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John F. Welch Jr.

John F. Welch Jr.

CEO: 1981-2001
Welch ripped apart GE’s bureaucracy, encouraging a more entrepreneurial, agile culture while garnering criticism for cutting more than 100,000 positions from 1981 to 1988. But the Salem (Mass.) chemical engineer ultimately became an icon of management. Under his leadership, GE’s market capitalization grew from $14 billion to $410 billion.

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