Leadership : Our Company : GE

Charles (Chip) Blankenship is the president and chief executive officer of GE Appliances, a $5 billion business headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with 10,000 employees globally. GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people's lives.

Blankenship began his career with GE in 1992 after earning a B.S. degree in Materials Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia. His first position was that of staff scientist at GE’s Corporate Research and Development facility in Schenectady, New York. His technical work resulted in 23 papers published in refereed journals and eight U.S. and European patents. As a program manager, he led a team of scientists and engineers developing alloys and processes for aircraft engine, land-based gas turbine, lighting systems, medical systems and diesel engine applications.

Blankenship joined GE Aviation’s Commercial Engines Operation in 1996 as the leader of the CF6 Airline Support Engineering team. He was then appointed manager of Embraer CF34 programs, and subsequently was named General Manager of GE Aviation’s Small Commercial Engine Operation. In 2006 he was named general manager for Aero Energy, a division of GE Energy in Houston, Texas, that supplies aeroderivative gas turbines and packaged generator sets for industrial and marine applications. He returned to GE Aviation in 2008 as VP and General Manager of the Commercial Engines Operation, a $5 billion business and the world’s leading producer of large and small jet engines for commercial aircraft. He assumed his current position on January 1, 2012.

He is married with four children.