As for who is qualified to take over Fuyao Group, Cao Dewang and Fuyao executives had a head-on confrontation.
At a high-level meeting of Fuyao, Cao Dewang decided to let his eldest son Cao Hui become the future successor of Fuyao Group, but this proposal was strongly opposed by executives, and Cao Dewang replied without hurrying: It is not noble to let his son take over, you see the world's top 500, 95% are family businesses!
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, cao hui, the eldest son who refused to succeed Fuyao Glass</h1>
With the rapid development of China's economy for decades, many "founding generation" entrepreneurs have reached the age when they need to consider successors, and most entrepreneurs in China will choose to "inherit the father's business" due to traditional concepts. For example, the successor of "the richest Man in China" Li Ka-shing is the eldest son Li Zeju; the successor of Yang Guoqiang, the founder of Country Garden, is the eldest daughter Yang Huiyan; and the successor of Wahaha founder Zong Qinghou is the only daughter Zong Fuli.
As a pioneer in China's manufacturing industry, Cao Dewang, now 75 years old, the "glass king", has also faced the same problem, and what makes Cao Dewang even more troublesome is that his eldest son Cao Hui is not willing to succeed Fuyao Group.
As the "richest man in Fujian" in the last century, Cao Dewang, although he has donated more than 26 billion yuan in recent years, he still has a net worth of more than 25 billion yuan, and the listed company Fuyao Glass A-share + H stock market in charge is worth more than 200 billion yuan, which is the wealth that many people dream of all their lives, why did Cao Hui choose to refuse in the first place? How should we view the inheritance of entrepreneurs?
Previously, a media survey of 182 Chinese entrepreneurs who had done "successors" showed that 82% of the children of "pioneer generation" entrepreneurs with an average age of more than 52 years old were "unwilling" or "not active" to take over. It shows that Cao Hui's refusal to take over is not an isolated case.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, Cao Hui, who was trained as a "successor" since childhood</h1>
As a famous Fujian businessman, Cao Dewang is very traditional in his bones, and he once said that Cao Hui is the eldest son, and he must take over this class.
Therefore, when Cao Hui graduated from high school, Cao Dewang did not let him continue to study, but arranged him to the workshop of Fuyao Glass, so that Cao Hui started from the most basic assembly line workers.
As the saying goes: no matter how rich you are, you have to suffer children. Cao Dewang and Cao Dewang's father Cao Heren have suffered in both generations, when Cao Heren went to Japan as an apprentice, the Japanese shopkeeper was very strict with Cao Heren. In the first year, Cao Heren was asked to carry water, chop firewood, and cook; the second year, Cao Heren was asked to bring his own goods to the countryside to sell; until the third year, the Japanese boss did not allow Cao Heren to receive guests at the counter. After 3 years of study, Cao Heren was officially discharged.
Cao Dewang was even more difficult since he was a child, because his family was poor, Cao Dewang dropped out of school at the age of 14 and returned home, following his father to sell tobacco, fruits, and saplings, and he had to go out at 2 a.m. every day, and he would transport hundreds of kilograms of goods from Fuqing to Fuzhou by bicycle, and it would take 70 or 80 kilometers to go on a trip.
The parents' love for their son is far-reaching, and Cao Dewang cannot make his son Cao Hui too comfortable. After Cao Dewang arranged his son Cao Hui to the workshop, he made three requirements to the workshop director:
1. Cao Hui's identity cannot be disclosed;
2. Cao Hui cannot be specialized in work;
3. Assign cao hui the hardest and most tiring work.
Cao Dewang will also track Cao Hui's performance in the workshop from time to time. Once When Cao Hui went home to get clothes, Cao Dewang asked Cao Hui to put his hand out, and after seeing the thick cocoon on his son's hand, Cao Dewang said happily: "This is my son." ”
Perhaps it was Cao Dewang who taught Cao Hui from the beginning not to be afraid of hardships, so that Cao Hui has not been pampered by the "rich second generation" and has become more independent in thinking.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >3. Why is Cao Hui unwilling to succeed Cao Dewang? </h1>
In 2003, Cao Dewang resigned as the general manager of Fuyao Glass and began to try to get a professional manager to succeed Fuyao, but in 2005, Cao Dewang tried twice but failed. Since September 2006, Cao Hui has taken over the position of General Manager of Fuyao until 2015.
In July 2015, Cao Hui, who was reluctant to succeed Fuyao, chose to leave Fuyao Group and start his own business. Why did Cao Hui, who already had more than 10 years of experience in commanding Fuyao, still refuse to succeed Fuyao?
1. The opposition of executives
After Cao Hui left Fuyao, he was succeeded by Cao Dewang's son-in-law Ye Shu.
Ye Shu joined Fuyao Glass in July 2003 and has rotated many important positions in the group, including the head of the supply management department, the head of the purchasing department, etc. In 2017, Ye Shu took over as Cao Hui and became the general manager of Fuyao until now.
It can be said that Ye Shu has a deep foundation inside Fuyao glass. First, Ye Shu, like Cao Hui, is a member of the Cao family, and if he succeeds, he is also justified; second, Cao Hui has studied in the United States, so many of Fuyao's overseas affairs are handled by Cao Hui, the domestic market is more managed by Ye Shu, and naturally Ye Shu and the domestic Fuyao executives are closer.
When Cao Dewang decided to make Cao Hui his successor, many executives opposed it. Cao Dewang was not surprised at all, nor was he hiding it, And Cao Dewang said to the executives without anger: "On technology, management, and marketing, Cao Hui may be inferior to you a lot, but Cao Hui is my son, and Cao Hui has the voting power to decide the future direction of Fuyao." ”
After this battle, Cao Dewang cleared the obstacles to Cao Hui's succession, and no one had any objections to Cao Hui's succession.
2, the working pressure is too large
A reporter once asked Cao Hui: "I heard that your father will travel abroad with a golf ball in a few days, is he planning to let go of everything?" ”
Cao Hui replied: "He wants to enjoy life, that is the success of his son, but it also means that my "non-human" life has begun." ”
According to Fuyao Glass's 2020 financial report, Fuyao Glass's annual revenue in 2020 was 19.9 billion yuan, surpassing Japan's Asahi Glass and France's Saint-Gobain, becoming the world's largest automotive glass manufacturer. Fuyao Group was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1993, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2005, and since 2006, it has opened branches in 11 countries such as Germany, Japan, the United States and Russia, with 27,000 employees worldwide, which is the benchmark for China's manufacturing industry to go global. To take over such a huge industry, Cao Hui, born in 1970, still needs to slowly adapt.
Cao Dewang also understands this, Cao Dewang said that Cao Hui agreed to succeed Fuyao, his task is only half completed, the other half is to coordinate the balance of interests between Cao Hui and employees, management and shareholders, this time takes about 10 years. Moreover, China is a humane society, and many businesses are based on complex internal and external interpersonal relationships. On whether the future can be balanced, Cao Dewang replied: Follow the fate, look at Cao Hui's creation.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >4</h1>
In fact, the inheritance of entrepreneurs is often very contradictory, the next generation has its own dreams, and forced to take over may not be able to hold the country.
Someone once asked Cao Dewang about Cao Hui's succession, and Cao Dewang said: I want to, I don't want to.
I think it is because Fuyao Group donates to the society every year, so it is a social responsibility to succeed Fuyao. In addition, someone who takes over can also retire early and go out to play.
I don't want to say it because: Cao Hui did some business to fill the gap in national science and technology when he started his own business, and it is a pity not to continue to specialize.
Cao Dewang finally concluded: Cao Hui sacrificed the most, but there was no way, who let him be Cao Dewang's son.