ON September 20, the Shanghai Municipal Government awarded this year's "Magnolia Silver Award" to 37 expatriates - one of the biggest events for expatriates in the city. And 38-year-old Michael Heerde from Germany, was one of the honoured "laowai" on that day.

"I think the Shanghai government really recognizes the contribution of foreign companies and individuals to the city's development. And the award is not only for me, but for Novartis," said Heerde, former general manager of the Shanghai Novartis Animal Health Co Ltd - the second-biggest business unit of the Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant in China.

"Honouring expatriates from various countries reflects the multicultural and international spirit of the city as well as its openness," said Heerde who has worked and lived in Shanghai since 2002.

Successful team leader

In his employees' eyes, Heerde is a typical German boss - serious, hardworking, efficient and disciplined.

"During the past summer vacation, he stayed in the office until 11:00pm or 12:00pm almost every day," said his driver.

"He is the kind of person that if you promise to finish the task within 10 minutes, he won't wait until the 11th minute," said his assistant, Alice Zhou.

But he is also a nice boss giving employees surprises - such as sending a big bunch of flowers to new employees on their first day.

After getting a Ph.D in veterinary science from Munich University, Heerde worked in the Novartis headquarters in Switzerland for five years - serving in various departments including marketing, registration and technical support.

In 2001, he received an MBA from the Henley Management College in UK.

In 2002, Heerde was sent to China to manage the Shanghai Novartis Animal Health Co Ltd, due to his achievements and his Chinese educational experience.

Founded in 1990, the company was the first to introduce Swiss advanced technologies into the production of drugs for farm animals in China. The country has now taken one third of the global market share in this area.

Due to Heerde's efforts, non-phosphorus pesticides were introduced and the company then developed into one of the most important production bases around the world with around 70 per cent of its products exported.

Heerde also applied strict management procedures to reduce costs and last year, the company's sales volume increased by 16 per cent.

"Our company is committed to being a responsible enterprise citizen both in economic contribution and the environmental protection," Heerde said.

Life in China

Early in 1993, Heerde started to learn Chinese literature and language in Germany, and his first China trip was back in 1995 when he won a scholarship for one-year study in Nanjing University located in the capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.

This educational experience improved Heerde's Chinese language ability and his understanding of Chinese culture.

He now lives in Shanghai with his wife Iris Hofsetter and two daughters, aged nine and seven.

On their name card, the family has the same Chinese family name - "He". "It's not easy to give all of us meaningful Chinese names which have a similar pronunciation to our original names," Heerde said proudly.

"My older daughter is Paula, and her Chinese name is Baona; as for my younger daughter Hanna, her Chinese name is Hanna too."

In Heerde's home in Hongqiao District, several maps hang in the corridor - China, the world and Switzerland. "The Swiss map helps the children remember their hometown, otherwise they may become so devoted to life here and they will forget Switzerland," he said humorously.

In their garage are six bicycles and one tricycle but not one car. They are all used by the family for fun and they love to ride bicycles. Hofsetter said it was a way "to be more involved in the Chinese life than driving."

"But the city's policy is not in favour of bicycle drivers as the number of bicycle lanes has become smaller and the air pollution is serious," complained Heerde who used to ride a bicycle for half an hour to work in Switzerland.

"We really enjoy the life in Shanghai. There are no difficulties in adopting the life here and you can buy everything," said Hofsetter who is teaching German in a local primary school and who is also a board member of the Shanghai German Club.

Since August 1, Heerde has been heading a new Novartis team in China as the boss of Sandoz China to develop the generics business.

"I know that the competition in the generics industry is tough as over 90 per cent of Chinese drug producers are manufacturing generics, but the Chinese market is promising," he said in his new office at downtown Baoqing Lu.