GE has appointed Ali Saleh as President & CEO of GE Healthcare in Saudi Arabia, responsible for driving the company's healthcare operations with a continued focus on bringing GE Healthcare's global experience and innovation to the Kingdom, strengthening public-private partnerships, and promoting GE's healthymagination initiative. Commenting on the appointment, Karim Karti, President & Chief Executive Officer for GE Healthcare's operations in Russia & CIS, Turkey & Central Asia, Middle East and Africa, said: “Saudi Arabia is a key strategic growth market for GE Healthcare where we are proud to have a built strong presence through local partnerships with the Ministry of Health and other private healthcare providers. With deep local expertise and understanding of the Kingdom's healthcare development needs, Ali Saleh will continue to strengthen our operations and partnerships to drive the next stage of growth and development for GE Healthcare in Saudi Arabia." Saleh said: “Today, Saudi Arabia is enhancing its healthcare infrastructure in line with the goals of the Kingdom's Ninth Development Plan, focused on improving access to quality healthcare and managing the growing incidence of lifestyle diseases. GE Healthcare is committed to complementing this developmental approach through a stronger localized approach to the healthcare sector and building the talent base of Saudi healthcare professionals. Our healthymagination initiative, aimed at enhancing access to high quality healthcare for more people at lower costs, will continue to be the bedrock of our operations." Saleh holds a Masters in Systems Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland – College Park. He also holds an Associates degree in Engineering Science from Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, US. With over 20,000 GE healthcare technologies serving nearly 90 percent of the hospitals in the Kingdom today, GE has been working closely with the Ministry of Health to help build a sustainable healthcare model under healthymagination. To promote a healthier lifestyle across the Kingdom, GE also conducted a survey in 2010 to study the health behavior and attitudes of people in relation to health topics. – SG
