GE also announced that Geoff Culbert would succeed Sargent.

In 2008, Sargent was appointed a vice-president and officer of the General Electric Company. He was the first Australian to be appointed to this position.

Sargent is a member of the Australian B20 Leadership Group and coordinating chair of the B20 Human Capital Taskforce.

He is a member of Joe Hockey's Financial Sector Advisory Council and a non-executive director on the board of Bond University.

He is president of the American Chamber of Commerce and a director on the board of the Business Council of Australia, as well as a Fellow with the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Sargent started his career in Australia with Westpac Banking Corporation after graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree from Charles Sturt University.

“For me, the opportunity to lead GE’s Global Mining business brings with it new challenges and I’m excited about our potential for future growth as the mining industry rebounds,” he said.

Under Sargent’s leadership, GE has repositioned itself from being known principally as a finance company, to being highly regarded as a leading technology company known for innovation.

GE has benefited from the huge investment in the oil and gas boom in the region, building one of GE’s largest oil & gas footprints in the world and increasing its services backlog by 300%.

Since 2010, industrial revenues have also grown 40% across its technology businesses including transportation, aviation, healthcare and energy.

Culbert said: “GE has enjoyed tremendous success in this region over the past decade and I see a strong future for growth here. This is especially true for our infrastructure technology businesses where we are working closely with our customers and communities in the areas of cleaner energy, resources and healthcare. I am delighted to be returning to Australia for this role.”

Culbert joined GE in Australia in 2002 and has held several global leadership roles based in Asia over the past seven years. He returns to Australia from his most recent role as VP and General Counsel, GE Global Growth Organisation, where he led a global team of over 100 legal and compliance professionals.

“Having held the role of regional A&NZ CEO for GE, and GE Capital, for nearly nine years, I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a team,” Sargent said.

“In that time, I have worked alongside Geoff on many projects and deals. He brings strong leadership, business acumen and GE cultural and customer values to the role. I know that he will do an outstanding job in steering GE through its next phase of growth in the region.”

Both appointments are effective immediately and will be based in Sydney.