Keynote

ImmeltJeffrey R. Immelt,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Electric
Recipient of the 2008 Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics

Jeffrey R. Immelt is the ninth chairman of GE, a post he has held since September 7, 2001.

Mr. Immelt has held several global leadership positions since coming to GE in 1982, including roles in GE's Plastics, Appliance and Medical businesses. In 1989 he became an officer of GE and joined the GE Capital Board in 1997. A couple years later, in 2000, Mr. Immelt was appointed president and chief executive officer.

Barron's has named Mr. Immelt one of the "World's Best CEOs" three times and since he began serving as chief executive officer, GE was named "America's Most Admired Company" in a poll conducted by FORTUNE magazine and one of "The World's Most Respected Companies" in polls by Barron's and The Financial Times. Mr. Immelt is also a member of The Business Council and he is on the board the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Mr. Immelt earned a BA degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College in 1978 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1982. He and his wife Andrea have one daughter.

The Botwinick Prize in Ethics was established with a generous endowment from the late Benjamin Botwinick, BS '26, and his wife, Bessie. Each year the Botwinick Prize in Ethics recognizes an outstanding leader who exhibits the highest standard of ethical conduct in business or the professions. Past recipients include Joan Bavaria, Founding President and CEO of Trillium Asset Management; Henry Kravis ‘69, Founding Partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Founder and Chairman of the New York City Investment Fund; and Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Global Strategist of Starbucks Coffee Company.

The Botwinick Prize is organized under the auspices of the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics and is an integral part of Columbia Business School’s Individual, Business and Society curriculum, which emphasizes a commitment to leadership and ethics through core courses, extracurricular activities and research.


The Social Enterprise Conference 2008 is presented by the Columbia Business School's Social Enterprise Club and the International Development Club with the support of the Social Enterprise Program, Energy Club, Microlumbia Fund, Healthcare Industry Association and Green Business Club, and our generous sponsors.

Champion:
Partner:
Supporter:
Friends:
American Express
bloomberg
Boston Consulting Group
Deloitte