We Develop Great Leaders
We
have always believed that building strong leaders is a strategic imperative. When times are easy, leadership can be taken for granted.
When the world is turbulent, you appreciate great people.
Ultimately, we want to develop people who are guardians of GE’s culture, champions of our legacy, and protectors of our reputation. They must perform with integrity, be disciplined and aggressive — and at the same time, able to solve problems with global ingenuity.
These are high-level concepts. On a practical level, this means that our people must be experienced and motivated. They must understand their industries and GE’s expectations for their performance. Our teams must be willing to learn and change. Personal growth is key to a successful career at GE. And we must always have a deep bench. GE is committed to institutional success, which means that everyone has a replacement ready to play.
Mark Hoffman runs CNBC. Mark is a domain expert and a great leader. When Fox launched its business news channel in 2007, some people thought we would have a terrible year. They expected this tough competitor to beat CNBC. Instead, we got better and our ratings improved. We had record financial results, we strengthened our team, and we extended our global reach. More importantly, today, during these difficult financial markets CNBC remains a trusted source of business news. We are soundly outperforming the competition and will continue to aggressively build on our leadership. Mark, like his colleagues, knows what it takes to win in his market and inside GE.
GE has always been a learning company. Historically, our training has focused on each individual. Today we feel that “team learning” can drive the most change. As I promised last year, more than 50 teams completed our training called Leadership Innovation and Growth (LIG). This is a team-based, action-learning course. Our leaders are taught to connect their strategic vision with the culture, resources, and capability of the Company. LIG creates a bridge between innovation and operations. It allows us to embed growth into the DNA of our Company.
Vishal Wanchoo leads our $2 billion Healthcare Information Technology business. This is a business that Vishal started in 1998 and has built to the present level. Vishal took his team through LIG last summer. At the end of the course he and his team decided to increase funding for global resources and to launch new growth adjacencies such as digital pathology. They have created the blueprint for a $10 billion business, and are taking concrete actions every day to make that growth happen.
Every great company has a deep bench. We are always ready for leadership transitions. Over the past year, four of our great leaders announced their retirement: Bob Wright, our vice chairman at NBCU; Bill Conaty, our senior vice president of Human Resources; Dave Nissen, our CEO of GE Money; and Lloyd Trotter, our vice chairman at Industrial. All had been at GE for more than 25 years and were beloved in the Company. They became industry icons. Some would consider them irreplaceable, but we had all worked for decades to develop their successors.
Jeff Zucker is our dynamic new leader at NBCU. He is building on Bob’s work, driving NBCU into a more global and digital future. In Human Resources, John Lynch, a Scotsman, is inspiring a new generation of GE leaders to be passionate about globalization. He, too, is building on the legacy of his predecessor. Charlene Begley picked up most of Lloyd’s responsibility. She is a talented GE growth leader with a bright future. And Bill Cary is moving GE Money’s headquarters to London where he will continue to drive global growth.
At a GE retirement party, you see a lot of smiles. Our retirees are proud of what they built at GE. They leave as friends, and we keep them as lifetime “GE Ambassadors.” Meanwhile, for each senior leader who leaves, numerous talented and younger leaders get promoted. They are energized to drive change for a new generation in a dynamic global economy.
The secret to all of these dimensions of developing leaders is to have a great team of human resource professionals. Enduring companies must have a passion for people. GE has a great HR team that protects our valuable human assets. I want to give them special recognition this year.