"There was always this rub between" GEChairman Jack Welch and GECapital Chief Executive Gary Wendt, Neal says.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

In 1987 Gary Wendt, head of GE Capital (then called GE Credit), tapped Neal to move to Stamford to sell financing for technical equipment.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

Gary Wendt, CEO of GE Capital during its heyday, once said to me that the secret of his success was the fear that his business could fall off a cliff at any moment.

FORBES: Get Ready to Fall Off the Cliff