Setting the record straight on GE’s annual meeting
GE’s April 22 shareholders’ meeting included nearly three hours of sometimes tough criticism. But we believe owners have a right to have their say — that’s what these meetings are about. However, some very vocal critics are mischaracterizing what happened during the question and answer period. Gary Sheffer, GE’s head of communications, was at the event and we asked him to give his perspective on the Q&A portion of the meeting.
* Read Politico.com
* Read the Hollywood Reporter
* Read mediamatters.org
I have heard a lot of GE presentations in the 36 years i worked there but the clip above had to be the least in touch with reality I ever heard. With my retirement savings mostly in GE stock I had been confident that Ge will get thur this and come back in the next 2 years. Now I have serious doubts about the stock and my Pension. Current Ge management is the worst I have ever seen. I do not think they are even capable of a truthful statement. I have never felt anything like this before. Even Jack would not act like this on his worst day–if he was not truthful he at least did what he did with Class. Jeff is just pitiful.
I was there. What I do not understand is the rude behavior from some of the people who were at the mike. Accusing GE and the CEO of controlling the media and only reporting pro Obama stuff. Some of the shareholders did not behave like adults and injecting all this politics into the meeting was inappropriate. The discussion should have stayed about business matters not this stuff. I think FOX infiltrated the meeting.
They need to make some rule, where you have to have a minimum of 2500 shares before you are allowed access to the mike. I think some of the people were FOX employees who only bought 1 share so they can disrupt this meeting.
What is a retired to do with $.10 per share and stock @ 10.00 for retirement. Jeff should step down.
I just saw O’Reilly. Does Fox have any shred of ethics left?
Immelt has presided over a 52 week high of $33.66 and a 52 week low of $5.73. That is a 83% decline. And last year he was saying that GE was a good buy because who would have ever thought that you could by it at less than $40. But he keeps his job? Forbes just listed him as the worst CEO in America and Jessie’s Girl questions FOX’s ethics? Incredible. Sounds like Jessie’s Girl infiltrated this blog.
Management has made the business decision to tarnish the brand of GE and alienate ~50% of the US population. Is this based on sound management, founded in their fiduciary duty. I think not. Many employees and retirees are embarrassed, not for the financial decisions but for the lack of integrity. Many feel the company is indirectly supporting an assault on them. I for one, feel slandered by MSNBC. Anyone watching J. Garafalo the other night that was insulted by her, would feel the same. If management wants to bursh this off as just profitable entertainment, then why fire IMUS? … why not get into porn, …anything for a buck. This is a business decision and many owners of this company believe it is wrong. As an employee, I’m just embarrassed and ashamed. Never thought it would come to this. How sad.
It’s also good to note that GE Reports is getting it’s talking points from Media Matters … why not Huffington Post…just a further embarrassment. Edison has rolled over in his grave.
So, for support for your side you recommend Media Matters? Don’t you realize they are even further left than Fox News is on the right. You use an absolutely biased "news" source to defend yourself as "not being biased." Can’t you guys do any better than that? And yes, I am a shareholder, unfortunately. Have owned a decent amount of stock for about 8 years, so figure out how well I have done. Get rid of the Media Matters link and put up something a little bit more legitimate to defend your side. Otherwise, it is just an embarrasment.
Gary, I just heard the audio during the meeting when Jeff tried to spin in response the question re: Garafalo. Are you trying to say that all those boos were orchestrated by FOX? As the soup nazi (from the last good NBC show) would say "Please, you’re wasting my time little man!"
As a stockholder I have lost a lot of money during Immelt’s reign. He should leave and let us have someone else give it a go. His pro Obama stand is very clear plus I am disappointed that "mediamatters.com", a very left organization is where we are directed for other "issues." Immelt is totally involved in politics and not in running our company which is obvious by our stock value.
If you plan on setting the record straight, you probably shouldn’t link to a far left-wing website. Kind of proves some of the detractors points, doesn’t it?
As an employee of GE I am disgusted by the way that Jeff has been running this company and by the way that he uses MSNBC as his personal soap box to help buy the presidency. He is so far in Obamas back pocket it is disgusting. When are the employees of GE who own stock in this company going to get fed up and have him fired. I would vote to fire Immelt if it were up to me.
Surely it’s obvious that GE’s media assets do have a general leftish bias. I’m not sure it’s worse than the media industry as a whole, but we expect GE to be better.
And as Gene Sarazen points out, some of the recent coverage was extremely vulgar, and will indeed tarnish GE’s brand. Cultural pollution is no better than air and water pollution.
I was at the meeting. The boos etc.. was from a handful of people I would say 20-30 folks. Everyone else was pretty dead quiet and seemed embarrassed about the whole situation. The whole thing seemed odd because everything I heard almost sounded like rehearsed talkingpoints. MSNBC generates cashflow for GE shareholders. It was embarrasing to see that small group people act like spoiled children disrupting our shareholder meeting. We own this company.
GE is a big company with lots of importance to our economic well being, of course they should be working with the current administration, it would be foolish if they did not. All big companies do.
Unlike the banks, they have taken zero handouts, they actually Pay the FDIC a fee to sell FDIC backed bonds. Taxpayers are actually making money from GE unlike the those Financial companies taking my hard earned money to pay for bonuses.
So Gary, Can you explain the difference in actions between IMUS’s obnoxious comments re: Rutgers Women’s basktetball players and Olbermann’s obnoxious comments about people that attended tea parties? Integrity of the editorial process … give it a rest. I was always told it’s not just making the numbers, it’s how you go about it as well….Integrity. Part of the Spirit and Letter. GE has jumped the shark.
EVERYBODY LISTEN!!!!!!! THIS ISN’T ABOUT POLITICS OR FOX NEWS! MSNBC & NBC are LOSING money for the Corporation!!!!! Apparently their business plan sucks and needs changing. The idiot Immelt because of HIS political views continues on this insane mission. IT’S ABOUT GOOD BUSINESS and PROFITS for the shareholders!!!!
after watching oreilly last nite for the first time in over a year, as a 38yr employee and now retiree, if half of what they accuse the company is true..i wld have tears for our storied past from ralph cordiner onwards…say it isnt so, Jeff ???
It is unfortunate that the shareholders did not exercise their vote to separate the CEO and Chairman positions. The board should provide an oversight over the company. That can’t be done when one person holds both positions. There must be something basically wrong with GE that the stock is just getting out of single digits. There is no support on Wall Street on buying and holding GE. This once great company under this leadership is now once was.
Why won’t this corporation publish clearly and definitively the vote totals for the shareholder proposals? If they are hidden somewhere, send them to me. CNBC was the McCain network so I believe as a whole, GE media is balanced between liberal MSNBC and VERY conservative CNBC. The media tends to be very conservative from my perspective, so a few evening shows on MSNBC that break the taboo of centrism should be lauded for their originality.
Longterm investor is correct in that rudeness serves no purpose. Richard Kovacs is also correct in stating that CEO and chairman should be separated because one must oversee the other. All are correct in stating that Immelt has performed poorly; this extends back beyond the current crunch.
What we need is NOT government regulation. If anyone is less capable that GE current management that would be the government whether it is red or blue. What we do need is accountability. A real vote for directors so that we can unseat them. Mandatory approval of executive compensation above a certain level each year. Overall, far more transparency in the information supplied by management. This would be a start and would likely require some federal legislation to override states with liberal corporation laws but it is doable.
I did not attend the GE Annual meeting but I realized the last stock dividend I received will now be cut by 66%. Was there any discussion of a plan to bring the dividend back including a realistic time frame?
Attachment to “comments” for GE’s annual meeting:
The General Electric Company’s board of directors have so seriously damaged, if not destroyed, the financial state and worldly reputation of the company by their obscene monetary pandering of multi millions of dollars to the upper echelons compensations, bonuses and other contrived perks and in so doing have caused the companies stock values to plunge to the likes of those exhibited by GM, Chrysler, Ford and Eastman Kodak. And then they proceed to further trash the companies image by a proposed 68% reduction in the dividend paid out to the stock holders of which many are retired GE employees who depend on those dividends to sustain a decent livelihood. There’s a most unpleasant odor of AIG emanating from halls of corporate and some severe corrective actions are required to restore peace and harmony between ‘the company‘ and it‘s employees (active and retired), stock-holders (actual and potential), associates, buyers and suppliers and customers!
Disclaimer: This comment is not copyrighted and has been submitted for a possible ‘reading ‘ at the 2009 Annual Meeting
Hi all, its been early March since I last checked in, sorry been making money on the equities market, well done longterm investor, you said you were purchasing GE when it was around $6, nice solid butt kicking there, likewise, 100%+ in 6 weeks aint too foul!!! I’m still a fair way of my dow 20k by 2010" prediction but i’ll tell you what there aint no recession happening here, I cant get a car park at the local Wal Mart in the middle of the week, tell me thats a recession.
Quote: A recession is when a friend loses their job, a depression is when you lose yours!!!
I have been watching GE very carefully over the past several years and was impressed with all the major accomplishments it has made over its’ history as a company. I watch MSNBC news and I also watch FOX news. I do not affiliate myself with any particular political party but I do consider myself to be a patriot of what this great nation has stood for in the past. As far as Democrats and Liberalism is concerned, it’s gotten way out of hand, and I sincerely believe that this country is on a fast track to socialism. I have owned GE stock with a strong belief in what capitalism stands for but after I learned of Immelts most recent comment that regarded the present U.S. govt. as becoming a partner to GE I decided that at no cost whatsoever will I be a part of a company that supports socialistic standards. It’s a shame that a company that has played such an important role in the success of our capitalistic society, suddenly turn its back on the very people who had such faith in its strength and success. I will be selling all my shares when the bell rings tomorrow morning. When Immelt steps down, and a true American takes back the reins, I’ll buy back in. I encourage all of my fellow stock holders to do the same. If you really want to hurt the "Bad Apple" ceos, hit em hard and deep in their pockets. When have you ever known of a successful company that partners with a government. The fate of GE is in the hands of an incompetant, self-righteous man who does’nt care about its stockholders nor the fate of this once great company.
Hello, just a report from downunder, good to see our stock price moving up, but i’m not enjoying myself at the moment as a GE employee. We are all working longer hours, dealing with bollocking red tape you wouldnt believe. In Sydney, Australia, we’ve given this unbelievable Enforceable Undertaking to ASIC, were we will compensate customers who dont pay their debts – What the @#$# – no wonder we’re losing money.
Hi Jim Sabo, I think your being a little harsh on GE and Jeff – He was hand picked by Jack Welsh, and has done a superb job of building GE up, moving with the times, making stock holders weatlhy – GEs current price is basically the price of all stocks in the market at the moment, they have all been hammered. I wouldnt being call JI a socialist, cripes he has 120m GE shares so he has been hammered too. What needs to occur, to put in your words hurt CEOs, is legislate ownership, if we had the execs of Fannea Mae, Lehmans, Bears etc own their company – large stock ownership, rather than big cash payments, then you wont see the collapses you saw because these owner/managers wont get high on bubbly investments. Tell me this, if you were paid $100k per year, $40k is cash and $60k is shares would you work differently, maybe more prudently/passionately?
Mr. Sheffer
As a GE stockholder I am embarrsssed by the video of a MSNBC reporter/commentor lossing his cool when intervewing a Tea Party Leader. He was determined to force the person say things that he knew were not true becsause some people at the Tea Party demonstations held up inapporate signs. With GE stock suffering and business slow why would we want to offend any part of the population. I think we should put some controls on Jeff and have him rain in these MSNBC taking heads. I know we are trying to dump this NBC Universal and the sooner the better. Fox is beating us very badly because they appeal to the silent majority so why don’t we hold Jeff to account for this lack of performance. I would appreciate your comments.
Hearing today on CNN that GE paid no income tax to United States of America. What a piece of work you are. If you can’t support this country I don’t intend to support you and will NOT BUY GE AT ALL IN THE FUTURE.
time for JEFF IMMELT to step down from the board of directors.a big conflict of interest.it is not fair to ge shareholders.a` big joke if you ask me. jeff lynn,ma
being a GE retiree and stockholder GE had better raise the dividend a lot more than ten cents or bye bye to the stock.GE retirees live on those dividends.a lot of lives have been ruined by GE.i worked 31 long,hard years at GE only to get screwed.thanks JEFF