GE's new chief caps a 30-year trip to the top

New York

HE is the quintessential company man.

John Flannery, who was tapped on Monday to become the chief executive of General Electric (GE) later this summer, has spent his 30-year career with the industrial giant. He has headed up offices from South America to Asia. He has turned around a flailing business, the company's US$18 billion healthcare division. He even has a home in Nantucket, where a cluster of high-ranking GE executives vacation.