with Bob Nardelli on Sep 12, 2008
with Bob Nardelli on Jul 20, 2004
Robert Nardelli was chairman, president, and CEO of Home Depot.
Nardelli received his Bachelor of Science in business from Western Illinois University and earned an MBA from University of Louisville.
He joined General Electric in 1971 as a entry-level manufacturing engineer. By 1995, he had risen to President and CEO of GE Power Systems, also having the title of GE senior vice president. Nardelli was often known as “Little Jack”, after his mentor Jack Welch, whom Nardelli had ambitions to succeed as CEO of GE.
When Jack Welch retired as Chairman and CEO of General Electric, there was a lengthy and well-publicized succession planning saga. Nardelli competed with James McNerney and Jeff Immelt to succeed Welch. With Immelt winning the three-way race, Nardelli and McNerney left GE.
Nardelli was quickly hired as CEO of The Home Depot in December 2000 despite having no retail experience. On January 2, 2007, after a six-year tenure, Home Depot and Nardelli agreed on his resignation as CEO. Nardelli resigned amid complaints over his heavy handed management and whether his pay package of $123.7 million, excluding stock option grants, over the past 5 years was excessive considering the stock’s poor performance versus its competitor Lowe?s. His golden parachute severance package of $210 million has also been criticized.
