Simonelli gives credit to mentors
Lorenzo Simonelli is house hunting in Houston’s Inner Loop and is looking for Italian restaurants to check out now that he has become the CEO of the new Baker Hughes. He sat down with the Houston Chronicle at his north Houston office to discuss the transition, his role and the new company that trades on the New York stock exchange as BHGE. Edited excerpts follow:
Q: Your family still runs an estate and vineyard in Tuscany. Why depart from the Italian family business?
A: My father was the first in the family who decided agriculture and that way of life was changing. He went into banking, and I moved to London at age 9. Now it’s a great hobby.
Q: How would you describe your rapid rise within General Electric?
A: Essentially, this is the one company I’ve been with my whole career. Clearly there’s a performance aspect — working hard and achieving good results. But mentors were key for giving me advice. I’ve never said to myself, “I’m going to go and take a job and go and knock on the door.” It’s always been an aspect of “It’s time you go and do this; it’s time you progressed.” It’s been a career path. I’m always open to new opportunities and
always challenging myself. I’ve always made it very clear I wanted to run a business.
Q: What are some advantages of Baker Hughes and GE joining forces?
A: We want to work with customers based on outcomes. If you just provide them the old way, saying this is the cost per hour, then you’re not necessarily helping them on a productivity level. We offer the entirety of “the GE store.” For instance, Baker Hughes moves tools a tremendous amount. So does GE Oil & Gas. But, since GE ships a far larger volume than Baker Hughes ever did, GE’s rates are much more attractive.
Q: Despite the promotion to head Baker Hughes, you were also just a finalist for the overall GE CEO role. What was that like?
A: To be on a selection process for running General Electric is a great honor. Notwithstanding the outcome, it was a terrific process to go through and also one that I think helps me continue to develop and makes me even more ready from a BHGE perspective. What happens in the future is the future. My conviction is you do what you need to do well and things in the future take care of themselves.