A NOTICE recently released by Fantasia Group Co. Ltd., announcing that it is setting up a C8O post for the so-called chief gossip officer, has gone viral online, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported. The notice describes the C8O as mainly responsible for assisting Zeng Baobao, chairwoman of Fantasia’s strategic planning committee, in digging up, handling, and analyzing various kinds of gossip not limited to any industry, and providing gossip clues to other departments and companies under the group to facilitate business operations. The notice immediately started a buzz among industry insiders, and people have become inquisitive about Fantasia’s intentions of introducing such a position. Founded in 1998, Fantasia has been a leading property developer in China and was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2009. The authenticity of the notice was confirmed by another official response from the group, saying that candidates for the C8O post were nominated by Zeng and voted on by the senior executives. Regarding the reasons behind such an appointment, the group said it was “for fun.” Mao Xiaobing, the recently appointed C8O, is a graduate of Tsinghua University and had been appointed as the CPO (chief product officer) of Fantasia this April. Mao designed Funian Plaza, the headquarters of Fantasia Group, and also chaired and designed a number of praiseworthy construction projects, such as the Sheraton Dameisha Resort in Shenzhen. An insider of Fantasia Group said that this appointment could be seen as a special demonstration of corporate culture. In the official statement, Zeng said that setting up the C8O post at Fantasia was no surprise, because gossip highly embodies humanity and the funniest gossip perfectly matches with Fantasia’s brand concept. Zeng herself has been active with her distinctive personality on social media platforms. (Zhou Ting) |