Stracar, has been chief executive of GE Central and Eastern Europe since 2013, succeeds Mark Hutchinson, who the company said was retiring from GE as of Jan. 1. (http://bit.ly/2mH0tZn)

The U.S. conglomerate, which launched a major rethink of its business late last year, indicated on Tuesday it was looking closely at breaking itself up as it announced more than $11 billion in charges from its long-term care insurance portfolio and new U.S. tax laws.

Europe is the company's largest market outside the United States and currently employs over 92,000 employees at over 900 locations across the region, generating revenues of more than $20 billion. About 30 percent of GE's global patents are filed in Europe.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)