North Central College alumnus Munesh Makhija named CTO of GE India

General Electric (GE) has promoted North Central College alumnus Munesh Makhija to managing director of its India Technology Center and named him chief technology officer (CTO) of GE India.

Makhija will be based at the John F. Welch Technology Center in Bangalore, where he will oversee GE’s India technology team of more than 5,000 engineers and scientists. The facility is GE’s first and largest integrated multidisciplinary research and development center.

“In his new role, Makhija will build on this foundation and drive growth by enhancing technical capability and increasing new product development,” Mark Little, senior vice president and CTO of GE, said in a news release.

Makhija joined GE in 2003 as engineering director for GE Healthcare. He has served as vice president of Global Research at GE Healthcare and previously was CTO for GE Healthcare in India.

“At the GE India Technology Center we have the brightest minds at work pushing the limits of science and technology to solve some of the world’s toughest problem­s in energy, healthcare, transportation, aviation, consumer and industrial domains,” Makhija said in the release. “My focus will be both on locally relevant innovation and delivering advanced technology to solve global challenges.”

Prior to joining GE Makhija worked in the telecommunications industry for 10 years and held several positions in technology and research leadership, software engineering, new product development, program management and product marketing.

Makhija earned his master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from North Central College in 2000. He also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering.