The starting line

Starting this week, two leading companies have joined together as one, working toward a single goal: To shape the future of the industry and what it can offer the world.

When we agreed to create Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE) I knew the rationale was solid. The oil and gas industry is in need of disruptive change to be successful in this lower-for-longer market environment. This new company brings together equipment, services and digital solutions in ways that no one else can. And our fullstream capabilities will help our customers and us be more productive—exactly what we need in such a volatile environment.

But how do we make this a reality? Almost immediately our teams shifted to deeper questions of identity and purpose. What will make BHGE a different and special place to work? How can we smooth the transition for our 70,000 people and make it easier to collaborate? What do our customers need most? What excites and motivates us to keep driving the industry forward?

In the eight months since that first announcement, we studied both companies’ sets of deeply entrenched values. We surveyed tens of thousands of employees and customers on what they saw as the greatest opportunities for BHGE. I spend 70 percent of my time on the road, and everywhere I travel I listen for what our customers need and what employees are most proud of.

Together we defined what we want this brand-new company to stand for: Inventing smarter ways to bring energy to the world. Here’s why:

•  We invent: With thousands of patents and an impressive list of technology firsts, our inventions have driven the oil and gas industry forward like no other company. And we never stop searching for solutions to conquer the next frontier. One of our founders developed the first two-cone drill bit that dramatically improved the rotary drilling process, and more recently, we launched the industry’s first adaptive drill bit that can deliver dramatic improvements in drilling economics by using automation to mitigate downhole drilling dysfunctions. But invention is not limited to engineering feats. People who work at BHGE are always looking for faster, simpler ways to deliver outcomes to our customers, no matter where we fit in the organization.
• Smarter ways: The fact remains that the industry continues to be hampered by inefficiencies across the value chain. Technology advancements have helped us make incremental improvements, but combining the power of data with knowledge and expertise across segments can help us dramatically reduce non-productive time and improve reliability of our equipment. Smarter also means we will look for safer and more sustainable ways to do our jobs every day. Our commitment to doing the right thing, always, underpins everything we do.
• To bring energy to the world: Access to energy improves people’s lives. We are proud of the fundamental role we play in the world to meet ever-increasing energy demands. And we are ready to work together to find new ways to make it safer, more affordable and drive the future of energy.

So many people worked hard to get this combination over the finish line so quickly. Our teams demonstrated speed, resilience, flexibility and teamwork—and it is only the beginning. Over the past week I have heard from so many excited employees – ready to get started and customers ready to see what we can do. We have proven we can execute and will look to build on that. Now that we’re official, we will shift our focus to integrating these two businesses swiftly and seamlessly so our customers and employees can start realizing the benefits.

Together, we're at the starting line, and ready to do things no other company can.

Learn more about how we are inventing smarter ways to bring energy to the world at www.bhge.com