CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2003--The appointment of Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Klein as Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Services, for GE Rail Services has been announced by CEO D. Oscar Groomes.
Beth brings an exceptional track record of executing strategic sales and marketing plans and driving strong business results, Groomes said. Klein joined GE in 1979 as part of the Technical Marketing Program with GE Medical Systems. Since that time she has successfully led many large sales and service organizations, capturing increased market share.
In 2001, she was appointed President and CEO of Americas Equipment Sales for GE Medical Systems. Most recently, Beth was Vice President and Healthcare Industry Executive for GE.
What we are bringing to our rail shipper customers is more of what GE does best, Groomes said. Beth has the skills and energy to help GE Rail Services develop services that will add value to our customers' operations. We fully expect to accelerate our growth with her leadership.
Klein has developed programs both domestically and internationally for GE. After rising through positions of increasing responsibility, she moved to Paris in 1997 as General Manager of CT Sales and Marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa where she recovered a five point share loss and renewed GE's position as the market leader. She also grew GE's Global Functional Imaging business five-fold and again established a market leadership position.
I look forward to the great opportunities and challenges available at GE Rail Services, Klein said. Since joining the team, it has been encouraging to find that the railroad industry is moving in a direction of higher service levels and closer cooperation with customers. In such an environment, we are ideally positioned to develop new business opportunities together with our customers and to increase our share of the transportation market.
Klein holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Notre Dame. She also holds a degree in foreign language studies from Leopold-Franzens Universitat in Austria and an MBA from Northeastern University. Klein has been actively engaged in the development of the
GE Women's Network, which boasts more than 30,000 active members. She continues to play a key leadership role in setting the strategy and execution for this important initiative.
A unit of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), GE Rail Services is a leading provider of rail cars, services, and intermodal equipment to businesses throughout North America. GE offers one of the industry's most diverse fleets having more than 185,000 rail cars, and over 150,000 intermodal containers, trailers, and chassis. GE Rail has the ability to provide customized solutions and a variety of leases to meet customers' short and long term financial needs.
Headquartered in Chicago, and employing over 700 people, GE's Rail fleet spans a variety of equipment from covered hopper cars to tank cars, boxcars to pressure differential cars, coal cars to specialty cars, serving such industries as agriculture, forest products, utilities, petroleum/chemicals, auto, steel and consumer goods.
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CONTACT: GE Rail Services
Linda Bartman, 312-853-5557
[email protected]