Boston's thriving startup sector played a major role in the decision to move General Electric Co.'s headquarters from Connecticut to Boston, said CEO Jeff Immelt on Thursday at a Boston luncheon.
Immelt said Boston's "astounding" startup scene and the plethora of universities were key factors in the decision, which was announced in January.
GE announced Thursday, ahead of Immelt's talk at the Boston College Chief Executives Club at the Boston Harbor Hotel, that its new world headquarters will be located in the Seaport District of Boston along Necco Street.
The property is under agreement to be purchased from Procter & Gamble and sits at the edge of its 44-acre South Boston campus — at 5 and 6 Necco Way, representing roughly 2.5 acres.
In addition to partnering with startups and being a "generous neighbor" in Boston, Immelt said GE brings a wealth of experience to the Boston startup scene when it comes to making investments.
GE's investment arm, called GE Ventures, has invested in several Massachusetts companies, including Boston-based robotics firm Rethink Robotics and Cambridge-based health care startup Iora Health.
"Almost every big company has a ventures group, but it's so hard to make sure we bring our best and don't end up squashing the company inside of our own bureaucracies," Immelt said.
He said GE has decades of valuable experience "managing through cycles." For example, GE's growth in the aviation industry has soared over the past few years, even though the sector was hit dramatically in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"Part of our culture is the belief that markets rule," he said.
Immelt, at the luncheon, also touted his commitment to innovation.
"If you don't work on innovation, productivity and globalization, you get fired," he said.
The Boston Business Journal reported in January that executives at Boston-based startup accelerator program MassChallenge had a role, among others, in luring GE to Boston.
Scott Bailey, MassChallenge's managing director, said in an earlier interview that he met with officials of GE several weeks ago to tout the city's startup and innovation sector.
NOTE CREDIT: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/startups/2016/03/ge-ceo-jeff-immelt-on-bostons-startup-culture-its.html
