GE nominates three new directors to smaller board

(Reuters) - U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co on Monday nominated three new candidates to a streamlined board of directors ahead of a shareholder meeting in April.

GE said the new board will have 12 directors, down from the previous 18, in line with Chief Executive Officer John Flannery's plan to reduce the size.

The three candidates are former Danaher Corp chief executive officer Lawrence Culp, ex-American Airlines Group CEO Thomas Horton and the former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, Leslie Seidman.

Nine of the company's directors will stand for re-election including major shareholder Trian Fund Management's Edward Garden, who was appointed to GE's board in October.

The changes come as Flannery tries to revamp GE into a leaner company by exiting several businesses. The company has also cut jobs to lower costs that have dented profits and disappointed investors.

GE's stock, which fell 45 percent last year and have slipped 17 percent in 2018, rose slightly to $14.56 in premarket trading on Monday.

(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)