May 2015 - Excerpts from the speeches given by Jeff Immelt, Beata Stelmach, GE’s CEO for Poland and the Baltics, and Laszlo Varro from the International Energy Agency at the gala dinner on 7 May 2015 that followed a multistakeholder debate in Warsaw entitled ‘How to Drive Energy and Industrial Growth in Central and Eastern Europe?
The discussion continued in Bucharest, Romania, where GE representatives, including the global CEO, participated in a roundtable debated titled, “How to drive Innovation, Technology and Energy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).” The meeting was co-organized by the Committee for Industries and Services - Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, and AmCham Romania. The discussion, which has just finished, brought together representatives of government, key players from the energy sector, and business associations from four countries. Its aim is to drive competiveness and growth in the CEE region.
GE, the world’s biggest infrastructure technology company, and also a major investor in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) with 21 production facilities that serve global markets, recognises the need for ongoing multistakeholder dialogue to shape the future of the energy and industry sectors in CEE. Why? As most of the countries here are now working on new energy policies, it is the right time to make bolder decisions on how the energy transition can be implemented in order to boost competitiveness in the region.
On May 7 we had the region’s CEO, Peter Stracar, share his thoughts on the Energy Union, on the same day that Jeffrey R. Immelt took part in a discussion in Warsaw, titled, “How to Drive Energy and Industrial Growth in Central and Eastern Europe?”
“Europe is a fantastic home to our company and we very much appreciate it”, Jeff Immelt told those gathered for a gala dinner following the discussion. “We believe in efficiency and the power of people. We have almost 100,000 employees in Europe, and every GE business is represented here. We are a huge exporter from Europe, and have more than 20 research centers across the region. Central Europe has been a big part of our strategy for 20 years. If you’re my age, in GE, you grew up investing in Central Europe; we started in Hungary and we’ve made big investments in Poland. Today I had a town hall meeting with our engineering center here in Warsaw. They started 15 years ago with 25 engineers, and now have 2,000, Here in Central Europe we plan to continue our research and investments”.
The event was co-organized by the Polish Confederation Lewiatan and five American Chambers of Commerce (Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania). Participants were from governments, the energy and industry sectors, and also included legislators and representatives from European institutions.
‘How to Drive Energy and Industrial Growth in Central and Eastern Europe?’ A regional multistakeholder debate in Warsaw that GE organized together with Lewiatan, a Polish confederation of private employers, as well as the American Chambers of Commerce in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. Jeff Immelt speaks at the gala dinner that followed the debate. (Source: GE)