Jeffrey Immelt on clean tech investment
From Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt on Role of Sustainability in Big Business | Sustainability Imperative · · The Hill Events
“You really need coherence between public policy, capital markets and innovation and you need it over an extremely long time horizon right in order to make that happen. And all of those in the current American context is challenged. But being able to make long-term technical bets is clearly part of it whether it's in sequestration or battery technology or next generation nuclear. And to a certain extent the government is the only entity that can have a time horizon and a risk profile that can make that happen.”
On , Jeffrey Immelt, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at GE Aerospace, spoke about clean tech investment during Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt on Role of Sustainability in Big Business | Sustainability Imperative on The Hill Events.
About Jeffrey Immelt
Jeffrey Immelt, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, participated in two public events in May 2026. At the Imagine 2026 conference on May 19, Immelt discussed leadership during technological disruption and the adoption of AI. He stated that an "AI winter" is inevitable, where people may say "it doesn't work" or that too much money has been spent, and emphasized the importance of perseverance through such crises. Immelt also said that AI will differentiate performance between hospitals, banks, and airlines, and that leaders must "exercise new muscles." He advised that tech professionals should not be the ones to explain technology to the public, saying "we should never let tech people talk about tech." On May 1, Immelt appeared as the inaugural Teevens Center Leadership Fellow at Dartmouth College. During the conversation, he said that leadership involves giving people truth and context, and that "there are two magic words to being a leader: blame me." He reflected on his own experience with imposter syndrome, stating he was "not comfortable enough in my own skin to say, I don't know." Immelt also commented on organizational culture, saying "your culture is only as good as the worst person you're willing to tolerate." He praised Dartmouth's current position, calling it "the best house in a bad neighborhood" and a "differentiated opportunity."