Jack Welch, who led General Electric for 20 years, died at the age of 84.
The iconic businessman died at his home Sunday, surrounded by family, due to renal failure, his wife Suzy said Monday.
GE under Welch grew from a $12 billion company to a $410 billion giant, becoming one of the world’s most valuable companies.
On retiring after being chairman and CEO of the company between 1981 and 2001, Welch received a $417 million severance payment, the largest of such payments at the time.
President Trump called Welch a “friend and supporter” who “will never be forgotten” and gave his “warmest sympathies” to Welch’s family.
Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of GE, a business legend, has died. There was no corporate leader like “neutron” Jack. He was my friend and supporter. We made wonderful deals together. He will never be forgotten. My warmest sympathies to his wonderful wife & family!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2020
The son of a railroad conductor, Welch earned the title “manager of the century” for his leadership of GE.
Growing up in Peabody, Massachusetts, Welch worked during his time in middle school and high school as a golf caddy, a newspaper boy, and a shoe salesman. He attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and majored in chemical engineering. He joined GE in 1960 as a junior chemical engineer.
During the following year, Welch considered quitting his job because of his compensation and the bureaucracy of the company. He stayed, however, because of a promise that the company would slash red tape. The following year, 1963, Welch was in charge of a team that caused an explosion that blew off the company’s roof, which nearly got him fired.
As CEO of GE, Welch sought to streamline the company and make it less of a bureaucracy, in part by hiring people with small business experience. Each year, he would fire the bottom 10% of managers based upon performance and give bonuses to the top 20%. He also broadened the number of employees who could take stock options from a small list of executives to one-third of the company’s employees.
