REFLECTIONS ON GE AT 130: WHY I’M EXCITED TO STEP INTO THE FUTURE

Joining GE I was drawn to a company with a storied past and a commitment to creating the technologies and leaders of tomorrow. Fast forward ~25 years … tomorrow marks GE’s 130th anniversary, and I’m excited to step into the future.

Yes, there are mixed emotions at play. With the announced potential spin-offs of GE’s healthcare and energy businesses, a curtain to the past may be drawn shut, much like at the end of an act in a play. However, there is also the promise of creating three new leading industrial companies, and I am excited to see how our team will contribute to shaping the future of energy. There is every reason to believe that our next act will be the best one yet! We have an installed base that generates up to one-third of the world’s electricity, and a portfolio that spans across conventional power, renewables, electrification, and financial services. Customers are increasingly looking for a portfolio of solutions that work together to meet their net zero requirements, and our planned transformation will position us strongly to help them on their energy transition journeys.

People often ask what’s kept me at GE so long and why I’m still excited to come into work every day. My answer is always the same – it is three simple things: an environment that encourages an unyielding focus on integrity; the opportunity to work with talented, dedicated individuals; and the prospect of working on projects that contribute to meaningful, often life-changing, impact at scale.

Integrity

One of the first things I was introduced to on joining GE was our employee code of conduct, The Spirit & The Letter. It holds all of us at GE to a standard higher than simply following the letter of the law. As a young man, I was struck by the organization’s total commitment to drive a culture of integrity. To this day, it is one of the things I hold most dear about our organization.

Integrity remains core to the way we do business and is ingrained in our leadership behaviors: act with humility, lead with transparency, and deliver with focus — always with unyielding integrity. We lead by example, incentivize compliance, and promote open reporting. In the same way that my leaders at GE assured me in the past, my team here today has my personal assurance that they will never be penalized for doing the right thing, no matter what the costs to the business.???

Individuals

The gifted, hardworking people at GE leave me energized and inspired every day. I see examples of our employees going above and beyond the call of duty all the time, driven by the desire and passion to rise to any challenge and make a positive contribution to society. For example, during the height of the pandemic, our teams across the world kept going, helping to keep essential power supplies on the grid. Staff from GE and FieldCore (a GE-owned field services execution company), volunteered to keep working in Kuwait , instead of heading home. Together, they helped to secure the reliable delivery of up to 1,500 megawatts (MW), 10%-15% of the country’s power. In Nigeria, GE and FieldCore’s teams continued working together, in close collaboration with Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), to reliably restore the supply of up to 360 MW to the national grid. This is the equivalent electricity needed to power approximately two million Nigerian homes.

It’s not just at the workplace that our team shines. This is a group that cares – about the communities we serve, our planet, and our collective future. From humanitarian activities to support conflict-affected populations in Ukraine, to supporting desert clean up drives in the UAE, and STEM initiatives that help nurture diversity in engineering around the world, our affinity networks, GE Volunteers chapters, and the GE Foundation, are committed to helping build a world that works better, for everyone.

Impact

The impact of the work done by the incredible team at GE around the world is remarkable. This holds both in terms of scale, as well as pushing the boundaries of possibilities. To share just a few examples, we are providing generation equipment, and services for 20 years, for Azito’s Phase IV Extension Combined-Cycle Power Plant in C?te d’Ivoire. Once complete, the power plant is expected to generate approximately 710 MW – representing up to 30% of C?te d’Ivoire’s electricity.

In the UK , GE has commenced a hydrogen plant readiness assessment of Grain Power Station. The initiative will seek to develop solutions to enable the 1,365 MW plant to use blends of hydrogen up to 40% by volume, which could lower its carbon emissions and help achieve Uniper’s target of carbon-neutrality in its European generation by 2035. We are also collaborating with customers and partners in industrial segments in the Middle East, such as oil & gas , and smelters , to develop decarbonization roadmaps. Together, we will explore the feasibility of utilizing various solutions, such as hydrogen, carbon capture solutions, and more, supporting them to potentially contribute to various net zero goals.

Thank you to each and every person on the GE Gas Power EMEA team. You form the heart of our organization, and I could not be prouder of you. I am grateful to all of you for powering communities forward everywhere, as well as for the friendship, laughter, and support over the years, and I cannot wait to create our next act together!

What gets you excited to come into work? Share your thoughts here.