Jack Welch: Also A Great Golfer (Int'l Edition)

International -- Readers Report

JACK WELCH: ALSO A GREAT GOLFER (int'l edition)

In "How Jack Welch runs GE" (Cover Story, June 8), you reported that one of Welch's less well-known traits is his informality (e.g. handwritten notes to managers many layers below him) and personal charisma. In a recent study, it was found that the golf handicap of a CEO correlates with the share performance of his company. Louis V. Gerstner Jr. of IBM has a handicap of 13.1, John S. Reed of Citicorp is 13.0, Walter V. Shipley of Chase Manhattan has one of 17.2, compared with Jack Welch's terrific 3.8. However, bad golfers do not necessary make bad CEOs: Bill Gates's handicap is 23.9!

Tan Siak Lim

Singapore