Former CEO of General Electric, whose company became the world's second most valuable under his leadership, dies

General Electric (GE) announced that its former chairman and CEO Jack Welch has died at the age of 84.

Welch was born on November 19, 1935. He joined GE in 1960, became vice president in 1972, vice chairman in 1979, and chairman and CEO in 1981, making him the youngest chairman and CEO in GE's history. In September 2001, Welch retired and was succeeded by Jeff Immelt.

Welch was known as the "Manager of the Century" for breaking down GE's bureaucracy and leading the company to prosperity. He was also known as "Neutron Jack" for cutting tens of thousands of jobs. Under his leadership, GE became the world's most valuable company after Microsoft. But then the company's fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse.

Welch bought and sold a number of companies during his tenure, expanding the industrial giant into financial services and consulting. GE Capital Bank was founded seven years into his tenure. His acquisitions included RCA, then-owner of NBC, and Kidder Peabody, a brokerage firm embroiled in an insider trading scandal.

He also streamlined the conglomerate's bloated bureaucracy, giving managers free rein to make changes they saw as good for the company's bottom line.

He invented the "vitality curve," which divided managers into three groups. The top 20% of managers were in the "A" group, who were "passionate and committed to achieving their goals." The "critical" 70% were in the "B" group, who were integral to the company and encouraged to join the A group. Then came the bottom 10%, who were in the "C" group. "Poor performers usually had to leave the company," Welch said in his 2001 book, Jack: Straight From the Gut.

In his first five years as CEO, the number of employees dropped from 411,000 to 299,000, according to the book. After several layoffs, he earned a derisive nickname after the neutron bomb, which was designed to kill large numbers of people without destroying cities.

Welch was in charge of GE for 20 years, during which time he was hailed as "the most respected CEO", "the world's number one CEO" and "the most successful and greatest entrepreneur in contemporary America". Under his leadership, GE's market value increased from US$12 billion to US$410 billion.

Regarding Welch's death, US President Donald Trump said on Twitter: "As a business leader, he was uniquely charismatic. He was my friend and supporter, and we did many meaningful things together. He will never be forgotten. Express my deepest sympathy to his wife and family!"