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Wright new GE vice chair
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July 28, 2000: 6:26 p.m. ET
Conglomerate promotes NBC chief to co-No. 2 position behind Welch
By Staff Writer Kim Khan
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - General Electric Co. named NBC President and CEO Robert C. Wright a vice chairman of the board Friday, which could put him in the running as a possible successor to GE Chairman Jack Welch.
Wright will remain top executive of GE-owned NBC, a position he has held for 14 years.
GE, a Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate, is a leader in a number of fields and makes everything from aircraft engines to nuclear reactors to, of course, light bulbs.
Welch, 64, is one of the nation's most admired chief executives and is set to retire in April. He said in December 1998 the company had a clear list of candidates as his successor but has yet to give any clues to who is favored.
Concerns about his yet-unnamed successor have hurt GE's stock performance this year despite its strong earnings.
 In June the company made a series of moves to strengthen its management team as Welch entered the last three quarters of his 20-year tenure.
"I think they're doing everything they can to make sure it's a smooth transition," said Stephen O'Neil, vice president and analyst with Hilliard Lyons. "They've put a strong No. 2 in key businesses and the company is going with strong earnings momentum this year."
NBC 'visionary'
Wright, 57, is the longest-serving chief of a television broadcasting company in history. He joined GE in 1969 as a staff lawyer, left for a District Court clerkship between 1970 and 1973, returned and then left to head Cox Communications (COX: Research, Estimates) between 1980 and 1983.
 "(Wright is) a visionary with a great strategic mind, and he's a strong business leader with outstanding people skills," Welch said in a statement. "He's a terrific guy and will be a key force in guiding the company's future growth."
Wright has been with GE since 1983, when he returned as vice president of housewares and audio.
"This is a good move on Welch's part," said Larry Horan, analyst with Parker/Hunter Inc. "NBC is one of the building blocks and key to GE's strategy."
As well as overseeing NBC's broadcasting operations, Wright presided over the company's new media businesses, including the launch of NBCi (NBCI: Research, Estimates) as a public company.
NBC also has an equity stake in CNET (CNET: Research, Estimates), Talk City (TCTY: Research, Estimates), Telescan (TSCN: Research, Estimates), iVillage (IVIL: Research, Estimates),and Launch (LAUN: Research,Estimates).
Search for succession
When a successful leader steps down, is there anyone who can live up to expectations? GE hopes Welch will answer the call again and come up with a successor to please both employees and investors.
 But analysts said it's a daunting task to replace a man who guided the conglomerate to dominant positions in both "old economy" and "new economy" sectors, boosting market capitalization 4,000 percent on the way.
"Whoever succeeds him will be compared to Welch," said analyst Marvin Roffman of Roffman Miller Assoc. "He's kind of like Henry Ford, or Mozart in music."
"This may be one of the biggest challenges in Jack (Welch's) career," Horan said.
According to O'Neil, it's very difficult to say whether Wright is on track to replace Welch or just part of overall corporate strengthening.
"Wright might just be staying in the vice chairman spot and someone else will take over," O'Neil said.
Another executive tipped as Welch's successor is Dennis Dammerman, the other vice chairman whom Wright now joins in the GE corporate executive office.
 Dammerman was promoted to head GE Capital in Dec. 8, 1998 and Welch indicated he could be on GE's short list. In June he took a reduced role to concentrate more on GE corporate matters, which could mean he is poised to step up.
A third option may be for Welch to draw somebody in from the outside or another GE business, ignoring both Wright and Dammerman.
"They're vice chairman for strategic reasons," said Haron. "The guy who ends up running the show will be really strong on the operations side."
"I think we'll be surprised," Horan said.
The decision will jolt GE's stock no matter who is chosen, analysts said.
"I don't think anyone is going to do a better job and God forbid they should have a glitch in earnings," Roffman said.
According to the Hoover's Online business information Web site, the company has been averaging more than 100 acquisitions a year. Besides owning NBC, GE Capital Services is one of the top financial services companies in the country and accounts for about half of GE's sales.
GE has about 340,000 employees. Second-quarter revenue for the Dow Jones industrial index component rose 20 percent to $32.9 billion from $27.4 billion a year earlier.
GE (GE: Research, Estimates) shares dropped 1-5/8 to 51-7/8 Friday. 
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General Electric
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