Governance : Our Company : GE

“Directors will be considered ‘independent’ if the sales to, and buys from, GE are less than two percent of the annual revenues of companies they serve as executive officers, and if loans provided by GE to a company they serve as executive officers, and loans received by GE from such companies, constitute less than two percent of the total consolidated assets of such company. Moreover, if a GE director serves as an executive officer, director or trustee of a charitable organization, the GE director will be considered ‘independent,’ if GE donates less than one percent of that organization’s annual consolidated gross revenues.”
—Jeff Immelt, Chairman of the Board & CEO

Sixteen of 18 GE directors are independent under GE's Categorical Independence Guidelines and NYSE guidelines. Below is a list of the independent directors.

Categorical Independence Guidelines

In accordance with NYSE rules, independence determinations under the guidelines in section (a) below will be based upon a director’s relationships with GE during the 36 months preceding the determination. Similarly, independence determinations under the guidelines in section (b) below will be based upon the extent of commercial relationships during the three completed fiscal years preceding the determination.

1. A director will not be independent if:
   1. the director is employed by GE, or an immediate family member is an executive officer of GE;
   2. the director receives any direct compensation from GE, other than director and committee fees and pension or other forms of deferred compensation for prior service (provided such compensation is not contingent in any way on continued service);
   3. an immediate family member receives more than $120,000 per year in direct compensation from GE;
   4. the director is affiliated with or employed by GE’s independent auditor, or an immediate family member is affiliated with or employed by GE’s independent auditor and such immediate family member personally works or worked on GE’s audit; or
   5. a GE executive officer is on the compensation committee of the board of directors of a company which employs the GE director or an immediate family member as an executive officer.
2. A director will not be independent if, at the time of the independence determination, the director is an executive officer or employee, or if an immediate family member is an executive officer, of another company that does business with GE and the sales by that company to GE or purchases by that company from GE, in any single fiscal year during the evaluation period, are more than the greater of two percent of the annual revenues of that company or $1 million.
3. A director will not be independent if, at the time of the independence determination, the director is an executive officer or employee, or an immediate family member is an executive officer, of another company which is indebted to GE, or to which GE is indebted, and the total amount of either company’s indebtedness to the other at the end of the last completed fiscal year is more than two percent of the other company’s total consolidated assets.
4. A director will not be independent if, at the time of the independence determination, the director serves as an executive officer, director or trustee of a charitable organization, and GE’s discretionary charitable contributions to the organization are the greater of $200,000 or one percent of that organization’s annual consolidated gross revenues during its last completed fiscal year. (GE’s automatic matching of employee charitable contributions will not be included in the amount of GE’s contributions for this purpose.)