Jeffrey R. Immelt
Jeffrey R. Immelt
Jeffrey Robert "Jeff" Immeltis 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 as GE's CEO by their Board of Directors in 2000 to replace Jack Welch upon Welch's retirement from GE. Previously, Immelt had headed up GE's Medical Systems divisionas its President and CEO...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth19 February 1956
CountryUnited States of America
antiquated basically everybody means pay people policy rate tax
I think we should have basically the same tax policy that Germany, Japan, the U.K., everybody else has, which is a tax rate in the mid-20s and no loopholes. Zero. The U.S. has the most antiquated tax system. And that means some people are going to pay more taxes, and some people are going to pay less.
family people work
The one thing that people don't get about GE is that, to the people who work here, it's not a company. It's not just a job. You feel like you're part of a 120-year-old ever-growing, ever-improving family.
people listening important
I love working with customers. Sales has really influenced everything I do. It has instilled in me the important traits of operating with a sense of urgency and listening to people.
jobs people important
And people is the most important part of my job. I spend one third of my time on people.
views people bigs
Seeing people in person is a big part of how you drive any change process. You have to show people a positive view of the future and say "we can do it"
business play people
In business as in life, sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes good things happen to bad people. But over time, if you play long enough, everybody gets what he deserves.. good and bad.
differences people making-a-difference
The reason people come to work for GE, they want to be apart of something bigger than themselves, they want to work for a company that makes a difference, a company that is doing great things in the world.
running people long
People ought to invest in us because they like our company and the way they run it. We still do quarterly earnings guidance, but we tell people openly that they ought to look at the company for the long term and that's how they ought to invest.
thinking numbers people
I think there's a need for somewhat of a mindset change. We need to have a consistent external focus. We've always had the research labs. We've always had the resources to be innovative, and we've been innovative in a number of businesses. But, in any big company, you have to constantly push people to look at markets and customers, rather than look internally at themselves.
companies notion
I think this notion that it's the population of the U.S. against the big companies is just wrong.
factories fallen seen site stuff visit
When you take over a company like GE, you think you're going to visit 100 businesses. You're going to go see the factories you haven't seen before. You're going to see a site in Texas and one in Canada and stuff like that. That has fallen by the wayside.
business expertise great leaders provide
Business leaders should provide expertise in service of our country. My predecessors at GE have done so, as have leaders of many other great American companies.
certain except future great invest learned risk
I have learned that nothing is certain except for the need to have strong risk management, a lot of cash, the willingness to invest even when the future is unclear, and great people.
days handled looked lying wrong
I'd be lying if I didn't say there were days when I went back and said, 'I wish I'd done this. I should have done that. I handled this the wrong way.' But it's always in the motivation of getting better. I've never once looked in the mirror and said, 'Oh boy, can't do this one.'