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Photos of a smiling Jack Welch, the first celebrity CEO, conjure thoughts of a capitalist superstar, corporate genius, and for some, maybe even the term American hero. And indeed, many Americans have worshipped at his altar, praising the way Welch maximized profits at GE and transformed global business. But as NYT reporter David Gelles lays out in his recent NYT cover story: "How Jack Welch's Reign at G.E. Gave Us Elon Musk's Twitter Feed" and his forthcoming book, THE MAN WHO BROKE CAPITALISM: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America - and How to Undo His Legacy, (Simon & Schuster; hardcover; 5/31/22), there is a darker truth to this narrative.

Laying out an "eye-popping history," Gelles shows how Welch's rise at GE both spurred and benefitted from a new American free-market mindset hell bent on deregulation, outsourcing and union-busting. Welch's focus on shareholder profits turned GE from an innovative engineering giant that took care of its employees into a heartless corporate behemoth that slashed and burned workers on its way to becoming what was essentially a giant, unregulated bank. The company's stock price soared, but GE had become a shell of its former self, and eventually even the profits took an inevitable hit: In 2008, the GE house of cards came tumbling down, the stock price cratered, and the company last year said it would break itself apart.

We are still feeling the deleterious effects of the Welch era, extended by his powerful imitators and a pervasive mindset that puts shareholders before all else. But Gelles also believes we can pull ourselves out of this spiral, arguing that many CEOs are beginning to understand the lessons of the last 50 years.In this "eye-popping history" (PW), Gelles outlines how Welch's rise at GE both spurred and benefitted from a new American business and political "free market" mindset, hell bent on deregulation, outsourcing and union-busting. Welch's focus on shareholder profits turned GE from an innovative engineering giant that took care of its employees into a heartless corporate behemoth that slashed and burned workers on its way to becoming what was essentially a giant, unregulated bank. The company's stock price soared, but GE had become a shell of its former self, and eventually even the profits took an inevitable hit: In 2008, the GE house of cards came tumbling down, the stock price cratered, and the company last year said it would break itself apart. We are still feeling the deleterious effects of the Welch era, extended by his powerful imitators and a pervasive mindset that puts shareholders before all else. But Gelles also believes we can pull ourselves out of this spiral, arguing that many CEOs are beginning to understand the lessons of the last 50 years.