Today GE announced that CEO Jeff Immelt is stepping down sooner than his expected departure in December, likely due to investor pressure, even with only three months to go. Jeff has been at the helm for 16 years versus the median for US CEOs who typically turn in their keys in about five years. Obviously there are those who hang on forever, but they are increasingly a minority as shareholders expect tenures to be managed and avoid evergreen administrations.
Immelt is a good example of a CEO who has officiated over a company that has struggled for years, and finally succumbed to pressure from activist Trian Fund Management. Once again, another example of a board that does not manage succession when a company clearly needs fresh leadership and determines how long is too long.
Job Listings
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Anthony J. LoPinto
Tony LoPinto is the Global Sector Leader of Korn Ferry’s Real Estate Practice and founder of SelectLeaders. For the past 18 years LoPinto has been serving his clients with deep knowledge and perspective on talent needs and organizational challenges to public and private companies – knowledge gained from a 25-year career in real estate. Prior to his current position, he founded and served as chief executive officer of a boutique real estate executive search firm, where he oversaw offices in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has successfully led several high profile search engagements for chief executive officers, directors and a wide-range of executive level positions across all industries and sectors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in European history from Loyola University in Chicago.
