Charles (Chip) Blankenship is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Appliances, a $6 billion business headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people’s lives. The business employs 12,000 people.

Chip began his career with GE in 1992 after earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia. His first position was that of Staff Scientist at GE’s Corporate Research and Development facility in Schenectady, New York. His technical work resulted in 23 papers published in refereed journals and eight U.S. and European patents. As a program manager, he led a team of scientists and engineers developing alloys and processes for aircraft engines, land-based gas turbines, lighting systems, medical systems and diesel engine applications.

Chip joined GE Aviation’s Commercial Engines Operation in 1996 as the leader of the CF6 Airline Support Engineering team. He was later appointed Manager of Embraer CF34 programs, and subsequently General Manager of GE Aviation’s Small Commercial Engine Operation. In 2006, he was named General Manager for Aero Energy, a division of GE Energy in Houston, Texas, that supplies aeroderivative gas turbines and packaged generator sets for industrial and marine applications. He returned to GE Aviation in 2008 as VP of the Commercial Engines Operation, a $5 billion business and the world’s leading producer of large and small jet engines for commercial aircraft. Chip was named to his current position on January 1, 2012. From January 1, 2013 through September of 2014 he assumed additional responsibilities and held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Appliances & GE Lighting, an $8 billion dollar business. 

He sits on the board of the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM) and led NAM’s Task Force on Competitiveness & the Workforce. In February 2016, he was elected as a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering.

Chip resides in Louisville, Kentucky, and is married with four children.