GE prides itself on being an employer of choice amongst Hispanic professionals. As the nation's Hispanic population grows, we certainly understand the value of aggressively attracting and retaining the best minds among these distinctive communities. We greatly respect and appreciate the importance of all forms of diversity and strive to recruit top Hispanic talent while fostering the growth of current Hispanic employees through a steadfast commitment of providing unparalleled career opportunities and advancement.
We believe it's incumbent upon us to establish long-lasting ties to Hispanic-serving organizations, associations, academic institutions and the community, at large, so that we may seek out, nurture and develop the very best talent regardless of culture or background. It was in this spirit that we founded the GE Hispanic Forum.
The Hispanic Forum at GE (GEHF) is the company's Latino employee association that was created in 1996 by a group of visionaries and pioneers and today has close to 3,500 members across the U.S. and Latin American countries. It exists to bridge GE to the Hispanic communities in which GE does business to attract, retain and develop Hispanic talent. GEHF aims to increase the Hispanic talent pipeline and leadership penetration within GE, further the company's objectives through leveraging our backgrounds and providing members with opportunities for personal development inside and outside the company. Members feel a sense of community as they make connections to assist others acclimate into the GE culture and they move through the ranks of the organization; at the same time, members give back to society in a direct and meaningful way.
Corporate Executive Sponsors:
- John Rice, GE Vice Chairman / GE Global Growth & Operations President and CEO
- Steve Bolze, GE Power & Water President and CEO
- Reinaldo Garcia, GE Corporate in Latin America President and CEO
National co-chairs:
- Delia Garced, General Manager, Product Marketing & Commercialization, GE Energy
- Ruben Gonzalez, General Manager Latin America - Industrial Solutions, GE Energy
- Alberto Casellas, General Manager Retail Finance, GE Capital
GE Recruits, Develops and Advances top Hispanic Talent
- Recruits:
Partners with organizations to actively pursue qualified Latino candidates and provides them with a career path they can be proud of.
- Develops:
- GE Talent Assessment Program: designed to provide impactful development opportunities for top talent Hispanics at GE. The program is to ultimately accelerate their career growth by increasing their exposure, expanding their network and improving their leadership skills.
- Unidas Mentoring Program: provides GE Hispanic Forum members with opportunities to further personal and professional development through formal training, networking and other community engagement programs at GE.
- Advances:
Hispanic professionals achieve excellence at GE, such as Jorge Sandino, Executive Vice President with GE Energy to Juan De Bedout and 2011 Purdue Outstanding Engineer Award with GE Corporate.
- Hispanic Serving Institutions:
Expanding relationships to better recruit Hispanic talent within GE at major universities such as Georgia Tech, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, University of Puerto Rico, Florida State and University of Miami.
- National organizations:
Signed MOUs with the National Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, The National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Cuban National Council.
- STEM Programs:
Promotes STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) across the US. Since 1981, the GE Foundation has donated more than $1.5 million to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Also, the GE Hispanic Forum is working directly with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to administer and award the GE Hispanic Forum Scholarship. Together, the GE Hispanic Forum is able to award scholarships to high school students who plan to major in STEM fields.
GE's held its 15th annual Hispanic Forum Summit in Philadelphia, PA attracting close to 700 GE members. The summit spanned 3 days, October 10-12, 2011, featuring high-level GE leaders, including Chairman and CEO, Jeff Immelt, and guest speakers from government, community and business sectors. Held during Hispanic Heritage month, the Summit provided opportunities for participants to attend numerous professional development sessions and a large-scale community service event.
The summit is one of many initiatives GE supports to develop and retain the best diverse talent. Hispanic professionals across all GE businesses attended, representing heritages from South America, Central America, Mexico, Puerto Rico and North America.