The next few weeks are going to be crucial to understanding the future of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jeff Shi’s exit is the start of a process that must emphatically conclude with club stewardship in the hands of experienced football industry people. There should be no prevarication about the route chosen to appoint a permanent successor.
Over the last two decades the Chinese have made a great virtue of developing indigenous talent ready to run large companies, corporations and government agencies. China has invested heavily in higher education, talent development and entrepreneurial programmes, maximising western education systems to the full. Resulting in Chinese students heavily over represented in the elite universities across the USA, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom. The Chinese attach importance to developing cultural dexterity and effective cross-cultural communication to align local execution with global objectives. In other words, they place a premium on adapting to differing operational environment, context, hierarchy and expression. Evidently, and ironically, Jeff was somewhat unable to master this given what we have discovered about his management style.
As for his immediate successor little is known about Nathan Shi other than he fits the typical ‘company man’ profile and was Ivy League (elite) educated in the USA at Brown University. The LinkedIn profile refers to specialisms in real estate, innovative financing and special projects, but little detail beyond that which in itself is revealing. Let’s be in no doubts, this is no ordinary brief because it encompasses a number of strands – crisis management, strategic reorientation, organisation restructure, financial rebuild, public relations, commercial growth, stakeholder relationships and people management. However highly regarded Nathan may be, it would represent a monumental gamble to entrust responsibility longer term in an inexperienced executive. Look no further than the last ‘company man’ appointment.
For those hoping for a football industry person with the skills and experience to navigate the short-term crisis and implement a sustainable long-term plan, there is room for cautious optimism. This is based on a cursory examination of leadership models in some of the main subsidiary companies within the Fosun Group.
Fidelidade is Portugal’s largest insurance group. It has two million clients and the largest commercial network in the country. The operation extends across Spain, France, Luxembourg, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique and Macao, and is led by highly-experienced Rogério Campos Henriques.
Club Med has former Carrefore senior executive, Stéphane Maquaire as President and CEO. On his appointment the statement read: ‘…signifies a strategic shift towards strengthening operational control, adapting to the evolving travel sector..’
Fosun’s 88% stake in Silver Cross is said to be ‘driven by the desire to expand the iconic British nursery brand into the rapidly growing Chinese consumer market.’ The company is led by Englishman, Nick Paxton.
Frank Josef Hahn, Chief Executive of Peak Re-insurance Group who specialise in global emerging markets has been in situ for a long time. And Wolford, luxury goods maker and part of the Fosun-owned Lanvin Group, is led by Marco Pozzo.
All the above companies are successfully led by highly experienced, industry-wise respected individuals. Each also benefits from the largesse of being a member organisation of a major conglomerate enabling the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and access to cheaper and innovative capital. Our understanding is that was the original intention regarding Wolves, but it has not materialised. If there is to be a genuine reset and Fosun execute a new plan with commitment, resources and investment, it could help take Wolves to another operational, commercial and financial level. Some of this will be about greater capital investment but much of it is do the savvy things the ownership group undertake routinely across the business.
Last week Fosun announced an innovative partnership with BYD, largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. Can you imagine if BYD became the next shirt or even shirt sleeve sponsor. A few months ago it was announced Fosun’s giant pharmaceutical arm was building a major pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution hub in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Through that cooperation presumably a tie up could emerge with a local academy in a country renowned for producing talented young footballers. With a global footprint as large as Fosun’s, the possibilities are vast. Yes it is about the money but influence can have equally great benefit. If I was Guo Guangchang, and co-Chairman Wang Qunbin, that would be high on the priority list drawing in the vast expertise and resources available to the group.
The next few weeks will be revealing. A few placatory statements but lacking substance won’t cut the mustard with fans. Neither will vague statements about future intention and ambitions. The Wolves Fans Alliance has provided a roadmap for success, it deserves a worthy and timely response.