After 5 years it’s time for a change. I am not talking about my 5-year marriage, but about my business activities. 5 years ago I set up Spil Games Asia (at that time called Spill Group Asia), starting out as a 1-person company in January 2006 and now in December 2010 with over 100 employees in our Shanghai office.
Today it was announced to the Spil Games crew worldwide that I decided to step down as CEO on February 1 next year. I took that decision already a long time ago, but it took quite some time to find a good successor and to work on the transition. But I am happy to announce that Chen Qi, our current COO, will take over my functions in just over 6 weeks from now. I will stay with Spil Games in a global advisory role, but will have more time for my family and for other business activities that I am involved in.
I had a great time at Spil Games Asia over the years, but like every start-up it’s been a roller coaster from time to time. Quickly adopting to fierce competition, encountering sudden regulatory changes and managing staff that may have different objectives than the company was sometimes challenging, but these things also make running a business in China one of the
well, bad shanghai weather just force one great CEO make decision to leave China. Hope not.
Hi Marc, just out of curiosity, how did you hire early employees?
Hiring early employees is never easy, especially when they have good jobs (which is normally the case). I try to give them my vision on the company and what I want to achieve, when doing the job interviews. They need to believe in what you plan to build. The first employees are crucial, so you need to spend a lot of time and effort on the hiring process.
Marc, it is a real pity for Spil that you decided to leave. I Hope your successor is as good as you! You did an amazing job, i can only have loads of respect for you.
All The best with your other ventures. Wishing you deserved quality time with the family.
Greetings from the Netherlands