Jeffrey R. Immelt
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Robert "Jeff" Immelt (born February 19, 1956) is an American business executive. He is currently the chairman of the board
and chief executive officer
of the U.S.-based conglomerate
General Electric
. He was selected by GE's Board of Directors in 2000 to replace Jack Welch
following his retirement. Previously, Immelt had headed up GE's Medical Systems division (now known as GE Healthcare
) as its President and CEO.
, the son of Donna Rosemary (née Wallace), a school teacher, and Joseph Francis Immelt, who managed the General Electric Aircraft Engines Division. Immelt attended Finneytown High School
; he played football in college and was an offensive tackle. He holds an A.B. in Applied Mathematics
from Dartmouth College
where he currently serves on the board of trustees and was president of his fraternity, Phi Delta Alpha, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School
. He has been with GE since 1982 and is on the board of two non-profit organizations, one of which is the Robin Hood Foundation
, a charitable organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City
.
His tenure as chairman and CEO started off on a low note - he took over the role on September 7, 2001, just four days before the terrorist attacks on the United States, which killed two employees and cost GE's insurance business $600 million, as well as having a direct effect on the company's Aircraft Engines sector.
Immelt was named to Time magazine
's 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. He was also named one of the five worst Non-Financial-Crisis-Related CEOs of 2008 by the Free Enterprise Action Fund
. Since taking over, GE's stock has dropped nearly 60%. Recently, Immelt has been criticized by Fox News Channel
's Bill O'Reilly
for business transactions between GE and Iran, the country which has reportedly been attacking U.S. forces in Iraq. O'Reilly went as far as to say, "If my child were killed in Iraq, I would blame the likes of Jeffrey Immelt". GE's website claims that the company stopped doing business in Iran in 2005 (and finished all contracts by 2008).
According to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission, Immelt lives with his wife Andrea in New Canaan, Connecticut
.
to provide the president and his administration with advice and counsel in fixing America's economic downturn.
On January 21, 2011, President Obama announced Immelt's appointment as chairman of his outside panel of economic advisers, succeeding former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker
. The New York Times reported that Obama's appointment of Immelt was "another strong signal that he intends to make the White House more business-friendly." Immelt will retain his post at G.E. while becoming "chairman of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a newly named panel that President Obama is creating by executive order." Despite this, in July 2011 Immelt's General Electric announced that it is in the process of relocating its X-ray division from Wisconsin
to China
. Immelt had previously referred to China as GE's "second home market".
at Dartmouth College, of which he is an alumnus. He gave the college commencement address and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Dartmouth, in June 2004. In the years that followed, Immelt gave the commencement address at Northeastern University (2006), Pepperdine University
on April 29, 2006, the Georgia Institute of Technology
on May 5, 2007, the University of Notre Dame
on May 20, 2007, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
on May 17, 2008, and Michigan State University
on December 11, 2010, receiving honorary doctorates from all six as well. He was the commencement speaker on May 23, 2010, at Hamilton College and on May 24, 2010, at Boston College
. He addressed the undergraduate class of 2011 of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on May 23, 2011, and received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree despite controversy at the school over GE's corporate tax strategies.
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Chairman of the Board
The Chairman of the Board is a seat of office in an organization, especially of corporations.Chairman of the Board may also refer to:*Chairman of the Board , a 1998 film*Chairmen of the Board , a 1970s American soul music group...
and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the U.S.-based conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. He was selected by GE's Board of Directors in 2000 to replace Jack Welch
Jack Welch
John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr. is an American chemical engineer, business executive, and author. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001...
following his retirement. Previously, Immelt had headed up GE's Medical Systems division (now known as GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is itself a division of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered...
) as its President and CEO.
Life and career
Immelt was born in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, the son of Donna Rosemary (née Wallace), a school teacher, and Joseph Francis Immelt, who managed the General Electric Aircraft Engines Division. Immelt attended Finneytown High School
Finneytown High School
Finneytown High School is a public high school in Springfield Township . The school is part of the Finneytown Local School District, whose mascot is the Wildcat.-Academics:...
; he played football in college and was an offensive tackle. He holds an A.B. in Applied Mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
where he currently serves on the board of trustees and was president of his fraternity, Phi Delta Alpha, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. He has been with GE since 1982 and is on the board of two non-profit organizations, one of which is the Robin Hood Foundation
Robin Hood Foundation
The Robin Hood Foundation is a charitable organization, which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York, United States.-History:Founded in 1988, Robin Hood was the brainchild of hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones...
, a charitable organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
His tenure as chairman and CEO started off on a low note - he took over the role on September 7, 2001, just four days before the terrorist attacks on the United States, which killed two employees and cost GE's insurance business $600 million, as well as having a direct effect on the company's Aircraft Engines sector.
Immelt was named to Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
's 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. He was also named one of the five worst Non-Financial-Crisis-Related CEOs of 2008 by the Free Enterprise Action Fund
Free Enterprise Action Fund
The Free Enterprise Action Fund was a mutual fund operated by Steven Milloy and Tom Borelli, with the goal of counterbalancing the activities of self-described ethical investment funds...
. Since taking over, GE's stock has dropped nearly 60%. Recently, Immelt has been criticized by Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
's Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
for business transactions between GE and Iran, the country which has reportedly been attacking U.S. forces in Iraq. O'Reilly went as far as to say, "If my child were killed in Iraq, I would blame the likes of Jeffrey Immelt". GE's website claims that the company stopped doing business in Iran in 2005 (and finished all contracts by 2008).
According to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission, Immelt lives with his wife Andrea in New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
.
Obama administration
In February 2009, Immelt was appointed as a member to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory BoardPresident's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
The President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, originally the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, is a panel of non-governmental experts from business, labor, academia and elsewhere that President of the United States Barack Obama created on February 6, 2009. The board reports...
to provide the president and his administration with advice and counsel in fixing America's economic downturn.
On January 21, 2011, President Obama announced Immelt's appointment as chairman of his outside panel of economic advisers, succeeding former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker
Paul Volcker
Paul Adolph Volcker, Jr. is an American economist. He was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan from August 1979 to August 1987. He is widely credited with ending the high levels of inflation seen in the United States in the 1970s and...
. The New York Times reported that Obama's appointment of Immelt was "another strong signal that he intends to make the White House more business-friendly." Immelt will retain his post at G.E. while becoming "chairman of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, a newly named panel that President Obama is creating by executive order." Despite this, in July 2011 Immelt's General Electric announced that it is in the process of relocating its X-ray division from Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Immelt had previously referred to China as GE's "second home market".
Compensation
As CEO of General Electric in 2007, Immelt earned a total compensation of $14,209,267, which included a base salary of $3,300,000, a cash bonus of $5,800,000, stocks granted of $4,713,000, and options granted of $0. In 2008, he earned a total compensation of $5,717,469, which included a base salary of $3,300,000, stocks granted of $2,044,650, and other compensation of $372,819. He waived his bonus in 2008. In 2009, Immelt earned a total compensation of $5,487,155, which included a base salary of $3,300,000, a cash bonus of $0, stocks granted of $1,791,000, and options granted of $0.Commencement addresses
After becoming chairman of GE, Immelt delivered his first commencement address to the 2001 graduating class of the Thayer School of EngineeringThayer School of Engineering
Thayer School of Engineering is a graduate school at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States, whose faculty also double as the undergraduate Department of Engineering Sciences. The school was established in 1867 with funds from Brig. Gen...
at Dartmouth College, of which he is an alumnus. He gave the college commencement address and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Dartmouth, in June 2004. In the years that followed, Immelt gave the commencement address at Northeastern University (2006), Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
on April 29, 2006, the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
on May 5, 2007, the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
on May 20, 2007, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private university located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States.Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities...
on May 17, 2008, and Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
on December 11, 2010, receiving honorary doctorates from all six as well. He was the commencement speaker on May 23, 2010, at Hamilton College and on May 24, 2010, at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. He addressed the undergraduate class of 2011 of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on May 23, 2011, and received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree despite controversy at the school over GE's corporate tax strategies.
Further reading
- David Magee, 2009, Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way: Innovation, Transformation, and Winning in the 21st Century, McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-160587-8
- The Immelt Revolution, businessweek, 2005
External links
- General Electric, Executive Bio and Photo
- September 2009 speech by Immelt regarding GE Healthcare
- Leading Questions: GE's Jeff Immelt, Interview with BBC Business
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