Welch, Jack

John Francis (Jack) Welch (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was a long-tenured CEO during the heyday of General Electric (GE) from 1981-2001.

While in charge of the company, shares rose a massive amount, around 4,000%. His legacy is both revered and hated by different people. He changed the course of GE in a major way, focusing on insurance and financing instead of manufacturing.

After his departure, GE fell on hard times, and many put at least some of the blame on Welch.

While that is debated by people, what is not in question is the Welch was a huge advocate of Six Sigma and ingrained it–and continuous improvement in general–into the culture at GE. He is responsible for much of the growth in popularity of Six Sigma after it “escaped” from Motorola.