GE's young turk

After 14 years at the helm of GE India, when Scott R. Bayman handed over the baton to 37-year-old Tejpreet Singh Chopra, a 10-year GE veteran, nobody was surprised. It's almost as if the latter's elevation to the position of President & CEO-he formally took charge on June 1-was a foregone conclusion.

Tejpreet or TP, as Bayman calls him, was serving as President & CEO, Commercial Finance, in GE India since 2006, after moving to India from GE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, US, the previous year to start the GECAS office in Delhi. He also managed global sales for the Regional Jet Programme of GECAS.

Name: Tejpreet Singh Chopra Age: 37 Designation: President & CEO Company: GE India

Apart from these two divisions, Chopra has held positions in marketing, structured finance and risk management at various GE offices worldwide. His wide experience across a range of GE businesses across the world is expected to stand him in good stead in his new job in which he will manage operations that are expected to clock a turnover of about $3 billion (Rs 12,300 crore) this year. It won't be easy.

Chopra, an alumnus of Delhi's St. Stephen's College and Cornell University, will have to live up to comparisons with his former boss (Bayman), who is largely seen to be responsible for GE's growth in India from a $100-million operation to one that is within striking distance of the $3-billion mark.

Bayman, though, is confident that Chopra, a former national swimmer (he represented Tamil Nadu), is the right candidate for the job. In a recent press release, he said: "I am happy to have been a part of GE's growth in India and am confident that under T.P. Chopra's leadership, GE in India will move towards achieving greater heights." Chopra, too, looks confident. "India's growth story has captured the imagination of the world and GE's plans for India are firmly aligned with the country's objectives.

I am truly excited to be part of this growth and look forward to taking GE in India to the next level of success," said Chopra in a press release. He has just set the bar higher. He will now be judged against his own benchmark.