Jack Welch, a titan of American business who transformed General Electric (GE) into America's most valuable company, has died aged 84.
He ran the US conglomerate from 1981 until 2001, and was once named "manager of the century" for his achievements.
Nicknamed "Neutron Jack" for his cost-cutting, he became a best selling author and confidante of US presidents.
President Donald Trump Tweeted that Mr Welch was a business legend and friend.
Born in 1935 to Irish-Catholic parents in Massachusetts, Mr Welch spent his entire career at GE, which he joined as a chemical engineer in its plastics division at Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Made the company's youngest vice-president in 1972, he became vice-chairman in 1979. By the end of 1980, it was announced that he was to become chairman and CEO of the firm, a position he held for 20 years before retiring in 2001.
While at the helm in the 1980s and 1990s, he bought and sold scores of businesses, expanding GE into financial services and consulting.
He was also known for his focus on straight-talk, efficiency and streamlined bureaucracy. He would regularly cull the lowest-performing 10% of staff each year. "The underperformers generally had to go," he wrote in one of his books.
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