CREW Boston’s March luncheon featured special guest speaker and Boston newcomer, Ann Klee, vice president of General Electric’s global environment, health & safety group and head of Boston development and operations. Klee has spearheaded the headquarters’ relocation and shared the “story behind the story” of one of Boston’s biggest real estate transactions.
Here is a breakdown of key takeaways from Klee:
- From Idea to Implementation: The entire process was impressively fast-paced. In less than 14 months, GE was able to transition from an idea to moving into an interim Boston headquarters. Approaching its 125th anniversary this April, GE has accrued over 330,000 employees in 180 countries and is on the path to being a top software company; but with big expansion comes big change. Spearheading the relocation committee, Klee and her colleagues started with a list of 40 potential U.S. cities that would be of interest. However, in Klee’s words, “in retrospect, Boston was the obvious choice.”
- Criteria: As self-proclaimed “data-geeks,” Klee said her committee then sifted through information and data crunching to narrow 40 cities down to 14 using the following criteria:
- Financial (incentives, taxes, stability)
- Cultural (diversity, GE cultural fit)
- Quality of Life (education, cost of living, culture/sports)
- External (other “big fish,” good political climate)
- Talent (top universities, IT talent, retention and cost)
- Access (to major airports, access to Crotonville, NY)
GE then went “speed dating” in those 14 cities, requesting 20 minute pitches and about 2 hours of interactive Q&A. GE then narrowed it down to eight cities, where they conducted site visits. Leaving it up to the cities to guide them, and even re-visiting some, they were able to whittle options down to just a few.
- Why Boston: Klee boasted Boston’s innovation, talent and infrastructure to partner with GE. She elaborated that Boston has a great business ecosystem (companies, universities and startups), a diverse and technologically fluent workforce focused on solving challenges, and an innovation focused culture (the state spends more on R&D than any other region in the world). It also has great quality of life (arts, sports, easy access).
- Engaging the Ecosystem: Since settling into its interim headquarters in August 2016, GE has dived into the Greater Boston community through partnerships, investments, thought leadership and community engagement. The company has already engaged with the likes of MIT, Northeastern, MassChallenge, Opioid Addiction Hack-A-Thon, Boston Children’s Hospital and pledged $50 million to the greater Boston community’s schools, health and skills.
- Convene & Innovation: As Klee stated, “this headquarters won’t really be a headquarters at all...it will be an innovation campus.” With an opening planned for 2018/2019, the campus will include: conference and event space, fast works lab, digital foundry, makerspace, ventures/start-up co-working, GE Experience Center and a career lab. Not only will its first floor be open to the public, where anyone can drop by its coffee shop, cafe and Experience Center (that will showcase where it’s been and where it’s heading), but students will be able to come in and learn about what classes they should take to achieve STEM careers. As far as the office space itself, the building will be completely interactive with standing desks and no offices. Klee has a standing desk in an open office. Gensler, the project’s global architecture and design firm, has ensured every element has a functional purpose, as well as a solar veil and rooftop garden.
GE looks is moving into its new innovation campus in 2018/2019. In addition to relocating 200 executives from Connecticut, GE is hiring an additional 600 employees. Although CREW luncheon attendees raised concerns about the area’s climate resilience near Boston’s waterfront, Klee ensured them that the campus design will raise the bar for future Seaport development, serving as a good role model. After Klee and her team toured Route 128, Cambridge, the Financial District and more, they were immediately sold on the Seaport since the company meshed with its “industrial past, digital future” vibe.
Thank you to InkHouse for our luncheon recap.
