GE appoints Ed Garden, partner at activist shareholder firm Trian, to board
General Electric’s (GE’s) new boss has barely uttered a word in public during his first two months on the job, but CEO John Flannery is already signalling his intention to forge one of the most sweeping makeovers in the company’s 125-year history. On Monday, he accepted a board appointment for Ed Garden, a founding partner of activist shareholder Trian Fund Management, which has been pressuring GE for an overhaul. That came three days after the company named a new chief financial officer and announced the exit of two other high-profile executives. Flannery is also seeking deep cost cuts and weighing portfolio changes as he seeks to reverse 2017’s biggest drop on the Dow Jones industrial average. Flannery, who last week also took on the chairperson title, may be poised to slash earnings expectations when he presents plans to revitalise the beleaguered manufacturer at a meeting scheduled for November 13. Even a dividend cut is a possibility, according to Vertical Research Partners, as...
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