GE Appliances (GEA), a Haier company, announced that after providing nearly six years of strong and valued leadership, CEO Chip Blankenship has elected to exit the business at the end of 2017.
Succeeding Blankenship as president & CEO is Kevin Nolan, currently VP and chief technology officer for GEA and Qingdao Haier, who will be joined in the newly created GEA Executive Council by Melanie Cook, currently GEA’s VP of Sourcing, in the role of chief operating officer; and Rick Hasselbeck, currently GEA’s chief marketing officer, in the role of chief commercial officer. Nolan, Cook and Hasselbeck will begin their new roles immediately and will work with Blankenship to facilitate a seamless transition for employees, customers and partners.
«During my tenure leading GE Appliances, we have achieved significant improvements in our products, plants and processes that have made us more competitive and yielded improved financial performance – said Blankenship. With that strong foundation in place, the support of our parent company—which is 100 percent focused on leadership in the appliances industry— and the amazing GE Appliances team, we are ready to launch the next phase of our strategy and growth. It is the right time for me to pass leadership of the business to three strong GE Appliances executives who will bring the expertise needed to accelerate further growth in the strategic areas of technological innovation, operational excellence and building closer connections with customers and consumers.»
