Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt discusses frontline engagement and hands-on governance practices while serving on the board of Twilio.
Opinion
Immelt: Not shrinking GE Capital before 2008 was a mistake
“By the time the financial crisis hit, not having GE Capital be smaller, you know, clearly was a mistake, right?”
Opinion
Immelt: Washington Mutual's collapse was worse for 2008 than Lehman's
“Most people think about the day Lehman Brothers went bankrupt as the worst day in the financial crisis, but it actually was the day Washington Mutual went bankrupt, which was like two weeks later on a Friday because all the bondholders got wiped out.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Immelt: GE suffered in 2008 from aggregate size, not toxic assets
“Think about the financial crisis, what did we get wrong? We were too big in aggregate size. It wasn't that we were, we had a lot of toxic assets. It wasn't that we're redlining risk and things like that. We were too big.”
Opinion
Immelt: US and Canadian manufacturing costs now equal Mexico and China
“My hunch is you could go through product after product and making it in Canada or the U S is probably just about the same as making it in Mexico or China today.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Immelt: Next-generation leaders must maintain manufacturing jobs where they sell
“If I sell in the US, I better have a certain amount of jobs in the US. If I sell in Germany, same thing. If I sell in China, same thing. And my generation didn't have to think that way, but the next generation is going to have to think that way.”
Insight
Immelt: GE's classic management toolkit was best suited for private equity
“You know, if you look at the basic GE toolkit that I grew up with, it was almost the perfect match for private equity where
You took a company, you had five years to turn it around. You didn't have to make big bets on products and technology. And so I think to…”