GE Power’s CDO is transforming his company and an industry

GE Power’s first ever chief digital officer, Ganesh Bell, leverages years of software expertise to drive innovation within GE and with customers, including his own CIO.

IDG Enterprise Consulting Director , CIO |

innovation concept consultant in management doing presentation 000081819181 medium — Thinkstock

After a long career in enterprise software, Ganesh Bell became GE’s first chief digital officer in early 2014. Now, as CDO of GE Power, Bell is leading a transformation of this giant unit of the industrial powerhouse which, in turn, is driving change through the entire power-generation industry.

ganesh bell ge power cdo photo — GE Power CDO Ganesh Bell

In this interview with IDG’s Chief Content Officer John Gallant, Bell talks about creating “Outcome-as-a-Service” for customers and the creation of “digital twin” capabilities that are helping GE Power customers reinvent their operations. He discussed the mission of GE Digital and how he coordinates on strategy with CDOs at GE’s other divisions. He also explored his partnership with GE Power’s CIO and explains why the CDO role is not a threat to his CIO peer.

SD-WAN buyers guide: Key questions to ask vendors (and yourself)