Author | Huang Yu

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

Not long ago, Dong Mingzhu visited the ancient city of Zhengding in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, and Wang Ziru accompanied him; however, in a short period of time, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Wang Ziru to fly with his boss again.

On August 12, the China Executive Information Disclosure Network showed that Wang Ziru was issued a consumption restriction order by the Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court on August 9 due to failure to fulfill payment obligations as determined by the effective legal documents in accordance with the period specified in the notice of execution, and was restricted from carrying out high consumption and consumption practices not necessary for life and work, including not being able to choose to travel by air.

Wang Ziru is currently the head of Gree Electric's channel reform project and has attracted the attention of Dong Mingzhu.

According to case process information, in January of this year, Wang Ziru was enforced over $33.83 million due to a dispute involving Shanghai Shuhui Venture Capital.

It is worth mentioning that high consumption restrictions target executees who “have no money to pay back,” while untrustworthy executees, also commonly known as “old thieves,” are for executees who “deliberately don't pay back their money.” In other words, when Wang Zi was so restricted from spending too much, it was more likely because he “had no money to pay back.”

Currently, the specific dispute between the two parties has not been disclosed. However, according to Tianyan survey information, as the executor of the application in this case, Shanghai Shuhui Venture Capital is a shareholder of Guangdong Jinruyunhai (Group) Co., Ltd. (technology media Zealer), with a shareholding ratio of about 7.5%.

You should know that before joining Gree, Wang Ziru was the founder and CEO of Zealer and once held about 67.6 of the company's shares. In August 2021, Wang Ziru chose to withdraw from Zealer, selling all of his shares and resigning as general manager and executive director.

Judging from this, it is likely that the dispute between Wang Ziru and Shanghai Shuhui Venture Capital is still related to Zealer.

Will Wang Ziru's restrictions on high consumption have an impact on his position at Gree Electric and the development of Gree Electric's business?

As of press release, there has been no response from Gree Electric.

Liu Buchen, a senior observer in the home appliance industry, believes that it will not have an impact on Gree. After all, it is Wang Ziru's personal matter, and it dates from before he joined Gree.

At the same time, Huang Lichong, president of Huisheng International Capital, also pointed out to Wall Street News that Wang Ziru's position is not a director or supervisor; he is only a project leader. This incident will not have an impact on Gree Electric, and there will be no fluctuation in stock prices.

However, Liu Buchen told Wall Street News that since Wang Ziru is appreciated by Dong Mingzhu, the public will still have negative associations with Dong Mingzhu. “Looking at it now, Wang Ziru's ability to independently pay such huge debts is insufficient. If Dong Mingzhu really thinks Wang Ziru is a talent and wants to keep him, he should help him in a personal way.”

Wang Ziru's career has been full of controversy. During his time at Zealer, in 2014, the war of words between Wang Ziru and Luo Yonghao contributed to famous internet scenes. Afterwards, Wang Ziru posted an apology video to apologize to the audience and the public for the errors and misguidance that occurred in the Hammer phone evaluation.

After joining Gree in 2021, Wang Ziru was reused to take on the heavy responsibility of Gree's channel reform, but he was also often questioned by the outside world.

In November of last year, in an interview program that Wang Ziru participated in with Dong Mingzhu, he said another number of things that brought her to the forefront, such as “I haven't read the pay slip Gree gave me” and “I don't do anything every day, I just watch how she meets. I listen to what she says and does every day, and I feel very happy.”

What makes it even more difficult for many young people to accept is that as a rare woman in the Chinese entrepreneurial community, Dong Mingzhu, 70, seems to be happy with Wang Ziru's compliments.

Dong Mingzhu, who once had a lot of ambition, is now clearly behind Gree. Not only is its revenue only nearly half that of Midea, but there is even a clear gap with Haier.

According to the data, in 2023, Midea and Haier achieved revenue of 373.7 billion yuan and 261.428 billion yuan respectively, while Gree was only 205 billion yuan. By the first quarter of this year, Midea achieved revenue of 106.5 billion yuan, Haier Smart Home achieved revenue of 68.98 billion yuan, and Gree Electric achieved revenue of 36.596 billion yuan, with year-on-year increases of 10%, 6%, and 2.53%, respectively.

Currently, Gree is at a critical moment in need of change. Outsiders are looking forward to seeing a more ambitious entrepreneur to bring Gree back to the best state of affairs.