GE 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

Last fall, we hosted a conference
in Silicon Valley to launch what we
call the Industrial Internet, an open,
global network that connects people,
data and machines. It’s about mak-
ing infrastructure more intelligent
and advancing the industries critical
to the world we live in. We believe it’s
about the future of industry—energy,
healthcare, transportation, manufac-
turing. It’s about making the world
work better.
At the conference, we put a GEnx
engine on the stage. People posed
for pictures with the engine; they
marveled at the technology and its
sheer size. It was a reminder of two
things. First, few companies can do
what GE does; the scale we operate on
and our decades of investment are a
competitive advantage. Second, in an
uncertain economy, long-term growth
and competitiveness require the end-
less pursuit of innovative productivity.
Similarly, I recently returned from
Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that was
“off the radar” when I became CEO.
Today, we are at a $3 billion annual
run rate, and that could double in the
next few years. GE could have “$1 bil-
lion Franchises” in Nigeria, South
Africa, Mozambique and Angola. We
are investing in capability and people.
There are very few American compa-
nies in the region. But we could sell
more gas turbines in Africa than in the
U.S. in the next few years.
A GE annual report has never fully
featured software and Africa. Today,
we feel they are essential and we
can lead. Our ability to create our
own future is why GE can win in
any environment.
It starts with a culture—the foundation
for any successful enterprise—a
culture that inspires our people to
improve every day. Our team is mission-
based: We build, move, power and
cure the world. We believe in a better
way: We constantly learn from our
customers, our competition and each
other. We seek solutions for our cus-
tomers and society. And we are a
“We Company.” We know that strong
teams with great people outperform
individuals. That is why GE Works.
The global economy for 2012 was
within our planning scenario, but short
of our hopes. Maybe the best news—
believe it or not—was Europe. It didn’t
implode! The U.S. is improving, driven
mainly by housing and the consumer,
but capital investment remains slug-
gish. As a result, the U.S. continued
its weakest recovery since the 1930s.
China slowed as it went through a
political transition. Because of a weak
macro environment, we were able to
lower input costs, and that had a posi-
tive impact on our margins.
We expect 2013 to be another “typi-
cal year” in the Reset Era. We remain
confident in the economic strength of
the emerging markets. We are encour-
aged by renewed growth and reform
in China, which has a positive impact
on other big resource-rich regions like
Africa, Latin America and the Middle
East. At the same time, we are in
unprecedented fiscal territory in the
GE WORKS
At GE, we look forward with confidence.
That is because we can shape some of the
big growth drivers in any era.
GE 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 3
LETTER TO SHAREOWNERS