Frenchman finds life and work colorful in Jiading
Frenchman Nicolas Franc De Ferriere has been in China for 15 years, spending the majority of his time in Shanghai.
His first foray into the automotive sector was in Shanghai, a city known for its size and diversity.
De Ferriere formerly worked for Delphi and BWI Group, where he led their foundation brake rigging business in North America and China. He worked for Faurecia Clean Mobility from 2015 to 2021, overseeing one of its worldwide business units in North America, Europe, India and China. In 2021, he was named vice president of Mobility APAC at Axalta Coating Systems.
Axalta is a global leader in the coatings industry, offering customers innovative, colorful, beautiful and long-lasting coating solutions. The company was the first to provide waterborne, eco-friendly coatings to the automobile industry in China.
It has made coatings with much lower VOC emissions to help governments in their efforts to reduce the environmental impact, especially in Jiading and for all of its customers in Shanghai.
Nicolas Franc De Ferriere carefully inspects the Axalta coating on a car.
De Ferriere uses colors to describe his team and life in Jiading, and the district itself.
He prefers the color red to represent himself and his team in Jiading, as it represents happiness and energy. He enjoys interacting with the team.
"You can feel the strong energy and the enthusiasm to come to work every day and support our customers."
Blue is his favorite color because it reminds him of the sky and the water, and gives him a sense of calm or serenity. He claims that others will feel the same way if they are in a beautiful natural setting.
Every weekend, he wants to go out with his family and enjoy the scenery in Shanghai. De Ferriere also does sports to stay fit. He runs two to three times per week and plays tennis and badminton with friends.
For Jiading, he chooses the green color because it indicates vitality and prosperity.
"It also connects to our commitment to a greener environment, which can be found in Axalta," he says.
He believes that environmental protection has had a significant impact on people's lives.
He can now enjoy more outdoor activities than he could during his first few years in China. The air quality is improving, and more green areas are being developed.
