Submission + - Baidu's CFO Drowns While on Holiday (beskerming.com)
SkiifGeek writes: "Baidu's CFO, Shawn Wang, died while swimming while on Christmas holiday with his family on Hainan Island. Although only one trading day was available following news of his death (27th of December), it has seen more than 2% of Baidu's NASDAQ value wiped out.
While Wang's sudden death is not likely to impact the daily operations of the Chinese search engine giant, it is likely to impact the plans to list on the Hong Kong exchange, and China's 'A-Share' market, given Wang's role in getting Baidu listed on NASDAQ.
The loss of any key employee can have a major effect on a company, even if the employee is not an executive. The tragedy being faced by Baidu and the Wang family should serve as a reminder that succession planning and effective disaster management can be tested in many ways and it is important to ensure that there is always a way to continue normal operations in case of such tragedies."
While Wang's sudden death is not likely to impact the daily operations of the Chinese search engine giant, it is likely to impact the plans to list on the Hong Kong exchange, and China's 'A-Share' market, given Wang's role in getting Baidu listed on NASDAQ.
The loss of any key employee can have a major effect on a company, even if the employee is not an executive. The tragedy being faced by Baidu and the Wang family should serve as a reminder that succession planning and effective disaster management can be tested in many ways and it is important to ensure that there is always a way to continue normal operations in case of such tragedies."