Fifteen years after taking over the top spot from “Neutron Jack” Welch, Jeff Immelt (MBA 1982) talks to Bloomberg Businessweek for a wide-ranging consideration of his tenure at the $122 billion giant, including the company’s latest retooling as a software startup focused on improving efficiencies in the internet of “really big things”—think locomotives and jet engines. Attracting software engineers to a company known for making microwaves was a challenge, but the company’s “What’s the Matter with Owen?” commercials helped raise awareness of GE’s changing profile and boosted job applications eightfold. The company’s upcoming move from suburban Connecticut to Boston should also help with recruitment. “Sitting in a rural setting, you can never be scared enough of what’s next,” Immelt said. “You just can’t be. You can’t be paranoid enough. And I felt like it would be a good thing for the business just to be in the flow of ideas.”

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