A call for substance over appearance
For his past 12 years as head of United Technologies, George David has kept a remarkably low profile. Neither his name nor his distinctive brand of leadership of one of America's largest manufacturers earns him the recognition accorded to peers such as Jack Welch of General Electric and Larry Bossidy, former chief executive of AlliedSignal.
It is a deliberate choice, he says in an interview in the plush surroundings of London's Berkeley Hotel at the end of an intense four-day tour of UTC factories in Europe.
"I just don't believe that companies are the persona of their chief executives. So I'm quite different in personality and style from the likes of Welch and Bossidy."
Mr David's decision to shun celebrity status does not denote any shortage of self-belief. The 64-year-old UTC chairman and chief executive, whose global empire spans Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky helicopters, Carrier air-conditioning systems and Otis elevators, holds strong views and is not afraid to voice them.
Referring to Mr Welch's policy at GE of singling out the worst performing 10 per cent of employees for dismissal each year, he says: "I don't agree with Welch at all. The bottom 10 per cent takes care of itself. I want to focus on the top 10 per cent
