Iconic American businessman Jack Welch, who is credited for transforming General Electric (GE) into one of the world’s industrial flagships, died on Monday, GE said. In his two decades of service as chief executive, Jack Welch took GE to great heights. He is considered in the ranks of the world’s most influential men in the global business community. US President Donald Trump expressed grief on Twitter and said that Jack Welch was a friend. “There was no corporate leader like “neutron” Jack. He was my friend and supporter. We made wonderful deals together. He will never be forgotten,” President Trump said. Jack Welch was 84-years-old and is survived by his wife and family.
Jack Welch, who was born into an Irish-American family, supervised GE’s expansion beyond household appliances, healthcare and aeronautics. The company is now into multiple businesses such as finance with GE Capital, and media with NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. “Today is a sad day for the entire GE family. Jack was larger than life and the heart of GE for half a century. He reshaped the face of our company and the business world,” Larry Culp, GE’s current Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. Jack Welch was also a prolific writer. His books on management — “Winning” and “Jack: Straight from the Gut” — were bestsellers at the time of his retirement. After stepping down from GE, Jack Welch became a business consultant and also engaged in public speaking and TV appearances. Jack Welch joined GE in 1981 as a chemical engineer in the plastic division and left the conglomerate in 2001.
Under his leadership, General Electric’s m-cap grew from $12 billion to $410 billion and Jack Welch was dubbed the “manager of the century” by Fortune magazine in 1999. While under his leadership, GE became the world’s second most valuable company after Microsoft, the fortunes of the company have gone south in recent times.