GE... the best career decision I've ever made!

I still recall the day that I interviewed on Fairfield University's campus for General Electric Company's Information Systems Management Program (ISMP). That was the precursor to IMLP. After answering many of the standard questions, the fellow I interviewed with spent much of the session fixated on the large section of shrubbery in the center of campus... I guess I answered the greenery questions right. :)

In any event, post that discussion, I hoped and prayed hard that I did well; as I put all my proverbial "eggs in the GE basket" ... Then comes the offer letter welcoming me into GE Capital.. GE Capital?... What's that I ask?... I want to be a part of General Electric Company... But, once again the career gods are watching out for me, and on August 14th, 1989 I embark on one of the most exciting professional journeys.

I started with GE Capital (1 of only a total of 8 ISMPs) as part of the CISO team... the Capital Information Systems Organization, which was the IT organization servicing all the GE Capital businesses... We had yet to be split out and aligned by business... Yes, I know I'm dating myself but I am often amazed at the growth of our company since my early days. I was assigned into the Retailer Financial Services ad-hoc reporting team, writing culprit reports for any and all analytics needs. This was a great rotation; I got to learn all about the RFS (now known as Retail Finance) business through its data structures as the reporting requests were broad and varied.

From there I crossed team lines to support Collections systems, Voice Recognition systems, Posting and Billing Systems, and New Client Integrations. This was where I was nicknamed "Miss Macy" as I brought that client portfolio onto our books, changed terms and conditions on the cardholder accounts more times that I can count, and then helped to take the portfolio off our systems when Federated decided to manage their cardholder accounts in house. This was my 1st 9 years at GE, and what a way to enter the workforce. Not a day went by that I didn't count my blessings for being able to contribute to a growing, thriving business.

As luck would have it, in November 1997 (coincidentally as the RFS business started to struggle... I like to say it was all working well while I was there), I decided to make a change. I moved to GE's Mortgage Insurance business in Raleigh, NC and started as the IT lead supporting all global transactions from initial due diligence to platform set up and integration. This was a phenomenal experience; possibly one of my most favorite roles at GE. I travelled the world... London, Poland, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, etc... Every day/deal was different... It was an incredible opportunity to grow both personally and professionally... growing my network, gaining global perspective and most importantly, learning how to do business across the globe. There wasn't a place that I visited where I didn't take some learning away.

This finally brings me to my current role. I've been the IT Leader for GE Treasury for nearly 9 years… and what a ride it's been. I joined a global team of around 19 members, supporting 30 or so systems, with our mandate being to keep Treasury systems available and performing. Now, it is a global enterprise of nearly 100 applications, 500+ servers, 500+ terabytes of data, a 500+ project portfolio, and a global staff nearing 400 team members (approximately 100 FTE / 300 contingent workers). This is clearly a time of unprecedented growth and investment across Treasury, in particular within information technology. It has been incredibly rewarding to lead such a talented team through this transformational change.

So, as I close, I leave you with these parting thoughts and most importantly the words of wisdom shared with me as I was starting out many many years ago - enjoy every day... grow grow grow... build strong varied networks... push yourself out of your comfort zone and take risks... and most importantly, have passion for what you do... Everything else falls into place!