Chapter 1513 - 1511: Resignation

Chapter 1513: Chapter 1511: Resignation

In the second half of the year, an explosive piece of news broke out in the upper echelons of Federation society, it was rumored that Mr. Wardrick was resigning from the Consortium, stepping down from his positions as the president of the group company and board director, and will transfer his shares in accordance with the group company’s regulations.

If an ordinary person were to do this, it definitely wouldn’t be news, let alone explosive news.

But when the protagonist of this story becomes Mr. Wardrick, everything changes!

Mr. Wardrick has worked in the group company for at least twenty years. He joined the company at a very young age, though his initial position wasn’t as high as it is now.

Just an ordinary middle-level manager within the group company.

Even though his start was the endpoint many can’t even dream of, he still worked hard to quickly enter the company’s board of directors and take on important management roles.

Over these many years, Mr. Wardrick captured everyone with his exceptional performance, including the board of directors and shareholders, ultimately taking charge of the whole group company.

As the current "young" consortium sect leader of the Federation, Mr. Wardrick’s abilities are widely acknowledged.

Many believed he would retire from this position; maybe once he grows older, he would work from behind the scenes, like serving as the board chairman instead of consortium president, but at least he would remain within the consortium.

Nobody anticipated that such a day would come without any warning. Suddenly, he submitted his resignation to the group company with firm resolve.

"If you have any dissatisfaction with any of them, you can speak to me privately, and I will handle these matters."

"But, please don’t joke with us about resignation; it’s not a funny joke!"

In a study, an elderly man sat on a sofa not far from Mr. Wardrick, speaking softly in a comforting tone, trying his utmost to dissuade Mr. Wardrick.

From the moment this news leaked, the group company itself and numerous subsidiaries experienced abnormal fluctuations in their stock prices.

Stock prices fell, impacting the profits of the entire consortium.

Why do those big capitalists enjoy playing with finance?

Because finance brings money faster!

You might employ ten thousand people to work hard for a year and earn only a million, but for those who play with finance...

They casually pick up a stone from the ground, convince others it’s worth a million, sell it, and they make a million!

No real costs, low taxes!

This sounds a bit laughable and absurd, maybe no one would be foolish enough to think a stone is worth a million.

Yet reality is quite the opposite; as long as it’s well-packaged, many would believe it’s worth a million.

The finance industry makes money quickly, so quickly that many become super-rich before they even realize it.

But losses occur just as rapidly, like now; due to the storm caused by Mr. Wardrick’s resignation, stock prices have fallen significantly.

Shareholders are complaining, and this makes the board very troubled.

They found the elderly man, the former board chairman, who is also one of the major shareholders of the group company, to persuade Mr. Wardrick.

In these people’s eyes, this might be a cunning tactic used by Mr. Wardrick.

He pretends to give up to gain more maneuvering space, pushing the consortium to the edge of a cliff.

And what prompted him to do so must be the board’s previous attempt to challenge him.

Now that hardly anyone expresses dissatisfaction with him, he begins to count the old scores.

The board and shareholders all indicate that as long as the stock prices can first be stabilized, making some concessions to him in the board meeting is not unacceptable.

But in reality, the problem doesn’t lie here.

Mr. Wardrick looked at the elderly man before him, a bit apologetic on his face, but how much of it was genuine, only he knew.

This former board chairman was a very important figure during his growth in the consortium, considered his "mentor", giving him a great deal of assistance.

Yet at this moment, Mr. Wardrick didn’t respond positively and affirmatively to the elderly man’s request as he had before.

He merely softly said, "Sorry, I can’t do that."

The elderly man was a bit puzzled, "I don’t quite understand, do you want more power?"

"But you should know, the board chairman and president cannot be held by the same person; that’s a rule we have jointly established, and there’s no exception!"

The board chairman controls the group company, in other words, the entire consortium’s personnel decisions and development direction, while the executive president is the specific executor.

Having separate planners and executors is aimed at preventing a "dictator" from emerging within the consortium.

Letting one person decide how to develop in the future and then execute every step himself can easily lead everyone to fall into the abyss of his sudden crazy ideas.

Therefore, splitting into these two parts allows the executive president to refuse execution if the board’s development plan is utterly foolish, initiating a shareholder meeting and requesting the board to explain the situation, and then having the shareholders decide by voting.

Conversely, if the president has some inappropriate ideas, implementing them becomes very difficult.

Because every step of the group company’s plan is roughly outlined; if you act beyond the plan, you must explain the situation to the board.

Why you would act outside the board’s predetermined boundaries; if you can’t justify it, you face investigation or even suspension.

Thus, the board chairman and president are not allowed to be held by the same person, which constantly creates some pressure for Mr. Wardrick within the board.

He wanted more significant positions, more power, naturally leading to conflicts with the board.

Previous dissatisfaction from the board directly manifested in terms of work, restricting some of his rights.

Ultimately, though, Mr. Wardrick triumphed, but his discord with the board chairman and other members was widely acknowledged.

So the elderly man believed this might be a tactic.

The board kept saying he had too much power, so now he directly passes the power back, putting the board at cliff’s edge with this strategic retreat — very clever.

But... now it seems, maybe it’s not like that?

The elderly man was a bit perplexed, "Maybe we should hear what you want to say."

Mr. Wardrick smiled, "Actually, the reason I’m doing this is for Severa."

The elderly man raised his brows, "The young girl, I remember her."

Mr. Wardrick nodded slightly, "Yes, it’s her."

"I’m not young anymore, in the most ten years I’ll retire."

"My current business is too deeply entangled with the consortium’s interests; I’m afraid she’s no match for those people."

These last words seemed a bit incoherent, but the elderly man understood.

Mr. Wardrick’s family business and the consortium’s interests are too deeply entwined; both sides are essentially bound together.

While Mr. Wardrick holds family power, his capabilities and wisdom make him fearless against the consortium’s old guards.

Those people, though they look human, aren’t entirely human anymore.

They represent capital. As long as there’s interest and potential, they don’t mind dismantling a shareholder or board member’s industry, turning it into nutrients for their own growth.

Severa is no match against those old foxes, and Mr. Wardrick is worried about this, so he chooses to withdraw early, clearing out the entangled interests between his industry and the consortium’s.

This way, when he retires and Severa steps up, she would hold absolute power, and no one could threaten her status, wealth, or even life.

After listening, the elderly man sighed. If Mr. Wardrick resigned for other reasons, such as acquiring more company shares, there’s always a way to persuade him.

But he is doing it for the child, for family, which is the core social value in the Federation!

You can tell someone to sacrifice for the country, for honor, for the company, and for others, but family and loved ones should not be part of such sacrifice; it’s an untouchable taboo.

Paving the way for the child...

The elderly man blinked, feeling a bit dry; he was not one easily moved. If he were, he wouldn’t have achieved what he has today.

As a capitalist, he must do things that harm others for personal gain.

"Seems like I can’t persuade you...", he thought, finally sighing, "I’ll explain things to them, but they might..."

"You know, you’ve made them suffer a great loss; they won’t end it so easily, and leaving the consortium, they can completely target you, so be prepared!"

In a consortium, you can bring in your wealth, but you can’t take what’s yours away.

Once you come in, everything belongs to the consortium, not you individually!

Want to take the consortium’s things with you?

Federation capitalists will enthusiastically tell you, impossible!

Mr. Wardrick smirked; he had no concerns about this. He leaned back against the sofa, exuding composure.

"If they aren’t scared of losing their teeth, let them try."

"I’ve never feared them in the past, don’t fear them now, and won’t fear them in the future!"

The elderly man watched Mr. Wardrick’s expression, feeling his attitude, involuntarily letting out a long sigh, "You’re just like before, youth is splendid, Wardrick."

"Youth gives us courage to challenge anyone trying to make us yield, whether it’s a group of hideous capitalists or the forces of nature, they cannot make the youthful soul bow..."

The elderly man thought of himself.

Envy.

Jealousy. 1511