In 2009, in the wake of the financial crisis, with ratings agencies weighing whether or not to downgrade its stock, GE CEO Jeff Immelt made the decision to cut the company's annual dividend for the first time since 1938. It was gutting for Immelt. He knew the financial impact such a move would have not just on the company, but also on its retirees—a group that notably included his own parents.
In this second part of our Skydeck conversation with Immelt, we talk about the trials of the financial crisis, the loneliness of life at the top, and what his post-GE career in education and venture capital have taught him about the future of global business.