Jeffrey Immelt, GE
We were surprised to find Immelt, now instantly recognizable as the face of GE, quoted in a June 6, 1988 article about companies restructuring and embracing new ideas. Immelt, then 32, was still rising up the ladder at GE, and he offered his two cents on Ultem, a heat-resistant plastic for which GE had "discovered close to 200 applications, ranging from airplane interiors to packaging for microwaveable food." What did Immelt, who we credited at the time as a "new business manager," think about it? He loved it. "These people live, sleep, breathe, and eat Ultem," he said.
Today, Immelt is running the company that's #4 on the Fortune 500, up one spot from 2009. And the company still uses Ultem, though by now they've developed new versions of the plastic (in 2006 GE rolled out "white Ultem") as well as new uses, all to generate new money. And Immelt now focuses on much more than plastics -- the company is pursuing opportunities in areas from wind turbines to cancer diagnostics.
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Last updated December 01 2010: 6:26 PM ET
