Board of Directors
The GE Board held 15 meetings in 2009. Each outside Board member is expected to visit at least two GE businesses without the involvement of corporate management, in order to develop his or her own feel for the Company.
Board members focus on the areas that are important to shareowners — strategy, risk management, leadership development and regulatory matters. In 2009, they received briefings on a variety of issues including U.S. and global tax and public policies, environmental risk management and reserves, pension and healthcare costs, financial strength and funding, CSA portfolio management and commitment, reserves/losses in the credit cycle, controllership, litigation and emerging SEC rules, regulatory capability and compliance and managing reputation. At the end of the year, the Board and each of its committees conducted a thorough self-evaluation.
Directors (left to right)
- Robert J. Swieringa 1
- Professor of Accounting and former Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean, S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Director since 2002.
- Ralph S. Larsen 2, 3, 5
- Former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson, pharmaceutical, medical and consumer products, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Director since 2002.
- Sam Nunn 2, 4
- Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Washington, D.C. Director since 1997.
- W. Geoffrey Beattie 1
- President and Chief Executive Officer, The Woodbridge Company Limited, Toronto, Canada. Director since 2009.
- Rochelle B. Lazarus 3, 4
- Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, global marketing communications company, New York, New York. Director since 2000.
- Andrea Jung 2, 3
- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Avon Products, Inc., beauty products, New York, New York. Director since 1998.
- James I. Cash, Jr. 1, 2, 4
- Emeritus James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business, Boston, Massachusetts. Director since 1997.
- Robert W. Lane 1, 2
- Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer, Deere & Company, agricultural, construction, and forestry equipment, Moline, Illinois. Director since 2005.
- Sir William M. Castell 4
- Former Vice Chairman, General Electric Company. Director since 2004.
- Susan Hockfield 3, 4
- President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Director since 2006.
- Alan G. (A.G.) Lafley 3
- Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer, Procter & Gamble Company, personal and household products, Cincinnati, Ohio. Director since 2002.
- Ann M. Fudge 4
- Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Young & Rubicam Brands, global marketing communications network, New York, New York. Director since 1999.
- Douglas A. Warner III 1, 2, 3
- 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.
- Roger S. Penske 4
- Chairman of the Board, Penske Corporation and Penske Truck Leasing Corporation, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Penske Automotive Group, Inc., diversified transportation company, Detroit, Michigan. Director since 1994.
- James J. Mulva 1, 4
- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, ConocoPhillips, international integrated energy company, Houston, Texas. Director since 2008.
- Jeffrey R. Immelt 4
- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, General Electric Company. Director since 2000.
(pictured in Letter to Shareowners)