On Tuesday, April 2, a new company is set to launch on the world energy stage when GE Vernova completes its spin-off from the GE Corporation and officially begins operations as a standalone company. Building on more than 130 years of experience, GE Vernova’s mission is to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. As we approach this momentous shift, first announced in 2021, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the milestones that brought us from there to here.
November 9, 2021
GE announces that it will form three separate companies
GE unveils its plans to form three industry-leading, global, investment-grade public companies focused on the growth sectors of aviation, healthcare, and energy. The company cites several benefits that it anticipates by shifting into separate, leaner entities: deeper operational focus, accountability, and agility to meet customer needs; tailored capital allocation decisions; strategic and financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities; dedicated boards of directors with deep domain expertise; career opportunities and incentives for employees; and distinct and compelling investment profiles appealing to broader, deeper investor bases. “We have a responsibility to move with speed to shape the future of flight, deliver precision health, and lead the energy transition,” says GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr. “The momentum we have built puts us in a position of strength to take this exciting next step in GE’s transformation and realize the full potential of each of our businesses.” Also in November 2021, Scott Strazik is named CEO of the new portfolio of energy businesses, bringing more than 20 years of finance, operations, and leadership experience with GE, including more than ten years in GE’s power businesses.
July 18, 2022
GE unveils brand names for three planned future public companies
GE spent six months arriving at the new names and brand identities for the companies that are spinning off. It announces that its portfolio of energy businesses will be branded as GE Vernova. This energy portfolio, which includes gas turbines, onshore and offshore wind turbines, grid technology, and software, is already helping customers around the world decarbonize and bring online more reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity. The new name, explains Chief Communications Officer Kristin Carvell, is “a combination of ‘ver,’ derived from ‘verde’ and ‘verdant,’ to signal the greens and blues of Earth, and ‘nova,’ from the Latin ‘novus,’ or ‘new,’ reflecting a new and innovative era of lower-carbon energy that GE Vernova will help deliver. These attributes also are reflected in GE Vernova’s new ‘evergreen’ brand color.” The iconic GE Monogram logo will continue to appear front and center in the company’s branding, in an inspiring evergreen color.
December 15, 2022
GE Vernova selects Cambridge, Massachusetts, as its global headquarters
GE Vernova announces that it will establish its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is well known as a growing community focused on the energy transition and puts the company in proximity to its customers, academic and scientific research, policy thought leaders, and investment capital. “We needed a home,” CEO Scott Strazik will later say, “and what better home than Cambridge, a place steeped in history and innovation, with cutting-edge universities, startups, and climatech incubators.” Other centers of GE Vernova’s manufacturing and business operations will remain in their existing locations, including Schenectady, New York, Atlanta, Georgia, and Greenville, South Carolina.
October 24, 2023
GE announces spin-off timing and new stock ticker symbols
GE announces that it plans to spin off GE Vernova and launch GE Aerospace in the beginning of the second quarter of 2024. Following completion of the planned spin-off, shares of GE Vernova will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GEV (GE Aerospace will continue to trade under the “GE” symbol). “Our teams are building momentum,” says GE Chairman and CEO Larry Culp, “and we’re excited to be with so many of our valued customers and industry peers on the New York Stock Exchange in the beginning of the second quarter of 2024.”
November 2, 2023
GE Vernova opens its new headquarters in Cambridge
At an opening celebration attended by special guests including Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and U.S. Ambassador David Thorne, CEO Scott Strazik officially opens the company’s new building at 58 Charles Street in Cambridge. The new building is set to house approximately 200 employees, representing GE Vernova’s 80,000 employees worldwide. Its red-brick exterior matches the historical aesthetic of Boston, the birthplace of the American Revolution. Gov. Healey calls Cambridge an “incredible ecosystem of research, of technology and innovation, of students, of incubators, of VC funders. It’s really unparalleled what we have right here within just a few square miles.”
November 14, 2023
GE Vernova Board of Directors announced
GE Chairman and CEO Larry Culp and GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik announce the eight members of the GE Vernova Board: Stephen Angel, of Linde plc; GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik; Nicholas Akins, formerly of American Electric Power Company Inc.; Arnold Donald, formerly of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc; Matthew Harris, of Global Infrastructure Partners; Jesus Malave, of Lockheed Martin Corporation; Kim Rucker, formerly of Andeavor; and Paula Rosput Reynolds, of PreferWest LLC. “Our Board for GE Vernova brings together multi-dimensional energy transition leadership and strong management and governance experience," says Strazik. "This is another important step forward toward spinning off GE Vernova as a standalone company focused on electrifying and decarbonizing the world.”
February 29, 2024
GE Board approves spin-off on April 2
The final puzzle piece falls into place when GE’s Board of Directors approves the April 2 spin-off. Stock distribution plans are also announced. Says GE’s Larry Culp: “Beginning April 2, both companies will be fully independent, with GE Vernova positioned to lead the energy transition guided by Scott Strazik and his team, and GE Aerospace set up to define flight for today, tomorrow, and the future. We are all excited about the opportunity and the responsibility ahead of us.”
March 6, 2024
GE Vernova hosts its first Investor Day
In February, GE Vernova files its first publicly available Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which explains the principles by which the company is run, known as the GE Vernova Way — “Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost (SQDC) – with safety coming first, for our employees, contractors, customers and other stakeholders.” A few weeks later the company hosts its inaugural Investor Day, where it lays outs in detail its core values of sustainability, innovation, and lean. Like the light bulb that Thomas Edison brought the world in 1879, these values light the way forward as GE Vernova seeks to accelerate the path to more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy while helping its customers power economies and deliver the electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life.
Top image credit: Xavier Cuchetet