10 Things You Didn’t Know About General Electric CEO John Flannery
Headlining one of America’s largest and oldest conglomerates is certainly not a small task, and it’s important for whoever has the reins of GE to be ready for it. The Fortune 500 company has been around since 1892, and it needs someone who knows how to manage all the weight, history, and future that comes with this connection. John Flannery’s not only been preparing for the role for at least 30 years before he got it; he is the embodiment of who GE truly is. He may have been CEO since last year, but here are 10 things that you still probably don’t know about John Flannery.
1. He is originally from Virginia.
Flannery was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1962, where he would stay until he was about 9 years old before moving to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1971. Flannery’s father worked as a banking executive for a FDIC Corporation before becoming the president of a small bank.
2. He had some pretty serious schooling.
Flannery didn’t hold back at all when it came to schooling. First off, he attended a catholic high school in 1979—the Northwest Catholic High School. He went on to attend and receive his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance in 1983 from the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business. Finally, he received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1987.
3. He has over 30 years of GE experience.
By the time Flannery procured the CEO position at GE, he had clocked in about 30 years of working for the company. He actually started his career at GE back in 1987 and spent the next 20 years in various leadership roles.
4. He mad a difference in the healthcare field.
Before he signed on as CEO, Flannery was actually working at GE Healthcare. He was the person that led the subgroup’s turnaround, as he focused the company’s resources towards digital solutions. Flannery can be attributed as the one who launched the Sustainable Healthcare Solutions, a technology development program for healthcare providers.
5. He’s a baseball fan.
Actually, he’s not just a baseball fan. Flannery is a Red Sox fan—and an avid one at that. He moved to Boston from Chicago in 2017, and since then, he’s been following the team like any other loving fan. He’s such a big fan that he even named his dog after Mookie Betts, an outfielder for the team.
6. He has some pretty normal habits.
Although he’s CEO of one of America’s largest companies, he makes sure he has time for his own personal growth—that means hobbies. Flannery cites reading, golf, and music as his favorite pastime. His favorite. His favorite writers would be Atul Gawande and D. Vance. He’s also an Alllman brother fan.
7. He’s a family man.
Besides being busy with work and his hobbies, Flannery’s life consists of his family. We already met one of the family members, his dog Mookie Betts. Flannery also happens to be married. He has three children that he splits his time with. It may not be easy bing CEO, but Flannery will do whatever it takes for his family’s sake.
8. He is chairman number ten.
GE has been around for a total of 126 years. Out of all those years, Flannery is the 10th chairman of the board and the 11th CEO altogether. That’s not that many considering how long the company has been around. Those numbers put each CEO as having an average time of about 11 or so years as head of the company’s executive committee.
9. He likes to put the grill on.
Flannery like to invite people to his home for a get together. It might be from years upon years of having to travel so much for work. He enjoys his home and the simple things. He’s a keen wine collector and possibly a decent cook as well.
10. He was the dark horse.
And he got picked. Flannery wasn’t the likely candidate for GE’s next CEO. There were other division chiefs that were top choice. But it was Flannery in the end that had just the right type of experience that GE needed. In the end, it was Flannery that looked to have the vehicle to take GE to the future.
