At the 2007 Annual Meeting, 16 directors are to be elected to hold office until the 2008 Annual Meeting and until their successors have been elected and have qualified. The 16 nominees for election at the 2007 Annual Meeting are listed on pages 6 to 9, with brief biographies. They are all now GE directors. The Board of Directors has determined that the following 12 directors satisfy the New York Stock Exchange’s definition of independent director and GE’s more stringent director independence guidelines: James I. Cash, Jr., Ann M. Fudge, Claudio X. Gonzalez, Susan Hockfield, Andrea Jung, A.G. Lafley, Robert W. Lane, Ralph S. Larsen, Rochelle B. Lazarus, Sam Nunn, Robert J. Swieringa and Douglas A. Warner III. We do not know of any reason why any nominee would be unable to serve as a director. If any nominee is unable to serve, the shares represented by all valid proxies will be voted for the election of such other person as the Board may nominate.
GE is seeking shareowner approval of an amendment to the company’s certificate of incorporation adopting majority voting, that, if approved by shareowners, would apply in non-contested director elections following the 2007 Annual Meeting. For a description of the proposal, see page 11.
James I. Cash, Jr., 59, Retired James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business, Boston, Massachusetts. Director since 1997.A graduate of Texas Christian University with MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University, Dr. Cash joined the faculty of Harvard Business School in 1976, where he served as chairman of the MBA program from 1992 to 1995, and served as chairman of HBS Publishing from 1998 until 2003. Dr. Cash retired from the Harvard Business School faculty in 2003. Dr. Cash is also a director of The Chubb Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and Phase Forward, Inc. He also serves as a trustee of the Bert King Foundation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners Healthcare, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation. |
Sir William M. Castell, 59, Former Vice Chairman, General Electric Company. Director since 2004.A graduate of the City of London College, Sir William joined Amersham plc in 1989 as Chief Executive. After GE acquired Amersham plc in April 2004, Sir William was appointed a vice chairman of the General Electric Company and became the CEO of GE Healthcare, the combination of the Amersham and the GE Medical businesses and, in July 2005, became the chairman of GE Healthcare. In April 2006 Sir William retired as a vice chairman of GE. Sir William was knighted in 2000 for services to the life sciences industry. He served in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2003 as chairman of The Prince’s Trust, a charity set up by the Prince of Wales in 1976. Sir William is currently chairman of the Wellcome Trust, a non-executive director of British Petroleum plc and a trustee of London’s Natural History Museum. Sir William is an honorary fellow of Green College Oxford and an honorary fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Cardiff, King’s College University of London, Brunel University and the University of Oxford. |
Ann M. Fudge, 55, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Young & Rubicam Brands,
global marketing communications network, New York, New York. Director since 1999.Ms. Fudge received a BA degree from Simmons College and an MBA from Harvard University. Ms. Fudge served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Young & Rubicam from 2003 to 2006. Prior to joining Young & Rubicam, Ms. Fudge worked at General Mills and at General Foods, where she served in a number of positions including president of Kraft General Foods’ Maxwell House Coffee Company and president of Kraft’s Beverages, Desserts and Post Divisions. Ms. Fudge is a director of Catalyst and The Rockefeller Foundation and is on the board of overseers of Harvard University. |
Claudio X. Gonzalez, 72, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Kimberly-Clark de
Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, and Director, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, consumer
products. Director since 1993.Mr. Gonzalez is a graduate of Stanford University. He was employed by Kimberly-Clark in 1956 and by Kimberly-Clark de Mexico in 1957. He was elected vice president of operations of Kimberly-Clark de Mexico in 1962 and executive vice president and managing director in 1966. He assumed his present position in 1973. Mr. Gonzalez is also a director of America Movil, Grupo Carso, Grupo ALFA, Grupo Mexico, Grupo Televisa, Home Depot, Inc., Kellogg Company, The Mexico Fund, Inc. and Investment Co. of America. |
Susan Hockfield, 55, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Director since 2006.A graduate of the University of Rochester, Dr. Hockfield received her PhD in neuroscience from the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco, she joined the scientific staff at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1980. In 1985 Dr. Hockfield joined the faculty of Yale University, where she went on to serve as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1998 to 2002 and as provost from 2003 to 2004. President of MIT since 2004, Dr. Hockfield is also a trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. |
Jeffrey R. Immelt, 51, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, General Electric
Company. Director since 2000.Mr. Immelt joined GE in corporate marketing in 1982 after receiving a degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard University. He then held a series of leadership positions with GE Plastics in sales, marketing and global product development. He became a vice president of GE in 1989, responsible for consumer service for GE Appliances. He subsequently became vice president of worldwide marketing and product management for GE Appliances in 1991, vice president and general manager of GE Plastics Americas commercial division in 1992, and vice president and general manager of GE Plastics Americas in 1993. He became senior vice president of GE and president and chief executive officer of GE Medical Systems in 1996. Mr. Immelt became GE’s president and chairman-elect in 2000, and chairman and chief executive officer in 2001. He is also a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. |
Andrea Jung, 48, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Avon Products, Inc.,
cosmetics, New York, New York. Director since 1998.Ms. Jung, a graduate of Princeton University, joined Avon Products, Inc., a global beauty company, in 1994 as president, product marketing for Avon U.S. She was elected president, global marketing, in 1996, an executive vice president in 1997, president and a director of the company in 1998, chief operating officer from 1998 to 1999, chief executive officer in 1999 and chairman of the board in 2001. Previously, she was executive vice president, Neiman Marcus and a senior vice president for I. Magnin. Ms. Jung is also a director of Catalyst and a member and former chairman of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association. |
Alan G. (A.G.) Lafley, 59, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive, Procter &
Gamble Company, personal and household products, Cincinnati, Ohio. Director since 2002.Mr. Lafley received a BA degree from Hamilton College and an MBA from Harvard University, following which time he joined Procter & Gamble. He was named a group vice president in 1992, an executive vice president in 1995 and, in 1999, president of global beauty care and North America. He was elected president and chief executive officer in 2000 and chairman of the board in 2002. He serves on the board of trustees of Hamilton College, the board of directors of Dell Inc., and is a member of the Lauder Institute Board of Governors (Wharton School of Arts & Sciences), The Business Roundtable and The Business Council. |
Robert W. Lane, 57, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Deere & Company,
agricultural and forestry equipment, Moline, Illinois. Director since 2005.A graduate of Wheaton College, Mr. Lane also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago. Mr. Lane joined Deere & Company in 1982 following a career in global banking, and has served Deere in leadership positions in its global construction equipment and agricultural divisions as well as at Deere Credit, Inc. He also has served as Deere’s chief financial officer and president, and was elected chairman and chief executive officer in August 2000. Mr. Lane is a director of Verizon Communications Inc. |
Ralph S. Larsen, 68, Former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson &
Johnson, pharmaceutical, medical and consumer products, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Director since 2002.After graduating with a BBA from Hofstra University, Mr. Larsen joined Johnson & Johnson in 1962. In 1981, he left Johnson & Johnson to serve as president of Becton Dickinson’s consumer products division and returned to Johnson & Johnson in 1983 as president of its Chicopee subsidiary. In 1986, Mr. Larsen was named a company group chairman and later that year became vice chairman of the executive committee and chairman of the consumer sector. He was elected a director in 1987 and served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer from 1989 to 2002. Mr. Larsen is also a director of Xerox Corporation and a trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. |
Rochelle B. Lazarus, 59, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide,
advertising, New York, New York. Director since 2000.A graduate of Smith College, Ms. Lazarus holds an MBA from Columbia University. She joined Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, a multinational advertising agency, in 1971, becoming president of its U.S. direct marketing business in 1989. She then became president of Ogilvy & Mather New York and president of Ogilvy & Mather North America before becoming president and chief operating officer of the worldwide agency in 1995, chief executive officer in 1996 and chairman in 1997. Ms. Lazarus also serves as a director of Merck & Co., New York Presbyterian Hospital, American Museum of Natural History and the World Wildlife Fund, and is a member of the board of overseers of Columbia Business School. |
Sam Nunn, 68, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Washington,
D.C. Director since 1997.After attending the Georgia Institute of Technology and serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Mr. Nunn received an AB degree from Emory University in 1960 and an LLB degree from Emory Law School. He practiced law and served in the Georgia House of Representatives before being elected to the United States Senate in 1972, where he served as the chairman and ranking member on both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations before retiring in 1997. He was a partner at King & Spalding from 1997 through 2003. He is the co-chairman and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the chairman of the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mr. Nunn is a distinguished professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech. He is also a director of Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company and Dell Inc. |
Roger S. Penske, 70, Chairman of the Board, Penske Corporation, Penske Truck Leasing
Corporation, and United Auto Group, Inc., Detroit, Michigan. Director since 1994.After attending Lehigh University, Mr. Penske founded Penske Corporation in 1969. He became chairman of the board of Penske Truck Leasing Corporation in 1982 and chairman of the board of United Auto Group, Inc. in 1999. Mr. Penske is also a director of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. He is a director of Detroit Renaissance, Inc., chairman of Downtown Detroit Partnership and a member of The Business Council. |
Robert J. Swieringa, 64, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean and Professor of Accounting, S.C.
Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Director since
2002.Dr. Swieringa received a BA degree from Augustana College, an MBA in accounting and economics from the University of Denver and a PhD in accounting and complex organizations from the University of Illinois. He taught accounting at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University before serving as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board from 1986 to 1996. He was then a professor in the practice of accounting at Yale’s School of Management before becoming the ninth dean of the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management in 1997. Dr. Swieringa is currently a member of the American Accounting Association, and is a past president of its Financial Accounting and Reporting Section. |
Douglas A. Warner III, 60, Former Chairman of the Board, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., The Chase
Manhattan Bank, and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, investment banking, New York, New
York. Director since 1992.Following graduation from Yale University in 1968, Mr. Warner joined Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, a wholly-owned subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (formerly J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated). He was elected president and a director of the bank and its parent in 1990, serving as chairman and chief executive officer from 1995 to 2000, when he became chairman of the board of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., The Chase Manhattan Bank and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company until his retirement in 2001. Mr. Warner is also a director of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. and Motorola, Inc., a member of the board of counselors of The Bechtel Group, Inc., chairman of the board of managers and the board of overseers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a member of The Business Council, a trustee of the Pierpont Morgan Library, and a member of the Yale Investment Committee. |
Robert C. Wright, 63, Vice Chairman of the Board and Executive Officer, General Electric
Company, and Former CEO of NBC Universal, Inc. Director since 2000.Mr. Wright graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia School of Law. He joined GE in 1969 as a staff lawyer, leaving in 1970 for a judicial clerkship. He rejoined GE in 1973 as a lawyer for GE Plastics, subsequently serving in several management leadership positions with that business. In 1980, he became president of Cox Cable Communications, and rejoined GE in 1983 as vice president of the Housewares and Audio businesses. In 1984, he became president and chief executive officer of General Electric Financial Services and, in 1986, was elected president and chief executive officer of National Broadcasting Company, Inc. In 2000, he was elected chairman and chief executive officer of NBC and vice chairman of the board and executive officer of GE. He was the chairman and CEO of NBC Universal, Inc. from 2004 to 2007. |

James I. Cash, Jr., 59, Retired James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business, Boston, Massachusetts. Director since 1997.
Sir William M. Castell, 59, Former Vice Chairman, General Electric Company. Director since 2004.
Ann M. Fudge, 55, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Young & Rubicam Brands,
global marketing communications network, New York, New York. Director since 1999.
Claudio X. Gonzalez, 72, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Kimberly-Clark de
Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, and Director, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, consumer
products. Director since 1993.
Susan Hockfield, 55, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Director since 2006.
Jeffrey R. Immelt, 51, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, General Electric
Company. Director since 2000.
Andrea Jung, 48, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Avon Products, Inc.,
cosmetics, New York, New York. Director since 1998.
Alan G. (A.G.) Lafley, 59, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive, Procter &
Gamble Company, personal and household products, Cincinnati, Ohio. Director since 2002.
Robert W. Lane, 57, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Deere & Company,
agricultural and forestry equipment, Moline, Illinois. Director since 2005.
Ralph S. Larsen, 68, Former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson &
Johnson, pharmaceutical, medical and consumer products, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Director since 2002.
Rochelle B. Lazarus, 59, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide,
advertising, New York, New York. Director since 2000.
Sam Nunn, 68, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Washington,
D.C. Director since 1997.
Roger S. Penske, 70, Chairman of the Board, Penske Corporation, Penske Truck Leasing
Corporation, and United Auto Group, Inc., Detroit, Michigan. Director since 1994.
Robert J. Swieringa, 64, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean and Professor of Accounting, S.C.
Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Director since
2002.
Douglas A. Warner III, 60, Former Chairman of the Board, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., The Chase
Manhattan Bank, and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, investment banking, New York, New
York. Director since 1992.
Robert C. Wright, 63, Vice Chairman of the Board and Executive Officer, General Electric
Company, and Former CEO of NBC Universal, Inc. Director since 2000.