Cao Chao, president of Sina: re-planning Sina with entrepreneur mentality

In the Chinese Internet, many people in the spectrum, a lot of personality, Chen Tianqiao more seek, Charles Zhang Love to play fashion, Ma Yun always out of the language is amazing, horse is more like an engineer, and Chao, is always known by competitors as "the person who do accounting." In response, he responded: "I am an accountant who has never used a calculator, and now I have less financial control, and the outside world has a deeper misconception about me." ”

Aside from the brand of accountants, what is the true Charles Chao?

Key people to lead Sina listing

Chao's English name is Charles, and many employees kindly call him "Lao Cha". Employees have in his 10 years in the anniversary of Sina took a small film sent to him, the title with a smile laughingly to his knot "who did not think, this just want to help Sina listed on the old check, since the beginning of the wild journey." ”

From Sina's chief financial Officer (CFO) to the chief Operating Officer (COO) to the chief Executive (CEO), Chao said he had "done almost all of Sina's work". In Shanda's "Sneak Attack" on Sina, he personally produced the "poison pill" plan, successfully uniforms Chen Tianqiao this outsider. In 2004, when Sina's revenue fell, he was stepped, responsible for the financial and responsible for the most core advertising sales and website operations. Therefore, he will be very strongly said: "No one than I know more about Sina business, the overall operation of the line of business, no one can approach me." ”

To be aware, Chao entered Sina as the Vice-President of finance in 1999, thinking that he would only stay on Sina for a year. At that time, Chao is the United States, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the CPA, the first contact with Sina, is to replace a sick colleague, from the United States flew to Beijing to guide Beijing Pu China's audit of Sina.

The magic of Fate lies in, let an accidental meeting freeze, since then, from 30 to 40 perplexed, Chao more than 10 years of time are "bound" on Sina.

Chao entered Sina in the difficult period of the listing, because of policy barriers, the company can not be scheduled to land on the Nasdaq. At this point, his accountants, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo, ebay and other mergers and acquisitions of the experience has become a unique asset. At the time, Zhidong and Yan in Beijing to communicate with the then Mii, who was in charge of coordinating the work of lawyers, investment banks and the SEC in the United States.

It is Cao Chao's proposal to make Sina's Nasdaq road a perfect solution. What's unique about this program is that Sina's U.S.-listed company has no stake in its Chinese operating entity, but is putting it into a public company through a number of legal structures. "There is no share relationship, why can the merger of financial statements into, this is the hardest and most important part", for this reason Chao went to the SEC to talk about 3 times, Sina's prospectus has been changed to eight version. Finally, Sina launched a new model, but also become Sohu and other Chinese companies listed model.

From the housekeeper to the boss

"The first time you see Chao, you can not feel his enthusiasm, but a long time, you will know, he is working hard," said Sina employees.

In the staff's eyes a bit serious Chao actually also has very sensitive time, once in micro-blog frankly bare his gratitude to the staff: "Today really very touched, I really love you." ”

The day of writing this sentence is September 28, 2009, Sina Management buyout completed, to Cao Chao led the management of about 180 million U.S. dollars to buy Sina about 9.42% of the shares, become Sina's largest shareholder, this is the first Chinese Internet enterprises MBO. Coincidentally, this is the day he entered the 10 anniversary of Sina, but also his little daughter's birthday.

"If you want to write a memoir, I will start with this day," Cao said. On this day, he drank 782 liquor for the first time in his life, claiming that he even sang three songs with deaf.

For the implementation of MBO, Chao's explanation is: "To do MBO is an impulse." In Sina's ten-year experience, let him feel that he has become a professional manager has been to the extreme, there is no exciting challenges, so he wants to give life another role.

Another reason is that Sina's shareholding is very fragmented and often suffers from a takeover battle. Chao said: "Sina's equity mechanism and the two-tier market defense system is very tight, to pass the two-tier market to become big shareholders is basically impossible, but there are people who do not understand the rules of the game, every year, people will do this kind of attempt, the company's interference is very large." After MBO, the problem was completely resolved. ”

Sina Management after the completion of the acquisition, Chao successfully turned, from the professional manager ashore, to master the status of Sina. "I want to redesign Sina's future with an entrepreneurial mindset," he said. ”

One months after MBO, Sina and China's China Real Estate Information Group (CRIC) listed on the Nasdaq, this is the first step of a series of breakthrough strategy. In his plan, after the listing of CRIC, the spin-off of finance, cars and other channels listed, the picture of Sina as a holding company has surfaced.

Chao said: "Including games, E-commerce and other fields have to find ways to enter, although Sina in these businesses have failed, but now the situation has been different, we began to calm down, for long-term strategy to do investment." Asked if there was a merger or acquisition plan in the E-commerce industry, he quickly replied: "No, there is nothing now." ”

A businessman with perfect colours

In many people's eyes, Chao has some bad definitions.

At Fudan University's journalism department, he helped his classmates enlarge photos and recruited a lot of business, so some students said he was a "born businessman". However, after studying in the United States for a master's degree in journalism, he unexpectedly changed his finances, and college students exclaimed, "How can you expect to be a financial officer?" ”

In Sina, "Cao Chao privately, is a Super gourmet", Sina editor-in-chief Chen said: "He is here, we do not have to order the restaurant." Sequoia Chinese partner Shen said he "is a very rigorous businessman, completely according to the business rules of cards, but also flexible to combine the characteristics of China."

In fact, he has a tendency towards perfectionism. In a detail, he said in a conference with the NBA, "if there is no official NBA report, Sina's Sports report is not perfect, and as the two sides cooperate, Sina's sports report will tend to be perfect." "Translation of this to the NBA President Stern, Cao Chao is not satisfied with the translation method, and smiled in English to say this to stern to hear."

"I think an idea or a thing, never use someone else's way," said Cao. "Indeed, from Sina listing, the acquisition of Dragon to the formulation of" poison pill "plan, mergers and acquisitions, and then to MBO, SINA le Habitat and easy to live in China to set up a subsidiary CRIC split merger, Chao-led mergers and acquisitions, the listing of the case in China's internet history are no precedent.

"Not long ago, the Chinese partner of the US Hillman law firm met me and joked that you did what I didn't do," he told reporters proudly. They are specialized in mergers and acquisitions, and my every deal, there are many innovative places, which is my proudest. ”

And Sohu's Charles Zhang, the Lei Ding of NetEase and Tencent of the horse Teng of these technical company senior executives, Cao Chao undergraduate and master are enrolled in journalism, plus Shanghai TV's experience, which makes him to the portal has a deeper understanding of the development trend of network media to judge more accurately.

Dialog

Most of the time it's about judgment and intuition.

Reporter: 1999 you join Sina very accidental, what makes you determined to join?

Chao: At that time was planning to change jobs, there are a lot of companies to find me, I do not know about Sina, but I think Sina and media-related, came, this decision quickly.

Reporter: Your more than 10 years in Sina is in China's Internet high-speed development period, what is the strongest feeling?

Chao: Look back, I sometimes feel a little strange, the rapid development of the Internet industry so that Sina has experienced a few years in general business experience a lot of twists and turns, I almost experienced and participated in all this process. Many opportunities or challenges for Sina or I personally are the first time, there is no experience can be referenced, so have to continue to learn, and more time can only rely on the judgment and intuition to do, but in the process of their own unconsciously grow up.

Reporter: Many people say you are a capital master, in life you are also a master of financial management?

Cao Chao: I never manage money in my life, I don't care about it, I earn how much I know because I want to disclose how much I earn. My wife is not very financial, so it is not clear how much.