| Drayson_de_Vega | Date: Saturday, 16 Apr 2011, 9:34 PM | Message # 1 |
 Lieutenant
Group: Users
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| "... the new chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, Mr. Drayson de Vega."
The man at the microphone stepped aside, clapping his hands together respectfully along with the rest of the room as Drayson de Vega assumed the podium. He smiled and raised his hands to quiet the crowd of reporters and investors, but they didn't listen. De Vega was a handsome man with an exotic accent and a friendly demeanor. Well-known and well-liked in the business community, he had been the CEO in the past of a shipping company and a defense contractor, among other companies. He had a reputation for turning these businesses around, bringing in investment, cultivating talent and employing it efficiently.
"Gentlebeings, please," he said, as the applause finally began to subside. "I thank you, and I thank Mr. Meem for his generous introduction. I am indeed grateful to the board for having selected me for this position. In my career, I have had the honor of working with many fine people, and for many fine companies. I will pleased to work with many of these people again, for an enterprise in which I see tremendous potential—potential not simply for profit, but for improving the quality of life of the people of the Outer Rim. That enterprise, of course, is the Imperial Outer Rim Trading Company. I would like to thank the board not only for selecting me to lead this company, but for making this company an engine of economic opportunity, too..."
Of course, he was known for more things than just his career; among them, his intellect, his philanthropy and his membership in the Society for the Improvement of the Outer Rim, but perhaps most of all, his reputation as something of a playboy. A well-known bachelor, it was said that few human women (and few women of other species, too) could resist his charms. No doubt, his charm had something to do with the success of his early career, but there was more to him than that.
"... average margin of 78%," he said, pausing as the room applauded once more. "But," he added, raising a hand as he went on, "When I began in the private sector, I was told that 'in business, as in life, someone wins and someone loses.' Or, occasionally, everyone loses. But few are willing to believe that a 'win-win' scenario—one in which everyone profits, and everyone benefits—is possible in interstellar business. But here at RimCo, I will make it my mission to change that. To demonstrate that you, the investors, can profit and the people of the Outer Rim can, too." Again, respectful applause. De Vega continued over it. "We will bring jobs to the most disenfranchised, disadvantaged regions of the galaxy," he went on, "And with them will come schools, hospitals, roads, and most of all, pride. The pride of earning a living, and providing for one's family..."
There was a darker side to De Vega that few people knew. While he was known for fostering cooperation and building coalitions on boards of directors throughout his career, he knew that the easiest way to build a coalition was to unite them against something, or someone. Usually someone, in De Vega's case—he was adept at turning the selfish interests of executives against one of their own. It was someone arbitrary, usually, or someone convenient, or just someone De Vega didn't like. In any case, he would plant rumors about him or her behind the scenes (and occasionally plant evidence, or worse) until the opinions of the other board members began to turn against him or her. At the same time, he would associate this person with every company policy or practice that De Vega intended to change. Then, usually, these policies and practices would become as unpopular as the person they had become associated with, and de Vega would be in a position to do away with all of them with broad support.
So a handful of careers were destroyed, and one suicide had resulted. But the approach worked, and it was the sort of approach that could only work in business, where, de Vega knew, the clash of executives' egos made it easy to bring about mistrust, and the herd-like impulse to anticipate profitable new trends made it easy to unite them all into some common agenda. De Vega's agenda. In public, though, de Vega was all smiles and hand shakes, donating credits to charity or cutting the ribbon at some new medcenter. With him, as with RimCo, appearances were deceiving. That's what really made him the perfect man to lead the company.
"... and I am confident that we can make this future together, here at RimCo. And I thank you again." De Vega bowed his head and smiled graciously as the investors applauded once more, and the holocams flashed. These were the images of him that would grace the pages of the business publications tomorrow, he knew. He wanted to look good to the public, like the rest of this charade.
Drayson Lorano de Vega, CEO of Imperial Surplus, Inc.
Member of the Society for the Improvement of the Outer Rim
Message edited by Drayson_de_Vega - Monday, 13 Jun 2011, 1:18 AM |
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