CONTACT: Catharine Lamm
603/646-3943

This year's investiture speaker for Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering will be Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric. Immelt will also receive Thayer School's Robert Fletcher Award, given annually to a graduate or friend of the School in recognition of distinguished achievement and service. The award recipient is chosen by the dean of Thayer School from candidates nominated by the Dartmouth Society of Engineers.

Jeffrey Immelt

Immelt graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1978 with a double major in mathematics and economics. While at Dartmouth, he played football and received the Earl Hamilton Varsity Award for friendship and character. After earning his A.B. degree at Dartmouth, Immelt went on to earn an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1982.

Immelt began his GE career in 1982. Following a brief assignment with Corporate Marketing, he held a series of leadership roles with GE Plastics in sales, marketing, and global product management. In 1989, he joined GE Appliances as Vice President of Consumer Service, and in 1991 was named Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Product Management.

He rejoined GE Plastics in 1992 as Vice President & General Manager of GE Plastics-Americas Commercial Division, and a year later was named Vice President & General Manager of GE Plastics Americas. In 1997, Immelt was named President and CEO of GE Medical Systems. Headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, GE Medical Systems is the global leader in medical diagnostic technology and information systems.

In November 2000, the GE Board of Directors selected Immelt to succeed John F. Welch as Chief Executive Officer. Immelt first served as President and Chairman-elect for ten months before assuming the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on September 7, 2001.

GE is a diversified services, technology, and manufacturing company that operates in more than 100 countries and employs 313,000 people worldwide. GE had revenues in 2001 of $125.9 billion and net earnings of $14.1 billion. In 2001, and for the fourth consecutive year, Fortune magazine recognized GE as "America's Most Admired Company."

Although Immelt enjoys sports, works out every morning, and reads a book a week, he spends much of his free time with his wife, Andrea, and his teen-aged daughter.

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View the Investiture Speech

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• Broadband/T1, 44 MB

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