Why GE

Nani Beccalli

GE International

"As one of the world’s most diverse and best performing global enterprises - recognized repeatedly for leadership and innovation - we offer our employees an environment where what we imagine we can make happen, developing new technologies and services to grow our businesses.

We are very excited about what the future holds for us in Europe and further afield, as we explore new frontiers in our push to globalize the company, our customer base and the benefits of what we do. Join us to discover a company where your imagination can become reality."

Nani Beccalli, President & CEO, GE International

 
Who We Are

GE traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established Edison Electric Light Company in 1878. In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. GE is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896.

Today GE is a diversified technology, services and financial services company with operations in more than 100 countries and with over 300,000 employees worldwide. The Company has 11 global businesses, ranging from Transportation to Energy, Commercial Finance to Advanced Materials and NBC Universal to Healthcare.

GE is recognized as being among the world's best-run companies and was named the World's Most Respected Company for 2003 for the sixth consecutive year by the "Financial Times". GE was also presented with the Catalyst Award 2004 for its innovative, effective and measurable initiatives to advance women employees.

GE is a company where possibilities are unlimited. You can change jobs, change industries, even change career direction, without ever changing companies. Our diversity provides limitless educational opportunities, which is unmatched in world business. We invest $1 billion per year in training our people.

GE in the Community

GE and its employees are committed to being a good corporate citizen through high ethical standards, leadership in corporate governance, environmental compliance and community engagement.

GE has a long and proud history of supporting the communities where its employees live and work. Contributing more than $140 million and over one million volunteer hours worldwide in 2003, GE is making an impact in local communities, educational standards and the environment in its communities all over the world.

In June 2004 during GE's European Volunteering Week nearly 5,000 employees gave around 20,000 hours to their local communities in 150 projects in 12 European Countries. Projects ranged from improving facilities for young people in UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Benelux, Hungary and Russia to supporting the elderly in Sweden and Italy.
Technology and Innovation at GE

Innovation is one of the founding values of the company and is at the heart of its success. In June 2004, GE officially opened its European Global Research Centre in Garching, near Munich, Germany. This new state-of-the-art facility is the latest addition to GE's $4 billion worldwide technology development effort.

Since 2001, GE has made a $100 million investment in its New York R&D headquarters, opened a $64 million research facility in Shanghai, China, and made an initial $52 million investment in its European centre.

By 2005, this new European Global Research Centre will be home to 150 scientists and engineers, who will develop the "next generation" of technology to support GE's future growth. Scientists at the centre will conduct advanced researches on new technologies, working closely with the GE businesses to ensure we understand and answer the future needs of our customers.
The centre will focus on four main research areas:

  • Alternative energy generation technologies, particularly hydrogen, biomass and fuel cells;
  • Electrical systems for renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and water;
  • Specialized sensors for automotive, biological and harsh environment applications;
  • Advanced medical imaging technologies, such as ultrasound, high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and molecular imaging.

GE's investment strategy is part of its commitment to growth through technological leadership and is a sign of its long-term commitment to the region. "We win in the market by bringing life-changing innovations to our customers," said GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt. "We're fuelling our future growth today by expanding our capacity for innovation and bringing technology development closer to our European customers. Technology leadership produces the best products, wins competitive battles and creates and expands markets."

The European centre is GE's fourth Global Research facility, in addition to the Global Research headquarters in Niskayuna, New York (1,800 employees), the John F. Welch Technology Center in Bangalore, India (1,600 employees) and the China Technology Centre in Shanghai (150 employees).

Visit Global Research at www.research.ge.com.