Former chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 until 2001. His over $400 million severance pay upon leaving General Electric became the largest severance payment in history.
He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1960.
He published the New York Times best-selling book Winning in 2005.
He was married three times. His last marriage was to Suzy Wetlaufer Welch in 2004. He has four children.
He made a cameo appearance on 30 Rock in 2010 with Tina Fey.
