GE Names New CEO for its Digital Division

GE has appointed Scott Reese as the new CEO of GE Digital, the conglomerate's division that supplies software and IoT services to industrial companies.

Reese will take over from Patrick Byrne, who will transfer to become the CEO of GE Renewable Energy's onshore wind business.

Reese, who currently serves as the EVP of Product Development and Manufacturing Solutions at Autodesk, will officially make the jump to GE on February 22, 2022. He has been with Autodesk since 2003 and helped establish the company’s cloud platform, products, operations and cyber security practices.

Reese takes over ahead of GE's plans to spin off GE Digital into a standalone business in 2024. Currently, GE is in the midst of spinning off several business units, including its healthcare and energy divisions, allowing the remaining company to refocus solely on aviation technology.

"I am thrilled to have Scott Reese join this mission with his track record of transforming software businesses and driving growth," GE's global energy business CEO, Scott Strazik, said in the company's announcement. "His deep software industry experience makes him the ideal fit to partner with our customers and the GE Digital team to accelerate the energy transition."

In the third quarter of 2021, GE's revenue fell by 1% year-over-year (YoY) to $18.4 billion, and the company recorded losses in two of its four core business groups. Revenues in the company's healthcare segment fell 5% YoY to $4.3 billion, and the Renewable Energy segment's revenue dropped 7% YoY to $4.2 billion.