American Peanuts

Chapter 197
"I said, I decided to cancel the date and go to San Francisco with you." Victoria reiterated.

"Uncle Nicholas will definitely be furious when he hears the news. I think you need to reconsider." Charlie reminded helplessly.

"I will tell him, and I believe he can understand that I am doing this for the benefit of the family." Victoria smiled with a hint of slyness.

"This has nothing to do with family interests. We are just going through the motions, raising hands, voting, applauding. It's as simple as that, but it's far less comfortable than dating someone else in Los Angeles." Charlie comforted.

Considering the degree of control Jobs has over senior executives, coupled with the performance brought by the unlimited potential of Apple mobile phones, I believe that his proposal at the shareholder meeting will not be blocked, so this is just a formality.

"You are a member of the family. Everything you do is related to the family. For the benefit of the family, of course I should go." Victoria said firmly.

Obviously, if she insists on a certain idea, Charlie cannot change it no matter what. Who told her that she is now the patriarch of the Rossi family and has the final right to interpret "family interests".

"It's up to you, but you have to make an agreement first. Then you have to obey me and don't mess up the matter."

"You don't think I'm just a kid who just graduated, do you? I have participated in many more shareholders' meetings than you think. I am an independent director of six companies, half of which are listed companies." Victoria was quite impressed said disdainfully.

·
"Leaving Los Angeles? What a coincidence. I still want to meet you." Margot Robbie said regretfully on the other end of the phone.

"There are still many opportunities..." In the VIP lounge, Charlie looked at Gal Gadot, who was sitting opposite and said nothing, but thought of another thing in his heart.

Margot Robbie and Gal Gadot both became famous by playing female characters under DC.

And since it owns Marvel and is DC's mortal enemy, Warner won't consider its actresses.

This made Charlie feel a little anxious, but luckily time was on his side.

Including Margot Robbie, this trip to Los Angeles was in a hurry, and there were actually many people we didn't get to meet.

For example, Eva Green, who accidentally got a film contract, and the most important director under PB...

At the same time, at the PB Pictures headquarters, a man wearing a Hawaiian-style shirt walked into Bob Friedman's office.

"No one told me that he would come. I rushed back from Hawaii. I just got off the plane half an hour ago." Quentin Tarantino said slightly innocently.

"That's really unlucky. He just left." Bob Friedman looked at him.

"If I had known better, I should have gone on vacation!" He waved his fist.

·
Cupertino is a small city in Southern California with a population of less than [-]. Nearly [-]% of the permanent population is Chinese. However, it is known as the heart of Silicon Valley, together with Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Bordered by Saratoga, it is very close to other core Silicon Valley cities such as San Jose, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, and Los Altos. Close and unique geographical location.

Google, Amazon, Qualcomm, VMware, Symantec and many technology companies have set up offices here.

It is also the location of the global headquarters of Apple. This long-standing electronic consumer goods company was born in the late 70s. After a short period of glory, it declined. It was not until the new century that it returned to the public eye with the help of IPOD. At this time, the public I haven’t realized yet that a new mobile Internet revolution is coming…

Evening, Fairmont San Jose Hotel.

Victoria is sitting on the bed and explaining to Charlie the role of the "corporate board of directors" and the "shareholders meeting".

"The main responsibilities of the board of directors are to formulate the company's strategies and policies, supervise management's decisions and actions, listen to reports, ensure that the company complies with regulations and ethical standards, and maximize the interests of shareholders. The board of directors is usually elected by the company's shareholders and is headed by the chairman Leadership. The members of the board of directors are usually experienced business leaders, academics, politicians, etc., who have a wide range of knowledge, experience and professional skills to provide strategic direction for the company.”

"Members of the board of directors are elected by voting at the shareholders' meeting. If you want to join Apple's board of directors, it is best to have a good relationship with some shareholder representatives. The most important thing is that Steve Jobs is willing to support you. If the management has objections, it will form a negative impression on you. A lot of resistance.”

The title of Apple's board member can help Charlie quickly develop a reputation in Silicon Valley, and it can also strengthen the cooperation between PB and Apple. There are many benefits. This is Charlie's primary task here.

"If you say so, it's not difficult for me." Charlie nodded.

As the largest single shareholder of Apple, he already has voting rights. In addition to the previous agreement with Jobs, he will endorse himself, which can be said to be a certainty.

Not long after Victoria left, there was a knock on the door.

Charlie's arrival is not a secret. Corresponding receptionists from Apple have come to visit before.

When he opened the door, he saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a black sweater standing at the door.

"Sorry, Charlie, I didn't disturb you, did I?" He held out his hand.

"Of course not, Mr. Arthur Levinson." Charlie smiled and shook hands with him.

In order to ensure the interests of investors, most of the names of those participating in the shareholders' meeting have been disclosed to the public.

The man in front of me is among them, and his name is only behind Steve Jobs. He is now the chairman of the board of directors of Apple, a director of the pharmaceutical giant Roche, a member of the California Quantitative Biosciences Industry Advisory Committee, and a molecular biologist at Princeton University. Department, Lewis-Siegler Institute for Integrative Genomics, and Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Advisory Board Member.

"I just didn't expect you to come in person."

"Of course we are responsible for our investors. On behalf of Apple's management and board of directors, I would like to extend my welcome to you." He said with a smile.

"Do you mind if I come in and chat?" he said with a smile.

Charlie invited him in. In addition to some routine inquiries about concern, he also asked Charlie what he thought of Jobs.

"I wonder how your relationship with Steve Jobs is? You know that he has a bit of a weird personality. He always says things that offend shareholders. Even after so many years, he still hasn't gotten rid of his old habits. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been kicked out in the first place. A company that was founded by one hand.”

"But I think he has learned the lessons of that year. Since his return, Apple's revenue has steadily increased. This is the best proof." Charlie continued.

Arthur Levinson nodded meaningfully: "You are right."

"Don't you think he did a good enough job?"

"My views are not important, your views are important, but there are several shareholder representatives who are not satisfied with him."

“We need dissenting voices, this is a form of oversight.”

"Yes, it is worth mentioning that it is best to have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow's shareholders' meeting process is very complicated and will make people feel exhausted."

"I've always had good stamina."

The smile on Arthur Levinson's face grew wider: "That would be great."

After a brief conversation, Arthur Levinson left, citing a visit to other investors.

After closing the door, Charlie immediately called Victoria who returned to the room to explain the visit, and then asked: "Is there any precedent for the Chief Director to visit in person?"

"Of course, this is a very necessary thing. You are the largest single shareholder. It would be a bit disrespectful if anyone else came." Victoria explained.

"But you can't ignore a premise. When Jobs returned to Apple in 97, he reached an agreement with the board of directors, requiring that in the future there would no longer be a chairman, but only a chief director. Simply put, Jobs wanted I had absolute control and wanted to serve as chairman at the same time, but investors were not happy, so both parties took a step back.”

"He actually came here to ask about your attitude towards Steve Jobs. But you didn't give him the answer he wanted, so he chose to leave." Victoria revealed his true purpose in one sentence.

"If I show dissatisfaction with Steve, will he try to win me over?"

"Yes, it seems that you have misjudged the current situation. Apple's board of directors is not peaceful."

·
"I said, I came to Cupertino for the benefit of the family... Can we make an appointment later? Forget it, I'm very busy, let's talk about it then, Dad." Victoria beside her hurriedly hung up the phone.

Apple's headquarters is located at No. 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. This road is named after Apple, which is a computer term.

At this time, "Apple Park" hadn't been built at all. Standing in front of the gate of the park, Charlie first saw three flagpoles, hanging the Stars and Stripes, the California state flag, and the Apple logo flag. The buildings in his vision were not so magnificent. , on the contrary, it looks like a university. Between the dozens of buildings are carefully maintained lawns. Employees come and go, and the atmosphere is not much different from that of a university campus.

Under the guidance of the staff, Charlie and his party arrived at the conference center in the center of the headquarters. Everyone's seat was marked by name. Charlie's seat was in the first row of upper seats.

The nameplate next to her reads "Susan Wagner."

Charlie asked the staff to move a chair next to him.

"Do you know who this person is?" Victoria also noticed the nameplate next to Charlie.

"It should be an important investor." Charlie said.

"That's not wrong, but she also has a more famous name. She is one of the co-founders of Blackstone, a financial executive in the United States, and the most influential woman in New York."

"On the left, this William Patterson, represents the New York State and Local Retirement System."

"Do you see the old man below? This is no ordinary scholar. His name is Bill Campbell, chairman of the Columbia University Board of Trustees, Google's Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt and Sundar Pichai, Apple’s Steve Jobs, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Dick Costello, and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, They all received his business guidance. Because he was the head coach of the football team Colombian Lions when he was young, the title of coach has still been used to this day."

"No wonder the CEO of Google respects him so much." Charlie looked down. Eric Schmi, who was in a suit and tie, stood up in person and invited the silver-haired old man to his seat.

In addition, Charlie also noticed that there were only a few women in the conference center hall, and they were also the only Asian faces present.

Binxian Zhong is the chairman of Avon's global board of directors and a member of the board of directors of General Electric Company. In June 2003, she was elected to the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange.

"Albert Arnold, Clinton's deputy, don't I need to introduce this guy?" Victoria pointed at the handsome man not far away.

In addition, Charlie also saw Larry Ellison of Oracle, James Baker, the former CEO of General Motors, and Milton Abremson, the former CEO of GAP.

These are the current board members of Apple, and they are all senior leaders in various industries.

In addition, it also includes a number of Apple executives, COO Tim Cook, chief design officer Johnny Ash, senior vice president of global marketing Phil Schiller, senior vice president of retail business Ron Johnson, chief Financial Officer Peter O'Brien and Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield are considered Jobs' six most powerful men.

Charlie swallowed, suddenly feeling lucky in his heart.If I hadn't borrowed the strength of my family, I wouldn't be qualified to sit here.

More and more people are arriving. Susan Wagner on the right has a slightly ordinary appearance, with short brown hair and bangs.

She immediately ignored Charlie and greeted Victoria instead.

Charlie suddenly realized that the seat he was sitting on might belong to Victoria.

Then I heard Victoria introducing herself to this female boss.

"Let me introduce to you, Charlie Rossi, a rising newcomer in the family, a very capable young man."

Charlie immediately stood up and greeted Susan Wagner.

"It's not easy to get the Iron Lady's approval." She looked at Charlie curiously.

This was the first time Charlie heard Victoria's nickname.

On the other side, Victoria added at this time:
"From now on, he will be our representative, so don't forget to take good care of him."

"The Iron Lady must support anyone she values. The young man is quite handsome." Susan looked at Charlie and pinched him on the arm.

"We're quite acquainted." She said in particular, and then asked Victoria seemingly casually.

"So, the ancient Utah family is going to make new moves that would require you to come in person?"

Victoria shook her head and said: "I came out for a walk, I didn't expect you to be here..."

During the conversation between the two, the investor representative on the left also arrived and sat down without saying a word.

The two were chatting when Charlie noticed Jobs walking on stage in his iconic outfit...

(End of this chapter)