Big Leadership Changes at GE and Baker Hughes: What Investors Need to Know

"The face of General Electric (NYSE: GE) changed dramatically..." said one report. Others claimed new CEO John Flannery was overseeing a "sweeping makeover" and "tightening his grip" on the company. What does this "management shakeup" mean?

It probably doesn't mean as much as everyone's afraid it does. But it's important for investors -- whose shares in the industrial giant have been on a downward trend this year -- to understand what's happening in the upper management of GE, even if it may not be as big a deal as some people think.

GE's stock has been on a downward trend this year and is the worst performer of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Image source: Getty Images.

Source: Fool.com