William J. Conaty
Bill spent his entire career at General Electric. A native of Binghamton, New York, he earned his bachelor's degree from Bryant University in Rhode Island. After graduating from a three-year management program at GE and a stint in the military, he held management positions in a number of GE operations including Aerospace, Rail, and Aircraft Engines. In 1990, he was elected a company officer and became vice president for Human Resources at GE Aircraft Engines. Just three years later, he was selected by Jack Welch to the senior vice presidency of Corporate Human Resources with responsibility for over 320,000 employees worldwide. He served Welch for eight years and Jeff Immelt for six years.
In great measure due to the management development and training programs Mr. Conaty engineered, BusinessWeek declared that GE had "the most talent-rich management bench in the world." A recent profile in the same magazine praised him for taking "a department that's often treated as a support function" and turning it "into a high-level business partner." Mr. Conaty's old boss, Jack Welch, calls him "spectacular," explaining that he has earned "enormous trust at every level. The union guys respect him as much as the senior managers." In 2007, Mr. Conaty handed over the top job to a long-time GE HR colleague while staying on to conclude another successful round of National Labor negotiations with GE's unions.
Mr. Conaty served as a Trustee at Sacred Heart University for over a decade, and received an Honorary Doctorate degree in May 2010. He currently serves as a Trustee of the Board of his alma mater, Bryant University. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Cornell University's Center for Advanced HR Studies, where his legacy will continue with the recent endowment of the William J. Conaty Chair in Human Resources. In November 1996, he was inducted as a Fellow to the National Academy of Human Resources, elected Chairman in February 2001, and named Distinguished Fellow, the highest honor, in November 2007. Mr. Conaty is also a member of the HR Policy Association, where he served as Chairman from 2001 to 2007, and is a member of the Personnel Roundtable.
Following his retirement from GE, Mr. Conaty formed his own consulting company, Conaty Consulting LLC. His client base includes the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and several other Fortune 100 companies. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and is also active on the speaking circuit as a world leader in HR. Mr. Conaty co-authored a book with Ram Charan titled "The Talent Masters" published by Random House.
