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Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way
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Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way

Innovation, Transformation and Winning in the 21st Century

David Magee
McGraw-Hill, 2009
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Background
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Few things are more challenging for a new chief executive than following in the footsteps of a corporate legend, but that is what Jeffrey R. Immelt had to do when he succeeded Jack Welch as chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE). In this comprehensive portrait of a talented young CEO who has overcome tough challenges, David Magee, the author of respected books on Toyota, Nissan, Ford and John Deere, traces Immelt’s rise to the top of GE’s competitive management ladder. Magee provides Immelt’s complete background and limns his GE career with an emphasis on the problems he addressed and the values that support his strategic decisions. getAbstract recommends this saga as a well-reported inside look at global strategy in the making.

Summary

Climbing the Ladder

When Jeffrey R. Immelt assumed the chairmanship of GE in 2001, he stood in the shadow of his legendary predecessor, Jack Welch. During Welch’s 20 years at GE, he cut costs while moving GE’s market capitalization from $14 billion to $400 billion. He also built an international reputation as a tough, astute manager. Welch’s achievements include identifying Immelt as a leader when he was just a new kid in marketing.

Immelt was born in 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Joseph, a retired GE veteran, and his mother, Donna, a teacher, taught him the value of education. He was a top student and football player in high school and, at 6 feet 4 inches (1 meter 93 centimeters) tall, he became captain of Dartmouth’s football team his senior year. He graduated in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics, and took a job at Procter & Gamble. Within a year, he enrolled in Harvard’s M.B.A. program. In 1982, Immelt entered the “commercial leadership” program at GE, the firm’s path to management. He worked in as a sales consultant in marketing at corporate headquarters in Connecticut, where GE listed him as one of 5,000 employees suited for a top...

About the Author

David Magee is the author of How Toyota Became #1; Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan; The John Deere Way and Ford Tough.

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