Investors are reaping the rewards. After dithering during the first four years of Mr Culp’s tenure, General Electric's three successor firms is $237bn. Although that is well below the firm’s peak of $594bn in 2000, it is more than double what Mr Culp inherited. Business-school students have spent decades dissecting the hubristic acquisitions that defined General Electric. The fact that the wind is at General Electric's back has undoubtedly helped.
Demand for jet engines has picked up since the covid-19 pandemic ended and clean-energy projects are benefiting from government handouts in America. The bullish mood of America’s stock market has surely eased the separation process, too. But Mr Culp also deserves praise. His tenure reflects not just a victory of focus over sprawl, but also of operational excellence at a firm that long suffered the effects of excessive financial engineering. The turnaround probably could not have been pulled off by a lifer. General Electric insiders had ossified