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Invest Shanghai
The Shanghai municipal government conferred on Monday the 2025 Magnolia Gold Award on 28 foreign nationals and the Honorary Citizen of Shanghai on two expatriates, recognizing their positive contributions to the city's development and international exchanges.
This year's Honorary Citizen of Shanghai, the city's highest honor for foreign nationals, was presented to Simon Lichtenberg, founder of Trayton Group and president of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China and Severin Schwan, chairman of the board of directors of the Swiss healthcare company Roche Group and the executive chairman of the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai.
Lichtenberg, who describes himself as a "vibrant and adventurous" type, has been connected to China since his youth through learning Chinese. In Shanghai for 33 years, he said he has always felt the city's welcoming, openness, and acceptance, and witnessed the rapid economic and social development of the city and the nation.
"Shanghai has become a global leading international city in so many ways: investment opportunities, business environment, technology, culture, education, innovation, social development, and it is so very well managed. The people of Shanghai are industrious, innovative, and resilient. Shanghai is my home and it's a wonderful place for me, my business, and my family," he said.
However, he noted that Shanghai and China are not well understood by many people in the West. Now, as an Honorary Citizen of Shanghai, he is particularly feeling "a big responsibility in doing more to play a bridging role" to foster understanding and friendship, as well as deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between people and countries.
Named after Shanghai's city flower and serving as the city's highest honor for expatriates, the Honorary Citizenship was established in 1997, following the launch of the Magnolia Silver Award in 1989 and the Gold Award in 1992. To date, a total of 1,907 honored expatriates have been honored by the city, consisting of 51 Honorary Citizens of Shanghai, 390 Magnolia Gold Award recipients, and 1,466 Magnolia Silver Award recipients.
This year, the 28 Magnolia Gold Award recipients come from diverse countries and fields such as finance, trade, technology, shipping, healthcare, consumer products, education, research, and culture. Despite different expertise in various sectors, they share the same love for the city and confidence in its future.
Yann Bozec from France, president of Tapestry Asia-Pacific, regards Shanghai as a "unique" city globally for its strong blend of the 5,000-year-old history and cutting-edge modernity. Seeing the city developing into one of the key fashion cities in the world, he was confident that more innovation and cool things would come from China, and especially from the city.
"People here are incredible entrepreneurs and are always very resilient. They embrace the changes, bring the newness, embrace new technology, and drive it as well. That's why I feel Shanghai is the most exciting city to live in," Bozec added.
"Innovation" was one of the most frequently mentioned words by the award recipients when talking about working and living in Shanghai. Bertrand Regnier from France, global managing partner of EY French Business Network, said Shanghai has been making efforts to facilitate innovation, which is not only for China, but also for the world to continuously grow.
Joost Vlaanderen from the Netherlands, president of Mondelez Greater China, has been living in Shanghai since 2018, and is spending 10 hours per week studying Chinese. He was deeply impressed by the city's speed of growth and believes such development will continue.
"The thing I like most working and living here is the speed of change and the speed of development in China — it's addictive", he said. "Shanghai is my second hometown."
Several other award recipients share similar sentiments with Vlaanderen.
"Shanghai is the land of opportunities. And it's my home not only now, but forever. I have the permanent resident card here, and my family is here. I will not leave — here will be where I stay and where I retire," said Knight with a smile, who enjoys life with the welcoming culture, food, profound civilization, and especially the "irreplaceable" Chinese people each day.
Alexander Rhys Gregg-Smith from the United Kingdom, senior vice-president at Bureau Veritas Marine (China) Co Ltd, has been in Shanghai for 13 years and became a permanent resident in the city in 2020. Dedicated to the maritime sector, he feels "belonged" to the city and especially loves the "can-do attitude" of the people here.
"Shanghai is like my home city, and it's really one of the best, if not the best, in the world. It is a vibrant, fantastic, and brilliant city — it has everything," he said.
It is just the sense of feeling like home that may explain why these honored expats are actively thinking about contributing more to the community and the city.
Bozec is looking to work with a group of friends to establish a mentorship to support students in better adapting to the working community. Masahiko Suga from Japan, general manager of the business design department at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd, is hoping to promote China-Japan cooperation in sectors such as fintech, green growth, and digitalization. Michel Hossler from France, founder and chief designer at Agence Ter, would like to fill the city with more green through landscape designs.
Honorary Citizens of Shanghai 2025
1. Simon Lichtenberg, Denmark
Founder and CEO, Trayton Group
2. Severin Schwan, Switzerland
Chairman, Roche Group
Honorees of Shanghai Magnolia Gold Award 2025
1. 埃里克·科尼埃尔 法国
上海交通大学中欧国际工商学院 副理事长
Eric Pierre Valéry Cornuel, France
Vice Chairman and Board of Directors of China Europe International Business School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2. 安南 法国
法吉泰工程技术（上海）有限公司（也称 GTT 中国） 总经理
Adnan Ezzarhouni, France
General Manager, GTT China
3. 戴光辉 美国
澜起科技股份有限公司 总裁
Stephen Kuong-Io Tai, USA
President, Montage Technology Co., Ltd.
4. 德里克·迪恩 英国
上海芭蕾舞团 艺术顾问
David Derek Shepherd, UK
Artistic Consultant, Shanghai Ballet
5. 范睿思 荷兰
亿滋国际 大中华区总裁
Joost Vlaanderen, Netherlands
President of Greater China, Mondelēz International
6. 福斯特 德国
蔡司集团执行董事会成员，卡尔蔡司医疗技术股份公司总裁兼首席执行官
Maximilian Foerst, Germany
Member of the Executive Board of the Zeiss Grou, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG
7. 葛思越英国
必维船级社（中国）有限公司 法人，亚太区高级副总裁暨中国区总裁
Alexander Rhys Gregg-Smith, UK
SVP M&O APA, CE M&O China, Bureau Veritas Marine (China) Co., Ltd.
8. 古睿智 美国
上海重塑能源集团股份有限公司 首席技术官
Christopher John Guzy, USA
CTO, Shanghai REFIRE Group Limited
9. 顾宇韶 美国
美敦力（上海）管理有限公司 全球高级副总裁，大中华区总裁
Alex Yushao Gu, USA
Senior Vice President, President of Greater China, Medtronic
10. 贺朗瑞纳 法国
安永华明会计师事务所（特殊普通合伙）总监 安永法国业务部全球主管合伙人
Bertrand Régnier, France
Ernst&Young Hua Ming LLP Director, EY French Business Network Global Managing Partner
11. 菅匡彦 日本
三井住友海上火灾保险株式会社 创新事业部部长
Masahiko Suga, Japan
Business Design Dept. General Manager, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd.
12. 简思华德国、法国
德勤亚太副主席，德勤中国跨国企业客户服务资深合伙人
Jens Ewert, Germany, France
Vice Chair of Deloitte Asia Pacific, Senior Partner of Deloitte China MNC Clients Service
13. 杰夫 澳大利亚
上海大学 理学院量子与分子结构国际中心主任
Jeffrey Robert Reimers, Australia
Director of International Centre for Quantum and Molecular Structures, Shanghai University
14. 康思大 美国
同济大学 设计创意学院教授
Constantinos A Terzidis, USA
Professor of College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University
15. 柯曼 德国
思爱普（中国）有限公司 全球高级副总裁，全球研发网络总裁
Clas Neumann, Germany
Senior VP, Head of Global SAP Labs Network, SAP China Co., Ltd
16. 孔康瑞 美国
英威达尼龙化工（中国）有限公司董事长，英威达一体化尼龙运营副总裁
Gary Knight, USA
Chairman of INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China) Co., Ltd. VP of Integrated Nylon Operations, INVISTA
17. 朗智文 新加坡
江森自控 亚太区总裁
Anuruddha Rathnide, Singapore
Asia Pacific President Johnson Controls
18. 楼剑锋 美国
巴斯夫（中国）有限公司 大中华区董事长兼总裁
Jeffrey Lou, USA
President and Chairman of Greater China, BASF (China) Company Ltd.
19. 马溯·斯特贝尔 美国
华东师范大学 设计学院行业产业导师
Jay Marshall Strabala, USA
Industry Tutor of School of Design, East China Normal University
20. 米歇尔·欧斯莱 法国
法国 TER（岱禾）景观与城市规划设计事务所 创始人兼首席设计师
Michel Hossler, France
Founder, Chief Designer, AGENCE TER
21. 诺伯特 德国
洛帝牢紧固系统（上海）有限公司 亚太区执行董事
Norbert Aloysius Hentschel, Germany
Regional Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Nord-Lock (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
22. 彭振科 法国
辉瑞全球高级副总裁，辉瑞中国区总裁
Jean-Christophe Pointeau, France
Pfizer Global Senior Vice President, Pfizer China President
23. 申安迪 英国
上海英国外籍人员子女学校 校长
Andrew Michael Lancaster, UK
School principal, The British International School Shanghai, Puxi
24. 肖松 德国
西门子（中国）有限公司 大中华区总裁兼首席执行官
Song Xiao, Germany
President and CEO, Siemens Greater China
25. 谢伟博 法国
达能亚太（上海）管理有限公司 全球执委会成员兼中国、北亚及大洋洲总裁
Bruno Chevot, France
Member of Danone Executive Committee and President China, North Asia and Oceania, DANONE
26. 杨葆焱 法国
泰佩思琦 亚太区总裁
Yann Bozec, France
Asia Pacific President, Tapestry
27. 虞晶怡 美国
上海科技大学 讲席教授，副教务长兼信息科学与技术学院院长
Jingyi Yu, USA
Inaugural Chair Professor, Vice Provost and Dean of School of Information Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University
28. 约根·博乐 德国
蒂升电梯 亚太区兼中国区首席执行官
Jürgen Böhler, Germany
CEO, TK Elevator Asia Pacific and China
(Sorted by the initial letters of Chinese pinyin)