- Editorial:
- SCRIBNER
- ISBN:
- 978-1-9821-7244-2
HOT SEAT: WHAT I LEARNED LEADING A GREAT AMERICAN COMPANY
JEFF IMMELT
A fascinating and candid memoir about successful leadership from the former CEO of General Electric, named one of the ';World's Best CEOs' three times by Barron's, and the hard-won lessons he learned from his experience leading GE immediately after 9/11, through the devastating 200809 financial crisis, and into an increasingly globalized world.
In September 2001, Jeff Immelt replaced the most famous CEO in history, Jack Welch, at the helm of General Electric. Less than a week into his tenure, the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook the nation, and the company, to its core. GE was connected to nearly every part of the tragedyGE-financed planes powered by GE-manufactured engines had just destroyed real estate that was insured by GE-issued policies. Facing an unprecedented situation, Immelt knew his response would set the tone for businesses everywhere that looked to GEone of America's biggest and most-heralded corporationsfor direction. No pressure.
Over the next sixteen years, Immelt would lead GE through many more dire moments, from the 200809 Global Financial Crisis to the 2011 meltdown of Fukushima's nuclear reactors, which were designed by GE. But Immelt's biggest challenge was inherited: Welch had handed over a company that had great people, but was short on innovation. Immelt set out to change GE's focus by making it more global, more rooted in technology, and more diverse. But the stock market rarely rewarded his efforts, and GE struggled.
