General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) has concluded its year-long succession planning by announcing that John Flannery, the head of GE healthcare, will replace Jeff Immelt as the US conglomerate’s chief executive on August 1.
Immelt will remain as GE’s chairman until his retirement on December 31 when Flannery will also take over that role.
Flannery joined GE Capital about three decades ago and has previously led the firm’s equity business in Latin America and the overall GE Capital business for Argentina and Chile.
The departing boss, who took over from Jack Welch in 2001, has been credited with steering the company through the financial crisis, which nearly dragged down the maker of jet engines, wind turbines and locomotives.
Immelt also oversaw the restructuring of the GE Capital unit and shifted the conglomerate's focus away from finance to manufacturing.
In reaction to the succession move, GE's shares were over 4% higher at US29.09 in pre-market New York trading.