GE's Retired Welch to Join Program on CNBC Unit as 'Special Contributor'
By SALLY BEATTY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
John F. Welch Jr. may have retired as chairman and chief executive
of General Electric Co., but that doesn't mean he isn't available to help out one of his former
operating units.
CNBC said Mr. Welch, 66 years old, is joining the network's popular "Squawk Box" program as a
"special contributor" beginning Feb. 7. A spokeswoman for CNBC said it isn't compensating him for
his appearances. CNBC is owned by GE.
CNBC said Mr. Welch will be guest host of the program once each quarter for at least the next year.
Mr. Welch also will be a frequent contributor on "Business Center with Ron Insana and Sue Herera,"
CNBC's evening business-news program. CNBC said Mr. Welch will "offer his perspective and
insight" on companies and executives in the news. Mr. Welch, for example, is frequently asked for his
opinion about the Enron Corp. debacle. His answer usually contains the observation that the company
got away from its core businesses of oil and gas pipelines and strayed into areas it didn't understand.
Mr. Welch's first appearance as a special contributor is scheduled to take place the same week the
financial-news channel unveils a new daytime TV schedule, including the launch of several new shows
aimed at recapturing lost viewers. CNBC's ratings have declined along with the stock market and the
public's infatuation with playing along at home. So far this year, on average, the total number of
households tuned into CNBC on a total-day basis is down about 20% compared with the year-earlier
period. "Squawk Box" is down about 22%.
Though he is among America's most legendary CEOs, Mr. Welch has apparently found fading into
obscurity since his September retirement an impossible task. He continues to busily promote his
memoir, "Jack: Straight From the Gut," for which AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Books paid one
of the highest advances ever for a nonfiction book for the U.S. rights. He has served as a special
adviser to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO William Harrison, and is a "special partner" at investment
firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
He also still plays a lot of golf, though Mr. Welch confesses in an interview that his handicap, currently
an eight, is a bit higher than usual. He says he is playing as much as he ever has, but "I'm just not
playing that well." As for his appearances on CNBC -- in which he took a special interest even when
he was running GE -- Mr. Welch says, "I hope I can add some value to a good team."
Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and the Online Journal, co-owns with GE the
CNBC operations in Asia and Europe and contributes content to and derives revenue from CNBC
operations in the U.S. |
