General Electric CFO ‘Hated’ Fairfield Headquarters: Report

FAIRFIELD, CT — As General Electric continues to settle into its new home in Boston, Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Bornstein said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he “hated” the company’s former headquarters in Fairfield and that there was very little activity in the area, comparing it to a morgue.

In the interview, Bornstein, who the WSJ says helped lead the charge to Boston, discusses what led to the decision to bolt the Fairfield headquarters the company called home for more than 40 years. (To sign up for Fairfield breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Bornstein said the “financial stuff was the second priority” and that they were looking for a financial package that was “good enough” and that they really wanted to be part of the ecosystem in Boston with close proximity to several educational institutions as the company continues to reinvent its business.

Bornstein also said in the interview that they knew from the get-go they would move to a city and he revealed that Boston didn’t even offer the most money.

See also:

• Boston Bound: GE Makes Its Decision
• Malloy: GE’s Move to Boston ‘Hurts’
• GE Campus Sold to Sacred Heart University

While Bornstein said the former GE headquarters was situated on a “very beautiful property in Fairfield” it was very isolated and difficult to attract talent. Bornstein is very involved with the design and feel of the new Boston headquarters, which is expected to be finished in 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“If you saw where we were in Fairfield County, it was a morgue,” Bornstein said in the interview. “Very little activity. I hated it.”

Read more at The Wall Street Journal here.

Photo via Sacred Heart University