Right place, right time

Born and educated in England, Barron spent 10 years working as an international commercial lawyer in Paris and Tokyo before joining Airbus SAS in 1982.

"If you start thinking about these big decisions (of moving) too much, you might frighten yourself off the idea. So I never analyzed too much," Barron said. So when Barron was asked to head Airbus' China operations in 2002, he was immediately interested in the offer even though he had never been to the country.

"At that time, the business in China was very difficult for Airbus. The dominant player was Boeing. To most people, it didn't appear to be an attractive place to come. But I didn't think too much," Barron recalled.

Barron arrived in China when Airbus aircraft only accounted for 23 percent of the Chinese fleet in service.

But Airbus' development in China picked up speed from 2004 when the European company concentrated on enhancing its industrial partnership with China. Its market share in the country nearly doubled over the past seven years. "It was a good instinct I think. I arrived at the right place at the right time," Barron said.

The Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer realized it was not likely to achieve the target of grabbing half of the Chinese market unless it substantially increased its industrial footprint in the country, Barron recalled.

"It was a collective decision that we had to make a big effort in not only the commercial area, but also in the industrial arena. We need to substantially increase procurement from China and develop new ways we cooperate with the Chinese industry," he added.

"We can't just earn billions of dollars by selling aircraft to China and go home. It's got to be a two-way street."

Airbus purchased less than $20 million in aircraft components a year from China before 2004. Its subcontracting volume to China exceeded $200 million by the end of 2010 and is expected to reach $500 million a year in 2015. Six Chinese manufacturers, which are affiliated to China Aviation Industry Corp (AVIC), produce parts for Airbus aircraft. There are parts and components produced in China on all Airbus commercial aircraft types all the way from the A320 to the A380 double-deck superjumbo.

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AVIC is also supplying components to Boeing and regional aircraft makers such as Embraer and a number of helicopter producers. About one third of Boeing's total fleets in service have components produced in China.

Airbus has built four joint ventures in the country, including an A320 final assembly line in Tianjin, a composite material manufacturing center in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, an engineering center in Beijing that designs parts for the A350 aircraft, and a pilot and engineer training center in Beijing.

"Airbus China is like a mini Toulouse now," Barron said.

The company's employment in China has also ballooned from fewer than 200 people in 2004 to more than 1,000 today, including those in the joint ventures.

"Laurence is the boss I have served the longest in my whole career," said Lindsey Mi, vice-president of communications at Airbus China. Before working at Airbus China, Mi had led Chinese communications functions for some of the world's biggest brands, including Dell Computer Corp and General Motors Co.

"Laurence always has his own clear judgment on projects and on people. He always gives full trust to his employees. I think that is the secret enabling him to successfully head such a big team in China," Mi said.

Barron likes Chinese food very much, with spicy fish cooked in Sichuan-style fermented bean sauce and chive dumplings being his favorite.

"I will split my time between Beijing and France after I retire," he said.