GE names Repsol’s Zingoni as power CEO

The logo of U.S. conglomerate General Electric is seen on its corporate building in Belfort, France, on October 19, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

CHICAGO/LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) – General Electric Co (GE.N) confirmed on Tuesday it had hired Mavi Zingoni to lead the company’s power division, which includes natural gas, steam and nuclear power.

Zingoni, previously executive managing director of customers and low carbon power generation at Spanish energy group Repsol (REP.MC), will report to Scott Strazik, who oversees GE’s energy portfolio.

She will take over in January next year. The appointment was first reported earlier on Tuesday and is based in the United States, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

Zingoni’s addition comes as the industrial group prepares to split into three public companies.

GE plans to spin off its healthcare business in January. It will spin off its energy business into a separate company called GE Vernova in 2024, which will combine power, renewable energy and digital divisions.

“Her deep industry experience will play an important role in our future as we continue to work with our customers to accelerate the energy transition and work toward the planned spin-off of GE Vernova,” a GE spokesperson said.

Zingoni faces the challenge of navigating GE’s power business through ongoing supply chain and inflationary pressures.

The power business, which accounted for about 23% of the company’s revenue last year, is one of the company’s most challenging businesses. It hasn’t reported revenue growth in years.

In the first half of the year, orders for the division also fell. However, the company expects to be profitable this year with lower revenue growth.

Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago and Andres Gonzalez in London; Editing by Richard Pullen

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