GE Always Promoted From Within. Now It’s Hiring From the Outside

General Electric Co. for decades was known as much for producing elite managers as it was for the lightbulbs, power equipment, and home appliances that wore its logo over the years. When leaders departed—often for the top job at other large companies—GE could tap its deep bench of executives honed at its famed management training institute, which former Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch once called the “greatest people factory in the world.”

The company’s jargon-filled training program, taught at its Crotonville, N.Y., campus on the Hudson River, was even parodied in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock by Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, back when GE controlled the network. For generations of recruiters, experienced GE leaders were some of the most sought-after executives anywhere, with alums going on to helm a who’s who of American businesses including 3M, Boeing, Honeywell International, and Home Depot.