The Week UK - 14.03.2020

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THEWEEK 14 March 2020

Obituaries

JackWelch,whohasdied

aged84,wasatitanamong

businessbosses,credited

withturningGeneralElectric

intoAmerica’smostvaluablecompany.

Single-mindedanduntroubledbyself-doubt,

hepopularisedthetrendforcorporate

“downsizing”,saidTheGuardian,and

wassoruthlessinhispersonnelcuts,hewas

nicknamedNeutronJack,afterthebomb

designedtowipeoutpeoplewhileleaving

buildingsstanding.Hispolicyhasbeencalled

“rankandyank”:managerswereobligedto

givetheirstaffannualperformancereviews;

thoseidentifiedasbeinginthetop 20 %were

rewardedwithbonusesandstockoptions,

whilethebottom1 0 %wereculled–regardless

ofthecompany’soverallperformance.Itwas

harsh,butWelchdidn’tcare.“The

fundamentalgoalistogetridofweakness,”

hesaid.“Rigorousdifferentiationdeliversreal

stars,andstarsbuildgreatbusinesses.”

In hisfirstfiveyears asCEOof GE,100,000 people–aquarter

of theworkforce–lost theirjobs.In response toaccusations

of cruelty,Welchargued that hisloyaltywasnotto staff or

customers,butto shareholders–andthey weredelighted: GE’s

stock went up4,000% duringhis tenure. Healso claimedthat

it wasultimately kinderto fireunderperformingstaffquickly,

forcingthemtoimprove ormove intoother industries,rather

thanletthemdriftuntilthey wereonlyfitfor thescrapheap. But

hiscritics saidhisprofit-driven culturenot onlyruinedlives,but

encouragedexecutivestoneglect R&Dinfavourof short-term

profits, and cut cornerswhen itcametocorporateresponsibility.

Bornin Massachusetts in 1935 ,JackWelchwasbroughtup

in Salem,theson ofJohn,arailroad conductor, and Grace, whom

he citedashisbiggestinfluence.“Shekickedmyass whenitwas

importantandshehuggedmewhenit

wasimportant,”hesaid.Sheboostedhis

confidence,andfedhisdeterminationto

succeed.Whenhethrewdownhisstickin

disgustafterlosingaschoolicehockeymatch,

shestormedafterhimintothelockerroomand

shouted:“Youpunk!Ifyoudon’tknowhow

tolose,you’llneverknowhowtowin!”The

firstmemberofhisfamilytograduatefrom

highschool,hestudiedchemicalengineering

toPhDlevel,thenjoinedGEin1960.Famous

fordeliveringhisviewsunvarnished,hewas

consideredtoomuchofamavericktogetfar

inmanagement,saidTheTimes,andyetby

196 8,hewasrunningGE’splasticsdivision.

HebecameCEOin 19 81,aged 4 5,and

immediatelystartedtoshakethingsup,selling

orclosingGE’sunderperformingassetsinthe

manufacturingsector,andrapidlyacquiring

newcompanies,inmediaandfinancial

services.WelchhadlookedacrossthePacific,

andrealisedthatwhenitcametomaking

hairdryersandTVsets,GEcouldnolongercompetewithJapan.

Asfinancialservi cesboomed,GE’sannualrevenueincreasedfrom

$25bnto $130bn.

On hisretirement in 2001 ,Welch wasgiven a$ 470 msevera nce

package,and Fortunedescribedhimasthe“managerofthe

century”.Inthesameyear,TimeWarnerpaidhima$7m

advancefor hisautobiography,Jack:Straightfrom the Gut.It

sold ten millioncopies.Butthoughstillwidelyadmired,“second

thoughts”havesinceemergedabouthislegacy,saidTheNew

York Times.In2002,GEwas forcedtopay$1.5bnto dredgethe

HudsonRiver,whereit hadbeendumping chemicalsfordecades;

the move intofinancial services–thoughhugelyprofitableduring

Welch’stenure–leftthecompanydisastrouslyexposed inthe

creditcrunch;and he’d failedtoanticipatethe potentialof the

techrevolution. Last year,GEposteda$5.4bnloss.

JackWelch

1935-2020

DianaSerraCary, who hasdied

aged101,wasthelast surviving

starof Hollywood’ssilentera.

Known asBabyPeggy,she

madeher filmdebutin 1921 ,agedtwo and a

half –the sameyearasJackie Cooganappeared

oppositeCharlieChaplininTheKid.Alongwith

“Baby Marie”Osborne,they becamethe most

popular child actorsofthe day, and amassedvast

fortunes thatin allthree cases, their guardians

then stoleor squandered.

Shewas bornPeggy-JeanMontgomery in1918,

andbroughtupinLos Angeles,where her father,

aformercowboy,worked asastuntdouble.

Visiting Century Studios with hermotherone

day, shewasspotted by aproducer, who casther

opposite Brownie the Wonder Dog inacomedy short.Adorable

but alsocomicaland deadpan, shewas an instanthit –and inthe

next few months appearedinmorethan100two-reelers,churned

out back toback. Herfathe rdid much ofthedirecting.“He

wouldsnap his fingers andsay, ‘Cry!’And Iwouldcry. ‘Laugh!’

AndIwould laugh. ‘Be frightened!’ AndI’d be frightened.He

call ed it obedience.”Hermother insisted thatBaby Peggy was

having fun, and thatshe didn’t even knowtha tshe was working.

In later life, Carydisputed this. “Itwaswork... We wentto work

at 8amand worked sixdaysaweeklikeeveryoneelse. Why

wouldIthink it’s playing?Ididn’tknowwhat playing was!”

In 19 23, Universalsignedher toacontractworth

$1.5mayear,and putherin features.Expected

toperform her ownstunts,shewas forcedtoflee

burningbuildings,heldunderwaterin thesea,

and strappedtothebottom ofatrain.“They

saidIwasfearless,”she recalled.“Whichwasnot

true.” She got1.7million fanlettersin 1924, and

stood onstage alongsideFranklin D. Roosevelt

at theDemocratic National Convention. Her

parents movedinto aBeverly Hills mansion. Yet

no moneywasset aside forher future.Shedidn’t

evengotoschool, said TheNew York Times.

Then,in 1925, herfatherfell outwiththe studio,

her contract wascancelled, andher career came

to an abrupt end. Shewas,asunkind people

pointedout, awashed-uphas-beenateight.

Inanattemptto keep thecashcomingin, herfatherthenpushed

herinto vaudeville.She worked such long hoursthat herhealth

suf fered, butvaudeville wasin decline, andbythe late 1920s,

herfortune was all gone and thefamilywasdestitute.Having

madeabrief,unsuccessful attempt toreturntomovies, shefinally

got herself an education,changedher name,married, hadafamily

andreinvented herself asawriterand f ilm historian.Her books

includedHollywood’sChildren,about theunhappyfateofchild

stars,and amemoir,WhatEver Happenedto BabyPeggy.She

alsocampaigned,with herfriendJackieCoogan, forbetter

protectionfor childactor s. The resultwas theCooganAct.

Diana Serra

Cary

1918-2020

Celebrity CEO known as “Neutron Jack”

Welch:brutalinhisopinions

Baby Peggy: comically deadpan

The last surviving star of Hollywood’s silent era

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PTVIMAGES/EYEVINE