Susan Peters, Senior Vice President, Human Resources who is responsible for GE’s global workforce of 320,000 addressed the packed Strathmore Business School auditorium on Tuesday 28^th January 2014. She was accompanied by some of GE Kenya’s Executives and was hosted by the DVC -Professor Izael Da Silva. Also in attendance were Mr. Wilson Kalunge, Director-MBA programs in Strathmore Business School and the Dean of Students, Mr. Paul Ochieng.

 

Susan Peters talked about GE’s emphasis on leadership and developing world class business leaders. One of the key statements she outlined was that the idea of leadership development is all about taking the people that you have and making them better so that the company makes better outcomes for customers. The major reason for her visit to the university was the launch of GE’s Destination Africa Website (gedestinationafrica.com). Destination Africa is a website that shows the various opportunities available in GE for graduates or any individual who would like to pursue a career in GE in Africa. The lady of the moment took two questions from the eager audience which she dully answered before she left due to her tight schedule. The audience comprised of Strathmore University and SBS staff members together with students who really wanted to interact more with Susan Peters and borrow a leaf or two from the huge tree of experience and skills she has amassed.

 

The event came to a close with the large number of Strathmore University alumni, who are GE employees, taking to the podium and sharing their experience of working in GE and it could be clearly seen that GE is having a great impact in developing them to be key business leaders. There was a cocktail after the event and it was a platform for interaction between GE employees and the students who had a chance to find out about opportunities available, what it takes to be in GE and the overall GE experience.

 

This occasion was among the list of events held in the University as a result of the great cooperation between Strathmore University and GE.

 

Mr. Kalunge’s concluding remarks emphasizing that ‘Africa is the new frontier’ and great leadership and solutions for Africa will only come from Africa, echoed on long after the event had come to a close.

 

You can watch the video of Susan giving her talk below:

 

 

By Jamal Mohammed