Interview with our Newest Energy ECLPs

This post has been selected as a one of the “Best of 2011.”  It was originally posted on September 27, 2011.

In honor of the upcoming recruiting season for the new ECLP Class of 2014, I would like to highlight three of our newest ECLPs in GE Energy.

A bit about the trio who joined the ECLP Class of 2013:
• Faraz is in a Regional Marketing rotation for Europe, Middle East region, and is based out of London, UK. He started his career as an electrical engineer designing products for multiple energy sectors.  Wanting a more commercial-oriented career, he moved into the consulting industry and focused on energy, industrial goods, telecoms. He earned a Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering from Cambridge University and MIT in Cambridge, MA. He joined the ECLP program in Feb 2011.
• Gabe is currently based in Atlanta in a Growth & Innovation rotation at GE Energy where he is leveraging his rich technical experience in the renewables and power distribution spaces.  He earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford and an M.B.A at University of Southern California, and joined GE after graduating in July.
• Ashish is also currently based in Atlanta for a rotation in the Strategic Marketing group.  He joined GE in July from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern in Chicago.  Prior to business school, he worked in an industrial products company managing new product development projects across several industries and global regions.  

1) What drew you to the ECLP program?

Faraz: Coming from nearly four years in an advisory role as a consultant, I wanted to stay in the energy space and join a company with a great breadth of portfolio options and global presence.  Very few companies offer both an excellent structured learning program and a broad scope of commercial activities like GE does.

Gabe: The opportunity to learn ALL about energy with the three different rotations attracted me to GE.  I knew I would learn a lot and have found that expectation significantly exceeded.

 Ashish: In my mind, there are two layers to this question. First, “why GE” and second, “why ECLP”? I was fortunate enough to have a choice between a consulting career and two marketing careers - CPG  or Industrial marketing/general management. I chose the Industrial path because, as a former engineer, I am passionate about the products, can relate to the customers and thus empathize with them (my favorite word-empathy!). Digging deeper, I chose GE for a couple of key reasons.  First, the global nature of the company and second, the opportunities a big company can afford. Given GE’s sheer size, I can move into a different product line/business instead of switching companies and still gain new experiences. Basically, the opportunity to get a variety of professional and global experiences coupled with a long-term career path in one place drew me to GE. The decision to join ECLP was easy - hands-down the best leadership program there is out there!

2)What have you enjoyed the most about the  ECLP program?

Faraz: I have enjoyed the intellectual rigor of strategic marketing, which I found enjoyable in my consulting work.  Additionally, I have found it very rewarding to be working in new, innovative and rapidly changing areas on projects like the one with our Transportation business to transfer learning from GE Energy’s Smart Grid to a “Smart Rail” offering. The people are committed, smart and the best in the world
 
Gabe: The long hours?  All joking aside, the people here are so smart, so having the ability to network with them is amazing and well worth the long hours!

Ashish: The most fun part so far has been the people. It is such a stimulating environment with everyone eager to help out, brainstorm, and listen to you (another favorite word – humility!). And for a company of this size and complexity, GE is surprisingly nimble. I was dreading the bureaucracy and procedures that (in my mind) naturally come with a large company but it’s been a pleasant surprise. I think it comes back to the people. Everyone is focused on results and on making a real difference, and they are open to change/new ideas rather than just doing their jobs and leaving work at the end of the day. This keeps the path to success clear and simple. There are too many existing challenges in life to be adding unnecessary ones!

3) What are you looking forward to in the next 2 years?

Faraz: The ECLP program offers a range of options across the world and I would like to try something a bit different: while I had a strategic consulting background, I would like to experiment with marketing within a product line, perhaps in a different location.

Gabe: Learning all I can about energy and GE and finding a rewarding off-program position that can help change the world!

Ashish: Ah, there is so much to explore, discover, and achieve! First of all, forging deeper ties with my fellow ECLPs (all around the world) and getting to know them better. We learn a ton from each other. The previous year classes act as a mentor network (I already have a list of people to lean upon for sound advice) and colleagues from the same class support each other. On a personal level, I am looking forward to my projects and the interactions that come with it. I have already had a chance to meet one-on-one with senior executives in the Energy business and will be traveling to some of our global regions later this year to meet with the regional marketing and sales leads. Meeting, observing, and learning from such a culturally and functionally diverse set of people is a unique lifetime opportunity and I am looking forward to the acceleration that comes with it as a marketer and as a leader. Then there’s the domain expertise piece. It is so humbling to be learning from the smartest minds in the Energy business that have a relentless focus on innovation. Miles to go before I sleep…

Faraz;Ashish, Christina (blog author), Gabe

Posted by Christina