'Synergy and innovation' focus of GE Innovation Day in the Philippines

Manila, Philippines -  GE recently hosted its GE Innovation Day in Manila, bringing together more than 200 key customers, local universities and state representatives.

The showcase was specifically designed to demonstrate how GE works through innovation and co-creation with local partners to nurture economic development and long-term sustainability.

The Philippines was GE’s entry point into the ASEAN region going as far back as the 1890s when the Thomas Houston Electric Company installed the first electric streetlights on Real Street in Manila. In recent years, GE has seen its business grow steadily, primarily in energy, aviation, healthcare and lighting.

GE vice chairman and president/CEO of Global Growth and Operations John Rice launched GE Innovation Day. Anchored on the theme “Making the World Work Better through Synergy and Innovation,” the key initiative underscored the company’s longstanding commitment to sharing best practices with customers and other stakeholders and collaborating with them on local innovation.

Emphasis was on future advanced technology designed to meet local challenges and customer needs underlining the company’s role as an innovative partner for growth in the Philippines. On display were interactive exhibits of GE’s innovative solutions and technologies that impact various industries. Some of the innovative solutions highlighted were GE Healthcare’s V-Scan — a handheld, pocket-sized visualization tool powered by ultrasound technology, GE Mac 1600 ECG machine, as well as the GE Giraffe Incubator and Radiant Warmer. There was also a display of GE electric meters, including the single-phase smart meter and a mockup of the GE Jenbacher engine and GE Hybrid Locomotive.

GE leaders and key customers participated in discussions on the role of GE as a strategic partner in nation building. Guest speakers included Undersecretary Tito Panlilio of the Department of Trade and Industry; Dr. Bartosz Wojszczyk, marketing director of GE Energy Management; Tony Valdez, Meralco’s VP and head of marketing; Andy Licaros, president and CEO of Asian Hospital; Tommy Tan, director of government affairs and policy, GE Healthcare ASEAN; and Ditas Alipao, country product manager, GE Lighting Philippines. Topics included the company’s global and local plans, current projects that drive market leadership and GE’s future business direction in the Philippines.

“We pride ourselves on collaborating and working alongside our customers and partners to innovate and co-create products and solutions for local market needs,” Rice said.

Rice last visited the Philippines in 2011 and met with business and government leaders to explore business opportunities in the country and to further solidify GE partnerships around national development.

GE Philippines CEO Jocot de Dios said, “GE’s leadership in our market has also been its investment in talent development and localizing our business for greater impact and relevance to market needs. We are both global and local, that’s the depth and breadth of GE’s business leadership.”

“New areas of priorities for us will be in the environmental space as we look to tapping opportunities in renewable energy, rural electrification as well as working on reshaping the country’s healthcare landscape,” he added.

GE’s commitment to innovation is deeply embedded in its heritage, going as far back as its earliest days when founder Thomas Edison laid the path for GE with the first incandescent electric lamp. Today, the company continues to innovate and create life-changing products and solutions by investing in technology and allocating a substantial sum of its industrial revenue to research and development.