A day for Mark Norbom

Norbom rises at 6:15 and begins his working day responding to overnight emails and then reads China Daily, The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today, which he has delivered.

After breakfast with his wife, he gets driven to GE's office in Shanghai, where he begins work shortly after 8.

The day usually consists of a series of back-to-back meetings both with internal staff and key outside contacts when not on the road visiting GE's various bases and projects around China.

A key focus of his work at present is developing government relations and focusing on the Chinese government as a customer.

He typically just grabs a sandwich and works through lunch. Half his time is spent traveling, recently visiting Nanjing in Jiangsu province to speak to local governors about expanding GE's presence there. He also now spends time visiting second and third-tier cities.

"I go typically once or twice a month to some of the satellite cities to reach a memorandum of agreement or look at a project we are involved with," he said.

When in Beijing, he meets senior government officials and conducts media interviews.

He tries to avoid evening business functions which are "entertainment for entertainment's sake" but usually has to attend one event a week. He tries to be home by 7 where he works out on a cross trainer and weights at home.

He cooked in a French restaurant when he was at college and often prepares meals at home over a glass of wine. His attempts at Chinese cooking, particularly Peking duck, have not been a success so far.

(China Daily 04/20/2009 page8)