Jack Welch, the former chairman and CEO of General Electric, which used to own NBCUniversal, has died. He was 84.
CNBC reports Welch died Sunday of renal failure, according to his wife.
During his two-decade tenure atop GE from 1981 to 2001, Welch acquired RCA, which owned NBC at the time. He grew GE’s market value from $12 billion to $410 billion.
Welch was born on Nov. 19, 1935 in Peabody, Mass. The son of a railroad conductor, he grew up to become a chemical engineer at GE, where he would later go on to become CEO. He was also an author
In 2006, his net worth was estimated at $720 million, according to Boston Magazine.
The businessman was given the nickname “Neutron Jack” for cutting tens of thousands of jobs to cut costs in the name of efficiency at GE. Making tough decisions like those earned him praise from Fortune magazine, which once called him “manager of the century.” He was also known for giving managers the freedom to make changes as they saw fit, and for his catch-phrase, “Fix it, close it or sell it.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Wrap