Beth Comstock’s promotion at GE to become its first female vice chair is one of the latest signs that venturing and digital innovation is being taken extremely seriously at the top of corporate America and globally.
Comstock has become one of the poster children for corporate innovation through her championing of the Lean Startup methodology at GE, in partnership with business theorist Eric Ries.
Her rise at the company appears to be linked to her strides to make GE more innovative. Speaking to Fortune about Comstock’s promotion, GE CEO Jeff Immelt said: “She spearheaded our investment in the industrial internet – driving our evolution to a digital industrial company.”
In her role as head of GE Business Innovations, which includes GE Ventures and Licensing, one of the big developments has been the stellar growth of GE Ventures.
Led by CEO Sue Siegel, GE Ventures has regularly been one of the most active investors in start-ups, and GCV Analytics data shows GE has been the sixth most active venturing investor since 2011.
There is excitement at GE Ventures about Comstock’s rise within the company. Siegel, who is also CEO of GE’s health innovation group Healthymagination, said of the promotion: “Beth’s commitment to driving innovation inside and outside of GE has opened new markets for the company. GE Ventures’ work touches all of GE’s businesses, working closely with the business units to spot trends and help develop business growth strategy.”
With influential figures in corporate innovation and venturing like Comstock continuing to rise to the top of corporations, it must be hoped that the importance to corporate strategy of external innovation and venturing will also climb still higher. How corporate strategy evolves, with executives that understand the startup world in key positions, will be fascinating to watch.
– Photo of Beth Comstock courtesy of General Electric
