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Executive Speaker Series
21st Century Leadership at GE
P
ick a path that is your passion. Dedicate yourself to
that path. Be a learner. Be good on teams. Have perseverance. According to Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of GE and chairman of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness for President Obama, these are important lessons along the path to success. Immelt spoke about his life and career to an enthusiastic crowd of VSB students, faculty, and staff as part of the VSB Executive Speaker
Jeffrey R. Immelt speaks about his career as chairman and CEO of GE.
Series. Nearly 1,000 attendees, all eager to hear career advice from the ninth chairman of GE, filled both the
manager, in the appliances business,
hard work, and a decent sense of
Villanova Room and the Connelly
where he managed service people, and
humor, he added.
Center Cinema, where the presentation
in the healthcare business, which he
was simulcast. Dean’s Advisory Council
ran before becoming CEO. However,
GE, Immelt attributed his appointment
member Thomas M. Quindlen VSB ’84,
even the man who has been named
in part to the fact that his peers liked
president and chief executive officer of
one of the “World’s Best CEOs” three
and supported him. For Immelt, success
GE Capital Corporate Finance, intro-
times by Barron’s has weaknesses,
was due to his hard work, his ability
duced his friend and colleague to the
which Immelt admitted as he shared
to build friendships and trust, and his
standing-room-only group. While his
anecdotes about the mishaps he
knowledge of how to work on teams.
speech addressed the current economic
experienced when he attempted to fix
climate, Immelt also identified the
refrigerator compressors during his
from audience members and covered
unique challenges that today’s gradu-
time in the appliances division of GE.
topics from how to better engage
As he revealed his own path to
Immelt also responded to questions
employees to what keeps him up at
of his company, and included advice
success, Immelt reflected on the
night, and from how sports and other
on how VSB students can distinguish
lessons he learned along the way and
team activities contribute to one’s
themselves in their careers. He also
offered insight into how VSB students
career and success to what he considers
jokingly revealed why he would never
might build their own careers and
to be his biggest mistake. While no
make a good refrigerator repairman.
achieve their own successes. His
topic was off limits, the candid session
advice was simple: do what you want
allowed for great dialogue and idea
Immelt worked at Proctor & Gamble
to do, because most people who are
exchange between one of the world’s
and earned an MBA from Harvard
successful enjoy what they do. Be
most successful leaders and more than
Business School. When he joined
broad, but learn how to be good at
1,000 future business leaders.
GE in 1982, Immelt moved through
one thing in particular. Always be
—by Mariana Martinez
different departments and experi-
willing to learn. Immelt says he looks
enced the many sides of the company
to hire people who are good raw mate-
To learn more about Immelt’s
he would eventually lead. He spent
rial, but who also possess a thirst for
leadership and career at GE, visit
time in corporate, in plastics as a sales
learning. Success is about persistence,
http://tenyears.geblogs.com.
Prior to beginning his career at GE,
villanova business | summer fall 20102011
PHOTO: Jim McWilliams
ates face, divulged the top priorities
When asked about becoming CEO of
