Presented By:
Krishna Kumar(Batch 2011-13)
AIMS Institute of Management
Studies, Pune
JACK WELCH
Early Life
Jack Welch was born in Salem, Massachusetts and
was Only Child to his parents.
His Father John Welch was a Boston & Maine
Railroad Conductor.
His Mother Grace Welch was a Housewife.
Education
Jack attended Salem High School.
Graduated from Massachusetts
Amherst in 1957 with a Bachelor of
Science Degree in Chemical Engineering.
Welch went on to receive his M.S. and Ph.D at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1960.
Early Jobs Joined General Electric in 1960 as a Junior Engineer in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Very disappointed with strict bureaucracy within General
Electric, and planned to leave.
Later he was named Vice President of G.E. in 1972.
Named Senior Vice President in 1977.
Became Vice Chairman in 1979.
Hit his peak as CEO in 1982. The eighth and
youngest chairman and CEO in history of G.E.
Tenure as CEO of GE:
In an interview with the Financial Times on the Global financial
crisis of 2008–2009, Welch said, “On the face of it, shareholder
value is the dumbest idea in the world because Shareholder
value is a result, not a strategy... your main constituencies are
your employees, your customers and your products.”
He always pushed the managers of the businesses he kept to
become more productive.
He also expanded the broadness of the stock options program at
GE from just top executives to nearly one third of all employees.
GE had increased its market capital tremendously.
However, Welch eliminated basic research, closed
or sold off businesses that were allegedly under-
performing.
During the 1990s, Welch shifted GE business from
manufacturing to financial services through
numerous acquisitions.
Welch adopted Motorola's Six Sigma quality
program in late 1995.
In 1980, the year before Welch became CEO, GE
recorded revenues of roughly $26.8 billion.
Unique Outlook
“You Can’t grow long term if you can’t eat short term”
– Jack Welch
“Anybody can manage short…. Anybody can manage
long... Balancing those two things is what management
is”
– Jack Welch
“An organization's ability to learn, and translate that
learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive
advantage”
-Jack Welch
Criticism:
Some industry analysts claim that Welch is given too much
credit for GE's success. They contend that individual
managers are largely responsible for the company's success.
Welch has also received criticism over the years for an
apparent lack of compassion for the middle class and
working class. By his actions during acquisitions and
wholesale shutdowns of GE business units Welch proved
that his technique of only keeping the units your company
is "good" at you can maximize ROI for the short term.
Jack had four children with his first wife, Carolyn.
They divorced amicably in April 1987 after 28 years
of marriage.
His second wife, Jane Beasley, was a former
mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer. She married Jack in
April 1989, and they divorced in 2003.
While Welch had crafted a prenuptial agreement,
Beasley insisted on a ten-year time limit to its
applicability, and thus she was able to leave the
marriage with an amount believed to be in the range of
$180 million.
Personal Life of Jack Welch:
The third wife of Jack Welch is Suzy Wetlaufer,
who co-authored his 2005 book Winning as Suzy
Welch.
He formerly spent time on the golf course.
Other personal interests such as modern art,
international travel, teaching and attending Red Sox
games.
Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, using every
encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach, and build
self-confidence.
Leaders make sure people not only
see the vision, they live and breathe it.
Leaders get into everyone's skin,
exuding positive energy and optimism.
Leaders inspire risk taking and learning by setting the
example.
What Leaders Do..?
Continuing to Leave Footprints
In Business Leadership
In August 2010, Jack Welch was interviewed by Bill
Hybels on the topic of leadership during The Global
Leadership Summit, which is hosted by Willow Creek
Association.
Jack Welch as Professor:
On January 25, 2006, Welch gave his name to Sacred Heart
University's College of Business, which will be known as
the "John F. Welch College of Business".
Since September 2006, Welch has been teaching a class at
the MIT Sloan School of Management to a hand-picked
group of 30 MBA students with a demonstrated career
interest in Leadership, 2009
BOOKS:
“Winning’’ was a book he co-wrote with his wife Suzy
Welch
Winning the answers: confronting 74
of the toughest questions in business
today.
“Jack, straight from the gut”
#1 National Best Seller List.
“ The Welch Way” a weekly news column
co-written by Jack & Suzy Welch.
Published approximately in 45 various
business magazines.