GE creates new APAC region, appoints Wouter Van Wersch as president & CEO

• Was appointed president & CEO of GE Asean in 2015
• Offers strong development opportunities for GE’s 16,000 local employees

GENERAL Electric (GE) announced the appointment of Wouter Van Wersch as president & CEO of the newly created APAC (Asia Pacific) region that combines its’ operations in Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, with the 10 countries of the former Asean region.

This new role is an extension of his current responsibilities as president & CEO of GE Asean, which he was appointed to following the integration of the Alstom energy activities into GE in 2015.

Commenting on his new appointment Van Wersch said, “With a combined population of more than 840 million across 15 countries, the new APAC region offers a lot of exciting opportunities and I’m looking forward to working with our talented teams to drive business growth in this dynamic and diverse part of the world.

“It’s a region that covers countries ranging from fast-growing emerging nations with ambitious infrastructure and development plans, to highly developed countries leading the way in the adoption of digital industrial solutions to raise their productivity and efficiency.”

In addition to Van Wersch’s new role, Max York has been appointed CEO of GE Australia, and Kevin Hart, CEO of GE New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Eriko Asai who is currently the government affairs & policy director in Japan, will be promoted to a dual role and become CEO of GE Japan. Together with Chris Khang, the president & CEO of GE Korea, they will report to Van Wersch.

The new APAC region, which includes Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, offers strong development opportunities for GE’s 16,000 local employees.