Tuesday, April 15, 2014

April 15, 2014.

GE Rethinks the 20-Year CEO

"Smith!" yelled the voice from the telescreen. "6079 Smith W.! Uncover your face. No faces covered in the cells."

Jeff Immelt may give up leadership of General Electric Co. GE +1.10%  sooner than his expected 20-year tenure, as he and fellow directors re-evaluate the right term for its chief executive, people familiar with GE's thinking said.

Winston uncovered his face. Parsons used the lavatory, loudly and abundantly. It then turned out that the plug was defective and the cell stank abominably for hours afterwards.

The CEO, who has run the industrial conglomerate for nearly 13 years, has led several board discussions about shortening the expected tenure for GE's next chief executive to between 10 and 15 years, the people said.

Parsons was removed. More prisoners came and went, mysteriously. One, a woman, was consigned to "Room 101," and, Winston noticed, seemed to shrivel and turn a different colour when she heard the words. A time came when, if it had been morning when he was brought here, it would be afternoon; or if it had been afternoon, then it would be midnight. There were six prisoners in the cell, men and women. All sat very still. Opposite Winston there sat a man with a chinless, toothy face exactly like that of some large, harmless rodent. His fat, mottled cheeks were so pouched at the bottom that it was difficult not to believe that he had little stores of food tucked away there. His pale grey eyes flitted timorously from face to face and turned quickly away again when he caught anyone’s eye.

And while Mr. Immelt maintains strong support on the board, directors increasingly expect that he will step down before reaching the two-decade mark in 2021, the people said.

No comments:

Post a Comment