Posted on 12/09/2009 2:35:08 PM PST by St. Louis Conservative
Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, said on Wednesday his generation of business leaders had succumbed to “meanness and greed” that had harmed the US economy and increased the gap between the rich and the poor.
Mr Immelt’s attack on his fellow corporate chiefs – made in a speech at the West Point military academy – is one of the strongest criticisms by a top executive of the compensation and business practices that prevailed before the financial crisis.
“We are at the end of a difficult generation of business leadership ... tough-mindedness, a good trait, was replaced by meanness and greed, both terrible traits,” said Mr Immelt, who succeeded Jack Welch, one of the toughest leaders of his generation, at the helm of the US conglomerate. “Rewards became perverted. The richest people made the most mistakes with the least accountability.”
Several executives, especially in financial services, have apologised for their companies’ role in the crisis but Mr Immelt’s remarks went further, linking bad leadership to growing inequality.
“The bottom 25 per cent of the American population is poorer than they were 25 years ago. That is just wrong,” he said. “Ethically, leaders do share a common responsibility to narrow the gap between the weak and the strong.”
GE wants to win a large slice of the infrastructure projects funded by governments around the world in an effort to kick-start their economies.
Mr Immelt said business should welcome government as “a catalyst for leadership and change”.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
What was his take home pay last year?
Am I the only Freeper disgusted with G.E.? It’s been a big lobbyist for cap-and-trade and “renewable” energy mandates, to benefit its wind turbine business.
Quisling
We already know this——Big Corporates favor corporate welfare paid for by the taxpayers.
Actually we get a TRIPLE whammy from them: we fight wars to protect their interests; we pay their taxes and we buy their products.
He should give back ALL of his wealth accumulated (even that from investments) and only take 250K per year...
Am I the only Freeper disgusted with G.E.?
I would hope not. Renaldus Maximus is disgusted by corporates and the parasites they have become.
Leeches.
GE is a huge lobbiest. The GOP needs to call obama on it. This administration is getting away with so much crap. It has to stop.
You mean this GE? The GE that until recently owned NBC and MSNBC?
I’m a substantial GE shareholder and, while not at all happy with some of the decisions and the “creative” accounting at GE Capital and Jeff’s unabashed sucking up to the Marxist-n-thief, he did the right thing here.
***********
General Electric’s Jeff Immelt has waived his right to collect bonus and performance-based pay that would have netted the chief executive more than $12m in cash, people familiar with the company’s plans said.
The decision, approved by GE’s board this month, comes as Mr Immelt confronts a deepening recession that has crimped earnings and prompted its retreat from financial services, which had served as a profit engine for two decades.
He began to consider declining his annual bonus and long-term performance award last year after drawing criticism for missing profit guidance and failing to reverse a slump in GE’s stock price, the people said. While he has not always evaded scrutiny for GE’s results during his eight years at the helm, he is rarely singled out for excessive pay.
In 2002, as opposition to lavish corporate America’s stock-option awards began to mount, Mr Immelt opted for an equity-compensation plan that would pay him stock only if GE achieved predetermined goals.
He also owned about 1.6m shares at year end, more than 300 per cent above his required investment. He received his last salary rise in 2005.
“My compensation is never going to be an embarrassment to GE,” Mr Immelt said this month. “It’s going to be responsible; it’s going to be appropriate; it’s going to be transparent; and it’s going to reflect the financial performance of the company.”
Based on how GE fared in the last three years, Mr Immelt was entitled to a long-term performance cash award of almost $12m. He also stood to get an annual bonus, worth $5.8m in 2007.
The GE board agreed to keep Mr Immelt’s annual salary at $3.3m, the people said. All told the cash portion of his compensation will decline 64 per cent from a year ago. GE’s shares fell 56 per cent in 2008 and it reported net earnings of $17.4bn, a 22 per cent drop on 2007.
Mr Immelt will continue to earn performance-share units, which may be converted into GE stock in five years if the group achieves certain goals on its cash and stock return, the people said.
GE Capital, their finacial arm took $20 Billion in TARP — but this jerk-off didn’t mention his own salary.
He took one of the greatest companies in history and totally F#@!*ed it all up.
He even pushed for those fluerescent light to become law and closed the GE light bulb factory in the US and now they are made in China.
I am never buying another GE item, not even a light bulb.
Mr. niteowl77
.
..and I just bought a washer & dryer a few months back, the sale guy was pushing GE — I told him to shove it and bought Whirlpool (a US company)
Well of course Jeffrey. You’d better tell us all what you earn so we can determine if you “deserve” it.
Well, in light of Immelt’s obvious fiscal epiphany, I will step to the fore and help him out. He can send me a few hundred thousand dollars and assuage a small part of his guilty feelings.
I’ll do my part to spread it around, doing good works and helping those in some need.
In fact, he can use my PayPal account...so he doesn’t even have to write the check.
Don't expect him to be anything other than oily.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.