I could help a board examine how a creative promise becomes a commercial obligation. My career has moved from production coordination through accounts and studio operations to responsibility for the whole company. I have seen how a small ambiguity in intended use or revision scope can become a substantial disagreement after the work is complete. I would bring that practical experience to decisions about customer relationships, capability investment and the quality of commissioned services.
The largest-client case is relevant beyond film production. A company may depend on a relationship whose next request changes the economics or responsibilities of the service. Directors need to understand the proposed boundary and the cost of holding it. I would ask management to show both the customer’s absolute revenue and its share of the company, so that a falling percentage does not conceal lost business. I would also ask what support the commercial team needs after the board accepts that choice.
My experience of the recording facility would help a board distinguish a useful capability from a successful investment. We gained practical production advantages while paid use fell below the original case. Both facts belong in the discussion. I would be most useful on customer-quality or people-and-capability work, where judgement about specialist services is central. I would not claim to be a telecom-network director, a rights lawyer or an audit specialist on the strength of running a media company. Those distinctions would shape the contribution I offered and the expertise I expected alongside me.
Judgement in practice
01
A smaller percentage did not erase the lost customer income
The largest client’s share fell from 28% to 17%, but its annual revenue also fell from RMB33.6m to RMB28.56m. I kept that absolute reduction in the board discussion. We had accepted a commercial boundary, not discovered a costless way to diversify. In another company I would ask whether a presentation gives the board enough context to distinguish a change in the denominator from a change in the underlying relationship. I would also want management to explain the choices available at the time, including the terms it explored and the work it retained. The purpose is to understand the judgement, not to make every decision appear successful after the result is known.
02
An investment review that retained the original definition of use
Our recording facility’s paid utilisation was 54% in 2025 against an 84% assumption. A broader measure that included internal preparation would have made the calendar look stronger without changing the commercial result. I asked for a comparison using the same definition as the approved proposal. We retained the facility but deferred expansion, with the RMB1.1m operating loss still visible. On another board I would look for the point at which a useful operational capability is being used to defend a different financial claim. Directors can support continued operation while requiring a more modest next commitment. They should be able to explain why that choice is preferable to the alternatives without inventing a recovery that has yet to happen.
My first year on a board
I would begin by understanding the company’s commissioning model and the decisions its board finds hardest to make. With the chair and management, I would follow a small number of customer commitments from proposal to delivery and financial result. I would include an example that disappointed the company, because that often reveals assumptions that a successful project leaves unexamined. This would be a way to understand the business, not an attempt to inspect every production or replace management’s controls.
My first-year work should attach to an agreed board priority. That might be the economics of a large account, the investment case for a new capability or the development of leaders who can handle difficult client conversations. I would prepare questions with the relevant committee and leave operational instructions with the executives. The board needs an informed view of the pattern and the choices; the producer needs a clear line of responsibility for the particular piece of work.
Conflicts and their management
Our customers, contributors, production partners and suppliers create a network of relationships that could overlap with an outside board. I would disclose those connections before accepting an appointment and assess whether they would limit my participation in the company’s central decisions. A role intended mainly to open access to Shenruvian’s clients would not be the contribution I am offering. Confidential project material and contributor arrangements would remain outside a public leadership discussion.
Sixteen days per year is an initial capacity indication, conditional on employer agreement and the actual work of the proposed board. I would include preparation and travel, and ask how the board handles a serious quality failure or an investment review requiring additional meetings. My CEO duties remain substantial. If those duties or a commercial overlap changed, I would review the outside commitment with both chairs rather than assume the original estimate remained sufficient. The appointment should be useful because I can prepare and exercise judgement, not simply because my name can be added to a board list.
My independence statement
My existing Shenruvian seat is an executive directorship. Any outside board would need its own assessment of independence, including commercial relationships, shareholdings and the requirements relevant to that appointment.
Board and committee exposure
Served as a director
Shenruvian Media
Company board, executive appointment
January 2020–present
Serves as CEO and executive director, contributing to commercial boundaries, quality response and capital decisions.
Presented to the Board or a committee
Shenruvian Media
Studio capacity and account-operations reviews
2015–2019
Presented operating choices as COO at the board’s invitation; held no director seat during this period.