Baker Hughes Center to be renamed on Monday with new director

Thursday, June 21, 2018. Photo by Doug Hoke,The Oklahoman

The Baker Hughes Oil and Gas Technology Center in Oklahoma City not only has a new director but on Monday gets a new name.

The Center becomes the BHGE Energy Innovation Center of North America with Taylor Shinn in charge. He replaces Mike Ming, the former Oklahoma Secretary of Energy who served as its general manager since 2014. Ming is retiring.

At the same time, the center is expanding its business goal of helping launch startups and providing them with venture capital.

“We believe that Oklahoma City, with its deep roots in the energy industry and proximity to North America customers, is the ideal backdrop for the center,” said Shinn in an interview with The Oklahoman. “We want to continue to build a technology ecosystem here that encourages the pursuit of ideas, regardless of where they originate, so long as they add value to our customers and support our corporate purpose to invent smarter ways to bring energy to the world.”

He explained the center will continue to support the company’s traditional enterprise technology development but will also search for technology to expand the firm’s products and services. It also intends to create startups and connect them with external venture capital partners.