Jack Welch still loves the spotlight

Jack Welch started his career at GE Plastics in 1960 -- probably before most Plastics Blog readers were born. But the plastics engineer-turned-CEO is still going strong at age 77. Remember his controversial tweets about the U.S. jobs report just before the presidential election? Bloomberg Businessweek does, and the magazine today posted a long feature about Neutron Jack that's pretty entertaining. The feature is called "Jack Welch's Unretirement," and it focuses on how Welch has managed to stay in the spotlight, writing columns, tweeting about his personal life to 1.4 million followers, and giving paid Q&A presentations (not speeches) to eager audiences. Welch did not consent to an interview for the story, but it's still worth a read. For blog readers who want more details on Welch's plastics background, I recommend Bill Bregar's profile from 2006, when Welch was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame. The story, "Welch remembers his roots in plastics," is excellent, with details about how he bounced back from some early failures at GE Plastics. (And, I should add, Bill did interview Welch for the profile.) Welch skipped the Hall of Fame induction ceremony that year -- Bill also wrote an excellent Perspective column on that topic, "Should Hall of Fame induction be revoked for nonattendance?" But his celebrity still managed to steal some of the spotlight. General Electric is not in plastic anymore, and critics may call Welch a "crazy-old-man-on-twitter," but he's no Donald Trump. The big BusinessWeek story is proof, Welch is still both interesting and relevant.