Del Coronado Hotel, San Diego, USA.
The golden afternoon sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, brightly illuminating the spacious penthouse living room.
Dressed in a linen casual suit accented with a hanger chief point, Seok-won sat at a long mahogany conference table with Landon and the advisory attorney on either side.
Opposite them were CEO Nick Reynolds and three of Qualcomm's co-founders.
There were originally five more co-founders, but due to circumstances, they could not attend and had delegated full authority to CEO Reynolds.
Tension hung lightly in the air—it was, after all, the signing of a contract that would officially transfer control of the company.
The lawyers from both sides had finished reviewing the contract, and Reynolds looked down at the document with a somber expression.
It was understandable. The moment he signed that paper, the management rights to the company he had poured his life into would be entirely handed over to Eldorado Fund.
From across the table, Seok-won calmly spoke, his hands interlocked on the table.
"As you're aware, along with this transfer of management rights, we will invest $500 million through a capital increase to further develop CDMA technology and strengthen capabilities in custom wireless communication chips. You and your co-founders created CDMA, and we'll ensure it doesn't fade into obscurity. We'll make sure it spreads and is used worldwide—so please rest assured."
Reynolds' tense face relaxed a little as he reached for the fountain pen lying on the table.
He knew it was too late to turn back now. So rather than cling to regrets, he chose to move
forward.
Next to Seok-won's already signed name, Reynolds added his own signature at the bottom of the contract.
The co-founders sitting beside him followed suit, each taking turns to sign with the soft scratching sound of pen nibs brushing against paper.
Once all signatures were completed, both parties exchanged copies of the contract, each receiving one of the two identical sets, marking the official conclusion of the process.
Seok-won stood up and was the first to extend his hand.
"I'm glad we were able to end this with smiles on both sides."
Had they rejected the buyout and continued to resist, even sitting at the same table like this would have been unthinkable.
Though Reynolds still held a trace of regret in his heart, it seemed much of it had eased. He shook Seok-won's hand.
"Now that it's come to this, I hope you'll make Qualcomm a great company."
"Of course," Seok-won replied, flashing a smile.
"We'll make it the global leader in wireless communication chips—so don't worry."
"Haha."
Reynolds chuckled lightly, as if hopeful.
It sounded like an overly ambitious goal, but even though he had now officially stepped away, it was still the company he founded—he couldn't help but wish for its success.
Seok-won then moved on to shake hands with the other co-founders one by one.
Having already come to terms with handing over control—and with Eldorado Fund having added a generous premium to the deal—the atmosphere wasn't bad at all.
Not long after Reynolds and the co-founders left the penthouse, Landon, who had prepared in
advance, brought out a bottle of the finest French champagne and expertly popped the cork.
Pop!
With a cheerful pop, a burst of snowy-white foam shot from the bottle.
As applause erupted around them, Landon playfully mimicked a bartender, pouring the golden champagne into a glass and handing it over.
"Congratulations on acquiring Qualcomm."
Seok-won accepted the glass and looked over at Landon, who was grinning ear to ear.
"If we'd ended up in a proxy fight and forcibly seized control, the aftermath would've been
messy. You handled the situation smoothly to the end."
"Hahaha. I only followed your orders, sir."
"Following instructions is easy to say—but pulling it off exactly as planned is what's truly difficult."
"I appreciate your saying that."
Landon grinned broadly.
Then, the two clinked their glasses with a crisp clink , toasted, and took a sip.
The crisp bubbles and sweet, refreshing aroma danced across Seok-won's tongue, sparking his senses.
Savoring the taste, Seok-won felt a deep sense of fulfillment and exhilaration from having just acquired a semiconductor giant poised to lead the upcoming smartphone era.
"So now we've secured 41.5% of Qualcomm's shares, right?"
"That's correct. Considering we hold more than seven times the stake of the second-largest shareholder, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we've completely taken control of Qualcomm."
"The second-largest shareholder is CalPERS, right?"
Still holding his tall champagne glass, Landon nodded.
"Yes. They've been steadily buying since the year before last and now hold 5.9%."
CalPERS—the California Public Employees' Retirement System—was the largest public pension fund in the U.S., founded in 1932 to provide pensions to California's government employees.
It was known for its aggressive investment strategy, putting more than half of its assets into equities. Based in California, it had made major gains through heavy investments in Silicon Valley tech ventures.
"So they've still held onto their shares—that means they rejected our block deal offer?"
Landon clicked his tongue slightly as he responded.
"Yes. We reached out several times, but they firmly declined, saying they had absolutely no intention of selling."
"Sounds like they've already caught the scent of money."
Seok-won spoke with a hint of regret. Landon looked at him thoughtfully.
"That may be—but what's certain is that once they learned you were heavily accumulating Qualcomm shares, they shifted into long-term investment mode."
"Because of me?"
Seok-won looked surprised.
"Yes. You keep hitting jackpots with every tech company he touches—Wall Street's very own 'Midas'—if someone like that wants in, they figure there must be a huge boom coming."
Seok-won looked momentarily dumbfounded at the idea that CalPERS was holding onto their Qualcomm stake because of him .
"As I mentioned before, a number of smaller funds and traders mimic your trades. CalPERS is likely acting on the same logic."
Landon smiled and shrugged lightly.
"If I knew of an investor with a 100% win rate, I'd want to follow their bets too."
"You're exaggerating. A few people copying me doesn't mean much."
"I swear I'm not exaggerating. Your name was already well-known before, but after the Asian financial crisis—and especially after you wiped out those hedge funds shorting the won—your reputation skyrocketed."
The legal advisor and other nearby staff all nodded in agreement.
"These days, your name carries tremendous weight, sir."
"When people hear Eldorado Fund , their eyes go wide."
The flood of respectful gazes from all sides made Seok-won a little sheepish. He took a sip of champagne and changed the subject.
"Anyway, what's the progress on recruiting a new CEO?"
"We've reached out to Charles Kirk, the current CTO of Intel, and received a positive response."
"Never heard of him before."
"That's understandable. Since he's focused on technical development, he's not particularly famous on Wall Street. But he's highly regarded in the semiconductor field, and over the past decade, he's led Intel's R&D efforts brilliantly—proving his capabilities as a manager too."
As Seok-won quietly swirled the champagne in his glass, Landon continued.
"Just as you mentioned before, he seems to be someone who has both technical expertise and managerial acumen."
Though twenty years from now Intel would fall behind AMD, NVIDIA, and even be overtaken by Samsung Electronics—becoming a fallen giant teetering on the brink—at this point in time, it still reigned supreme as the undisputed king of semiconductors.
So much so that with each release of its famous Pentium processors, there were even jokes about them torturing aliens to squeeze out more computing power.
Given that, if Kirk was leading Intel's R&D, he would certainly be capable of steering Qualcomm in the direction Seok-won had in mind.
After thinking it over for a moment, Seok-won gave a positive nod.
"Sounds like a good choice. But I'll wait until I meet him in person before making the final decision."
"Of course. Since you're already in California, I'll arrange a meeting at a convenient time."
"Please do."
Reorganizing Qualcomm's leadership was an urgent priority. And despite having a private jet, flying across the Pacific wasn't something you wanted to do back and forth. It was best to take care of as much business as possible while here.
Then, something seemed to occur to Seok-won.
"Ah, and there's someone I'd like us to recruit into the R&D department."
"Who would that be?"
Landon's eyes lit up with interest.
"Her name is Lisa Su. She earned her PhD from MIT and currently works in IBM's R&D division."
Landon, who had been expecting someone extraordinary—especially since Seok-won himself had hand-picked this candidate—couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment.
"…You said she's a researcher at IBM?"
"Yes. She's an exceptional talent in the semiconductor field. Bringing her on board would be a major asset for developing our wireless communication chips."
Seeing how much expectation Seok-won had for this Lisa Su, Landon couldn't help but tilt his head inwardly.
"She's not even a lead scientist, just a researcher. Is she really that special for the boss to personally request a scouting mission?"
Although Landon found it a bit puzzling at first, the doubt quickly passed. If Seok-won said this person was essential, then there had to be a good reason.
"Understood. I'll do whatever it takes to recruit her."
"Of course, offer her not just a high salary and title, but also stock options. And if she wants, we can even create a separate research team just for her."
At the surprisingly generous terms, Landon's eyes widened slightly.
It was clear once again how serious Seok-won was about bringing Lisa Su on board. Landon responded with a much more earnest expression.
"Got it."
He made sure to engrave Lisa Su's name firmly into his memory.
"Her last name's uncommon—it sounds East Asian."
"She's Taiwanese-American."
"I see."
Though she wasn't even thirty years old yet, Lisa Su would go on to leave a major mark in the industry. She'd soon prove herself not only with outstanding achievements in semiconductor R&D, but also as a capable executive. In just ten years, she would rise to become Vice President of IBM's Semiconductor R&D Center—a meteoric ascent.
But that was just the beginning of her astonishing journey.
She would eventually become CEO of the global CPU chip giant AMD, making her the first female CEO in Silicon Valley semiconductor history.
That alone was remarkable, but even more impressive was what came next.
At the time, AMD had been floundering—its once-promising projects collapsing one after another, pushing the company to the brink of bankruptcy. Yet within just two years of her leadership, Lisa Su not only brought AMD back into the black, but also led the development of an entirely new CPU architecture—offering both stellar performance and unbeatable cost-efficiency.
Intel's executives, who had laughed off AMD as a company beyond redemption, found themselves blindsided. They'd dismissed it as irrelevant—but she brought AMD roaring back from the grave, creating a miracle that toppled the once-untouchable Intel from its throne.
If someone like Lisa Su were to join Qualcomm, Seok-won could only imagine the groundbreaking achievements she might bring to life.
"I'm meeting with John Phillips tomorrow, right?"
Seok-won set his now-empty champagne glass back on the table and asked casually.
"Yes. The contract is already signed, and the investment funds have been transferred—so it should be a relaxed, friendly conversation."
Hearing this, Seok-won nodded slightly in acknowledgement.