Talent in action
Great leaders are at once inspirational and self aware. Leadership talent comes in many forms and at SpenlgerFox we witness the impact of talent in action on a daily basis. Here Mark Hamill, Managing Director of SpenglerFox identifies his business and leadership heroes and explains why he would invite them for an imaginary dinner party.
| Jeff Immelt CEO GE "Jeff Immelt took over the business from an icon, Jack Welch, and has succeed in refocusing this global powerhouse. He took over on 7/9/2001 just four days before the terrorist attacks. He was not afraid to tear down a legacy and build his own." General Electric's chief executive is powerful for many reasons, but here's one that's often overlooked: the company's AAA credit rating. Only six U.S. industrial corporations hold that credential, and it gives GE a huge competitive advantage in the finance-related businesses that bring in most of its profit. It also helps the company sell its big-ticket products - jet engines, industrial turbines, CT scanners, locomotives, and so forth - by offering financing that competitors can't beat. Add a century of experience in developing the world's best managers and management practices, and GE becomes a very tough organisation to catch up with or oppose. As if running a company like that didn't make him powerful enough, Immelt is also chairman of the Business Council, the group of top-tier CEOs that influences government policy, and on the board of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. |