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American Morning

Wetlaufer Wrote Ironic Case Study in 1999

Aired March 13, 2002 - 09:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: A bit earlier on the show, we had renowned divorce lawyer Raoul Felder on as a guest, talking about the legal and monetary issues that may be involved in the pending divorce of former General Electric CEO Jack Welch and his wife, Jane.

Now, Andy Serwer, "Fortune" Magazine editor-at-large, is going to weigh in. An interesting case study, authored by none other than the so-called other woman, the woman at the "Harvard Business Review," who has since lost her job. And we've got, what, a case of the myth colliding head on with the man here.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR AT LARGE, "FORTUNE": Yeah, this is really amazing, but I want to talk a little bit about Jack Welch and about his wife, Jane Welch. First, you know, Jack Welch was held out to be the greatest CEO ever. There we see him speaking. We put him on the cover of "Fortune" Magazine I don't know how many times. The guy walks on water. I just thought the whole thing got a little out of hand. He got a little too puffed up -- not by him so much, as by the press. He is just a human being, after all, and I think we are seeing that right now, Jack. Although the performance of General Electric as an investment over the years is unparalleled. I mean, it really was one of the great companies ever. Still is.

SERWER: If you're a share holder, you loved him. Absolutely. No question about that. Jane Welch, his wife, very interesting. You know, people are saying, Oh, she's the second wife, she's younger. She's 49 years old, Jack (UNINTELLIGIBLE). She wasn't some sort of cupcake second wife, as some people have suggested. This woman was a very powerful lawyer at Sherman and Sterling (ph), a New York law firm. She was actually introduced to Jack Welch by Kathy (ph) and Walter Wriston, Wriston, of course, the CEO of Citibank. Jack taught her how to play golf, and apparently Jack got better at golf when he was teaching her. And -- so, she stuck with him when he had a heart attack. She is supposed to be smart, upbeat, and she will need all that as she goes through this.

But let's turn now to this case study that I discovered last night at the "Harvard Business Review" web site. This is really interesting. Suzy Wetlaufer is the woman who was apparently involved with Jack Welch. When they write these case studies at the "Harvard Business Review," sometimes they write about real companies, sometimes they write about fictitious ones, hypotheticals. This is a hypothetical case that Suzy Wetlaufer wrote about a company called Glamor-a-Go-Go. The title of the case is called "A Question of Character."

"For the most part, Glamor-a-Go-Go's board has been thrilled with CEO Joe Ryan's performance. Ryan, after all, transformed the company into a juggernaut, saving it from bankruptcy. It was a great place to work, and the stock had gone way.

"But, Ryan's personal affairs were beginning to call into question his leadership abilities. The local paper's gossip column recently ran a photo of Ryan, a married man, leaving a gala event with a beautiful young woman from the company, with the headline, 'Who's That Girl?' Others believe the mail room employee had been promoted to factory supervisor because of her affair with the CEO..." et cetera, et cetera.

I mean, is this a first personer?

CAFFERTY: Wow. Yeah.

SERWER: I mean, is this, like you were saying, the myth colliding with reality?

CAFFERTY: Similarities are stunning.

SERWER: Incredibly ironic. She wrote this case in 1999, and just really amazing.

CAFFERTY: Andy, thanks. Good to see you.

SERWER: Thanks, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Andy Serwer, "Fortune" Magazine.

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