In a stunning development, GE Money is wiring its headquarters status from Stamford to London, as the head of its European operations takes over for GE Money”™s retiring longtime CEO.
The change ends GE Money”™s longtime headquarters affiliation in Fairfield County, which is also home to both sister division GE Commercial Finance in Norwalk and parent company General Electric Co. in Fairfield.
Formally known as GE Consumer Finance, GE Money traces its roots to the Great Depression, when GE created it to offer credit for appliance purchases. In 2007, GE Money led all divisions with a 31 percent increase in profits, generating net earnings of $4.3 billion on $25 billion in revenue.
GE Money indicated less than 30 of its 450 Stamford workers would be transferred to the United Kingdom.
“The move to London will involve only a limited number of senior executives,” said Robert Rendine, a GE Money spokesman, in an emailed comment. “The vast majority of people are remaining here.”
GE Money becomes the second major GE division to move its headquarters outside of the United States, following GE Healthcare”™s adoption of Amersham plc”™s United Kingdom headquarters following its $9 billion acquisition of the company in 2004.
As first reported last year by the Fairfield County Business Journal, for the first time in 2007 GE employed a majority of its workers outside of the United States.
GE Money made the announcement with little fanfare in a press release announcing the retirement of David Nissen as its CEO, and the promotion of William Cary to replace him.
Mark Begor continues to lead GE Money”™s Americas operations.
Nissen led General Electric Co.”™s consumer finance division for 15 years, and leaves in Cary”™s hands a unit that has remained profitable despite the contractions in the U.S. mortgage market, making up U.S. shortfalls with strong earnings in many overseas markets. GE dumped its California-based WMC mortgage unit last year.
While based in London today, Cary has spent significant time in Fairfield County. In 2001, he led Danbury-based GE Capital Vendor Financial Services, creating a $1 billion joint venture with then Stamford-based Xerox Corp. underwritten by the latter company”™s vendor finance receivables.
He later headed GE”™s investor relations, a post that was later held by Begor.
