EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Jeff Immelt, GE Global CEO

It’s difficult not to believe him – the GE boss crossed the 100-country mark in his career last year, and as he points out, has managed to build “good” relationships with senior leaders across the world.

But with 300,000 employees under his management, does he ever feel overwhelmed?

“I don’t think my job overwhelms me but I take it very seriously. I think the responsibility is with me every minute of every day and first and foremost I want to do a good job for the people that work at GE. But I have always believed that if you try your best and you tell the truth, you sleep well every night.”

And yes, he laughingly admits that he sleeps well at night.

A second-generation GE employee, Immelt says that his history with the company helps him identify closely with the front line managers.

“Those are the people that my father used to work for. So I always tell people – ‘you know when I was growing up in a GE household I never knew who the CEO of GE was. But I knew who they [the front-line managers] were. And when my dad had a good boss we had a nice dinner conversation and when he had a lousy boss we had a lousy dinner conversation,” he recounts.

“I think everyone inside the company feels like the CEO has a name and has a face and can intersect within their life any day,” he adds.

While “infinite drive and curiosity” fuels the American CEO, there is one key factor that has been instrumental in keeping him attached to GE for the last 30 years.

“There are other great companies too but when you work for GE, you get the sense that you are going to be able to see how the future unfolds,” he says.