Changning expatriates honored with Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award

Three outstanding expatriates from Changning District were awarded the 2024 Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award on Saturday.

The recipients are Jason Peng, global vice president and group president of Danaher China; Carlo D’Andrea, vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, chairman of the Shanghai Board and managing partner of D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel Shanghai Representative Office; and Sumitoshi Matsuo, executive director of Nippon Express Holdings, Inc. and president of the East Asia region. All three awardees are members of the new session of "Hongqiao Friendship Alliance."

This year, 50 expatriates receiving the Magnolia Silver Award hail from 18 countries, including Australia, Brazil and Canada. They have made significant contributions to Shanghai's development in fields such as trade, finance, technology, shipping, healthcare, education, culture, sports and agriculture.

Peng is responsible for Danaher's operations in the Chinese market, overseeing more than 15 operating companies across three business platforms. He formulates and implements Danaher China's strategy, ing closely with China's health policies and pharmaceutical industry development. He is deeply involved in building a localized innovation ecosystem and industrial chain, successfully launching the group's first innovation transformation project in Shanghai to accelerate the transition of scientific research results to clinical applications, marking a new phase of Danaher's localized innovation in China.

D’Andrea founded D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel in 2013 and has continuously provided comprehensive legal services to multinational companies investing in China. He assists companies with cross-border mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investments, relocation projects and intellectual property protection, offering professional and efficient services to foreign enterprises investing in China, particularly in the Yangtze River Delta region represented by Shanghai.

Matsuo has long been committed to promoting economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan. He not only creates new value through logistics but also actively participates in social welfare activities and cultural exchanges between the two countries, contributing positively to the development of friendly relations between China and Japan.

The "Shanghai Magnolia Gold Award" and the "Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award," named after Shanghai's city flower, the magnolia, are the city's most prestigious awards for foreign recognition. They honor outstanding expatriates who have made significant contributions to Shanghai's economic and social development. Since its establishment in 1989, a total of 1,877 expatriates have received the awards and become part of the "Magnolia Family."

In Changning, the registered foreign population accounts for about one-fifth of Shanghai's total foreign population. The district hosts 27 consular offices and over 200 diplomatic residences, accounting for about one-third and one-half of the city's totals, respectively. The district is home to nearly 6,500 foreign-invested enterprises, with 87 regional headquarters of multinational companies, ranking it among the top in central urban areas.