GE Tries to Shake Things Up With Board Changes

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 3:02AM EST · Published Feb 26, 11:50AM EST

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GE Tries to Shake Things Up With Board Changes — © Thinkstock

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) saw its shares hit yet another low to start out the week, after the firm announced that it would be overhauling its board of directors. This company has been the subject of harsh criticism over the past year, and not without reason, as the stock has dropped by over 50% in this time. At this point GE has to do something to stop the bleeding, and changing the board may be its best option.

Essentially, the firm is reducing the size of its board to just 12 directors. Out of these 12, there will be three new candidates.

The following nine incumbent directors will stand for reelection: Sébastien M. Bazin, W. Geoffrey Beattie, John J. Brennan, Francisco D’Souza, John L. Flannery, Edward P. Garden, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, James J. Mulva and James S. Tisch. Brennan will stay on as lead director to facilitate the transition to a new lead director and new board leadership in the coming year and will not stand for reelection in 2019.

These are the three new candidates:

H. Lawrence Culp Jr., former CEO and president of Danaher
Thomas W. Horton, former board chair and chief executive of American Airlines
Leslie F. Seidman, former chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board

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Brennan commented:

The 2018 board slate aligns the Board with the future of the Company. We are adding proven world-class expertise in capital allocation, aviation, accounting and financial reporting. The new Board is unified in its mission to work with John Flannery and GE’s senior leadership team to drive the Company’s focus on superior performance and to maximize the long-term value of GE’s world-class businesses for our shareowners. The smaller Board will also help to promote the heightened engagement and sense of accountability that we want to drive at every level of the Company.

Shares of GE were last seen down about 3% at $14.03 on Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $18.57 and a 52-week trading range of $13.95 to $30.54.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.