When asked a few years ago whether it was tough to follow in the footsteps of Jack Welch as G.E. chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt ’78 first deflected the often-asked question with a joke, The New York Times reports.
However, G.E. CEO Immelt, a member of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, then answered it seriously, saying, “The trick, if you follow someone famous, is that you’ve got to drive change every day without ever pretending anything was ever wrong. It takes confidence and it takes time.”
G.E.’s recent announcement that it plans to sell off most of its finance unit “punctuates the transformation of the company under Mr. Immelt,” writes the Times.
Noting that the plan will dismantle one of Welch’s major strategic initiatives, the Times turns for comment to Vijay Govindarajan, the Coxe Distinguished Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business.
“Jeff Immelt will have totally remade G.E.,” Govindarajan says. “It’s a different company for a different time.”
Read the full story, published 4/13/15 by The New York Times.