21: Hot Seat: Lessons Learned While Leading a Great American Company with Jeff Immelt, Venture Partner, New Enterprise Associates; Author, “Hot Seat”
Meet Jeff Immelt:
Jeff Immelt served as CEO of General Electric (GE) for 16 years and CEO of GE Healthcare for four years. The leadership lessons that he learned during his time as CEO of GE are told in Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading A Great American Company. He also chaired the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness under the Obama administration. He is a currently a Venture Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Jeff has a B.A. degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
Key Insights:
During his first week as CEO of GE, Jeff was faced with the 9/11 terrorist attacks followed seven years later by the Great Recession. Jeff shares how he managed GE through these crises.
- Why Join GE? I wanted to be an operator. Unlike many in my Harvard Business School class, I did not want to be a consultant or an investment banker. (10:01)
- How Did You Assess the Response to 9/11? All business leaders were asked to provide a snapshot of what still works, what does not work, and how we should anticipate and respond to change. (21:39)
- Healthcare Lessons Learned. Jeff learned that there are many terrific people in healthcare working to help others. Healthcare is behind other industries in application of business principles. (12:33)
- Governance. Size of boards is important. At one time, GE had 18 board members and it was just too big because it’s easy to lose connectivity and focus. (34:43)
