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General Electric is changing finance chiefs as the company prepares to spin off its businesses next year.
Rahul Ghai will become chief financial officer of GE on Sept. 1 while retaining his role as CFO of GE Aerospace — a role he has held since August 2022. Ghai succeeds Carolina Dybeck Happe, who is stepping down from the industrial conglomerate.
Rahul Ghai
“Since Rahul joined GE Aerospace, we have benefited greatly from his leadership, including his wealth of experience as a public company CFO and with the spin-off process,” said GE Chairman and CEO and GE Aerospace CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr.
Ghai joined GE Aerospace from elevator and escalator manufacturer Otis Worldwide, where he was CFO. Before that, Ghai was CFO of the aerospace and defense technology company Harris, and earlier in his career, he worked in executive-level finance roles at Aetna and United Technologies.
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Carolina Dybeck Happe
Dybeck Happe will continue as a senior vice president of GE to help with the transition and will help prepare for the separation of the company’s energy businesses.
“Carolina has played a crucial role over the last few years, helping to significantly reduce GE’s debt, improve our financial and operating performance, and build the strategy and execution of our spin-offs plan against a market backdrop unlike any other that I’ve experienced,” said Culp, Jr. “I am grateful for her many contributions that have helped GE regain its strength.”
Dybeck Happe joined GE as CFO after leaving Maersk in early 2020. Some critics believed she was a risky choice, as the company was trying to turn itself around after piling up crippling amounts of debt. Her predecessor Jamie Miller, who was GE’s first female CFO, was successful in dramatically reducing GE’s debt and divesting a pile of unwanted assets.
GE spun off its healthcare business in January, and plans to spin off its power and renewable energy unit in 2024. Parent company GE will continue operating the jet engine business.
