The Los Angeles Post
U.S. World Business Lifestyle
Today: April 15, 2025
Today: April 15, 2025

Jack Welch Fast Facts

December 27, 2012

(CNN) โ€” Here is a look at the life of Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric.

Personal

Birth date: November 19, 1935

Death date: March 1, 2020

Birth place: Peabody, Massachusetts

Birth name: John Francis Welch Jr.

Father: John Francis Welch Sr., a train conductor

Mother: Grace (Andrews) Welch

Marriages: Suzy Wetlaufer, journalist (April 24, 2004-March 1, 2020, his death); Jane Beasley, corporate lawyer (1989-2002, divorced); Carolyn Osburn (1959-1987, divorced)

Children: with Carolyn Osburn: Katherine, John, Anne and Mark

Education: University of Massachusetts, 1957, B.S. Chemical Engineering; University of Illinois, 1960, M.S., Ph.D. Chemical Engineering

Other Facts

He was the head of Jack Welch, LLC, established in 2007.

Media had given him the nickname โ€œNeutron Jackโ€ for his no-nonsense approach to business.

Wrote a weekly column in Business Week with his wife Suzy called โ€œThe Welch Way.โ€

Timeline

1960 - Begins career at GE in the Chemical Development Organization as a chemical engineer.

1972 - He is appointed general manager of the worldwide plastics division and becomes a vice president.

1979 - Vice chairman and executive officer.

1981 - He is appointed chairman and CEO, the youngest CEO that General Electric Corporation (GE) has ever had.

1999 - Fortune magazine names Welch โ€œManager of the Century.โ€

September 2001 - Steps down as GE chairman and CEO and is replaced by Jeffrey Immelt.

July 3, 2003 - Announcement is made that his ex-wife Jane Beasley Welch will receive an undisclosed lump sum divorce settlement.

April 13, 2007 - Makes a failed attempt, with other investors, to buy the Boston Globe from New York Times Co.

June 21, 2009 - Pays more than $2 million for 12% stake in Chancellor University System LLC which delivers online education. The MBA program will become the Jack Welch Management Institute.

July 5, 2009 - Is hospitalized and later released after suffering a bacterial infection.

November 2011 - Sells the Jack Welch Management Institute to Strayer University for $7 million. The sale is a 70-30 split with Chancellor University; Welch gets the 70%.

October 9, 2012 - Welch and wife Suzy resign as Fortune magazine and Reuters contributors after his controversial tweet regarding the Obama administration and September unemployment data was criticized by Fortune.

April 4, 2015 - Harper Collins publishes โ€œThe Real-Life MBA,โ€ the new book written by Welch and his wife Suzy.

December 2, 2016 - Welch is named to President-elect Donald Trumpโ€™s newly formed Presidentโ€™s Strategic and Policy Forum. The group, tasked with providing insight and opinions about jobs and the economy, disbands August 2017.

March 1, 2020 - Passes away at the age of 84.

The-CNN-Wire
โ„ข & ยฉ 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Related Articles

Leo the corgi leads dog toy maker to huge success 18-year-old turns dream of opening a barbershop into a reality 'Be resilient': New Orleans fashion designer shares his success story while inspiring youth Xi's new frontline corporate guard showcases his priorities, control
Share This