A Dream and a Focus on Skills and Ideals
A LU M NI PROFILE
While working at a U-Haul store in an entry-level position, Jeff Connelly ’79 focused on his college studies with the prospect that he would someday lead a major enterprise. Today he leads GE’s global water purification business of 3,000 employees as Vice President of Engineered Systems. “I liked the feel of running and g rowing a business and Siena helped to reaffirm that the business world is where I wanted to be,” said Connelly, a Schenectady, N.Y. native who g raduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management. Eventually, after his promotion at U -Haul as a company manager, Connelly accepted a job at E mery Air Freight, which specialized in d elivering heavy freight, such as turbine and g enerator components. GE was his biggest client. Knowing by then that he wanted a career with a global opportunity to grow, he began to n etwork with GE executives and was hired as part of a team for GE’s Power Systems Sourcing Management Program in 1989. Connelly, whose career catapulted from there, has held numerous leadership roles since then both in S chenectady and Greenville, S.C., primarily in the m anufacturing and sourcing operations in GE’s Energy Products Division. In 2006, he was promoted to his current position in Burlington, Mass., near Boston. The advice that Connelly typically gives interns and new employees, as well as to Siena students when he comes to campus as a speaker, is the importance of 21st century leadership skills that business executives and recruiters look for in the hiring process, such as the ability to be a team player and being open to new ideas. He also explains that it is not critical to have a career mapped out perfectly in the beginning. “The reality is that the world changes more rapidly than we think,” said C onnelly, who also is a member of Siena’s Board of Associate Trustees. “But, you will go a long way if you know what energizes and motivates you.” “For me, I knew that building teams and operating a business were ideals I wanted to pursue,” he added. “Having that knowledge early on was shaped by my experiences at Siena, and that helped me evaluate every decision along the way.”
Jeff Connelly ’79, vice president of engineered systems in GE’s water purification business, discusses operational efficiency tactics with 14 Chinese companies in Shanghai. The Siena marketing and management alum offers his expertise to educate clients on team building at the first Crotonville-sponsored Leadership, Innovation and Strategy program.
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