Jeff Immelt

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Jeffrey Robert Immelt (born February 19, 1956) is an American manufacturing executive working as a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He previously was the CEO of General Electric from 2001 to 2017, and the CEO of GE's Medical Systems division from 1997 to 2000.<ref name="Jeffrey R. Immelt"/> Immelt's tenure saw GE's largest divestments in the company's history, as the company sold almost two-thirds of its subsidiaries and assets.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life and education

Immelt was born on February 19, 1956,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp in Cincinnati, the son of Donna Rosemary (née Wallace), a school teacher, and Joseph Francis Immelt, who managed the General Electric Aircraft Engines Division.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bookref1">Template:Cite book</ref>

Immelt attended Finneytown Secondary Campus.<ref name=":3" /> There he captained the football and basketball teams.<ref name=":2" />Template:Rp In college he played football and was an offensive tackle.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> He earned an A.B. in applied mathematics and economics cum laude<ref name="engineering.dartmouth.edu">Template:Cite web</ref> from Dartmouth College in 1978. He was president of his fraternity, Phi Delta Alpha.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During his years at Dartmouth he worked summers on a Ford assembly line in Cincinnati;<ref name=":4" /> after graduating he worked for Procter & Gamble, where he shared a cubicle with Steve Ballmer, who went on to become CEO of Microsoft.<ref name=":2" />Template:Rp He obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1982<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> and described business school as "one of the most intense times of your life."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was later offered to work for Morgan Stanley, which he declined. Instead, he wanted to work for General Electric like his father.<ref name=":2" />Template:Rp

General Electric

File:Jeffrey Immelt.jpg

Immelt at the U.S. Climate Action Partnership in January 2007

Immelt joined General Electric in 1982, working in GE's plastics, appliances, and healthcare businesses. He became a GE corporate officer in 1989, joined the GE Capital board in 1997<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and took the reins of the corporate leadership of GE HealthcareTemplate:Citation needed before assuming his position as CEO in 2001.

Tenure as CEO

Four days after Immelt became CEO,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the September 11 attacks took place which cost GE's insurance division $600 million, killed two employees and directly affected the company's Aircraft Engines sector.Template:Citation needed After becoming CEO, Immelt offered an expanded set of financial reports in addition to GE's traditional format.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Immelt participated actively in mergers and acquisitions,<ref name="Immelt and GE, 10 years in"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> purchasing Amersham PLC for $9.5 billion in 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Alstom's power business for approximately €12.4  billion in 2015.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Immelt sold GE's plastics business for $11.6 billion in 2007,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> NBC Universal for $8 billion in 2013,<ref name="Immelt and GE, 10 years in">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and GE's appliances business for $3.3 billion in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015, GE announced it would sell its real estate holdings for $26.5 billion and most of GE Capital's assets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During Immelt's tenure as CEO, the company's financial performance suffered considerably, as shares of GE dropped 30 percent, while the S&P 500 rose by 134% over the same period of time, which had led to suspicions of his managerial competencies to be called into question when running the day-to-day operations of the corporation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> GE restated its earnings in 2005<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and agreed to pay the SEC $50 million to settle allegations of accounting fraud in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

GE received aid from the Federal Reserve while not paying federal income taxes became a political issue in the 2016 presidential campaign,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> although GE did pay taxes in other jurisdictions.Template:Citation needed At the end of 2012, over $100 billion had been kept offshore to avoid a special federal repatriation tax.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015, GE announced a repatriation program for part of its cash balances.Template:Citation needed In 2016, GE moved its headquarters from Connecticut to Massachusetts, citing Connecticut's tax increases.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Immelt had an empty private jet following his own private jet, in case there were delays with his primary jet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Employment

At the end of 2001 when Immelt replaced Jack Welch, GE employed 219,000 worldwide and 125,000 in the US, as reported in its SEC Form 10K for 2001. GE's SEC Form 10K for 2014 states that worldwide employment is 305,000, and US employment is 136,000. These employment levels have varied significantly under Immelt.Template:Citation needed

General Electric year end employment has varied from 273,000 in 2010 to 305,000 in 2014, a net increase of 37,000. Employment had dropped from 315,000 in 2002 to 307,000 in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Executive compensation and retirement

Immelt's executive compensation has fluctuated significantly throughout his managerial career. As CEO of General Electric in 2007, Immelt received a total compensation of $14,209,267.<ref name="equilar.com"/> In 2008, he received a total compensation of $5,717,469.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, Immelt received a total compensation of $5,487,155.<ref name="equilar.com">[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> In 2010, Immelt's compensation nearly tripled to $15.2 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Immelt had a total five year compensation of $53.82 million through 2011, an income which ranked sixth among executives employed by US-based conglomerates. Some components of his total compensation package over the years have been newsworthy. In some years he was granted stock options at $0, and in other years he was paid no bonus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014 his compensation totalled $18.8 million,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a decrease from his 2013 compensation of $25.8 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That 2013 compensation had risen 20% over his 2012 compensation of $20.6 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On June 12, 2017, GE announced that Immelt would retire as CEO and would be replaced by John L. Flannery.<ref name=nyt-ge>Template:Cite news</ref> Immelt stepped down in October 2017.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

Later career

Uber

Immelt was initially a top candidate to become CEO of Uber, replacing founder Travis Kalanick. He was initially Kalanick's favorite for the post, in part because he was still open to Kalanick still having a significant role.<ref name=SuperPumped>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp However, Immelt's presentation before the board was poorly received; one director called it "a bad joke," and even Kalanick soured on him.<ref name=SuperPumped/>Template:Rp Immelt withdrew from consideration after a director privately told him he had no chance at getting the job.<ref name=SuperPumped/>Template:Rp

athenahealth

On February 7, 2018, Immelt became the executive chairman of the board at athenahealth, a private American health care company that provides network-enabled services for point-of-care mobile apps.<ref name=":0" /> Immelt joined the board of directors of Radiology Partners two weeks later.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On June 6, 2018, Immelt was named executive chairman of athenahealth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Athenahealth was later acquired by Veritas Capital in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tuya Smart

Immelt became a board member of Tuya Smart in September 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Immelt attended the Consumer Electronics Show in 2020 on behalf of Tuya Smart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Built Robotics

On June 30, 2020, Immelt was announced as an advisor to Built Robotics, a company develops vehicular automation hardware and software. He joined Eric Sellman, Vice President of Civil at Mortenson, in the role.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Philanthropy

Charitable activities

Immelt is also an active philanthropist. He is on the board of two non-profit organizations.<ref name="Jeffrey R. Immelt">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was a Charter Trustee of his alma mater, Dartmouth, from 2008 to 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has also served Dartmouth on its Alumni Council and as a class officer.<ref name="Board of Trustees">Template:Cite web</ref>

Immelt has spoken about the benefits of football to his career. He announced a series of initiatives with NFL Commissioner Goodell including a GE investment of $40 million to develop diagnostic equipment for use in head trauma injuries, and GE's participation in a separate $20 million effort to develop safer helmets and other equipment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The GE Foundation has been praised for its charitable contributions under Immelt's leadership.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Immelt has returned to his hometown High School, Finneytown, to contribute to the Finneytown Schools Education Foundation. The Foundation established the Jeff Immelt Award for leadership in football.<ref name="Most Likely to Succeed">Template:Cite web</ref>

Public service

Immelt was chairman of The Business Council from 2005 to 2006.<ref name="business">Template:Cite web</ref>

Immelt was as a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2006 to 2011.<ref name="Jeffrey R. Immelt"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As one of America's top CEOs, Immelt has been a leading proponent of diversity in the work place, saying "If you're serious about ... making the world work better, the only discriminating factor should be excellence. In other words, GE is committed to diversity ...[because] ... it's the only way to do business right ... [GE is] committed to employing a diverse workforce with the most innovative minds in the world."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Immelt was appointed to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board in 2009<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and appointed chairman in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The council met four times, ending on January 17, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honors

Jeff Immelt has earned significant honors throughout his career, beginning with his graduation from Dartmouth cum laude and earning the Earl Hamilton Varsity Award, as a college football player, for friendship and character. Later in 2002, he received the Robert Fletcher Award from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering.<ref name="Board of Trustees"/>

Career honors

Barron's has named Immelt one of the "World's Best CEOs" three times;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> other outlets have criticized his performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is a member of The American Academy of Arts & Sciences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Financial Times named him "Man of the Year" in 2003.<ref name="Jeffrey R. Immelt"/> Immelt was named to Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2009, Immelt won the Oslo Business for Peace Award, an award chosen by winners of the Nobel Prizes in Economics and Peace and given to managerial executives in the private sector who have demonstrated transformative and positive change through ethical business practices.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Immelt was awarded the 2014 American Football Coaches Association Tuss McLaughry Award, given to a distinguished American (or Americans) for the highest distinction in service to others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In accepting the award, he said "I am a product of football and I owe a great debt of gratitude to that system. What I learned playing football enters my life every day."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2015, Immelt won the 20th edition of the Leonardo International Prize "as a foreigner who reinforced his country's cultural and economic ties with Italy."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 24 December 2015, Immelt was ranked by the British online business blog and magazine Richtopia at number 50 in the list of 500 Most Influential CEOs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, Immelt was honored with an Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his executive managerial career.Template:Citation needed

Personal life

Immelt is married to his wife Andrea and they have one daughter, Sarah.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two met as colleagues in General Electric.<ref name=":2" />Template:Rp They lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, until 2015.<ref>"GE CEO Jeff Immelt Sells New Canaan Mansion: Report Template:Webarchive," Patch, May 11, 2017.</ref> They then purchased a home in Boston.<ref>Madeline Billis, "General Electric’s CEO Bought a Home in Boston" Template:Webarchive, Boston, May 6, 2016.</ref>

Further reading

• David Magee, 2009, Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way: Innovation, Transformation, and Winning in the 21st Century, McGraw-Hill Professional. Template:ISBN
• 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
• Template:C-SPAN

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