William W. George

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William W. George is a professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, former Executive-in-Residence at the Yale School of Management, and former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Medtronic.

He joined Medtronic, a medical technology company, in 1989 as President and Chief Operating Officer; he was elected Chief Executive Officer in 1991 and Chairman of the Board in 1996. He retired from Medtronic in 2002. Prior to leading Medtronic, he held several executive positions with Honeywell and Litton Industries, including president of Honeywell's Space & Aviation business.

George is the Chairman of the Global Center for Leadership and Business Ethics. He serves on the boards of Exxon Mobil Corporation (since 2005), Goldman Sachs, and Novartis AG. Formerly, he was a director of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is a member of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

George received his Master's in Business Administration from Harvard University in 1966, where he was a Baker Scholar (highest honors). He holds his B.S. in industrial engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 1964.

George is the recent receipient of East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation's Distinguished Alumni and Community Service Award. He will receive the award at a dinner at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan this fall. The event is scheduled for November 7.