John Flannery has been named CEO of General Electric, effective Aug. 1.

The company, which is relocating its headquarters to Boston from Connecticut, announced the news Monday morning.

Flannery, 55, current president and CEO of GE Healthcare, will succeed Jeff Immelt, 61, who will remain board chairman through his retirement from the company on Dec. 31, when Flannery will take over the chairmanship.

GE said the succession plan “has been run by the GE board of directors since 2011.”

“During this time of dynamic global markets and relentless focus on technology and operational excellence, there is no better person to lead GE than John Flannery,” Jack Brennan, lead independent director for GE’s board of directors, said in a statement. “He brings unique experience and a strong skill set to the job. John has spent almost half of his career living outside of the United States and has led complex financial and industrial businesses all over the world, including running GE Healthcare, GE in India and the business development team for GE through the successful acquisition of Alstom. John has had a direct influence on the company’s direction, its financial health and its position as the world’s premier digital industrial company.”

Flannery started at GE in 1987 at GE Capital. In the 1990s, he worked in the corporate restructuring, before moving to Argentina where he led GE’s Equity business in Latin America and the overall GE Capital business for Argentina and Chile. He became the president and CEO of GE Equity in 2002, according to the company, and in 2005 he moved to Asia where he was responsible for the Asia Pacific region for GE Capital. He moved to India in 2009, where he focused on the industrial side of the business, and in 2013 he was tapped to lead business development at GE Corporate where he led the acquisition of Alstom, the largest industrial acquisition in the company’s history. He also worked on shrinking GE Capital and the disposition of GE Appliances, according to GE.

“Today’s announcement is the greatest honor of my career,” Flannery said in a statement. “I am privileged to have spent the last 16 years at the company working for Jeff, one of the greatest business leaders of our time. He has transformed the GE portfolio, globalized the company and created a vision for the GE of the future by positioning the company to lead in digital and additive manufacturing. In the next few months, my focus will be on listening to investors, customers and employees to determine the next steps for GE.”

Jeff Bornstein, current CFO, has been promoted to vice chair of GE.