GE's Jeff Immelt: His Own Man

Jeffrey R. Immelt is sitting in a company boardroom wearing a crisp dark suit. Problem is, he donned the tie only to meet with top brass from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT ), but they all dressed down to meet the usually casual executive. And he couldn't meet in his new corner office. It's full of workers removing 20 years of John F. Welch's stuff. But Immelt does not look the least bit bothered, though he's just days away from taking over the $130-billion-a-year General Electric Co. (GE ) from the legendary Welch. Instead, as he leans back in his chair downing pretzels and Diet Coke, he's got the easy air of someone who takes success for granted. "I've never measured my self-worth by whether or not I got this job," he says.

Heroic words for someone who's following the most praised CEO of his generation. No one had to tell this 6-foot, 4-inch college jock that he had big shoes to fill when Welch stepped down Sept. 7. The outgoing chief may barely reach to the new CEO's shoulders, but there's little doubt that Welch has been the Michael Jordan of American business execs--even with GE's failed $45-billion takeover of Honeywell International Inc. and a government decision to make GE pay $460 million to clean up PCBs in the Hudson River. Shareholders loved him. Insiders often feared him. But Immelt doesn't see himself as replacing Jack. He's here to run General Electric, and, frankly, he thinks the world's most valuable company has lots of room to improve--by using technology better, getting closer to customers, diversifying its mix of businesses, and reducing the glut of white guys at the top.