Straight-talking American CEO
JACKWelch had a simple yet brutal method of how to streamline a company – fire the bottom ten per cent of employees each year without fail.
It earned him the nickname “neutron Jack” during his 20-year tenure at General Electric as 100,000 workers lost their jobs under the hard-nosed leader.
His ruthlessness did win him favour with shareholders. G.E’s stocks were valued at $410 billion (£310bn) when he left the American conglomerate in 2001.
Welch famously once said: “Strong managers who make tough decisions to cut jobs provide the only true job security in today’s world.Weak managers are the problem.Weak managers destroy jobs.”
Welch’s success stemmed from diversifying the business into emerging markets while closing unproductive factories.
In 1999 he was named Fortune magazine’s “Manager of the
Century” but he had to defend his decisions in retirement following the global financial crash in 2008.
He was born into an IrishAmerican, Catholic family in Peabody, Massachusetts.
His father John Sr was a railroad conductor while his mother was a housewife.
As a childWelch had a slight stutter but his mother imbued him with confidence, telling him: “It’s because you’re so smart. No one’s tongue could keep up with a brain like yours.”
After studying gaining a PhD in chemical engineering, he joined G.E. in 1960 as an engineer in its plastics section. Dissatisfied with his job, he ascended the ranks and was running the division within a few years.
He became G.E’s youngest ever vice-president in 1972 and its youngest CEO aged 45 in 1981.
He married three times and is survived by four children by his first wife Carolyn Osburn.