ECLPs developing GE businesses in sub-Saharan Africa

GE’s focus on growth in sub-Saharan Africa has led to a considerable increase in the number of ECLPs in the region. This year, 6 new ECLPs representing the class of 2014 - the largest class recruited into the region thus far - began their first rotations in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, respectively.

Boye Ajayi, class of 2014, has a BSc in Human Nutrition from University of Ibadan and an MBA from the School of Management, University of Bradford. His most recent role prior to joining GE was in the Telecommunication sector working with Etisalat Nigeria as a Marketing Specialist in the Marketing Segments and Strategy department.  

Click to read more ...

EMEA Strategy Rotation in London

Charmin Tillman is the Strategy Leader for GE Capital EMEA.  She has been an ECLP Assignment Leader for 5 rotations and previously served as the business program manager for ECLP in GE Capital Real Estate. She began her career at Prudential Investment Corporation in Newark, NJ, where she worked for 4 years as an investment analyst in the private placement debt, power project funding, and asset sale / loan syndication groups. After completing an MBA at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Charmin worked at Accenture in financial services strategy consulting for 9 years before joining GE Capital Real Estate. Charmin served as VP Commercial Excellence for almost 4 years and then assumed the role of Marketing Leader for the Global Investment Management unit. In September 2010, Charmin had the opportunity to move to London to join Global Banking as Strategy Director and in July 2011 was appointed to her current position as Strategy Leader for GE Capital EMEA. 

Prior to joining GE, would you have expected to be where you are today? 

When I look back at my career path and how I’ve gotten to where I am today, it all connects and makes sense as a logical progression, but it is certainly not something I fully planned. I started my career in finance / investment analysis, moved into consulting because of my interest in understanding & solving broader business issues, and that developed into building expertise in business and marketing strategy. My career approach has simply been to:  build areas of expertise or domain knowledge that I could be recognized for; focus on opportunities that aligned with my passion for problem solving, strategy development, and service delivery; and work with great people that inspire me to grow & improve.  As a result, I’ve had great roles, some based on opportunities I created or pursued, and others that just came my way.  For example, while I knew I wanted to work outside the US someday, the opportunity to work in Europe was one that happened based on my prior experience and the great career management processes we have in GE. 

Click to read more ...

Argentina, Networking and ECLP

During the Commercial Leadership Conference last month, we were fortunate enough to have external speaker Joe Sweeney, bestselling author of Networking is a Contact Sport talk to us about the importance of networking and sharing experiences and provide tips on how to make networking work for you.
Joe’s 1-4 step process:
1. Ask
2. Listen
3. Act
4. Believe/Receive

AIM to make an impact: Approachable, Intentionable, Memorable
We learned that developing relationships is the number one success tool in business and in life and are extremely thankful to have had Joe be part of the conference and share his enthusiasm and candor with ECLPs in Buenos Aires.

Click to read more ...

From London to Dallas

Aaron Harris is a 2008 ECLP alum, originally from Chicago, IL. Aaron attended the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 2006 with an MBA and MS in Environmental Policy. After graduating, Aaron joined ECLP and completed 2 rotations with GE Capital Solutions, working with Vendor Finance and Equipment Finance then completed his 3rd and 4th rotations in GE Capital Real Estate. Upon graduation from ECLP, Aaron remained with GE Capital Real Estate as a Senior Manager, working with the Global Sustainability Group.  In 2010, Aaron had the opportunity to move to London and accepted a position as VP for Commercial Excellence and Operations for EMEA.  In January 2012, Aaron returned to the US and is currently the Marketing Leader for the Vendor Equipment Finance business based in Dallas, Texas.  

Click to read more ...

ECLP holds Global Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Experienced Commercial Leadership Program (ECLP) held its bi-annual Global Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 4-9, 2012. It was an exciting week of meetings, training, and networking for over 280 ECLPs currently on program. The ECLPs were joined by the ECLP leadership team, business program managers (BPMs), and a number of GE Executive sponsors and leaders.

The event kicked off with a networking event on the terrace of the Hilton Buenos Aires Hotel. This was a great opportunity for the ECLP community to meet and greet and to catch-up since last being together.

Click to read more ...

Latin America's Growth Economy

Hi everybody, I am Juan, probably the newest member of the ECLP community – an early starter to the ECLP class of 2014. I am a University of Oxford MBA graduate with seven years of experience in business development, consulting, and private equity capacities across the US, Saudi Arabia, and Colombia.  I joined GE Capital EMEA nine months ago with the Equity team, and as of last week, transitioned into my ECLP role contributing to the roll-out of Access GE in Europe.

Click to read more ...

ECLP Conferences Then and Now!

Lakshmi Moorthy is the New Product Introduction & Planning Leader for GE Capital EMEA. Lakshmi has over 14 years of experience in financial services, and has worked in both the commercial and consumer parts of our business. Lakshmi joined GE in 2002 on the ECLP, and followed this up with various marketing and commercial roles in GE Money/GE Capital EMEA. Prior to joining GE, Lakshmi worked with HSBC. She has an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Mumbai University. Lakshmi is married and has two children, and is based in London.

Click to read more ...

Argentina: A Culture of Football

As a relatively new employee at GE I wanted to celebrate what I have found to be an extremely inclusive culture at the company. In preparation for the Global ECLP Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we will have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a rich Latin American culture and have some fun! From the tastiest beef on the planet, to tango lessons I can’t wait to leave the cold British winter and head for the sun! 

When most people talk about Argentina one of the first things that comes to mind is football and to clarify, when we say football in this article we are talking about soccer, not American football.

Click to read more ...

Inspire Haiti

On January 12th, 2010 the island nation of Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake that was measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale. The Haitian government estimated 3 million people were affected by the quake, including 316,000 dead, 300,000 injured and 1 million homeless. The international community responded to this disaster with an unbelievable amount of support, and I for my part tried to do what I could to mobilize my community to respond.

My name is Kevin Richards and I am originally from the 21 square mile island of Bermuda. 

Aerial image of BermudaGrowing up in the second most isolated inhabited island on the planet forces you to be aware of the scarcity of resources and the need for long-term sustainable solutions to the way we live, whether facing a hurricane or in Haiti’s case the devastation of an earthquake.

As an MBA student at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business, my connection with Haiti was stronger than most of my classmates through my experiences playing soccer against the Haitian national soccer team. At Notre Dame I led the MBA program’s effort, raising over $5,000 and as

Click to read more ...