General Electric said Monday that its longtime chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, will retire, ending a 16-year run in which he refocused the company on its industrial roots but also made notable acquisitions. Immelt will be replaced by John Flannery, president and chief…
General Electric said Monday that its longtime chairman and chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, will retire, ending a 16-year run in which he refocused the company on its industrial roots but also made notable acquisitions.
Immelt will be replaced by John Flannery, president and chief executive of GE Healthcare, in a shift that comes as the conglomerate struggles to increase profitability. GE has been under particular pressure since Trian Fund Management, run by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, took a big stake in it nearly two years ago.
The shift could augur bigger changes at the conglomerate, with Flannery saying in a video broadcast on Facebook that he would “take a fresh look at the company” with a “sense of urgency” before presenting recommendations this year.
He said that while “no one’s happy with the stock price now, ” the health care sector in particular offered “so much long-term growth, ” adding that GE was “just scratching the surface of what we can do in that business.”
Flannery, 55, will become chief executive Aug. 1. Immelt, 61, will remain as chairman until he retires Dec. 31. Flannery will then add the role of chairman.
“During this time of dynamic global markets and relentless focus on technology and operational excellence, there is no better person to lead GE than John Flannery, ” Jack Brennan, the company’s lead independent director, said in a news release. “He brings unique experience and a strong skill set to the job.”
The knives are out for an edgy new production of “ Julius Caesar ” that’s cutting a little too close to home for some fans of the White House.
Delta Air Lines and Bank of America have pulled their sponsorship of the New York Public Theater ’s version of “Julius Caesar” that portrays a Donald Trump -like dictator in a business suit with a long tie who gets knifed to death onstage.
The Public refused to back down on Monday, saying that it stands “completely behind” the production. It noted that its staging has “provoked heated discussion” but that “such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically engaged theater; this discourse is the basis of a healthy democracy.”
Other defenders included Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, who sarcastically tweeted to both Delta and Band of America: “What a mistake. Actually reading Julius Caesar might help in the future. Your copy is in the mail.”
This modern-day Caesar’s violent death at the hands of conspirators comes not long after comedian Kathy Griffin was widely condemned for posing for a photograph in which she gripped a bloodied rendering of Trump’s head.
Though the Public’s version of William Shakespeare ’s classic play is unchanged from its 400-year-old original, the production portrays Caesar with a gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife. Trump’s name is never mentioned but backlash was swift.
San Francisco children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Corp. is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest sign of traditional retailers’ struggles as shoppers shun stores and buy online.
Gymboree says it is seeking to reduce its debt by $900 million. It expects to operate its business and majority of its 1,300 stores during the restructuring.
Gymboree is the latest retailer to file Chapter 11, close stores or go out of business in 2017. Payless ShoeSource filed for bankruptcy protection in April and the Limited closed all 250 of its remaining stores early this year. Teen retailer Wet Seal in January said it would close its 171 stores.
Fuji Xerox, the joint venture between Xerox and Fujifilm Holdings, said Monday that its chairman and three other executives were stepping down over accounting problems discovered at its operations in Australia and New Zealand.
Kenji Sukeno, president and chief operating officer of Fujifilm Holdings, which owns 75 percent of Fuji Xerox, bowed and apologized at a Tokyo news conference along with other Fujifilm executives.
Chronicle News Services
