Today's topic:
This article is reproduced from: Finance Eleven Humanities | Chen Xi and Liu Jianzhong
A-share listed companies are the best in China, and the head of the listed company, the chairman, is a group of people at the top of the pyramid. They are not only the top managers of the company, but also the highest representatives of the company's interests. They dance with the capital market and advance and retreat with the development of enterprises.
If you divide by age, you will find that most of the chairmen of A-share listed companies are over 50 years old.
"Financial Eleven" according to the statistics of the chairman information disclosed by the Flush Financial Data Terminal (iFinD) and listed companies, as of May 28, there were 4,823 A-share chairman, with an average age of 55 years old. Chairman over the age of 50 accounted for 79% of the total.
As shown in Figure 1, there are 2,845 chairmen aged 50-59, accounting for more than half of the country (59%); 811 people aged 60-69, accounting for 17%; 145 people aged 70 and above people, accounting for 3%, and there are 13 "octogenarians" who are still fighting in this position that requires high energy and experience.
Among the 13 "octogenarians", the oldest three are 85 years old, namely Sheng Cailiang of Claret (831689.BJ), Zhang Jingzhang of Haitian Precision (601882.SH) and Li Yunxiao of Sun Cable (002300.SZ) .
Chairman under the age of 50 accounted for just over 20%. Among them, there are 839 people aged 40-49, accounting for 17%; there are 183 chairmen aged 39 and below, accounting for 4%.
It is not difficult to understand that the chairman of the board of directors over the age of 50 accounts for nearly 80%. Most of the chairmen of private enterprises are the "creative generation" who have not abdicated. Therefore, most A-share listed companies are in the hands of "post-50s" and "post-60s".
But it is worth noting that there are currently 38 "post-90s" chairman of the A-share market. Among the chairman, a group of "senior citizens", the energetic figure of the "post-90s" is refreshing. Ordinary people can't help sighing: there are talents from generation to generation, look at "other people's post-90s"!
Why are these "juvenile factions" able to take charge of listed companies at a young age? What are their similarities? How is their management experience? How is the operating performance? This article takes you to uncover the "mystery" of the chairman of the A-share "post-90s".
Group portrait of post-90s chairman
Table 1 summarizes the basic situation of the "post-90s" chairman.
Among the 38 post-90s chairman, 8 are under 30 years old , accounting for 21%; 30 are between 30 and 32 years old, accounting for 79%. Among them, the youngest was born in 1995, and there are 3 of them who are 27 years old now. They are Dai Sijue, chairman of Baolingbao (002286.SZ), Wang Zhenglin, chairman of Shunho Co., Ltd. (002565.SZ), and Yang Wuzheng, chairman of Blu-ray Development (600466.SH). There are two 28-year-olds. They are Li Yilun, chairman of Zhongqingbao (300052.SZ), and Xing Meizheng, chairman of Jufei Optoelectronics (300303.SZ).
If calculated from the time of tenure, there are 26 people who took up the post of chairman before the age of 30, accounting for 70% . Wang Zhenglin was elected as the chairman of Shunho Co., Ltd. in July 2018 at the age of 23. Zhong Hongtian of Jujie Microfiber (300819.SZ) and Xing Meizheng of Jufei Optoelectronics were elected as chairman at the age of 24. Judging from this situation, A-shares are about to have a "post-00" chairman.
In terms of gender, there are 29 boys and 9 girls , accounting for 76% and 24% respectively. This ratio is far greater than that of A shares as a whole. A-share female chairman accounted for less than 6%. The proportion of female chairmen of the "post-90s" has increased by more than four times. The rise in the proportion of women among corporate top managers also reflects progress in gender equality.
The "post-90s" chairman generally has a higher degree of education. "Excellent education" is a label for these "post-90s" chairman. According to statistics, among the 38 chairmen, 21 have overseas study experience, and their places of study are all over the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada. For example, Dai Sijue, chairman of Baolingbao, graduated from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom with a master's degree in financial economics; Guo Yanjun of Jinpu Titanium (000545.SZ) obtained a master's degree in risk management from New York University; Zhou Wenbin of 300135.SZ) graduated from the University of Illinois with a major in economics; Hu Kunhui, chairman of Yahuilong (688575.SH), received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Melbourne in Australia; Tao Xing of Yaxing Anchor Chain (601890.SH) He also graduated from the University of Melbourne.
In addition, there are many "post-90s" chairman who graduated from famous domestic schools. For example, Lin Yichao, the chairman of ST Modern (002656.SZ), has a master’s degree in software engineering from Peking University; Xiao Ning of Zangge Mining (000408.SZ), graduated from Renmin University of China majoring in human resource management. Zhao Jinwen, chairman of La Chapelle (603157.SH), who has just delisted, graduated from Tsinghua University.
There are also many "post-90s" chairman with mixed Chinese and foreign education. An Ji, chairman of Xinbang Pharmaceutical (002390.SZ), has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Shanghai Jiaotong University and a master’s degree in statistics from Columbia University in the United States; Wang Haoyu from Dayu Water Saving (300021.SZ) has a degree in China Agricultural University and Purdue University in the United States Double bachelor's degree in economics and management, a master's degree in business administration from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, and a doctoral candidate at Tsinghua University.
Among all the highly educated people, Xiang Liang, the chairman of Honghui New Material (002802.SZ), has a high school education that seems out of place. His resume disclosed to the outside world shows that Xiang Liang served in the military for two years after graduating from high school, and then studied at Santa Monica College in the United States, but his resume did not mention his major in the United States and the corresponding degree. , the final academic record shows high school.
In terms of salary, excluding the 6 chairman who just took office this year, and Wu Lang from *ST Energy Saving (000820.SZ) who has not received salary , the average salary of the remaining 31 chairman in 2021 is 780,000 yuan, and the median is 665,000 yuan .
This is quite different from the overall situation of A shares. After deducting those who did not receive remuneration from the company and those who receive a symbolic 1 yuan, the average salary of the A-share chairman in 2021 is 1.3 million yuan, and the median is 900,000 yuan. Compared with other chairmen, the "post-90s" chairman's income is lower than that of other chairmen, not because they are young, but the main reason is that the A-share companies managed by the "post-90s" chairman are relatively small. The research of the "Finance Industry Research Center" shows that, on the whole, the greater the number of listed companies and the greater the market value, the higher the remuneration of the chairman and general manager.
Of course, the proportion of these young "heads" with an annual salary of more than one million is not small. As shown in Table 2, there are 10 chairmen with an annual salary of more than 1 million yuan, accounting for about 1/3 of the 31 people.
Wang Haoyu, chairman of Dayu Water Conservation, has the highest salary, receiving 2.429 million yuan in 2021; followed by Guo Xiaoqun, chairman of Jiayun Technology (300242.SZ). The company Kaisa Group (1638.HK) received a salary of 1.797 million yuan. Yang Wuzheng of Blu-ray Development (600466.SH) will receive a salary of 1.769 million yuan in 2021. Both Kaisa and Blu-ray Development were once top 50 companies in the real estate industry, but in 2021 they both encountered difficulties in paying bonds and fell into financial crisis. Considering the financial situation of Kaisa and Blu-ray Development, their salaries are not low.
Wang Siqi of Baoxin Technology (002514.SZ) has the lowest salary, with an annual salary of 33,000 yuan in 2021. However, he also receives salary from related units, but the specific amount cannot be queried. Next is Wang Xiaoxia from Zhongyi Technology (301150.SZ), with an annual salary of 42,000 yuan, but her wealth far exceeds that of her peers. She holds 4 million shares of Zhongyi Technology, worth about 400 million yuan.
From the industry point of view, according to the classification of Shenwan's secondary industry, the companies in charge of these "post-90s" chairman covers packaging and printing, real estate development, traditional Chinese medicine, general equipment, textile manufacturing, general retail, IT services, environmental governance, automotive parts, etc. Components and other industries did not show obvious industry characteristics.
From the perspective of market value, most of the companies run by the chairman of the "post-90s" are listed companies with small market capitalization. As of May 30, more than 50% of the companies had a market capitalization of less than 3 billion yuan. Only Zangge Mining has a market value of more than 10 billion yuan, and it currently exceeds 40 billion yuan. Followed by Yahuilong, the market value is about 8 billion yuan. Excluding companies in the delisting consolidation period, the listed company with the smallest market value is *ST Shennan with a market value of about 800 million yuan, and the second smallest is Shenke shares with a market value of 1.3 billion yuan.
Most of them are "successors", and the reasons behind them are different
Why can these "post-90s" take on the important task of chairman?
Judging from their resumes, appointment announcements and other public information, the 32 "post-90s" chairmen belonged to inheriting the family business and took over the baton of family development from their parents. These "second-generation enterprises" born with a golden spoon in their mouths may have received the script of "enterprise successor" early on. However, after careful study, it will be found that the plot direction and development of "Son Inherits Father's Business" are different.
We roughly divide these "post-90s" business successors into three categories: the smooth succession type, the business creation type, and the emergency type.
The first type of chairman is the "smooth succession type", with 12 chairmen , accounting for 31.6%. Their parents paved the way for them early on, put them on horses and sent them off a long time ago. In these companies, some parents are still the actual controllers of the company, controlling the general direction of the company.
For example, Wang Zhenglin of Shunho Co., Ltd. is the youngest chairman of A shares. In July 2018, the board of directors of Shunho Co., Ltd. was re-elected, and Wang Zhenglin, who was only 23 years old at the time, was elected as the chairman. Wang Zhenglin is the son of Wang Dan and Zhang Shaohuai, the actual controllers of the company.
Paislin (600215.SH) Chairman Wu Jinhua's parents are Wu Liangding and Chen Ailian. In the 2019 Forbes China Rich List, the families of Chen Ailian and Wu Liangding ranked 393rd. Wu Jinhua joined the family business at the age of 25, and became the actual controller and chairman of Paislin at the age of 28.
The second type of chairman belongs to the "career-starting type", with 4 directors , accounting for 10.5%. With the help of their parents, they opened up another world.
For example, Guo Xiaoqun, chairman of Jiayun Technology. Guo Xiaoqun is the son of Guo Yingcheng, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kaisa Group (01638.HK). Compared with the real estate industry, Guo Xiaoqun prefers the technology industry. Six months after Guo Xiaoqun graduated from the UK and returned to China, his father spent 1.7 billion yuan to acquire part of the equity of Jiayun Technology, and sent two senior executives around him to assist his son. In 2019, Guo Xiaoqun became the chairman of Jiayun Technology at the age of 28.
Another example is Dai Sijue, chairman of Bowlingbao. As early as 2017, when Dai Sijue, chairman of Baolingbao, was 22 years old, he spent more than 500 million yuan to take over Baolingbao and became the actual controller of Baolingbao. How can you have so much money at such a young age? The answer was given by his mother. According to the data, Dai Sijue's capital contribution came from an "unlimited and interest-free" loan from his mother Deng Shufen.
Han Zeshuai, chairman of Jinli Huadian, acquired the shares of Jinli Huadian through Shanxi Red Sun Tourism Development Co., Ltd. in 2020 and became the largest shareholder. He has another identity: the son of Han Changan, chairman of Shanxi Lubao Group. Lubao Group is a coal mining enterprise with an operating income of more than 30 billion yuan in 2021.
The third type of "post-90s" chairman belongs to "accepting orders in the face of danger" . Due to various changes, the heavy burden fell on them all at once. There are 16 such "post-90s" chairman, accounting for 50% of the 32 successor-type chairman.
Chairman in distress
Some seemingly glorious "post-90s" chairman, also have a twists and turns of the story. There are a total of 16 such "responsible in danger type", accounting for 42.1% of the 38 "post-90s" chairman.
Four of them quickly took over the responsibility of the company after the unfortunate death of the former chairman's father .
For example, Wang Haoyu of Dayu Water Saving, Xing Meizheng of Jufei Optoelectronics, and Zhong Hongtian of Jujie Microfiber all inherited the shares of the company after the death of the former chairman of the board, and came to power hastily. Wang Haoyu of Dayu Water Conservation was still a student when he took over. At that time, he was still a master's student at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
However, Wang Xiaoxia, the chairman of Zhongyi Technology, is in a special situation. Being the chairman is more like her younger brother who "assisting the real successor in the future". Zhongyi Technology is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of electrolytic copper foil products, and is a supplier of CATL. When sprinting to go public on the GEM in 2021, Wang Hanping, the original actual controller of Wang Xiaoxia's father company, passed away. According to the "will" made by Wang Hanping before his death, all the shares in the company left after his death will be inherited by his son Wang Li. Therefore, the actual controller of the company is not Wang Xiaoxia who has worked in the company for 8 years, but her younger brother Wang Li who is only 25 years old.
According to the data, Wang Li joined Zhongyi Technology in April 2020 as a staff member of the production center, mainly engaged in copper foil production, R&D front-line rotation and learning. On the whole, due to Wang Li's lack of management experience, the company's operation and management is under the command of Wang Xiaoxia. Although Wang Xiaoxia is the chairman of the board, Wang Xiaoxia was nominated by her younger brother Wang Li.
According to the "Agreement on Concerted Action" signed by Wang Li and Wang Xiaoxia, if a consensus cannot be reached on matters such as company operation, management, and voting rights, Wang Li's opinion shall prevail. At the same time, Wang Xiaoxia has issued a letter of commitment, expressing that she recognizes and respects Wang Li's status as the actual controller, and will not seek the status of the company's controlling shareholder or actual controller in any way within 3 years of the company's listing.
Another type of "post-90s" chairman who was "resigned in danger" was pushed to the front because their actual controller elders were investigated and even involved in criminal offenses. When the company was in deep trouble, they were forced to rush to take over.
Chen Shanshan of Jinfu Technology (003018.SZ) is the first "post-90s" female chairman who led the company to an IPO. His father, Chen Jinpei, the founder of Jinfu Technology, was sentenced for smuggling. In order to avoid the impact on the company's IPO, my father handed over the baton to Chen Shanshan.
Zhou Wenbin of Baoli International is the son of Zhou Dehong, the actual controller of the company. In 2018, Zhou Dehong was publicly reported by his niece and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for bribery. Zhou Wenbin took over as chairman.
Hu Kunhui, the chairman of Ahuilong, also became the new actual controller of the company after the original controller and father Hu Deming was sentenced for bribery.
*Zhou Haiyan of ST Shennan (002417.SZ) is the daughter of Zhou Shiping, the actual controller of the company, and will take over as chairman in 2021. Zhou Shiping has been transferred for investigation on suspicion of fund-raising fraud and illegally absorbing public deposits.
Xiao Ning of Zangge Mining is the eldest son of the real controller Xiao Yongming. In February 2021, his father was arrested on suspicion of illegal mining. In June 2021, Xiao Ning was elected chairman.
Li Yilun, the chairman of Zhongqingbao, who just took office on May 6, 2022, resigned after his father Li Ruijie made an inappropriate comment in the company's internal group in early May that forced employees to work overtime during the May Day holiday. The position of director of the company.
There is also a category of chairman who is not the biological child of the original actual controller.
non-children director
The appointment of this type of chairman is not "inheriting the father's business", and there are 6 such chairman.
Most of these "post-90s " chairmen were suddenly pushed to the fore because of the chaos in listed companies.
In November 2019, *ST brand new (000007.SZ) experienced troubled times. The industrial and commercial registration address and mailing address of the original controlling shareholder, Hanfor Holdings Co., Ltd., “are all vacant and the gates are locked.” The actual controller was not only investigated by the public security organs, but also demanded by many investors.
The internal control of listed companies began to be chaotic: non-board members intercepted directors' resignation reports, interfered with the normal operation of the board of directors, obstructed information disclosure, and planned to steal the company's seal through abnormal procedures, etc. In order to avoid the recurrence of the situation that employees embezzled the official seal and borrowed money in the name of the company and guaranteed huge losses to the company, the board of directors of the company elected Huang Guoming, who was born in 1990, to perform the duties of the chairman when the chairman resigned and could not continue to perform his duties.
ST Modern (002656.SZ), which was once regarded as the "first stock of high-end men's clothing", Lin Yongfei, the former chairman and actual controller, was issued a warning letter by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2019 due to repeated violations of guarantees. "Reason" as the reason for resigning from the chairmanship, leaving the United States and has not returned. At the end of May 2021, Lin Yichao, born in 1990, was elected chairman. In the original election announcement, ST Modern stated that "Lin Yichao has no relationship with the company's controlling shareholder or actual controller." But in fact, Lin Yichao has a son with the daughter of Lin Yongfei, the actual controller of ST Modern. Therefore, ST Modern issued another announcement to make corrections.
Fang Kangning, the actual controller of De-Austration (002260.SZ), which has entered the delisting period, has been involved in dozens of lawsuits, and has been listed as a dishonest person subject to execution, and has become an "old man". Chairman Cao Shishi is the niece of Fang Kangning, the actual controller, and she does not directly or indirectly hold the shares of the company.
According to the announcement of the listed company, before Wu Lang, chairman of *ST Energy Saving (000820.SZ), took office, the company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries had been involved in more than 50 lawsuits in 18 months, involving more than 900 million yuan. Wu Lang has no relationship with the actual controller.
Before Wang Siqi, chairman of Baoxin Technology (002514.SZ), took office, the stock pledge rate of the company's actual controller and persons acting in concert was close to 100%, and the financial situation was not good. In April 2021, the former chairman and general manager resigned, and Wang Siqi was elected chairman.
Wang Siqi has no relationship with the actual controller of the company.
Cao Wenjie, the former chairman and actual controller of Xintonglian (603022.SH), resigned as chairman at the shareholder meeting in May this year, and Xu Wei, who was born in 1991, was elected chairman. The company did not disclose the relationship between Cao Wenjie and Xu Wei.
How has your performance been since taking office?
These "post-90s" chairman have left their peers far behind. But "if you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight." Behind the glamorous name is a heavy responsibility.
Less than two months after Yang Xiao of Renhe Pharmaceutical was elected as the company's chairman, the marketing of its Fuyanjie brand suffered a "turnover". His father Yang Wenlong responded, but how to quell the turmoil is his first challenge since he took office.
Is the "post-90s" chairman competent? Can you calmly deal with the ever-changing capital market? How has your performance been since taking office? Let's look at the data.
First of all, ignore those "second-generation enterprises" who have successfully succeeded but are not actual controllers. Because their parents did not completely withdraw from the management of the company, but "listened to the government behind the curtain" and continued to provide guidance and assistance for the company's development, the performance of such companies did not reflect the characteristics and capabilities of the "post-90s".
Secondly, ignore those chairman who are "forced to operate" after resigning due to the negative reasons of the actual controller. Because most of these companies have fallen into operational difficulties. What the previous chairman left to his successor was not "candied dates", but a "mess" that was difficult to solve. Especially once the actual controller is involved in illegal cases or deeply involved in debt turmoil, no matter how powerful the new controller is, it will be difficult to reverse the decline.
Mainly look at the 2021 performance of the "post-90s" chairman who has become the actual controller and is not in a mess .
Among the 38 post-90s chairman, 13 meet the above conditions, accounting for 34%. However, Tao Xing of Yaxing Anchor Chain and Anji of Xinbang Pharmaceutical must also be excluded, because they will take over the company after April 2022, and it is less than 2 months now. We analyze the remaining 11 companies.
In terms of operating income, among the 11 companies in 2021, 7 achieved a growth rate of more than 20% , accounting for 63.6%; while the proportion of A-share companies with an overall revenue growth rate of more than 20% was 48.8%. Two of the 11 companies have achieved growth of 10%-20%, that is to say, 9 of the 11 "post-90s" companies at the helm have achieved growth of more than 10%, accounting for 81.8%. 66.4% of the companies had a growth rate of more than 10%. The "post-90s" have achieved very good results in terms of operating income growth.
In terms of operating profit, 9 of these 11 companies will see an increase in operating profit in 2021, accounting for 81.8%; while the companies with A-share operating profit growth will be less than 60%. It can be seen that the "post-90s" chairman has done a good job.
The vast majority of these 11 began to enter the company after completing their studies, and some even earlier. They have been exposed to the business process of their parents since childhood, and are influenced by their parents. Among them, Zhong Hongtian of Jujie Microfiber is the chairman who led the family business to successfully ring the bell after his father passed away.
Zhong Hongtian said: "I grew up in a factory since I was a child. Before I officially took office, I was very familiar with the overall operation of the company and the personnel situation."
Another chairman, Chen Shanshan, started working in the family business at the age of 21 before becoming the chairman of the listed company. She has served as a buyer and person in charge of procurement, and has worked at the company's grassroots level for 5 years.
The "post-90s" chairman also pays more attention to research and development. In 2021, the total R&D expenses of A-share listed companies will account for less than 2% of total operating income. Counting all A-share companies, the median value of research and development expenses in operating income is 2.5%. Nine of these 11 companies have R&D expenditures that exceed the median value of A-shares.
The author is a researcher at the Industry Research Center of Caijing, editor: Liu Jianzhong
Hillhouse Capital Zhang Lei's 27 Investment Philosophy and 3 Dimensions
How are the strategies of TOP7 top investment institutions different?
Kai-Fu Lee: What kind of entrepreneurs are most sought after by VCs?
All strategies that do not match your own situation are shit!
