From any perspective, 2004 was the gloomiest year that Wang Junjin has ever experienced. His big brother, Wang Junyao, founder and president of Junyao Group, was hospitalized for cancer. To him, it felt like the beginning of the end.
The world - and indeed the group’s business - continued to go on. The acquisition of Wuxi Commercial Building, first considered by Junyao Group, China’s first private company to engage in air transportation, in 2002 and negotiated in 2003, was about to move to the stage of tender offer. The group, however, didn’t have enough cash for the deal: another real estate project, Junyao International Plaza at Xujiahui, a commercial district of downtown Shanghai, had problems and was not brining in the cash needed to fund the new project.
Problems came down like an avalanche: employee confidence plummeted with the loss of their president, a company symbol and hero to many; suppliers and customers sat on the fence while the group’s core personnel shifted, causing many opportunities to be lost; and banks, which always lacked trust in private businesses, drew back funds due to the absence of a credible leader, which resulted in the failure of many acquisitions and shook the very foundations of the company.
At that time, Wang Junjin, as the second son of the Wangs, had to assume responsibility for the company. He spared no efforts to gain support from banks while imposing a news blackout in and outside the company. He worked and went on business trips as usual during the day, and took care of his big brother at night with his younger brother Wang Junhao. The schedule was exhausting.
Fortunately, the overall situation was becoming stable gradually, and all company issues were being dealt with effectively. But through October and November, Wang Junyao’s health took a turn for the worse. The younger Wang Junjin had already been running the group for at least six months by then. So after his brother’s death, he officially began to lead Junyao Group.
Observers were largely skeptical of the management shift. But when the two junior Wang brothers presented themselves with Xu Biao, Zhu Jianrong, Qian Keliu and Wang Hao - four members of the Board who were from outside the family - trust seemed to be placed in the whole team rather than Wang Junjin himself. After all, he was only 36 and had a childish face, and had just come out from under his big brother’s wing.
The years that followed were important. Within only two short years, Wang Junjin’s new role as president had changed him significantly. He became more stable, calm, and an extremely convincing business leader, all qualities he didn’t held when his older brother was in charge. The younger sibling was clearly up to the task and worked hard to continue the group’s success during his brother’s illness and after he passed away.
Many of the group’s employees found that they had underestimated Wang Junjin, and remarked that his leadership role had changed him, saying “he is almost another person.”
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