He has appeared on PBS' "News Hour with Jim Lehrer,"" NPR's "All Things Considered- and "Talk of the Nation,"" and has been frequently quoted in Business Week, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. .
Prior to joining Medtronic, George served in executive positions at Honeywell and Litton Industries, and as a civilian in the U.S. Department of Navy. He received his BSIE from Georgia Tech and MBA from Harvard University, where he was a Baker Scholar. Mr. George is a Visiting Professor of Leadership and Governance at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Executive in Residence at Yale School of Management. He currently serves on the board of directors of Goldman Sachs, Novartis and Target Corporation.
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"Authentic Leadership provides an excellent framework for twenty- first century leadership. Companies of the future must be both great and good. They must compete harder than ever in a brutal global market-place while creating an environment that is focused on customers, respects individual employees, and builds trust with investors. Authentic Leadership describes ways that leaders must change to stay contemporary. I had a wonderful opportunity to learn from Bill George in several business ventures.
--- Jeffery Immelt, chairman and CEO, General Electric.
Bill George is a leader. No matter what metrics you use to qualify the characteristics of what a leader is, Bill George fits them. The ability to organize, Bill George has it. The ability to stand in the face of pressure without fading or compromising, Bill George has it. The ability to motivate tens of thousands of followers towards a common goal or purpose, Bill George has it. In this age of "what have you done for me lately- attitudes, perhaps the most important quality, the ability to maximize profit. Bill George has taken these qualities and fused them with his core values and forged a leadership style that is both honorable and effective.