Jack Welch

Biography

John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive. He was chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001. During his 20-year tenure, GE's market value grew from $14 billion to $600 billion, and he has frequently been cited as one of the greatest chief executives of the twentieth century.

Under Welch, GE acquired the RCA Corporation in 1986 and expanded aggressively into financial services through GE Capital, which came to account for 40% of the company's revenue. He also restructured GE around a philosophy that each of its business units must rank first or second in its market, shedding those that did not meet that standard. By th...