John Francis "Jack" Welch Jr.[1]​ (Peabody "Peabody (Massachusetts)"), Massachusetts; November 19, 1935-Manhattan, New York; March 1, 2020)[2]​ was an American businessman, writer, and engineer.[3]​.

Born into a family of Irish origin, Jack studied chemical engineering and joined General Electric in 1960, where he rose through the ranks to become CEO in 1985, replacing Reginald Jones.[4] During his tenure, the company's profits rose to $410 billion, making it one of the largest companies in the world. Welch was later director of Jack Welch, LLC, a company that provides advice to companies.[5] Welch remained in office until September 2001, being replaced by Jeff Immelt,[6]​ architect of General Electric's decision to abandon the financial business to focus on its origins: the industrial sector.[4]​.

His boss, who saw an unusual talent in him, invited him to dinner to make him give up his idea, promising to relocate him to another position in the corporation. They didn't know it, but that four-hour dinner would be a central milestone in the history of General Electric.

Welch had a meteoric career, reaching the vice presidency of the company at just 37 years old. Finally, in 1981, at 45, he became the youngest CEO in the history of the company founded a century ago by the brilliant inventor, Thomas Alva Edison.[7]​.

From the comfortable central chair of the board of directors, Welch worked tirelessly throughout the 1980s to make the elephantine GE a dynamic and competitive company. He restructured the company, purged the bureaucracy and adopted new and fearsome efficiency methods. Every year, Welch fired the bottom 10% of managers while rewarding the top 20% with salary bonuses and stock options. The snip was felt. Of the 411,000 GE employees in 1980, only about 300,000 remained in 1985.[4]​.

In the 1990s, with GE already restructured, Welch decided to modernize it by adding service activities to its traditional sales of consumer goods. With an aggressive acquisition program, he diversified the company's businesses.[8]​.

What was the balance of your government? From his assumption in 1981 until his retirement in 2001, GE's turnover quintupled from 26 billion to 130 billion. Chosen Manager of the Century in 1999 by Fortune magazine, today Jack dedicates himself to golf while enjoying an $8 million annual retirement plan.