Jeff Immelt on the Humbling of GE 1 Jeff Immelt on the Humbling of GE In a new book, the former head of the once-mighty company admits he made mistakes but argues he faced 'bad news almost every day' published : 22 Feb 2021 at 04:30 1 Jeff Immelt is photographed near his home in Kiawah Island, S.C. on Feb 11. Katie Charlotte for The Wall Street Journal In the summer of 2001, weeks before Jeff Immelt became CEO of General Electric, he was playing golf with friends at a country club near Chicago when a club member asked him what he did. "I work for GE," Mr. Immelt replied, omitting his title. "Ah, GE! Jack Welch!" the man said. "I feel sorry for the poor son of a bitch who's taking his place."