GE (NYSE:GE) announced today that GE Healthcare will keep its name after it spins off from its parent company early next year.
Though, new branding capitalizes the “C” in “healthcare” (i.e. GE HealthCare) — a move the company says better demonstrates the healthcare business’s focus on supporting both better health and better care and the interdependency of the two. The new logo also uses a softer font and substitutes the classic GE blue with a soft purple that is meant to evoke compassion.
“We arrived at this decision by listening to the people who know us best: our team members and customers. We learned that GE Healthcare is a name associated with innovation, trust, and reliability, and the monogram symbolizes quality, safety, and trust. At the same time, we knew we had an opportunity to more closely align ourselves to our work supporting patients and providers,” GE Healthcare CEO Peter Arduini said in a news release.
One of the largest medical device businesses’ in the world at nearly $18 billion in annual revenue, the new stand-alone GE HealthCare will trade under the symbol GEHC on the Nasdaq after the planning completion of the spinoff, scheduled for 2023.
GE’s existing energy portfolio of businesses will sit together under the brand name GE Vernova win it spins off in early 2024. GE Aerospace will be the name of GE’s aviation business.
Other major medtech businesses have also sought to rebrand amid these rapidly changing times. For example, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices rebranded as Johnson & Johnson MedTech earlier this year to signal its movement into digital technology.
Rebranding doesn’t always go smoothly. Siemens found itself panned over its decision to rebrand its healthcare business as Siemens Healthineers in 2016. Spun off as a stand-alone business in 2018, it’s held onto the Siemens Healthineers name.
The choices around the GE HealthCare name and logo reflect a promise to solve some tough healthcare challenges, according to company officials.
“You’re going to see our brand evolve to be much more focused on the impact we drive as a healthcare company,” said Kristin Fallon, VP of global brand and digital marketing for the healthcare company. “We are navigating this dynamic between heritage and change — and the desire to more clearly articulate and closely align to our purpose of serving the timeless, universal experience of health. The choice of the name and the choice of the color reflects that.”