When one becomes the customer ...

Some people say Information Technology is a business enabler, other ones that it is a support system and many mention it is a service. Most people agree we always have a customer focus and it is one of our main drivers.

During this rotation I have been working in the Network environment to maintain the quality that Six Sigma excelence standards give us.

For the first time since I started the IMLP I had the chance to interact with vendors and telecom carriers, making us the customer in this case. It is a very interesting perspective as we need to define our requirements, standards and needs and that is not as easy as it seems.

GE is a worldwide company and when defining global processes we cannot forget how different each region, country or even site are, so the program manager challenge is not to lose that global mindset when drilling down to low level issues.

This rotation is giving me the capapbility to zoom in and out into project details without losing the objectives we have and thanks to the international scope, the chance to be working with teams in Asia, Europe and America teaches me one can fix things being thousands miles apart from the issue.

IMLP Internships in GE Aviation UK!

In order to keep on growing the IMLP in the UK, GE Aviation is recruiting IMLP Interns (also known as Co-Op or EID) for this summer in Cheltenham.

They will be the first ones to join GE Aviation in the UK as IMLP Interns and will be working closely with IMLPs based in Cheltenham. Exposure to leadership and an amazing learning experience is guaranteed.

Exciting rotations of one-year length will be available so they will understand how GE operates, the infrastructure and services we provide while are mentored to develop new skills.

This initiative is part of the effort the recruiting team is putting to bring top talent to the UK IMLP.

Please, find more details and how to apply here.

We are looking forward to working with you!

Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal & UK

Nicola P. Perugini '99-'00Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal & UK… home to the US for a 3-day ‘recoup’ every 1-2 months…. then back all over again. 

Transitioning off IMLP in GE Capital Fleet Europe was thrilling, challenging & empowering all at once.  Off Program, I grew to lead Oracle Financial deployments across Europe; there was almost no better work I could think of driving.  Although not without its complex challenges, the people & experience of that first job were such a shaping force in my career; even to this day I frequently site its character building effects.  I was also able to ‘pop in’ for visits to see relatives in Benevento (outside Naples) when I lived in Rome.

Apart from technology, organization & leadership, I learned more about myself personally than I ever imagined.  I forged strong bonds with my project colleagues that to this day keep us in touch both socially & professionally, however outside work, traveling like this made it difficult to develop roots.  While experience helped spur creativity & put things in perspective, I also started to think about my career & life in a different light.  It was then that I knew GE was the place for me…but maybe a bit closer to home (like somewhere in the US).

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IMLP in the UK

Welcome to the first in a soon-to-be regular weekly series of posts from the IMLPs in the UK.  There are currently just 14 of us, but that is soon to expand to over 20 in the coming year, and we’re very excited!

Before starting IMLP, I was working as a full-time engineer with GE for 2 years.  So, to kick-off this series I’m going to tell you about IMLP in the UK and why I gave up my engineering job to move back on to a training program. 

I started back in 2007 for GE Aviation Systems in Cheltenham as a Systems Engineer working on avionics products.  This was a role I enjoyed immensely but towards the end of my second year I was ready for a new challenge, which was when I discovered IMLP. 

IMLP gave me the opportunity to get leadership and project management experience sooner than I would have been able to otherwise. 

Add to this the world-class training we receive and the huge peer and alumni network IMLPs have and I didn’t have to think twice.  I now get the opportunity to regularly meet with the senior leadership of our business, and the great thing is; they genuinely listen to our ideas.

Never without: Laptop, Blackberry, VPN tokenOne of the perks of the UK programme for me has been to be part of a global, mobile workforce.  I work with teams in the USA and India on a daily basis and I can work from anywhere with an internet connection (including home!).

 In fact I am writing this post from a GE Healthcare office in Milwaukee WI.  I’ll be hopping on a plane back to the UK next week, just in time to meet some prospective new IMLPs at Warwick University on the 19^th October.  See you there!

IMLP Profile - Danny Slingerland

As an International IMLP, Danny Slingerland has been able to live and work in places both close and (a little) far away from his home country of the Netherlands.

A graduate of The University of the Hague, majoring in Business process improvement , Danny is a member of the same IMLP "class" as yours truly (IMLP classes are defined by the group you went to ‘bootcamp' training with).

Danny spent his first rotation in Jenbach, Austria working for the GE Jenbacher business and crossed the North Sea for his second rotation in the UK with the Oil Field Technology business.

Danny is able to experience different cultures throughout  Europe, and these cultural changes sometimes result in funny situations.

For example, while in the UK, Danny walked towards the taxi and wanted to get in on the front seat and suddenly noticed a steering wheel...and the cab driver said, "are you going to drive me??"

After being in Jenbach, working on an ORACLE implementation project and skiing on the weekends, Danny is now part of an SAP integration project and enjoying London as well as all of the other beautiful cities in the UK.