GE Aerospace names Wes Bush lead director
GE Aerospace updates its board leadership, naming Wes Bush independent Lead Director and adding Judson Althoff to the Audit Committee while Tom Horton remains on the board.
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO (GE), operating as GE Aerospace, reports board and committee leadership changes. On September 21, 2026, the Board appointed director Judson Althoff to the Audit Committee, effective that date, following his earlier election to the Board effective June 24, 2026.
Also on September 21, 2026, the independent directors elected Wes Bush as independent Lead Director. Tom Horton, who has served as independent Lead Director since 2018, will remain on the Board. Bush has been an independent director since 2025 and is the former Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman.
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8-K Event Classification
3 items: 5.02, 8.01, 9.01
3 items
Item 5.02
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers
Governance
Key personnel changes including departures, elections, or appointments of directors and executive officers.
Item 8.01
Other Events
Other
Voluntary disclosure of events the company deems important to shareholders but not covered by other items.
Item 9.01
Financial Statements and Exhibits
Exhibits
Financial statements, pro forma financial information, or exhibit attachments filed with this report.
Key Figures
Commercial aircraft engines installed base: 50,000 engines
Military aircraft engines installed base: 30,000 engines
Employees: 57,000 employees
+2 more
5 metrics
Commercial aircraft engines installed base
50,000 engines
Approximate installed base of commercial aircraft engines cited in the company overview
Military aircraft engines installed base
30,000 engines
Approximate installed base of military aircraft engines cited in the company overview
Employees
57,000 employees
Approximate size of GE Aerospace’s global team
Effective date of Wes Bush Lead Director role
September 21, 2026
Date on which Wes Bush became independent Lead Director
Judson Althoff Audit Committee appointment date
September 21, 2026
Effective date of Judson Althoff’s appointment to the Audit Committee
Key Terms
independent Lead Director, Audit Committee, independent directors, Inline XBRL, +1 more
5 terms
independent Lead Director regulatory
"elected Wes Bush as independent Lead Director of the Board"
Audit Committee regulatory
"the Board appointed Mr. Althoff to the Audit Committee"
A company's audit committee is a small group of board members who act like independent inspectors for the firm's finances, overseeing how financial reports are prepared, monitoring internal controls, and managing the relationship with external auditors. Investors care because a strong audit committee reduces the risk of accounting errors, fraud, or misleading statements, making financial statements more trustworthy and helping protect shareholder value.
independent directors regulatory
"the independent directors of the Board appointed Wesley Bush"
Members of a company’s board who do not have significant business, family, or financial ties to the company and are not part of its management; they are chosen to provide impartial oversight of strategy, financial reporting, executive pay and risk. They matter to investors because independent directors act like an objective referee, helping ensure decisions favor shareholders’ long-term interests rather than insiders, which can strengthen trust and reduce the chance of mismanagement or conflicts of interest.
Inline XBRL financial
"The cover page of this on formatted as Inline XBRL"
Inline XBRL is a file format for financial filings that embeds machine-readable data tags directly inside the human-readable report, so the same document can be read by people and parsed by software. For investors it makes extracting, comparing and verifying financial numbers faster and more reliable—like a grocery list where each item also has a barcode—reducing manual errors and speeding up analysis.
installed base technical
"installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military aircraft engines"
Installed base is the total number of a company’s products or systems that are currently in use by customers. Investors watch it because a larger installed base often means steady revenue opportunities from repeat purchases, upgrades, accessories, or service contracts—think of it like the number of cars a brand has on the road that can return for fuel, repairs, or new parts over time.
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What board leadership change did GE (GE) announce on September 21, 2026?
GE Aerospace’s independent directors elected Wes Bush as independent Lead Director of the Board, effective September 21, 2026. Tom Horton, who had served as independent Lead Director since 2018, will continue to serve as a member of the Board.
What committee role did Judson Althoff receive at GE (GE)?
On September 21, 2026, GE Aerospace’s Board appointed Judson Althoff to the Audit Committee, effective that date. He had previously been elected to the Board effective June 24, 2026.
Does Tom Horton remain on the GE (GE) board after the Lead Director change?
Yes. While Tom Horton is no longer independent Lead Director, he will continue to serve as a member of the GE Aerospace Board of Directors following the election of Wes Bush as independent Lead Director.
What is Wes Bush’s background relevant to his GE (GE) board role?
Wes Bush has been an Independent Director on the GE Aerospace Board since 2025. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation and serves on the boards of Dow Inc. and General Motors Company.
How large is GE Aerospace’s installed base of aircraft engines?
GE Aerospace reports an installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military aircraft engines, highlighting the scale of its global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems business.
How many employees does GE Aerospace have?
GE Aerospace states it has a global team of approximately 57,000 employees, building on more than a century of innovation and learning in aerospace propulsion, services, and systems.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) September 21, 2026
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) (513 ) 243-2000
_______________________________________________
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2. below):
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | ||||||||
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | ||||||||
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | ||||||||
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) | ||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
| Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter). | ||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||||
| If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. | ☐ | |||||||
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On June 11, 2026, General Electric Company, operating as GE Aerospace (the “Company”), filed a Current Report on Form 8-K under Item 5.02 pursuant to which it announced that the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Company had elected Judson Althoff to the Board, effective June 24, 2026. At that time, the Board had not yet appointed Mr. Althoff to any Board committee.
In accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules, this Form 8-K dated September 22, 2026 is being filed to report that on September 21, 2026, the Board appointed Mr. Althoff to the Audit Committee, effective as of that date.
Item 8.01 Other Events.
On September 21, 2026, the independent directors of the Board appointed Wesley Bush to be the independent Lead Director, effective as of that date. A copy of the press release announcing Mr. Bush’s appointment as independent Lead Director is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit | Description | ||||
99.1 | Press release, dated September 22, 2026, issued by GE Aerospace. | ||||
| 104 | The cover page of this Current Report on Form 8-K formatted as Inline XBRL. | ||||
2
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| General Electric Company | |||||||||||
| (Registrant) | |||||||||||
| Date: September 22, 2026 | /s/ Brandon Smith | ||||||||||
Brandon Smith Vice President, Chief Corporate, Securities & Finance Counsel | |||||||||||
3
Exhibit 99.1
GE AEROSPACE BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPOINTS
WES BUSH AS INDEPENDENT LEAD DIRECTOR
WES BUSH AS INDEPENDENT LEAD DIRECTOR
Current Independent Lead Director Tom Horton will remain on the GE Aerospace Board of Directors
CINCINNATI — September 22, 2026 — GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) announced today that its Board of Directors has elected Wes Bush as independent Lead Director of the Board, effective on September 21, 2026. Tom Horton, independent Lead Director since 2018, will continue to serve as a member of the Board.
GE Aerospace Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., said, “Tom’s leadership, judgment and counsel have helped guide us through an extraordinary period of change over the last eight years, from strengthening the company and simplifying the portfolio through the launch of GE Aerospace as an independent company. I’m deeply grateful to Tom for his service, and pleased that we will continue to benefit from his experience and perspective on our Board.”
Culp continued, “We are very fortunate to have Wes Bush as our next independent Lead Director. Wes’s experience, leadership and deep knowledge of the aerospace and defense industry will be particularly valuable as we keep safety at the center of everything we do, support our customers, and advance the technologies that will shape the future of flight. I look forward to continuing to work with Wes and the entire Board as we execute our strategy and create long-term value.”
Mr. Bush has been an Independent Director on the GE Aerospace Board since 2025. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation and serves on the boards of Dow Inc. and General Motors Company. Mr. Horton has been an Independent Director on the GE Aerospace Board since 2018. He is a Senior Advisor at Global Infrastructure Partners, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, and serves on the boards of Chevron Corporation and Walmart Inc.
About GE Aerospace
GE Aerospace is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems leader with an installed base of approximately 50,000 commercial and 30,000 military aircraft engines. With a global team of approximately 57,000 employees building on more than a century of innovation and learning, GE Aerospace is committed to inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow and the future at www.geaerospace.com.
GE Aerospace Investor Contact:
Blaire Shoor, 857.472.9659
blaire.shoor@geaerospace.com
GE Aerospace Media Contact:
Megan Newhouse, 203.414.1257
megan.newhouse@geaerospace.com