Jack Welch, the GE chief who became a superstar, has died

Jack Welch, who transformed General Electric Co. into a highly profitable multinational conglomerate and parlayed his legendary business acumen into a retirement career as a corporate leadership guru, has died. He was 84.

His death was confirmed on Monday by GE. The cause of death was renal failure, his wife Suzy told The New York Times.

Welch became one of the nation's most well-known and highly regarded corporate leaders during his two decades as GE's chairman and chief executive, from 1981 to 2001.

He personified the so-called cult of the CEO during the late-1990s boom, when GE's soaring stock price made it the most valuable company in the world.

 

A chemical engineer by training, Welch transformed the company from a maker of appliances and light bulbs into an industrial and financial services powerhouse. During his tenure, GE's revenue grew nearly fivefold, and the firm's market capitalisation increased 30-fold.

Welch's results-driven management approach and hands-on style were credited with helping GE turn a financial corner, although some of the success came at the expense of thousands of employees who lost their jobs in Welch's relentless efforts to cut costs and rid GE of unprofitable businesses.

In 1999, Fortune magazine named Welch as its Manager of the Century.

For his first book, Jack: Straight From the Gut, Welch received a USD 7.1 million advance. Although released on the very morning of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the book became a best-seller, and led to frequent speaking engagements where he took his candor on stage.

From the day I joined GE to the day I was named CEO, 20 years later, my bosses cautioned me about my candor, Welch wrote in 'Straight from the Gut.'

I was labelled abrasive and consistently warned my candor would soon get in the way of my career ... and I'm telling you that it was candor that helped make it work. Welch did not slow down after leaving GE.

He became a senior advisor with private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2001. He also taught a course on business leadership at MIT's Sloan School of Management in 2006. In 2009, Welch founded the Jack Welch Management Institute, an online MBA program that is now part of Strayer University.

He is survived by his third wife, Suzy Welch, and four children from his first marriage.