NY – US executive Jack Welch, known as “Neutron Jack” for the aggressive management style with which he multiplied the value of General Electric (GE) during the two decades he was at his head, died yesterday at age 84, he reported today The industrial conglomerate.
“Jack was a great figure and the heart of GE for half a century. He remodeled the face of our company and the business world. We will continue to pay tribute to his legacy by doing exactly what Jack would want us to do: win, “current CEO (Larry Culp) said in a statement.
Welch started at GE as a chemical engineer in 1960, became CEO in 1981 and upon retirement, in 2001, he had multiplied the value of the firm by thirty with a controversial strategy focused on results: he sold the least profitable divisions and urged middle managers to lay off their less productive employees.
In figures, during those two decades Welch made GE go from being valued at $ 14,000 million to be the largest company in the market, with $ 410,000 million; closed a thousand sales agreements and, in his first years as CEO, eliminated about 100,000 jobs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Among the figures that today lamented his loss was US President Donald Trump, who considered Welch “a business legend” in a Twitter message: “There was no corporate leader like ‘neutron’ Jack. It was my friend and ally. We made amazing deals together. He will never be forgotten. My warm condolences to his wonderful wife and family. “
In recent years, the executive guru came to declare himself “disappointed” by the future of this company founded in 1892 by Thomas Edison, who felt strongly the impact of the financial crisis of 2008, especially in its GE Capital division, also stressed for the hidden costs, and that today is going through a complicated restructuring process.
In 2019, GE had losses of $ 5,439 million, substantially less than the previous year, while still focused on strengthening its energy division, reducing its debt and generating cash through its business of manufacturing jet engines and energy turbines.
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