Oct. 3 (UPI) — Former General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt retired as chairman of the company’s board Monday, three months earlier than planned.
John Flannery, who replaced Immelt as CEO of GE in August, succeeds him as chairman of the board, the company said in a news release. Immelt was originally expected to remain on the board until Dec. 31.
Immelt also retired as chairman of the board of directors of Baker Hughes, a GE company. The Board elected Lorenzo Simonelli to replace him as chairman.
Flannery started his career at GE Capital and has held numerous positions throughout the company. He was involved in GE’s acquisition of French locomotive builder Alstom, the shrinking of GE Capital and the sale of GE Appliances to the Chinese conglomerate Haier. He led a turnaround at GE Healthcare, a corporate statement said Monday.
Under Immalt, GE shed its financing and other non-core operations to concentrate on its industrial businesses.
