conglomerate primarily focused on communications. Bell Labs would concentrate solely on research in communications, laying the groundwork for future development, while the resulting patents would be licensed to its holding company. Hong Kong Telecom would be integrated into this conglomerate.

Nokia was one of Bell Labs' targets, and John was well aware of the future development of communications. Battery research was also crucial, and Energizer, a US-based company, became a target for Bell Labs as well.

If John's plan were to become known, companies in the communications industry would cry wolf. Bell Labs' strength was undeniable; Bell Labs had played a crucial role in Bell's growth to such a massive scale! However, this was just a plan; its realization required the right timing, funding, and, most importantly, professional management talent.

John needs a headhunting firm again to find a qualified manager for Bell Labs, someone who can control the lab's development and steer it in the direction he desires, instead of leading it to destruction under the influence of those researchers.

Talent remains a major obstacle to John's expansion. Even with headhunting firms, finding suitable candidates is not an easy task. Moreover, he doesn't have much time. If he hadn't established a think tank and a secretarial team, he would probably still be overwhelmed with work instead of having time to 'create'!
The expanding storm continues to tug at the hearts of many. John, at the center of the storm, continues his studies, but as his wealth increases, his school life is also affected. There are always some people who try to curry favor with him, hoping to gain benefits from him or to find out some secrets from him.

Driven by profit, the headhunting firm acted swiftly, and John finally found the talent he needed: CEOs for Bell Labs and Bentley Motors. Their profiles were already in his hands. It must be said, the headhunting firm was quite capable; the two CEOs they selected were both exceptionally talented.

John's first meeting was with Anne Malcasi, a talent from Xerox who was a good fit for Bell Labs' plans. After the meeting, John went straight to the point: "Ms. Anne, I'm glad you accepted the invitation. You should be familiar with Bell Labs' situation. Although it has a group of excellent researchers, it's practically a shell in terms of management. You'll need to handle it yourself. I can offer you maximum autonomy; as long as it doesn't affect Bell Labs' research strategy, everything is up to you!"

"Mr. John, may I know what your plans are for Bell Labs?" "Sure. In my plan, Bell Labs will only be a research institution, not a publicly listed company. It will only conduct research, and all patents developed will be licensed to a holding company or other companies. Bell Labs will live off its patents. Its research will focus on communications, as this is one of Bell Corporation's most valuable assets. Currently, Bell Labs' plans only include one holding company, Hong Kong Telecom!"

"Mr. John, does this mean that as CEO, I will not only manage Bell Labs' research, but also handle the affairs of its holding companies, and that the company will have more acquisition plans or development plans?"

“Bell Labs cannot have only one holding company, so we will naturally continue to acquire others. As CEO, you do need to take care of the management of the holding companies. Acquiring Bell Labs was not a decision I made on a whim, but a decision made after detailed analysis and a thorough investigation of the global communications market!”

"Mr. John, what is my current focus at work?"

"We need to manage Bell Labs' researchers well and get them fully engaged in new research. Only by stabilizing Bell Labs' research talent pool can we launch a new round of expansion. We don't yet have the strength to expand into the US domestic communications industry, so our next target is overseas. Of course, this isn't absolute; we still have a smaller goal!"

"How much time do I have to adjust the management of Bell Labs?"

"I'm truly sorry about that. Due to the current situation, you only have three months. We need to expand as quickly as possible and complete the integration of Bell Labs in the shortest possible time, then fully dedicate ourselves to communications research. To be honest, this patent battle is very important, so time is tight. Our competitors include not only Motorola but also Europe, so you only have three months!"

Three months is indeed a short time, and John only has that much time. Bell Labs must expand, complete the acquisition of Nokia, gain control of mobile phone R&D and production capabilities, and prepare for the future of mobile communications. Hong Kong Telecom will serve as a testing ground for the technology, and a cellular phone company also needs to be established. Yes, Bell Labs currently holds patents for cellular phones!

"I wonder how much funding Bell Labs will receive for expansion and integration?" Anne asked.

"As for funding, I can tell you that as long as your plan is sound, funding won't be a problem. I understand the difficulties of scientific research, so as long as you apply for research projects normally, there won't be any issues. Bell Labs will provide 100 million in initial funding, and I can guarantee that to you."

"I have no problem. I need three days to deal with the Xerox matter!"

"Great, our cooperation went smoothly!"

When John heard that Anne had accepted the invitation from the CEO of Bell Labs, he breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could finally put down the heavy burden of Bell Labs!
(End of this chapter)