Former General Electric CEO, business teacher and author

In returning power to the little people: the worker and the shareholder, Jack Welch redefined how management should do things.

John Francis “Jack” Welch graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He then pursued further studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he accomplished his Masters and Doctorate. Right after completing his education, he joined General Electric in 1960 as junior engineer.

After a year of working for the company, Jack Welch was ready to quit due to bureaucratization. Upon a company executive’s persuasion, he decided to stay and eventually went on to change the very systems that made him want to leave. He became vice president in 1972, senior vice president in 1977, and vice chairman in 1979. Finally, in 1981, he became GE’s chairman and CEO. What no one foresaw at the time, however, was how Jack Welch would radically transform GE into the competitive global company it is today.

There was one particular philosophy Jack Welch would be notoriously known for. In his opinion, a company should either be #1 or #2 in a particular industry, if not, it should be immediately divested. This attitude of demanding only the best would permeate his entire management approach. He also employed the 20/70/10 rule. Each year, he would fire the bottom 10% of his workforce. He would then graciously reward the top 20% with generous bonuses and stock options. In order to facilitate efficiency and a more effective system, Jack Welch destroyed the 9-layer management hierarchy. With the entire major company overhaul he spearheaded, Jack Welch was nicknamed “Neutron Jack.”

An excellent manager at the end of the day delivers quantifiable results, and Jack Welch is beyond exceptional. In his tenure as GE’s CEO, the company’s market capitalization increased tremendously from $13 billion to $ 400 billion, revenues from $27 billion to $125 billion, and earnings to almost $14 billion.

Today, he regularly writes business articles for BusinessWeek and the New York Times. Together with his wife, Suzy Welch, Jack Welch wrote the #1 Wall Street Journal and international bestseller “Winning.” He also continues to serve as a resource speaker to companies and schools. He currently teaches a course on leadership at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.