Serial Founding Then Hand Off the Baton

"From the outset of initiating the setup of Ctrip I had an absolutely professional team with James Liang establishing a solid foundation, Fan Min carrying it forwards, and Neil Shen dealing with the financial and legal aspects. I established the firm base for Home Inn, then Sun Jian took up the baton; I also initiated Hanting and established a solid base…"

"Fourth, all three companies were the perfect marriage of entrepreneurial spirit and professional management. From the outset of initiating the setup of Ctrip I had an absolutely professional team with James Liang establishing a solid foundation, Fan Min carrying it forwards, and Neil Shen dealing with the financial and legal aspects. I established the firm base for Home Inn, then Sun Jian took up the baton; I also initiated Hanting and…"

"Actually, a company like Huazhu needs both types of people. It needs an entrepreneur like me; a founder and a disrupter, who is a leader. I’m a sensitive person and a laid-back leader with something of an artistic temperament. A company also needs a professional manager of which Jenny Zhang is an outstanding example. She has received formal training, has managerial experience in a large enterprise, is exceptionally smart, and also loves the business with genuine passion."

"Second, each of the businesses required about three years to take shape. For Ctrip it was from 1999 to 2002; Home Inn 2003 to 2005; and Hanting from 2007 to 2010. In a similar manner to human development, the basic shape of these three businesses, their teams, structure, character and culture was formed in the first three years. Thereafter it was just a question of continued growth. Three years is a critical time for Chinese companies to reach a certain level to be able to enable significant future growth. This is because Chinese companies grow fast and there are many imitators and…"