Episode 37: Weijian Shan
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The Man from Gobi Desert: Stories of Survival, Deals, Breaking Barriers and Building Trust
Hard work and luck. That's the key to success, according to Weijian Shan. And he knows a thing or two about success. Shan is the founder and head of Hong Kong-based private equity group PAG, a former professor at the Wharton School, and the lead on one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank.
That is the focus of his latest book, Money Games, where he gets deep into the details of closing that deal.
Join us as he and Greg talk about the history of the banking system in Korea, the importance of real-world experience in academia, the current state of China banking, and how spending years doing forced labor in the Gobi Desert prepped Shan for the life he has now.
Episode Quotes:
What lessons did you learn from your years of suffering in the Gobi Desert that helped you succeed later in life?
“Once you have experienced the hardship, you appreciate whatever you have […] I think that you also learn that nothing can be tougher. And therefore, even though the negotiation process, as I described in the book, 一 was tough, and there were many setbacks, there were many frustrations. You learn to be patient. You learn to persevere. You learn never to give up.”
How did you build relationships and overcome hesitations when you come in and invest in these Asian companies?
“In a country where information is not instantly available and you don't know enough about your counterparties, of course, relationships would help you navigate the marketplace. You do business with people who you know. But, when you deal with the government, it's not so much of the relationship that mattered at the time. It was a trust that you needed to build. Of course, the Koreans were very skeptical of foreign investors who came in during the financial crisis, and they were very much afraid, justifiably so. Then the foreign ambassadors would take advantage of the situation and get too good a deal from the government. So, they were very careful when negotiating with us. And that was why it took so long; there was so much back and forth between the two parties.”
What role does humility and listening to others play during negotiations?
“When you become arrogant, then inevitably, you will fall. It is crucial to be able to listen to different opinions and different views. And to be humble. To understand it's not just you. There's luck, and there are other points of view. So, I think that's very important. If you're not able to accept different perspectives, then it's very easy to fail.”
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