Working World

Charlene Begley is CEO of GE Industrial, Enterprise Solutions, a new global General Electric company that focuses on boosting productivity with technology and automation. The company has revenues of $5 billion. Since she joined GE in 1988, Begley has held a broad range of executive positions in many of the conglomerate’s businesses, acquiring experience that prepared her for the high-powered spot she holds today.

Her father steered her toward GE’s Financial Management Program at GE Transportation Systems when she left the University of Vermont’s School of Business, where she had graduated magna cum laude. He told her, if she understood finance, she would be an incredible business person. Her next stint in GE’s Corporate Audit Program allowed her to travel the world. She said she had to work “day and night,” but the learning process was “unbelievable.”

Identified early on through GE’s diversity and mentoring process as a “high-potential diverse talent,” she was fast-tracked through various positions that gave her a firm background in executive management.

She worked in 20 locations in less than 16 years, including vice president of operations for GE Capital Mortgage, chief financial officer at GE Transportation Systems, director of finance for GE Plastics-Europe, and vice president of the corporate audit staff. She became president and CEO of GE Fanuc Automation at the tender age of 34. Only a few years later, as president and chief executive of GE Plastics, which employed about 11,000 people at 60 facilities worldwide, she helped close the sale of that company to Saudi Basic Industrial Corporation for $11.6 billion.

An early boss at GE had thought she was “skinny” on the finance skills when she started out and just needed the right assignments to take advantage of her “massive potential.” Apparently that strategy worked.

She says the flexibility of her husband, who works as an engineering consultant, has been “essential” to her success. She also acknowledges the role that luck has played. But, she notes, “You still have to be phenomenal at whatever you’re doing ... You should always over-deliver on your commitments and anticipate the next three steps of the process.”

In an interview with CNN Money, she passes on advice she got from her boss, Jeff Immelt, which is “Spend a ton of time with your customers” to learn about how your company compares with the competition, and about the quality of your service and products. “Customers will give you the reality. They don’t care about your title, they just want value. You’ll never get anything straighter than from a customer.”

In 2005, she was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders and came in number 26 on Fortune’s list of “50 Most Powerful Women” in 2007.

Begley travels most of the time in her new position at GE Industrial, Enterprise Solutions, and always takes her running shoes. But she foregoes most sightseeing to reserve at least some time to spend with her children. She and her husband have three daughters and live in the Berkshires.

Suzanne Ridgway is a freelance writer and regular columnist for Working World and Working Nurse magazines. Suzanne also writes grant proposals for nonprofit organizations.