Jack Welch, who spearheaded General Electric’s rapid expansion, dies at 84
- Welch – known as ‘Neutron Jack’ for cutting thousands of jobs – expanded the industrial giant into financial services and consulting
- ‘We made wonderful deals together. He will never be forgotten,’ Trump tweeted
Jack Welch, who grew General Electric during the 1980s and 1990s into the most valuable public company in the United States, has died at age of 84, the conglomerate said on Monday.
Welch – known as “Neutron Jack” for cutting thousands of jobs – bought and sold scores of businesses, expanding the industrial giant into financial services and consulting.
Under him, GE’s market value grew from US$12 billion to US$410 billion. But his push to build out the GE Capital financing business nearly proved the undoing of the entire enterprise during the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, and GE now trades at a fraction of its peak value.
In December 1980, it was announced he would succeed CEO Reginald Jones and in April 1981 he took over as the company’s eighth chairman and CEO. He served in that position until he retired in September 2001, succeeded by Jeff Immelt.