At 9:30 a.m. on April 2, the leaders of GE Vernova and GE Aerospace rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. For GE Vernova, the portfolio of energy businesses that for more than 130 years operated under the banner of Thomas Edison’s General Electric Company, it was an energizing day of looking back at that parent company and its world-changing legacy of innovation and a stirring preview of what is possible for the new standalone company. For the new public company, trading under its very own NYSE ticker symbol, “GEV,” the occasion was nearly two and a half years in the making.
“Today is a momentous day for GE Vernova, a company purpose-built to electrify and decarbonize the world,” said CEO Scott Strazik in a letter on LinkedIn. “This mission is more critical than ever as growing global demand for electricity and decarbonized solutions requires generation capacity to likely more than double by 2040 … GE Vernova is focused on executing with sustainability, innovation, and lean at its core and is building on its history of innovation by investing approximately $1 billion annually in research and development to drive breakthrough energy transition technologies.”
This occasion was also a celebration of GE Vernova’s 80,000 employees in more than 100 countries who have helped the company — whose installed technology base helps generate approximately 30% of the world’s electricity — become what it is today. From the shop floor to research labs to the conference rooms, every member is crucial. “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished with this milestone and excited to continue this journey alongside our customers and shareholders,” said Strazik. “Today is Day One of GE Vernova, and I am looking forward to seeing all the great things we will accomplish — together — on every day that follows.”
In the skies above New York City and Bengalaru, India, on April 1, GE hosted an enthralling drone show comprising 500 drones, to celebrate the three new faces of GE: GE HealthCare (which already completed its own spinoff in 2023), GE Aerospace, and GE Vernova. Top, from left: Philippe Piron, CEO of Electrification Systems; Rachel Gonzalez, general counsel; Ken Parks, chief financial officer; Maví Zingoni, CEO of Power; and Vic Abate, CEO of Wind.
As April 2 dawns on Wall Street, the facade of the New York Stock Exchange building is swathed in banners for the official launch of GE Vernova and GE Aerospace. Kristen Visbal’s statue “Fearless Girl” has resided in front of the New York Stock Exchange since International Women’s Day in 2017 as a symbol of gender diversity in the workplace.
Front, from left: GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp and GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate their new beginnings as independent, publicly traded companies.
Scott Strazik speaks at the NYSE’s opening ceremony while Lynn Martin, president of NYSE, looks on. “I think about innovation every day in my job,” said Martin, “and in my mind there are no two letters that better embody the spirit of innovation — and have always embodied the spirit of innovation, in the past and the future of this country — than ‘GE.’”
Watch the recording of the event.
At New York’s Times Square, a billboard showcases the new company and its trademark “evergreen” color.
In the days surrounding Launch Day, GE Vernova calls on an international team of employee ambassadors representing a variety of business segments and roles to share the news from Wall Street. “A proud day for all the empowered and talented employees of GE Vernova to witness the brand embark on this new journey!” posts Karla Cheli, senior customer success manager for the Electrification Software business at GE Vernova, after the opening bell rings. Image credit: Lana Osusky, technology manager for Aerodynamics and Thermosciences.
GE Vernova has more than 80,000 employees and operates in more than 100 countries. Above, clockwise from top left, are just some of the celebrations that took place on April 2: in Tianjin, China, Greenville, South Carolina, Baden, Switzerland, and Stafford, England.