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Investing value profile of a famous businessman, investment guru or financial expert. Jack Welch - One of the most well known business leaders and CEOs in the world, Welch is the former Chief Executive Officer of General Electric (GE).  Jack
Welch was CEO of General Electrics for 20 years and known as one of the
best business leaders of all time. He made GE one of the most profitable
companies in the world.Jack Welch was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1935. During his schooling life he attended Salem High School and after graduating moved on to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts. Next Welch moved on to the University of Illinois to complete his Masters and Doctorate degree’s by 1960. In 1960 after graduation Welch joined General Electrics with a starting salary of just $10,500. Not long after starting his new job Welch wanted to leave the company to take a job offered to him at International Minerals & Chemicals because of his low wage and poor company management. Welch felt unappreciated by his boss but must have made quite an impression on an executive named Reuben Gutoff, with Gutoff taking Welch and his first wife to dinner trying to convince Welch to stay with the company promising big changes for the company and Welch. While working at GE Welch helped invent a new plastic called PPO, and soon after he was promoted to general manager of the plastics factory and soon after promoted again to managing the entire plastics division of GE. By 1972 Welch had made a name for himself and was again promoted becoming vice president after only 12 years at GE. After working as vice president for 5 years, in 1977 he became senior vice president and another 2 years later made it to vice chairman. In 1981 Welch made it to the top becoming the companies 8^th and youngest ever CEO. He began streamlining the company immediately and pushing his managers to raise their companies to the top, often firing managers in the bottom 10% and giving the top 20% bonuses. While streamlining the company some of GE’s 350 businesses were closed and the management structure was reduced from twenty-nine levels to only six, with over 100,000 employees’s also losing their jobs. During the 1980’s Welch was nicknamed Neutron Jack because of his strong attitude and leadership and also for wiping out employee’s. Through the 1990’s Welch pushed to modernize GE shifting from manufacturing to services. In 1995 Welch adopted the Six Sigma quality control program intended to increase efficiency and quality to produce zero defective products. Whatever tactics Welch used, whether good or bad the fact remains that he has been one of the most successful company leaders of all time. General Electric’s market value increased while under Welch’s control more than any other company headed by any other CEO. During Welch’s 20 year leadership of GE, its value increased from $12 billion to an amazing $280 billion, which has made it one of the largest and most profitable businesses in the world. In 1999 Jack Welch was named “Manager of the Century” by Fortune Magazine. More notable records include his yearly salary of $94 million and his retirement plan of 8 million a year plus access to the company’s private jets. After 40 years with the company and 20 of them as CEO Welch retired on September 7, 2001. In the same month that he left GE he published a book of his memoirs including his experiences and business strategies, the book is called “Straight From the Gut”. Jack Welch has had four kids with his first wife Carolyn, before they divorced in 1987 after 28 years of marriage. He married his second wife Jane in 1989 and divorced after 14 years in 2003, with an estimated $180 million payout. In 2002 Welch had an affair with Suzy Wetlaufer, editor in chief of the Harvard Business Review while preparing an interview with him for the magazine which lead to his second divorce, He went on to marry Suzy Wetlaufer. In 1995 Welch started an exercise plan including regular games of golf after he had triple bypass surgery, but he still returned to work only 4 months later. Copyright © InvestingValue.com - This Jack Welch Biography may not be redistributed or reproduced online in part or in its entirety. Investing Value> Business Profiles> Jack Welch Biography (Former GE CEO) |