February 22, 2016:
As a member of the Class of 2011, it has been barely five years since Anthony Mensah-Kumah graduated from Ashesi with a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems. Those years have set the foundation for a promising career of leadership for Anthony, as he grows in his finance role at General Electric (GE).
A year after he graduated, Anthony was recruited by GE Ghana to join the company’s one-year Early Career Development Program (ECDP). During that time, he received two awards – one for ‘External Focus’ in GE Ghana and one for ‘Clear Thinker’ in GE Africa – for his contributions to GE Healthcare’s work across the continent.
Anthony receives his Financial Management Programme completion award
“From my first leadership class as a freshman at Ashesi, with Dr. Patrick Awuah, I knew I wanted to work for a company like GE,” Anthony says. “We learned about GE and its former CEO Jack Welch, his four E’s – Energy, Energisers, Edge and Execute – and his emphasis on integrity, intelligence and passion. The company’s values were very much in line with mine.”
Upon completing the ECDP, Anthony decided to focus more on a career in finance, and was accepted into GE’s Financial Management Program (FMP). The FMP is an intensive two-year early career program spanning four rotational assignments. These assignments may include: financial planning, accounting, operations analysis, auditing, forecasting, treasury/cash management, or commercial finance.
Combining coursework, intensive job assignments and interactive seminar, the programme equips participants with exceptional technical, financial and business skills. The FMP is led by senior GE professionals and mentors, and is committed to developing world-class financial leaders for exciting careers. Desired characteristics for candidates include academic excellence, demonstrated leadership ability, strong communication, interpersonal and influencing skills.
Anthony, with GE CEO, Jeff Immelt
“It has been a great experience on FMP and I have received greater than expected exposure, personal development and professional development within a short time,” Anthony explains. “I received a GE Africa award for ‘Delivering Results in an Uncertain World’, for completing a valuation project for GE South Africa in one of my FMP assignments. During my two years on the FMP, I have worked in South Africa, Kenya and the U.S. I have also had the opportunity to experience several countries around the world for work, classes and conferences.”
As an FMP graduate, Anthony looks forward to continuing his professional development in finance, and engaging more challenging roles in his career.
“There are many more leadership programs within GE that provide opportunities to further my career and I look forward to joining them,” he says. “I believe the FMP has equipped me with both the soft and technical finance skills to take up increased responsibility.”
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