GE's Immelt departs and brings in Joe Hogan

The long-expected appointment of Jeff Immelt, GE Medical Systems president and CEO, to head up General Electric was accompanied at the RSNA meeting by the elevation of GEMS's executive vice president and chief operating officer Joe Hogan to head of the medical systems group.

Immelt, 44, had been widely rumored to be the hand-picked successor to Jack Welch when he retires at the end of next year. Welch announced three candidates last spring from among heads of the more than 30 GE companies. Hogan was likewise picked in April to succeed Immelt if he took over the corporate helm.

During his three-year tenure with GEMS, Immelt guided the imaging giant through its greatest period of growth to become a $7 billion company. Hogan, 43, began his career at GE in 1985, advancing through sales and marketing at GE Plastics. He was then promoted into product management or operating positions, running different plastics businesses for GE over an 11-year period.

Hogan was then promoted to a staff executive role at corporate headquarters in Fairfield, CT, where he worked for two years for the vice chairman of GE.

In March 1998, Hogan was named president and CEO of GE Fanuc Automation North America, a global supplier of industrial controls systems headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, and a joint venture between GE and FANUC of Japan.

Hogan joined GE Medical Systems in April as vice president of global e-business, a role that was expanded in June to chief operating officer. Hogan said his nine jobs in 14 years with GE have taught him how to start a new job. He recognizes that there is a labor shortage in the industry, in both radiology and manufacturing, and GE must provide enabling technology to compensate, he said. n