No. 001 · General Electric · film 34 min

Sources and credits

For the film General Electric: The next twenty years.

Cold open · The Next Twenty Years

Footage

Copyright of the original broadcasters; brief excerpts used for commentary (fair use).

  1. From the archives: Jack Welch on 60 Minutes (2000), two excerpts totalling about 16 seconds, plus B-roll CBS News, 60 Minutes
  2. GE booted from the Dow (19 June 2018) CNBC
  3. GE dividend cut coverage (30 October 2018) CNBC
  4. General Electric names Larry Culp chairman & CEO (1 October 2018) Fox Business

Photographs

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. Jack Welch (2012); background removed, colour graded Hamilton83 CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. Larry Culp (2026) Official White House photo by Daniel Torok Public domain (17 U.S.C. §105)
  3. New York Stock Exchange Ryan Lawler Public domain
  4. Thomas Edison with colleagues at Menlo Park lab Public domain (US)
  5. NYSE facade CC BY 2.0
  6. GE logo (trademark of General Electric; used for identification only) Public domain

Data

  1. GE year-end market value 2000–2018: closing price × shares outstanding GE 10-K and proxy filings
  2. Peak value of about $594B (28 Aug 2000) Dow Jones Market Data, as reported by Axios and Fox Business
  3. Dow change, effective 26 June 2018 S&P Dow Jones Indices press release, 19 June 2018

Music

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated).

  1. Long Note Four Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) CC BY 4.0
  2. Unanswered Questions Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) CC BY 4.0
  3. Darkness is Coming Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) CC BY 4.0

Chapter 1 · The Invention Machine

Images and footage

MUSIC (CC BY 4.0): "Dark Times", "Ossuary 5 - Rest", "Long Note Four" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Narration: Kokoro TTS

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated).

  1. Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, 1880. AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, Physics Today Collection. CC0 1.0 CC0 1.0 Universal
  2. Pearl Street Station, c. 1885. Unknown photographer. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Public domain in the United States — published before 1931
  3. Thomas Edison at Menlo Park, 1925. National Park Service collection. Public domain Public domain in the United States — published before 1931; U.S. National Park Service holding
  4. J. P. Morgan, 1903. Edward Steichen / Library of Congress. Public domain Public domain in the United States — published in 1903
  5. Charles A. Coffin. Unknown photographer. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Public domain in the United States — historical image published before 1931
  6. Charles Proteus Steinmetz. Bain News Service / Library of Congress. Public domain Public domain; Library of Congress reports no known restrictions on publication
  7. VanDerveer Photo, via Franklin Township Public Library / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5 CC BY 2.5 (the source page also records U.S. public-domain status for the historical photograph)
  8. Willis R. Whitney. Bain News Service / Library of Congress. Public domain Public domain; Library of Congress reports no known restrictions on publication
  9. William D. Coolidge. Bain News Service / Library of Congress. Public domain Public domain; Library of Congress reports no known restrictions on publication
  10. Irving Langmuir, c. 1920. Edgar Fahs Smith Collection, University of Pennsylvania. Public domain Public domain in the United States — published before 1931
  11. Daderot, public domain Public-domain dedication by the photographer
  12. U.S. Air Force / AFFTC History Office. Public domain Public domain — U.S. Air Force work
  13. U.S. Army Air Forces. Public domain Public domain — U.S. government work
  14. Imperial War Museums, TR 3737. Public domain Public domain — United Kingdom Crown copyright expired
  15. Tichnor Brothers Collection / Boston Public Library. Public domain in the United States Public domain in the United States — published without copyright notice in the relevant period
  16. A Day with Thomas A. Edison (1922), General Electric Company / Bray Studios, Library of Congress. Public domain Public domain in the United States — published in 1922; Library of Congress states “No known restrictions on publication.”
  17. Taking the ‘X’ out of X-Rays (1940), General Electric, via Internet Archive. Public domain Public domain; source metadata declares the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark/dedication
  18. Edison visits GE Schenectady with Steinmetz, Whitney, Coolidge and Langmuir” (1923 film). Ford Motor Company Collection, National Archives (NARA ID 93050, FC.FC.3901). Public domain https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93050
  19. Pan-American Exposition by Night” (1901), Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Library of Congress. Public domain https://www.loc.gov/item/2024600549/
  20. General Electric Works, Schenectady” panorama (1907), Library of Congress. Public domain; no known restrictions https://www.loc.gov/item/2007661113/
  21. Wall Street, New York” (c. 1901–06), Detroit Publishing Co., Library of Congress. Public domain https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016798899/
  22. GE turbine plant, Schenectady” (1949), Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, Library of Congress. Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Electric_turbine_plant,_Schenectady,_New_York._LOC_gsc.5a16169.jpg
  23. Thomson-Houston Electric Company advertisement” (1888). Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomson-Houston_Electric_Company_1888.png
  24. Lamp works, Edison General Electric Co.” (c. 1890). Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rendering_of_the_lamp_works,_Edison_General_Electric_Co._(778dbe76bc3a48bf9be4c7347e3ae415).jpg
  25. Irving Langmuir, W.R. Whitney, W.D. Coolidge,” Bain News Service / Library of Congress. Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Irving_Langmuir_-_W.R._Whitney-_W.D._Coolidge_LCCN2014717277.jpg
  26. GE Schenectady” (2009), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GE_Schenectady.JPG
  27. Nobel prize medal” — Gusme; SVG version by AhmadSherif, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nobel_prize_medal.svg
  28. GE90 jet engine” (2016), CC0 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2016.10.13.112619_GE90_jet_engine_Future_of_Flight_Center_%26_Boeing_Tour_Everett_Washington.jpg
  29. GE F110-GE-100 engine testing,” 177th Fighter Wing (2017), DVIDS / U.S. Air National Guard. Public domain https://www.dvidshub.net/video/512154
  30. Portrait cut-outs of Edison, Coffin, Steinmetz, Whitney, Coolidge, Langmuir, J.P. Morgan and the Langmuir–Whitney–Coolidge group derived from the public-domain photos listed above

Chapter 2 · Neutron Jack

Archival footage

U.S. Government, White House Television Office Please Credit: Courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

  1. WHTV Master Tape #708 — Remarks at Annual Meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers, Washington Hilton, Mar. 10, 1983
  2. WHTV Master Tape #639 — Chrysler plant, Fenton MO, Feb. 1, 1983 (assembly line shots, used as illustrative industry b-roll)
  3. WHTV Master Tape #599 — Digital Equipment Corp. tour / business roundtable, 1983 (office, electronics bench, roundtable shots; illustrative)
  4. WHTV Master Tape #698 — U.S. Precision Lens, Cincinnati, Aug. 8, 1988 (factory employees; illustrative, not GE)
  5. WHTV Master Tape #352 — President Reagan at the New York Stock Exchange, Mar. 28, 1985 (trading floor)
  6. WHTV Master Tape #F49 — Ford Claycomo assembly plant, Missouri, Apr. 11, 1984 (cafeteria meeting, assembly line; illustrative, not GE)
  7. WHTV Master Tape #Z12 — Business Roundtable CEOs at the White House, Mar. 12, 1982 (illustrative)
  8. GE F110-GE-100 engine testing, 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard, 2017 — DVIDS / U.S. Air National Guard, public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) public domain

Documents

PUBLIC DOMAIN

  1. White House briefing memo "Meeting with the National Association of Manufacturers," Mar. 9, 1983 (mentions "Jack Welch, CEO for General Electric, who will be seated next to you") — Reagan Library

Documents shown on screen

fair use — commentary; brief excerpts, highlighted

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated).

  1. Fortune, Geoff Colvin, "The Ultimate Manager," Nov. 22, 1999 — 19-word quotation set as on-screen typography (not a scan)
  2. General Electric Company, 1981 Annual Report (letter to share owners incl. photo of Welch with vice chairmen, April 1981)
  3. General Electric Company, 1985 Annual Report (letter to share owners "number one or two in market share…"; financial highlights)
  4. Harvard Business Review, "Speed, Simplicity, Self-Confidence: An Interview with Jack Welch" (Tichy & Charan, Sept.–Oct. 1989), first page
  5. Loberg, Nüesch & Foege, "Forced distribution rating systems and team collaboration," J. Economic Behavior & Organization 188 (2021) — CC BY 4.0 CC BY 4.0

Archival footage

used briefly for commentary / criticism

  1. CBS News, "60 Minutes" — interview with Jack Welch (Lesley Stahl). Excerpt ~12.6 s (source 04:39.7–04:52.3)

Photographs

  1. Jack Welch & vice chairmen cut-out (1981) derived from the GE 1981 annual report photo above (fair use)
  2. GE CF6 engine in test cell, 1978 — U.S. National Archives / NASA, public domain public domain
  3. Former GE Bridgeport plant demolition, 2012 — Pedro Xing, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC0 1.0

Music

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  1. "Deliberate Thought"
  2. "Hidden Agenda"
  3. "Ossuary 6 - Air"
  4. "Interloper"
  5. "Night Vigil"

Data / fact sources

Org-title list, bell-curve graphic, rank tags: illustrations (not GE documents). Document pages are shown as re-photographed-style renders of the scans listed above (paper texture/lighting added) Narration: synthetic voice (Kokoro TTS, Apache-2.0). Motion graphics: original

  1. Fortune, "The Ultimate Manager," Nov. 22, 1999 (118 new businesses/JVs/acquisitions; 71 businesses sold in first two years)
  2. Jack Welch & John A. Byrne, "Jack: Straight from the Gut" (2001) — workforce ~411,000 (end 1980) → ~299,000 (end 1985); ~37,000 in businesses sold, ~81,000 "for productivity reasons" (figures as he reported them)
  3. Harvard Business Review, "Speed, Simplicity, Self-Confidence: An Interview with Jack Welch" (1989) — delayering, Work-Out
  4. GE Annual Report 2000 — differentiation / 20-70-10 model
  5. GE News, obituary profile of Jack Welch (2020) — age 45, youngest CEO, PhD chemical engineering, plastics
  6. Los Angeles Times (1993) — "Neutron Jack" nickname (Newsweek, 1982)
  7. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2021) doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.035; Management Science (2013) doi:10.1287/mnsc.1120.1624 — forced ranking & cooperation

Chapter 3 · The Bank Inside the Factory

Photos

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. Former GE plant, Bridgeport, Conn., during demolition — photo 22 Apr 2012 Pedro Xing CC0 1.0
  2. Wall Street, New York — photo between 1980 and 2006 (exact year not given) Carol M. Highsmith Public domain / no known restrictions (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress)
  3. GE "Monitor Top" refrigerator, 1929 model (museum exhibit) — photo 7 Jul 2022 Michael Rivera CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. GE refrigerator advertisement, "Arquitectura", July 1930 anonymous (not credited) Public domain (anonymous work, Spain; 1930 publication, US term expired 1 Jan 2026)
  5. GE Capital logo, late 1980s (vector) General Electric Public domain (PD-textlogo); GE trademark still applies
  6. Go Fly Boeing 737-300 G-IGOJ (leased from GECAS), Palma de Mallorca — photo 18 Aug 2002 Aero Icarus CC BY-SA 2.0
  7. GE Money Bank branch, Orleansplatz, Munich — photo 22 Sep 2007 Mattes Public domain (per Wikimedia Commons metadata)
  8. GE CF6 engine in a test cell — photo 25 Sep 1978 not named; U.S. National Archives / NASA series (NARA ID 17442159) Public domain (U.S. government work)
  9. GE Money Bank branch, Minská 38, Brno, Czechia — date taken not stated on the source page Kacir CC BY 3.0 (also GFDL)
  10. GE90 engine on an Emirates Boeing 777 — photo 27 Jan 2010 Björn Strey CC BY-SA 2.0
  11. LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737-36N SP-LMC (leased from GECAS), Zurich — photo 7 May 2002 Aero Icarus CC BY-SA 2.0
  12. "Trading floor, New York Stock Exchange, New York, New York" — catalogue date [between 1980 and 2006] Carol M. Highsmith Library of Congress rights advisory: "No known restrictions on publication" (Carol M. Highsmith Archive)
  13. Rockefeller Center (RCA / GE Building), New York — photo between 1980 and 2006 Carol M. Highsmith Public domain / no known restrictions (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress)
  14. GE Building sign, 30 Rockefeller Center, New York — photo 2012 PumpkinSky CC BY-SA 3.0
  15. GE Energy Efficient Engine programme, gearbox — photo 1982 NASA Glenn Research Center Public domain (NASA / U.S. federal work, GRC C-02400)
  16. GE Energy Efficient Engine test bed — photo 1983 NASA Glenn Research Center Public domain (NASA / U.S. federal work, GRC C-03108)
  17. GE Energy Efficient Engine core — photo 1982 NASA Glenn Research Center Public domain (NASA / U.S. federal work, GRC C-03889)
  18. GE90 engine on a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 777-200 — photo 2 Mar 2013 Chau1988 Public domain (author dedication, PD-user)
  19. GE90 engine on a Swiss Boeing 777-300ER — photo 12 Jun 2016 Bernd K CC BY-SA 4.0
  20. GE research campus, Niskayuna, N.Y. — photo 10 Jun 2021 Tyler A. McNeil CC BY-SA 4.0
  21. Jack Welch (seated) with GE vice chairmen — photo printed in the GE 1985 Annual Report. Photographer: not found in credit files copyright General Electric; NOT public domain / CC — reproduced as an excerpt for commentary
  22. NBC Studios marquee, Rockefeller Center, New York — photo 18 Jul 2012 PumpkinSky CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
  23. Montgomery Ward & Co. building, Chicago — photo c. 1900–1906 Detroit Publishing Co. (photographer unidentified) Public domain in the US — Library of Congress: no known restrictions on publication
  24. "His Master's Voice" (Nipper) stained-glass window from the RCA Victor building, Camden, N.J. (window 1915–16; National Museum of American History) — photo 16 Oct 2024 Crawdad Blues (photo); Nicola D'Ascenzo / D'Ascenzo Studios (window) CC0 1.0
  25. NBC Studios (KNBC), Burbank, California — photo 1978 Antarctic96 CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
  26. RCA CT-100 colour television (1954 set), CTC-2 chassis exposed — photo 2008 HumanisticRationale CC BY 3.0 Unported
  27. RCA XL-100 television, model EMR350E (1987) — photo 27 Jun 2011 Bmuscotty88 CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
  28. GE Optima CT scanner, Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, Whitefield — photo 8 Oct 2013 (illustrative; not 1987 Thomson-CGR equipment) Narenfox CC BY-SA 4.0 International
  29. The Nipper Building (RCA Victor Building 17), Camden, N.J. — photo 19 Aug 2017 Carol M. Highsmith Public domain (Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress)
  30. NBC News street front, Rockefeller Center, New York — photo 2 Aug 2011 Erik Drost CC BY 2.0 Generic
  31. RCA engineer Joel Bacher adjusting a Satcom communications satellite — photo 10 Dec 1975 NASA Public domain (NASA)
  32. RCA Satcom Ku-1 satellite after deployment, Space Shuttle mission STS-61C — photo 12 Jan 1986 NASA / JSC Public domain (NASA)
  33. New York Stock Exchange and the Wilks Building (Kidder, Peabody & Co. plaque), Wall Street — photo c. 1921 Irving Underhill Public domain in the US (1921 copyright expired); Library of Congress: no known restrictions on publication
  34. Technician working on a GE F110 engine for the F-16 — photo 21 May 1986 camera operator credited as General Electric; U.S. Air Force image, DoD ID DFST8612134 Public domain (U.S. Air Force / U.S. government work)
  35. Former Montgomery Ward store building (built 1928), Woodstock Square Historic District, Woodstock, Illinois — photo 15 Oct 2010 Teemu008 CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic
  36. Former Montgomery Ward store, exterior sign, Regency Mall, Augusta, Georgia — photo 22 Nov 2010 Mike Kalasnik CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic
  37. Former Montgomery Ward storefront, Kansas City — photo 6 Jun 2010 Caldorwards4 CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
  38. Closed Montgomery Ward entrance (shutter down), Regency Mall, Augusta, Georgia — photo 22 Nov 2010 Mike Kalasnik CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic
  39. Vacant Montgomery Ward seen from the mall atrium, Regency Mall, Augusta, Georgia — photo 22 Nov 2011 Mike Kalasnik CC BY-SA 2.0
  40. New York National Guard members visiting a nursing-home resident — photo 7 Dec 2020 (illustrative) The National Guard CC BY 2.0 Generic
  41. New York Stock Exchange facade — photo c. 1999 (date uncertain, see OPEN ITEMS) Reinhard Jahn CC BY-SA 2.0 Germany
  42. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters, 100 F Street NE, Washington — photo 13 Oct 2009 AgnosticPreachersKid CC BY-SA 3.0
  43. Jack Welch on stage, World Business Forum — photo 5 Oct 2010 Challenge Future CC BY 2.0
  44. GE F404-GE-402 engine test with afterburner aboard USS Abraham Lincoln — photo 23 Jun 2004 U.S. Navy, PHAN M. Jeremie Yoder Public domain (U.S. Navy work)
  45. GE Aircraft Engines Boeing 747 flight-test aircraft carrying a GE90-115B, Mojave — photo 18 Sep 2002 Alan Radecki CC BY-SA 3.0
  46. U.S. Navy aviation machinist's mates servicing a GE T700 engine, San Diego — photo 19 Nov 2002 U.S. Navy, Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Ramon Preciado Public domain (U.S. Navy work)

Archival footage

  1. "Buy an Electric Refrigerator", cinema advertisement, c. 1926 (not GE; illustrative) Electric League of Pittsburgh; AFI/Kalinowski Collection, Library of Congress Public domain in the United States (published before 1931)
  2. GE Research Laboratory, Schenectady, 1923 — laboratory apparatus Ford Motor Company (film crew not named) NARA lists access as unrestricted and use as "possibly restricted" — all rights were conveyed to the U.S. Government on 28 Nov 1962, but footage Ford obtained from other sources may carry other rights
  3. GE Research Laboratory, 1923 — Thomas Edison visits Irving Langmuir's laboratory Ford Motor Company (film crew not named) NARA lists access as unrestricted and use as "possibly restricted" — all rights were conveyed to the U.S. Government on 28 Nov 1962, but footage Ford obtained from other sources may carry other rights
  4. GE F101 engine (B-1B Lancer) in the T-9 Jet Engine Test Cell — filmed 13 Aug 2013 U.S. Department of Defense / 7th Bomb Wing, Timothy Kirchner (DVIDS video 298616) Public domain (U.S. federal government work)
  5. GE F110-GE-100 engine test at full afterburner, 177th Fighter Wing — filmed 31 Jan 2017 Master Sgt. Andrew Moseley / 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard (DVIDS ID 512154; VIRIN 170131-Z-YH452-001) Public domain (marked PUBLIC DOMAIN by DVIDS; U.S. Air National Guard work)

Documents shown on screen

U.S. government works = public domain. Corporate documents = copyright of the company, quoted / excerpted for commentary — NOT public domain or CC The SEC order of Sept. 23, 2004 (Release 34-50426) is shown re-typeset from the official sec.gov HTML text (it is not a scan of an SEC-issued PDF) The GE 1999 Form 10-K is shown re-rendered from the EDGAR HTML

  1. General Electric Company, 2001 Annual Report — letter to share owners (printed p. 1; letter dated February 2002, includes GE's portrait of Jeff Immelt), management's discussion (printed p. 53, Wards), selected financial data (printed p. 65). Publisher: General Electric corporate document, copyright GE — excerpted for commentary
  2. General Electric Company, 1985 Annual Report — letter to share owners (printed p. 3); notes to financial statements, note 2 "Proposed acquisition" (printed p. 38). Publisher: General Electric corporate document, copyright GE — excerpted for commentary
  3. General Electric Company, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 1999 — description of GE Capital Services businesses; "GECS acquired control of Montgomery Ward LLC on August 2, 1999". Publisher: General Electric, filed with the SEC (EDGAR) on 17 Mar 2000 as Form 10-K405, accession 0000040545-00-000023 GE-authored SEC filing — excerpted for commentary; re-rendered from the EDGAR HTML
  4. General Electric Company, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2000 — statement of earnings (1999 column). Publisher: General Electric, filed with the SEC (EDGAR) on 23 Mar 2001, accession 0000040545-01-500023 GE-authored SEC filing — excerpted for commentary; shown from a browser print of the EDGAR page
  5. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "In the Matter of Orlando Joseph Jett", Opinion of the Commission, Securities Act Release No. 8395 / Exchange Act Release No. 49366, March 5, 2004 (Admin. Proc. File No. 3-8919) — pp. 1, 2, 18 public domain (U.S. federal government work)
  6. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC v. General Electric Company", Complaint (U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut), Aug. 4, 2009 — p. 1 public domain (U.S. federal government work)
  7. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, order "In the Matter of General Electric Company", Admin. Proc. File No. 3-11677, Exchange Act Release No. 34-50426, Sept. 23, 2004 (disclosure of Welch's retirement benefits) public domain (U.S. federal government work)
  8. General Electric Company, press release "GE Announces Final Phase of Insurance Portfolio Transformation", Nov. 18, 2005 — p. 3 corporate document, copyright GE — excerpted for commentary
  9. General Electric Company, press release "GE Provides Update on Insurance Review; $6.2B After-Tax GAAP Charge in 4Q'17", Jan. 16, 2018 — p. 1 corporate document, copyright GE (not confirmed PD/CC) — excerpted for commentary
  10. Montgomery Ward & Co., Catalogue No. 97, Fall & Winter 1922–23 ("1872 Golden Jubilee 1922"), Chicago, 1922 — cover (shown as a document) and inside pages shown full-frame: coats (printed p. 11), slippers (p. 295), boots (p. 304), electric washers (p. 530), bicycles (p. 562). Publisher: Montgomery Ward & Co.; scan: Internet Archive public domain in the US (published in the US in 1922); not a CC licence. Pages cropped/graded/animated; one page also blurred as a graphic background

Quoted headlines / text

recreated as typography — not scans Q1 The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 3, 1994, p. A1 (continued A6): Randall Smith, Steven Lipin and Amal Kumar Naj, "Managing Profits: How General Electric Damps Fluctuations in Its Annual Earnings" Q2 Fortune, Nov. 22, 1999: Geoff Colvin, "The Ultimate Manager" — source of the phrase "Manager of the Century" Q3 GMI Ratings, January 2012: Paul Hodgson and Greg Ruel, "Twenty-One U.S. CEOs with Golden Parachutes of More Than $100 Million" — source of the ~$417 million estimate (Welch: $417,361,902) of the total retirement package; an estimate of total value, not a single cash payment

Data sources for graphics

  1. 40 of 40 quarters, 1995–2004: SEC v. General Electric Co., complaint, 2009 (D06) — "Beginning in 1995 and continuing through the filing of the Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2004, GE met or exceeded final consensus analyst earnings per share ('EPS') expectations every quarter."
  2. GE market capitalisation, 1981–2001: approximate year-end series compiled for this project. 1981: ~$14B, rounded value at the start of Welch's tenure (GE retrospective); 1982–1995: estimated year-end values = annual-average market cap × last-close/mean-close ratio (CRESC/Manchester WP5; Yahoo Finance daily close); 1996–2001: reported end-of-year series (CompaniesMarketCap; cross-checked against the GE 1999 Form 10-K and GE 2001 Annual Report, p. 67). On-screen tag: "Approx. year-end market capitalization · GE annual reports; CRESC/Manchester; CompaniesMarketCap"
  3. Finance share of GE net earnings, 1981 vs 2001: GE Annual Report 1981 — GE Credit $129M of $1,652M (~8%) — ; GE Annual Report 2001 — GE Capital Services $5,417M of $13,684M (~40%) (D01)
  4. GE 1999 Form 10-K (D03): "Wards operates 252 stores in 32 states"; $86.8 billion insurance liabilities and reserves, GE Capital Services, end of 1999
  5. GE 1985 Annual Report (D02): Employers Reinsurance acquired in 1984 for $1.1 billion; RCA merger agreement of Dec. 11, 1985, approximately $6.3 billion
  6. GE Capital insurance presentation ("Insurance teach-in"), March 2019 — : insurance units sold (Genworth IPO 2004; Employers Reinsurance to Swiss Re 2006) and kept (Union Fidelity Life, Employers Reassurance). (An older project credit file calls it "Teach-In, 2018"; the document's own cover reads March 7, 2019.)
  7. GE Capital Services total assets, end of 1999: $345,018 million — GE 2001 Annual Report, selected financial data (D01)
  8. GE Capital Services share of 1999 net earnings, 41% ($4,443M of $10,717M) — GE 2000 Form 10-K, statement of earnings (D04)
  9. Kidder, Peabody: "nearly $338.7 million in illusory profits" — SEC opinion, 2004 (D05). GE control 1986, ~$350 million charge (1994), sale of most of Kidder to PaineWebber (Oct. 1994): contemporary press reports (UPI; Los Angeles Times), as listed in the v1 credits
  10. GE–Thomson swap, announced July 22, 1987: contemporary reports (Los Angeles Times; Washington Post)
  11. Montgomery Ward: $3.8 billion management-led buyout, 1988; Chapter 11 filing, 1997; ~30,000 jobs (2000): contemporary reports (Los Angeles Times; Washington Post), as listed in the v1 credits. Liquidation from Dec. 28, 2000: GE 2001 Annual Report (D01)
  12. GE central-lab funding shares, ~2/3 before and ~1/4 after the c. 1988 overhaul: AIP / IDA studies of industrial R&D (as tagged on screen). Sources: Institute for Defense Analyses study — ; AIP History of Physicists in Industry report — ; testimony of Lonnie Edelheit, U.S. House hearing (1998)
  13. GE Contracts Corporation, 1932: SEC exhibit (GECC history), as listed in the v1 credits. GE90 entry into service, 1995: GE Aerospace, as listed in the v1 credits
  14. Reinsurance flow, "policy sold → claims still due" timeline and the earnings-smoothing bar chart are simplified illustrations (the last one of the mechanism described by The Wall Street Journal) — not GE data

Music

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music was edited (excerpted, faded and mixed under narration)

  1. "Crypto" — ISRC USUAN1600013
  2. "Deliberate Thought" — ISRC USUAN1100261
  3. "Hidden Agenda" — ISRC USUAN1200102
  4. "Ossuary 6 - Air" — ISRC USUAN1500048

3d characters · voice · original elements

Voice: synthetic narration — Kokoro TTS, voice bm_george Motion graphics, diagrams, 3D sets, desk and paper textures, and sound effects: original (generated for this film) Document pages are shown as re-photographed-style renders (paper texture and lighting added)

Press and reference sources for facts stated in the narration

not shown on screen

  1. Thomson swap, 1987
  2. Kidder, Peabody, 1986 and 1994
  3. Montgomery Ward buyout, 1988
  4. Montgomery Ward bankruptcy 1997 / exit 1999
  5. Montgomery Ward liquidation, Dec. 28, 2000 (roughly 28,000–32,000 jobs)
  6. GE market value: ; ; ; daily closes from Yahoo Finance. The chart plots approximate year-end values (about $13B for 1981); the "~$14B" label is GE's figure for when Welch took over
  7. SEC press release on the 2009 complaint

Chapter 4 · The Inheritance

Photos

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. Jeff Immelt speaking at a World Resources Institute event — photo 13 Feb 2007 WRI Staff CC BY 2.0
  2. Jeff Immelt at a Centricity Healthcare user-group event, Washington — photo 28 Aug 2009 SarekOfVulcan CC BY-SA 3.0
  3. Jeff Immelt with Jan Wyrowiński at the Senate of Poland — photo 30 Jun 2009 (framed on Immelt; a bystander is visible at the left edge) Chancellery of the Senate of Poland CC BY-SA 3.0 PL
  4. President Barack Obama looks at a steam-turbine rotor at GE's Schenectady plant — photo 21 Jan 2011 (illustrates GE's industrial side; Immelt is small in the background) Pete Souza, Official White House Public domain — U.S. government work, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
  5. Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site, 11 Sep 2001 (Library of Congress, "September 11th" photograph collection, image 111) unidentified photojournalist (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division) Public domain per the Library of Congress item record
  6. Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site, 11 Sep 2001 (Library of Congress, "September 11th" photograph collection, image 196) unidentified photojournalist (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division) Public domain per the Library of Congress item record
  7. GE Aircraft Engines Boeing 747 flight-test aircraft, Mojave — photo 18 Sep 2002 Alan Radecki CC BY-SA 3.0
  8. GE Building sign, 30 Rockefeller Center, New York — photo 2012 PumpkinSky CC BY-SA 3.0
  9. GE Money Bank branch, Mělník, Czechia — photo 26 May 2010 Kacir CC BY 3.0
  10. LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737-36N SP-LMC, leased from GE Capital Aviation Services, Zurich — photo 7 May 2002 Aero Icarus CC BY-SA 2.0
  11. Outside Lehman Brothers' headquarters, New York, on the day of its bankruptcy filing — photo 15 Sep 2008 Robert Scoble CC BY 2.0
  12. Warren Buffett in the Oval Office with President Obama — photo 14 Jul 2010 (cropped to Buffett; not a picture of the 2008 Berkshire–GE deal) Pete Souza / Official White House Public domain — U.S. Executive Office work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-USGov-POTUS
  13. New York Stock Exchange facade with the U.S. flag, seen from Federal Hall — photo 23 Oct 2008 Andy C CC BY-SA 3.0
  14. FDIC headquarters, 550 17th Street NW, Washington — entrance wall with the lettering "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation" and the FDIC seal — photo 3 May 2025 G. Edward Johnson CC BY 4.0
  15. FDIC headquarters, Washington — street-corner view of the building — photo 21 Jun 2024 Ajay Suresh (ajay_suresh) CC BY 2.0
  16. Jack Welch on stage, World Business Forum — photo 5 Oct 2010 Challenge Future CC BY 2.0
  17. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters, 100 F Street NE, Washington — photo 13 Oct 2009 AgnosticPreachersKid CC BY-SA 3.0
  18. Glass facade of the SEC headquarters, Washington — photo 4 Oct 2008 David (dbking) CC BY 2.0
  19. GE-built ET44AH locomotive, Union Pacific No. 2668 — photo 28 Jun 2016 (illustrative: stands for GE's locomotive business in part 1 and for GE's industrial costs in part 3) Tyler Silvest CC BY 2.0
  20. U.S. Navy aviation machinist's mates servicing a GE T700 engine, San Diego — photo 19 Nov 2002 (illustrative for the spare-parts accounting item) U.S. Navy, Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Ramon Preciado Public domain (U.S. Navy work)
  21. NBC Studios marquee, Rockefeller Center, New York — photo 18 Jul 2012 PumpkinSky CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
  22. Haier headquarters, Qingdao — photo 29 Aug 2016 (taken after the GE Appliances sale closed) Haier Group CC BY-SA 4.0
  23. New houses in Salinas, California (illustrative; not shown as WMC borrowers) — photo 24 Oct 2006 Brendel CC BY-SA 2.5
  24. House with a "For sale by owner" sign, California (illustrative) — photo 29 Dec 2006 Casey Serin CC BY 2.0
  25. Deserted foreclosed house (illustrative; location not given) — photo Aug 2008 Joguldi CC BY 2.0
  26. Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, Washington — photo 10 Apr 2010 JSquish CC BY-SA 3.0
  27. Alstom factory, Stafford, England — photo 5 Oct 2012 Steve Daniels CC BY-SA 2.0
  28. Steam-turbine section from the Altbach power plant on display, University of Stuttgart (illustrative) — photo 9 Mar 2015 Julian Herzog CC BY 4.0
  29. Gas-insulated lines, Leingarten substation, Germany (illustrative; not a confirmed Alstom site) — photo 11 Aug 2015 Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0
  30. GE-built gas turbine leaving Belfort, France, on a heavy-load convoy — photo 5 Mar 2014 Thomas Bresson CC BY 3.0
  31. Gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, North Carolina (illustrative) — photo 29 May 2013 Peoplepoweredbyenergy CC BY-SA 4.0
  32. "Baker Hughes, a GE company" sign, Houston office — photo 31 Mar 2019 Tony Webster CC BY 2.0
  33. "Baker Hughes, a GE company" sign at the Houston headquarters — photo 31 Mar 2019 Tony Webster CC BY 2.0
  34. Drill rig, Fayetteville Shale, Arkansas — USGS page dated 14 Mar 2016; date taken not stated (illustrative) William L. Cunningham, U.S. Geological Survey Public domain (U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. government work)
  35. Turbine control room, Reading Power Station, Tel Aviv (illustrative; not a GE site) — photo 18 May 2016 Itzike CC BY-SA 4.0
  36. Server room (illustrative; owner not stated, not GE Digital) — photo 4 Nov 2015 Carl Lender CC BY 2.0
  37. Jeff Immelt speaking before a GE-logo backdrop at the announcement of GE's move to Boston — photo 4 Apr 2016. Two framings: full and a tight crop Office of Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts Public domain (PD-MAGov; work of the Massachusetts state government)
  38. Jeff Immelt (left) with Governor Charlie Baker and Mayor Martin Walsh at the same announcement — photo 4 Apr 2016. Two framings: full and a crop on Immelt Office of Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts Public domain (PD-MAGov; work of the Massachusetts state government)
  39. News Corp. building, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York (home of The Wall Street Journal) — photo 22 Mar 2018 Tdorante10 CC BY-SA 4.0
  40. Wall Street with the New York Stock Exchange and the steps of Federal Hall — photo 16 Aug 2017 Arild Vågen CC BY-SA 4.0
  41. Jack Welch (seated) with GE vice chairmen — photograph printed in the GE 1985 Annual Report photographer not named (General Electric) copyright General Electric; NOT public domain / CC — reproduced as an excerpt for commentary

Footage

Stock footage — Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/license/ : free to use, attribution not required; credited here and on screen as "Stock footage · author / Pexels — illustrative") All clips are modern generic footage: not archival, not GE sites, people or aircraft Modified: cropped/graded, slow push-in, labels added

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. Pumpjack at work, Hockley County, Texas — filmed 18 Apr 2015 (illustrative) H-2-O CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Aerial of a suburban neighbourhood — "Aerial View of Suburban Neighborhood at Daytime" 8 K / Pexels
  3. "For sale" sign in front of a house — "For Sale Signage in Front of a House" Kindel Media / Pexels
  4. A loan application handed across a desk — "A Person Giving Applying for a Loan" RDNE Stock project / Pexels
  5. Aerial of a suburb in Louisiana — "Aerial View of Suburban Louisiana Landscape" Jabriel / Pexels
  6. Aerial of an electrical substation — "Aerial View of Power Substation Infrastructure" Toàn BDS / Pexels
  7. Offshore drilling rig at dusk — "Dramatic Offshore Oil Rig at Sunset" Dio Hasbi Saniskoro / Pexels
  8. Aerial of an oilfield with pumpjacks, Texas — "Aerial Shot of Landscape" CityXcape / Pexels
  9. Hands typing at a laptop (close-up) — "Close-up View of a Person Using a Laptop" olia danilevich / Pexels
  10. Server racks — "Database Storage of a Server" ALL IZ Well / Pexels
  11. Person typing at a laptop — "Person Typing in the Laptop" cottonbro studio / Pexels
  12. Business jet moved along a taxiway (tagged "not GE aircraft"; its registration is readable on the tail) Jake Heinemann / Pexels
  13. Drone view of business jets parked on an apron (tagged "not GE aircraft") Advancer Drones / Pexels
  14. Aerial of Boston with the downtown skyline in the distance James Hamar / Pexels
  15. Empty boardroom, close view of the table Werner Pfennig / Pexels
  16. The same empty boardroom, wide pan Werner Pfennig / Pexels

Documents shown on screen

GE publications, Trian's paper and the investor transcript are not PD/CC; they are shown as short excerpts for commentary. U.S. government documents are public domain. "Re-typeset" = the text of a GE web press release was set as a letter page by this film (wording unchanged); all other pages are images of the original PDF pages. Paper texture and lighting are added

  1. General Electric Company, 2001 Annual Report — letter to share owners, first page (includes GE's portrait of Jeff Immelt)
  2. General Electric Company, press release "GE Announces Common Stock Offering; Warren Buffett Announces Investment in GE", 1 Oct 2008 — re-typeset; highlights on the $3 billion preferred investment and the 10% dividend
  3. General Electric Company, press release "GE Board of Directors Plans to Reduce Quarterly Dividend to $0.10 per Share Starting in the Second Half of 2009", 27 Feb 2009 — re-typeset; one highlight
  4. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC v. General Electric Company", Complaint, filed 4 Aug 2009 — p. 2; highlight "In one instance, the improper accounting allowed GE to avoid missing analysts' final consensus EPS expectations." Public domain (U.S. government work)
  5. General Electric Company, press release "GE To Create Simpler, More Valuable Industrial Company By Selling Most GE Capital Assets; …", 10 Apr 2015 — re-typeset; highlights on the headline
  6. General Electric Company, press release "GE Completes Acquisition of Alstom Power and Grid Businesses", 2 Nov 2015 — re-typeset; highlight "It is GE's largest-ever industrial acquisition."
  7. General Electric Company, 2018 Annual Report / Form 10-K — Note 8 (Goodwill), printed p. 118; highlights on the Power goodwill impairment and on "The majority of the goodwill in our Power segment was recognized as a result of the Alstom acquisition"
  8. General Electric Company, 2015 Annual Report — letter to shareowners, p. 12; highlight "GE can become a top 10 software company by 2020"
  9. General Electric Company, annual outlook investor meeting, 16 Dec 2015 — slide 54; highlights on "$2.00+" for 2018 and the footnote "Industrial + Verticals operating EPS"
  10. Trian Fund Management, L.P., white paper "Transformation Underway… But Nobody Cares", 5 Oct 2015 (© 2015 Trian Fund Management) — cover, and p. 4 with highlights on "Trian beneficially owns approximately $2.5bn of GE stock" and "Management has taken bold steps to reshape the company". The project copy is a third-party mirror of Trian's PDF
  11. General Electric Company, transcript of GE's presentation at the Electrical Products Group conference, 24 May 2017 — p. 10 (Jeff Immelt speaking); highlight "$2 will be at the high end of the range."
  12. General Electric Company, press release "John Flannery Named Chairman and CEO of GE", 12 Jun 2017 — first page of GE's PDF; highlight "effective August 1, 2017"
  13. General Electric Company, one-page infographic "GE Board's CEO Succession Planning Process", 2017 — highlight on the 2013 entry "Board plans for summer 2017 as timing for CEO transition"

Quoted text shown as labels

typography, not scans

  1. GE's response to the spare-jet report, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 2017): two planes were used "on limited occasions for business-critical or security purposes"
  2. Jeff Immelt at an Axios event, 16 Nov 2017: "It's a practice that, in retrospect, I wish we hadn't done."
  3. GE Form 8-K, 22 Mar 2017: targets set "based on discussions with Trian"
  4. U.S. Department of Justice, 12 Apr 2019: settlement with "no admission of liability"
  5. "PLANNED?" / "PUSHED?", "90 DAYS EARLY", "SO WHAT?" and the chapter and case cards are this film's own wording

Data sources for graphics and on-screen figures

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

  1. 40 of 40 quarters, 1995–2004 (tick graphic): SEC v. General Electric Co., complaint, 2009 (D04)
  2. GE Capital Services total assets, year-end 2001–2008 (bar chart; $425B → $661B): GE annual reports / Form 10-K five-year summaries, 2004 and 2008
  3. Commercial paper: $101.9 billion at 31 Mar 2008 (diagram) and $87.9 billion at 30 Sep 2008 (label "$88 billion"): GE Forms 10-Q for the first and third quarters of 2008. The long-loans / short-paper diagram is a simplified illustration
  4. GE share price through 2008 (line): month-end closes from Digrin, a secondary source; the year-end values $37.07 (2007) and $16.20 (2008) were checked against GE's Form 10-K
  5. Berkshire Hathaway: $3 billion of perpetual preferred stock at 10%; common-stock offering $12.2 billion (GE press release, D02; GE 2008 Annual Report
  6. FDIC Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: GE Capital approved 12 Nov 2008; limit of about $126 billion — GE Capital Corp. 2008 Form 10-K / GE 2008 Annual Report; programme description
  7. Quarterly dividend 31¢ → 10¢ (bar chart): GE Form 10-K filings, dividends declared per share by quarter; announcement of 27 Feb 2009 (D03)
  8. SEC case: $50 million penalty; locomotive transactions 2002–03 (more than $370 million of revenue accelerated); aircraft-engine spare parts 2002 (+$585 million net earnings); two items on derivatives accounting, 2003 — SEC complaint (D04) and
  9. NBCUniversal to Comcast (2011, 2013), GE Appliances to Haier (2016, $5.6 billion): GE press releases
  10. U.S. subprime mortgage originations, 2001–2008 (bar chart; "$600B lent in 2006"): Inside Mortgage Finance series as charted by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (2011) — ; 2008 from the FHFA report — ; 2001–2005 from a Joint Economic Committee chart. Only "$600B" is printed as a number
  11. WMC: lending largely stopped by April 2007; most remaining loans sold December 2007 — WMC declaration in its 2019 bankruptcy case — ; about $65 billion of loans originated 2005–2007 and the $1.5 billion civil penalty — U.S. Department of Justice, 12 Apr 2019 (link in section 4)
  12. Alstom: $10.6 billion, completed 2 Nov 2015 (D06). Gas turbines sold by GE Power, 102 (2017) → 42 (2018): GE 2018 Form 10-K (D07 source)
  13. GE Power goodwill at year-end 2014–2018 (bar chart) and the $22 billion impairment: GE Forms 10-K, Note 8, as reported each year (D07)
  14. Baker Hughes: GE 62.5% / Baker Hughes shareholders 37.5%; special dividend of $17.50 a share, about $7.5 billion — and GE 2018 Form 10-K. Stake 62.5% → 50.4% (Nov. 2018, $2.2 billion pre-tax loss recorded in equity): GE 2018 Form 10-K, Note 15. Stake 50.4% → 36.8% (Sept. 2019, $8.7 billion pre-tax loss): GE 2019 Form 10-K, Note 2
  15. WTI crude oil, monthly spot price, Jan. 2014 – July 2017 (line): U.S. Energy Information Administration
  16. BHGE share price, $37 (July 2017) → $23 (Nov. 2018): Yahoo Finance closes for ticker BKR (third-party market data)
  17. GE Digital: created 14 Sep 2015 — ; Meridium, $495 million — ; ServiceMax, $915 million — ; December 2018 plan (new software company with about $1.2 billion of yearly revenue; ServiceMax majority stake to Silver Lake) — ; sale closed 1 Feb 2019: GE 2018 Form 10-K, Note 3
  18. Trian's stake of about $2.5 billion (98.5 million shares), disclosed 5 Oct 2015; GE Industrial operating margin 14% (2014) and Trian's long-term goal of 18%: Trian white paper (D10)
  19. GE industrial structural costs, $24.9 billion (2016) → $22.9 billion (target for 2018): GE Form 8-K, 22 Mar 2017 (link in section 4)
  20. GE share price, daily close as traded, Jan. 2016 – 30 May 2017 (line; $32.93 on 19 Jul 2016, $27.36 on 30 May 2017) and $27.94 → $28.94 on 12 Jun 2017 (+3.6%): filtered from the Plotly sample dataset (terms of the dataset not stated). The "52-week low" in the narration is the intraday low of $27.10 on 18 May 2017 (GE 2017 Form 10-K market-price table)
  21. Timeline June 12 / Aug. 1 / Oct. 2 / Dec. 31, 2017: GE press releases of 12 Jun 2017 (D12) and 2 Oct 2017 — . "CEO since September 7, 2001": GE 2001 Annual Report (D01)
  22. Ed Garden of Trian joins GE's board, 9 Oct 2017

Music

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music was edited (excerpted, faded, cross-faded and mixed under narration)

  1. "Interloper" — ISRC USUAN1100401
  2. "Night Vigil" — ISRC USUAN1900047
  3. "Deliberate Thought" — ISRC USUAN1100261
  4. "Private Reflection" — ISRC USUAN1100587

Voice · original elements

Voice: synthetic narration — Kokoro TTS, voice bm_george Motion graphics, diagrams, title and case cards, desk and paper textures, and sound effects: original (generated for this film) No 3D characters are used in this chapter

Press and reference sources for facts stated in the narration

not shown on screen

  1. "First cut since 1938" (dividend): contemporary press — ; not stated in GE's own release
  2. Immelt's account of the board wanting to choose his successor sooner: publisher's announcement and excerpt of his memoir "Hot Seat" (2021) — (paraphrased in the narration)
  3. GE's stock reaction on 12 Jun 2017
  4. Trian's 5 Oct 2015 release: (the project files note that this link now returns an error)

Chapter 5 · The Cash Came From Tomorrow

Photos

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. GE's Schenectady works, New York — building with the rooftop "General Electric" sign and GE monogram — photo 19 Sep 2009 (Commons describes it as the General Electric Research Laboratory) UpstateNYer CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. Baglan Bay Power Station, Wales — gas-fired combined-cycle plant built around GE's H-class (9H) gas turbine; ground-level view — photo 8 May 2016 Gareth James (Geograph) CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. Entrance of a GE Capital office, blue "GE Capital" sign over the door (location not stated on the source page; file name "GE Capital Bank") — photo 22 Feb 2014 (EXIF) joho345 CC BY-SA 3.0
  4. Stone sign "4200" with the GE monogram at the entrance of GE Power's offices, Cobb County, Georgia — photo 30 Aug 2022 (after the period described; illustrates GE Power) Tyler Lahti CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. Low-pressure steam-turbine rotor opened for maintenance, Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant, Russia — photo 23 Jan 2007 (illustrative: NOT GE equipment and not a gas plant; shown under the words "in the engine room") Alexander Sitenky (Александр Ситенький) CC BY-SA 3.0
  6. Alstom factory, Stafford, England — photo 5 Oct 2012 Steve Daniels CC BY-SA 2.0
  7. Gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, North Carolina (illustrative) — photo 29 May 2013 Peoplepoweredbyenergy CC BY-SA 4.0
  8. Wall Street with the New York Stock Exchange and the steps of Federal Hall — photo 16 Aug 2017 Arild Vågen CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. Gas-insulated lines, Leingarten substation, Germany (illustrative; not a confirmed Alstom site) — photo 11 Aug 2015 Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0
  10. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters, 100 F Street NE, Washington — photo 13 Oct 2009 AgnosticPreachersKid CC BY-SA 3.0
  11. Glass facade of the SEC headquarters, Washington — photo 4 Oct 2008 David (dbking) CC BY 2.0
  12. Jack Welch (seated) with GE vice chairmen — photograph printed in the GE 1985 Annual Report photographer not named (General Electric) copyright General Electric; NOT public domain / CC — reproduced as an excerpt for commentary
  13. GE-built gas turbine leaving Belfort, France, on a heavy-load convoy — photo 5 Mar 2014 Thomas Bresson CC BY 3.0
  14. Jack Welch on stage, World Business Forum — photo 5 Oct 2010 Challenge Future CC BY 2.0
  15. New York Stock Exchange facade with the U.S. flag, seen from Federal Hall — photo 23 Oct 2008 Andy C CC BY-SA 3.0
  16. President Barack Obama looks at a steam-turbine rotor at GE's Schenectady plant — photo 21 Jan 2011 (illustrates GE's industrial side; Immelt is small in the background) Pete Souza, Official White House Public domain — U.S. government work, https://www.usa.gov/government-works

Footage

Stock footage — Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/license/ : free to use, attribution not required; credited here and on screen as "Stock footage · author / Pexels — illustrative") All clips are modern generic footage used only for the simplified maintenance-contract example: not archival, not GE sites, people, contracts or figures Modified: cropped/graded, slow push-in, labels added

  1. A car raised on a workshop lift, low angle — "The Moving Wheels of a Car on a Lifter" Artem Podrez / Pexels
  2. Two people signing papers at a table, seen from above — "People Signing a Document" Kampus Production / Pexels
  3. Close-up of a hand signing documents — "Person Signing on the Documents" ArtHouse Studio / Pexels
  4. Hands with a pocket calculator over printed papers — "A Woman Using Calculator" Mikhail Nilov / Pexels
  5. Close-up of hands working on a car engine — "Person Repairing a Car Engine" Anastasia Shuraeva / Pexels
  6. Hands with a calculator over printed charts — "Office Work Financial Calculations and Reporting" Jakub Zerdzicki / Pexels

Documents shown on screen

U.S. government document — public domain. Pages are images of the original PDF pages; paper texture, lighting and yellow highlights are added

  1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "In the Matter of General Electric Company", Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, Securities Act Release No. 10899, Administrative Proceeding File No. 3-20165, 9 Dec 2020

Quoted text shown as labels

typography, not scans

  1. SEC order (D01), p. 3: service agreements "lasting anywhere from 15 to 30 years" (label "SERVICE AGREEMENTS LASTING 15 TO 30 YEARS", L5)
  2. SEC order, ¶9: "…cash collections were not keeping pace with revenue"
  3. SEC order, ¶11: "pricing and/or other concessions"
  4. SEC order, summary and ¶11: the name "deferred monetization" (header of the cash diagram, L6–L7)
  5. "AN EXAMPLE · A 10-YEAR MAINTENANCE PLAN", "FOUR YEARS IN · A NEW ESTIMATE", "WHAT THE CUSTOMER PAYS · UNCHANGED", "NEW CASH FROM CUSTOMERS: ZERO", "SO WHAT?", the case cards and the NEXT card are this film's own wording

Data sources for graphics and on-screen figures

  1. Ten-year maintenance contract (two graphics, L3–L4): a made-up example by this film — yearly cost 80, profit 20, margin 20% → 30% after a lower cost estimate in year 4. Tagged on screen "Simplified illustration — not GE figures". The mechanism it shows (new margin applied to costs already incurred; the difference booked in the period of the change; nothing extra billed to the customer) is described in the SEC order, ¶7–8
  2. "29% of GE Power's reported profit · 2016" and "45% · first nine months of 2017"; "more than $1.4 billion" and "more than $1.1 billion" from lower cost estimates: SEC order, summary (p. 2) and ¶6 (p. 4). The SEC's own wording is "revenue and earnings" and "reported segment profit"
  3. Cash diagram (two graphics, L6–L7): simplified drawing by this film of what the SEC order calls "deferred monetization" — receivables sold "principally to GE's own subsidiary (GE Capital)" (p. 2), cash pulled forward from later years, less left to collect (¶11–12). No amounts are drawn
  4. "GE Power paid interest to GE Capital on the receivables it sold": SEC order, ¶12
  5. Industrial cash figure lifted by more than $1.4 billion in 2016: SEC order, ¶13 (the measure is GE's non-GAAP "Industrial Cash Flow / Industrial CFOA", ¶10)
  6. "$200 MILLION · CIVIL PENALTY · DECEMBER 9, 2020", "GE neither admitted nor denied the findings", "the order also covered GE's insurance disclosures": SEC order, sections II and IV.B and summary; SEC press release 2020-312
  7. "2016–2017 · long-term receivables sold · more than $2.7 billion": SEC order, ¶13
  8. "Alstom's power business · bought in 2015 for $10.6 billion": GE press release, 2 Nov 2015
  9. "2001 · GE Capital · about 40% of GE's net earnings": GE 2001 Annual Report (GECS net earnings $5,417 million of $13,684 million)
  10. "Welch retired in 2001 · the SEC order covers 2015–2017": GE 2001 Annual Report; SEC order, summary

Music

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music was edited (excerpted, faded, cross-faded and mixed under narration)

  1. "Crypto" (start to the "So what?" line) — ISRC USUAN1600013
  2. "Ossuary 6 - Air" ("So what?" and NEXT card) — ISRC USUAN1500048

Voice · original elements

Voice: synthetic narration — Kokoro TTS, voice bm_george Motion graphics, diagrams, case cards, desk and paper textures, and sound effects: original (generated for this film) No 3D characters are used in this chapter

Reference sources for facts stated in the narration

not shown on screen

  1. GE's own comment on the settlement (neither admitted nor denied; no restatement required)
  2. GE 2016 and 2017 Annual Reports / Forms 10-K (sales of receivables to GE Capital; service-agreement accounting)

Chapter 6 · The Last Insider

Photos

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. John Flannery, head-and-shoulders portrait — 30 Jun 2017 (336×333 px original; enlarged, cut out of its background by this film and placed in front of a photo of GE's Schenectady works) Stagophile CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Larry Culp at a White House event in Beijing — 13 May 2026 (tight crop, 252×336 px; NOT a 2018 photo; enlarged, cut out of its background by this film and placed in front of a 2017 photo of Wall Street) Daniel Torok / The White House Public domain — U.S. federal government work
  3. Rathbone Home, a nursing home in Evansville, Indiana — building exterior, 17 Dec 2011 (illustrative; no link to GE's policies) Nyttend Public domain (author's dedication)
  4. Walgreens at 900 Canal Street, New Orleans, neon signs at night — 23 Jun 2022 (identifies the company that replaced GE in the Dow; not a 2018 image) Dllu CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. Obverse of a U.S. one-cent coin (2013) — image placed on a black field by this film United States Mint Public domain — U.S. government work
  6. Baglan Bay Power Station, Wales — distant view of the gas-fired plant built around GE's H-class (9H) gas turbine — 8 May 2016 Gareth James (Geograph) CC BY-SA 2.0
  7. GE's Schenectady works, New York — building with the rooftop "General Electric" sign and GE monogram — photo 19 Sep 2009 (Commons describes it as the General Electric Research Laboratory) UpstateNYer CC BY-SA 3.0
  8. GE-built gas turbine leaving Belfort, France, on a heavy-load convoy — photo 5 Mar 2014 Thomas Bresson CC BY 3.0
  9. Alstom factory, Stafford, England — photo 5 Oct 2012 Steve Daniels CC BY-SA 2.0
  10. Wall Street with the New York Stock Exchange and the steps of Federal Hall — photo 16 Aug 2017 Arild Vågen CC BY-SA 4.0
  11. Stone sign "4200" with the GE monogram at the entrance of GE Power's offices, Cobb County, Georgia — photo 30 Aug 2022 (after the period described; illustrates GE Power) Tyler Lahti CC BY-SA 4.0
  12. Gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, North Carolina (illustrative) — photo 29 May 2013 Peoplepoweredbyenergy CC BY-SA 4.0
  13. New York National Guard members visiting a nursing-home resident — photo 7 Dec 2020 (illustrative) The National Guard CC BY 2.0 Generic
  14. Glass facade of the SEC headquarters, Washington — photo 4 Oct 2008 David (dbking) CC BY 2.0
  15. New York Stock Exchange facade with the U.S. flag, seen from Federal Hall — photo 23 Oct 2008 Andy C CC BY-SA 3.0
  16. GE Aircraft Engines Boeing 747 flight-test aircraft, Mojave — photo 18 Sep 2002 Alan Radecki CC BY-SA 3.0
  17. GE Optima CT scanner, Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, Whitefield — photo 8 Oct 2013 (illustrative) Narenfox CC BY-SA 4.0 International
  18. "Baker Hughes, a GE company" sign, Houston office — photo 31 Mar 2019 Tony Webster CC BY 2.0
  19. Jack Welch (seated) with GE vice chairmen — photograph printed in the GE 1985 Annual Report photographer not named (General Electric) copyright General Electric; NOT public domain / CC — reproduced as an excerpt for commentary
  20. Outside Lehman Brothers' headquarters, New York, on the day of its bankruptcy filing — photo 15 Sep 2008 Robert Scoble CC BY 2.0
  21. Jack Welch on stage, World Business Forum — photo 5 Oct 2010 Challenge Future CC BY 2.0
  22. Jeff Immelt speaking before a GE-logo backdrop at the announcement of GE's move to Boston — photo 4 Apr 2016. Two framings: full and a tight crop Office of Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts Public domain (PD-MAGov; work of the Massachusetts state government)
  23. Baglan Bay Power Station, Wales — gas-fired combined-cycle plant built around GE's H-class (9H) gas turbine; ground-level view — photo 8 May 2016 Gareth James (Geograph) CC BY-SA 2.0

Footage

Stock footage — Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/license/ : free to use, attribution not required; credited here and on screen as "Stock footage · author / Pexels — illustrative") All clips are modern generic footage: not archival, not GE sites, people or aircraft Modified: cropped/graded, slow push-in, labels added

  1. Close view of one person holding an older person's hand — "Holding Another Person's Hand" Kampus Production / Pexels
  2. Empty modern office with rows of desks — "An Empty Office" cottonbro studio / Pexels
  3. Drone view of business jets parked on an apron (tagged "not GE aircraft") Advancer Drones / Pexels see CREDITS_ch4.txt, S12
  4. Empty boardroom, close view of the table Werner Pfennig / Pexels
  5. The same empty boardroom, wide pan Werner Pfennig / Pexels

Documents shown on screen

GE press releases are not PD/CC; they are shown as short excerpts for commentary. The SEC order is a U.S. government document (public domain). "Re-typeset" = the text of a GE web press release was set as a letter page by this film (wording unchanged); the other pages are images of the original PDF pages. Paper texture, lighting and highlights are added

  1. General Electric Company, press release "GE Provides Update on Insurance Review; $6.2B After-Tax GAAP Charge in 4Q'17", 16 Jan 2018 — p. 1; highlight "$9.5B pre-tax,"
  2. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "In the Matter of General Electric Company", Securities Act Release No. 10899, 9 Dec 2020 — p. 11, ¶28: highlights "additional $200 million in losses," and "would be a 'train wreck.'"; p. 12, ¶36: highlights "increasingly optimistic assumptions of lower future claims costs," and "omitted material known trends of increasing costs". Public domain
  3. General Electric Company, press release "H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. Named Chairman and CEO of GE", 1 Oct 2018 — re-typeset; highlight on the headline
  4. General Electric Company, press release "GE Announces Third Quarter 2018 Results", 30 Oct 2018 — p. 1; highlights "goodwill impairment charge of $22 billion," and "quarterly dividend to $0.01 per share"

Quoted text shown as labels

typography, not scans

  1. John Flannery, GE third-quarter 2017 earnings call, 20 Oct 2017: "…the results I'm about to share with you are completely unacceptable." — transcript hosted by GE (Thomson Reuters StreetEvents, copyrighted; quotation only)
  2. GE press release, 7 Dec 2017: "Traditional power markets including gas and coal have softened."
  3. "SO WHAT?", "THE FIRST CEO FROM OUTSIDE GE", "IN ITS PLACE", "AN OUTSIDER IN THE CHAIR", the card labels of the timeline and the NEXT card are this film's own wording

Data sources for graphics and on-screen figures

  1. Flannery: CEO effective 1 Aug 2017; began at GE Capital in 1987; led business development from 2013 and "led the acquisition of Alstom" — GE press release, 12 Jun 2017
  2. Corporate jet fleet grounded, announced September 2017 — Dow Jones Newswires, 20 Sep 2017 ("GE to Shut Down Corporate Jet Fleet in Cost-Cutting Move"): . GE's own statement spoke of "reducing the Corporate Air Transport services"; some helicopters/aircraft remained
  3. "$2.00+" (target for 2018 set at the 16 Dec 2015 outlook meeting; Industrial + Verticals operating EPS — chapter 4, D09) and "$1.00–$1.07" (2018 Adjusted EPS, non-GAAP — GE Investor Update, 13 Nov 2017, presentation p. 5): . The two numbers are different measures; the screen says so
  4. "About 12,000 jobs" (GE Power, 7 Dec 2017) — press release above
  5. "$15 billion · more capital for the insurance business · over seven years" and $9.5B pre-tax charge — D01 and GE Form 8-K, 16 Jan 2018
  6. Flannery's plan of 26 Jun 2018 (focus on Aviation, Power and Renewable Energy; GE Healthcare to become standalone; full separation from Baker Hughes over two to three years)
  7. Culp: named Chairman and CEO 1 Oct 2018; board member since April 2018; CEO of Danaher 2001–2014 — D03. "First external CEO in our 125+ year history": GE proxy supplement, 2019
  8. Timeline "The bills · when they came due" (not to scale): 2001 Welch retires; 2008 GE Capital (chapter 4); $9.5 billion insurance charge, Jan. 2018 (D01); deferred monetization ended by end-2017 (SEC order, ¶19); $22 billion write-down, Oct. 2018 (D04)
  9. "Jack Welch · CEO, 1981–2001", "Jeff Immelt · CEO, 2001–2017": GE annual reports

Music

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music was edited (excerpted, faded, cross-faded and mixed under narration)

  1. "Night Vigil" (start to the "So what?" line) — ISRC USUAN1900047
  2. "Private Reflection" ("So what?" to the NEXT card) — ISRC USUAN1100587

Voice · original elements

Voice: synthetic narration — Kokoro TTS, voice bm_george Motion graphics, timeline, desk and paper textures, and sound effects: original (generated for this film). The synthetic voice was edited: long pauses inside sentences were shortened No 3D characters are used in this chapter

Reference sources for facts stated in the narration

not shown on screen

  1. GE press release on the 2018 board slate (Culp as candidate), 26 Feb 2018
  2. GE 2018 Form 10-K (Flannery's departure effective 30 Sep 2018)

Epilogue · The Lessons

Cut-out objects

photographs

Adapted for the film (cropped, colour-graded or animated). Adaptations of CC BY-SA works are shared under the same licence.

  1. GE GEnx-1B engine on an Air India Boeing 787-9, front view — 20 Jan 2019 Herny779 CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. GE90 engine (internal/cutaway detail), Future of Flight Center, Everett — 13 Oct 2016 Hermann Luyken CC0 1.0
  3. GE90 engine on a Vietnam Airlines Boeing 777-200 — 2 Mar 2013 Chau1988 public domain (author dedication)
  4. GE Optima CT scanner, Narayana Multispecialty Hospital — 8 Oct 2013 Narenfox CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. GE 2.5-120 wind turbine, Windpark Heidenrod, Germany — 30 May 2015 Adl252 CC BY-SA 4.0
  6. General Electric Mazda B lamp, c.1910–1915 (museum object) — photo 2011 Daderot public-domain dedication (CC0)
  7. Coolidge X-ray tube, United States, 1920 Science Museum, London / Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0
  8. Thomas Edison stock ticker under its glass dome, National Museum of American History — 11 Jun 2014 Jaclyn Nash / Smithsonian NMAH Smithsonian Open Access (CC0)
  9. Montgomery Ward & Co. catalogue No. 97, Fall & Winter 1922–23, cover ("Golden Jubilee"). Scan: University of Illinois / Internet Archive public domain (published 1922)
  10. "For sale by owner — no banks needed" yard sign, Sacramento area — 29 Dec 2006 Casey Serin CC BY 2.0. Modified: sign cropped out of the house scene, the phone number painted out, mounted on a drawn post
  11. Empty wheelchair — 8 Apr 2025 Beendy234 CC BY 4.0
  12. Kobishi Electric MSB-63A fire-alarm bell BrokenSphere CC BY-SA 3.0
  13. Binocular compound microscope, Carl Zeiss Jena, 1914 (museum object) Chad Anderson / SFO Museum CC BY-SA 2.0
  14. Go Fly Boeing 737-300 G-IGOJ (leased from GECAS), Palma de Mallorca — 18 Aug 2002 Aero Icarus CC BY-SA 2.0
  15. GE "Monitor Top" refrigerator, 1929 model, Tallahassee Automobile Museum — 7 Jul 2022 Michael Rivera CC BY-SA 4.0
  16. Obverse of a U.S. one-cent coin (2013) United States Mint public domain (U.S. government work)

Cut-out people

  1. Jack Welch, April 2012 Hamilton83 Wikimedia Commons, JackWelchApril2012.jpg — Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. Jack Welch on CBS "60 Minutes" (interview with Lesley Stahl, 2000) — two still frames, shown on the screen of a television set
  3. RCA XL-100 television, model EMR350E (1987) — photo 27 Jun 2011 Bmuscotty88
  4. Jack Welch with GE's vice chairmen, GE Annual Report 1981 (letter to share owners, April 1981) — Welch alone cut out of the group photo by this film
  5. John Flannery — 30 Jun 2017 Stagophile
  6. Jeff Immelt speaking at a World Resources Institute event — 13 Feb 2007 WRI Staff
  7. Irving Langmuir, W.R. Whitney, W.D. Coolidge. Bain News Service / Library of Congress

Documents and drawings

  1. SEC, In the Matter of General Electric Company, Securities Act Release No. 10899, 9 Dec 2020 — pages 1 and 11 standing on a plinth (Lesson 3), page 1 on the paper tower and on "the record" (closing shot)
  2. GE press release, 16 Jan 2018 (insurance review) and GE press release, 1 Oct 2018 (re-typeset by this film) — first pages leaning on the paper towers
  3. U.S. patent drawings used as faint blueprint backdrops (public domain; Google Patents reproductions)

Illustrations made for this film

not photographs The gallery itself (walls, floor, plinths, brass plaques, light cones, haze); the bronze GE monogram medallion (modelled from the GE monogram; trademark of General Electric, shown to identify the company); the steel vault door; the banknote bricks (generic design, not a reproduction of U.S. currency); the paper towers; the figurines of the "vitality curve"; the red curtain, stage and "quarterly review" board; the gold bars and their props; the stone span and paper pillars; the gear wheels; the boardroom chairs; the memo sheets ("analyst report", "internal audit"); all lettering

Quotes and figures on screen

  1. "My success will be determined by how well my successor grows it in the next 20 years." — Jack Welch in Geoff Colvin, "The ultimate manager", Fortune, 22 Nov 1999
  2. "On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world." — Jack Welch in Francesco Guerrera, "Welch condemns share price focus", Financial Times, 12 Mar 2009
  3. "Success theater": "No more success theater" was John Flannery's internal mantra in 2017 — Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann, Lights Out (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020), p. 4
  4. Welch: died 1 Mar 2020, aged 84 (family notice; GE statement of 2 Mar 2020). Plaque "1935 – 2020"
  5. GE to form three public companies: GE press release, 9 Nov 2021. GE HealthCare began trading 4 Jan 2023 (Nasdaq: GEHC); GE Vernova 2 Apr 2024 (NYSE: GEV); GE operates as GE Aerospace from 2 Apr 2024. Plaque "General Electric 1892 – 2024" = from the 1892 merger to the last spin-off
  6. GE Capital Services = $4.443B of GE's $10.717B net earnings in 1999 (41%): GE Form 10-K for 1999
  7. Long-term care: $15 billion of capital contributions over seven years (GE, 16 Jan 2018); Power: $22 billion goodwill write-down (GE, 30 Oct 2018); SEC penalty $200 million (order of 9 Dec 2020)
  8. Kidder, Peabody bought 1986; Montgomery Ward buyout financed 1988; WMC Mortgage bought 2004 (see chapters 3–4)
  9. Central research lab: corporate ("assessed") funding 75–80% before 1986, about 25% after Walter Robb's 1986 overhaul — R.J. Anderson and O.R. Butler, History of Physicists in Industry, American Institute of Physics, 2008, pp. 11–12
  10. "Met or exceeded final consensus EPS expectations every quarter from 1995 through 2004": SEC complaint against GE, 4 Aug 2009
  11. GE Capital commercial paper: $101.9 billion at 31 Mar 2008 (GE Form 10-Q, first quarter 2008); "September 2008" = the freeze of the commercial-paper market described in chapter 4
  12. Analyst report, May 2016: J.P. Morgan (Stephen Tusa) initiated GE at Underweight on 12 May 2016. Internal audit, January 2017, and actuaries' doubts in 2016: SEC order of 9 Dec 2020, paras. 33–40
  13. "Manager of the Century": Fortune, 22 Nov 1999
  14. The six lesson titles, "THE RECORD", "NO DIRECT LINK SHOWN IN THE RECORD", "QUARTERLY REVIEW · ALL TARGETS ON TRACK" (an invented board), the memo sheets and all plaques are this film's own wording

Music and voice

"Ossuary 6 – Air" (ISRC USUAN1500048), "Deliberate Thought", "Private Reflection" (ISRC USUAN1100587) — Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 — http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Narration: synthetic voice (Kokoro, voice bm_george), pauses inside sentences shortened by this film Sound effects: synthesised by this film