General Electric Company's CFO Is Leaving. Time to Panic?

The news that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) CFO Jeff Bornstein will leave at the end of the year caught the market by surprise. But how much should investors really worry about the news? After all, Bornstein is an industry veteran with 28 years of service to GE, so his departure could be a completely natural move.

However, I happen to think his departure could be something deserving close attention from investors. Here's why.

While the Bornstein announcement could be couched in terms of a natural succession, it's worth noting that when John Flannery was moved up to CEO, Bornstein was also promoted to vice chairman. Indeed, he was supposed to work closely with Flannery to run GE after Jeff Immelt's departure in August. It seems clear that things haven't worked out as originally expected.

Source: Fool.com