Jack Welch: A Role Model for Today's CEO?

By Jeffrey E. Garten

On Sept. 7, Jack Welch will retire from his 20-year reign as chairman and CEO of General Electric Co. (GE ) Already he has been hailed as one of the great business leaders of the past half-century--and deservedly so. Now a new generation of CEOs is emerging, including Jeffrey R. Immelt, Welch's successor, Kenneth I. Chenault at American Express (AXP ), W. James McNerney Jr. at 3M, Alan G. Lafley at Procter & Gamble (PG ), Anne M. Mulcahy at Xerox (XRX ), and Steven S. Reinemund at PepsiCo (PEP ). As he leaves the scene, should Welch be considered a role model for this new generation of business leaders, or will they need different or additional skills? There are reasons to discount Welch as a prototype. Unlike many CEOs, he inherited a company that had been financially successful and widely admired for most of the 20th century. He also enjoyed the tailwinds of America's longest and most powerful economic expansion. Nevertheless, almost everything Welch did is worthy of emulation.