(AFX) - NAME: John Francis 'Jack' Welch Jr.
TITLE: Retired chairman and CEO, General Electric Co.
AGE-BIRTH DATE-LOCATION: 70; Nov. 19, 1935, in Salem, Mass.
EDUCATION: B.S. in chemical engineering, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 1957; M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering, University of Illinois, 1960.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Joined General Electric in 1960 as a junior engineer in Pittsfield, Mass. Rose through the ranks at GE, becoming vice president in 1972; senior vice president in 1977; vice chairman in 1979; and chairman and CEO in 1981, positions he held until his retirement in 2001.
PERSONAL: Married to his third wife, Suzy Welch, nee Wetlaufer. Lives in Boston.
QUOTE: 'I believe the more companies are better, the more companies are going to win. That creates better companies for the people, whose careers grow, and it creates more for communities.'
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