Gerard Swope (1872 - 1957) was a U.S. electronics businessman. He served as the president of General Electric Company between 1922 and 1939, and again from 1942 until 1944. During this time Swope expanded GE's product offerings, reorienting GE toward consumer home appliances, and offering consumer credit services. 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... The General Electric Company, or GE, NYSE: GE is a multinational technology and services company. ... A company in the broadest sense is an aggregation of people who stay together for a common purpose. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Swope is possibly best-known for his labor relations innovations. While at GE, Swope implemented numerous labor reforms, making conditions better for employees with voluntary unemployment insurance, profit-sharing, and other programs considered radical in their day. Swope increased sales and overall efficiency (economics), earning high profits and market share, while focusing on employee training, retention, and loyalty during an era when most Big Business leaders treated labor poorly. The field of labor relations looks at the relationship between management and workers, particularly groups of workers represented by a labor union. ... Reformism (also called revisionism or revisionist theory) is the belief that gradual changes in a society can ultimately change its fundamental structures. ... Profit sharing, when used as a special term, refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses that provide direct or indirect payments to employees that depend on companys profitability in addition to employees regular salary and bonuses. ... Radical is derived from the Latin word radix, which means root. In various fields of endeavor, it can mean: Sciences in chemistry, either an atom or molecule with at least one unpaired electron, or a group of atoms, charged or uncharged, that act as a single entity in reaction. ... Economic efficiency is a general term for the value assigned to a situation by some measure designed to capture the amount of waste or friction or other undesirable and undesirable economic features present. ...

Forbes Magazine recently ranked Swopes as the 20th most influential businessman of all time [1].

Swope was born in St. Louis, MO, to immigrant parents. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1895. He married Mary Dayton Hill. He was the brother of Herbert Bayard Swope, and father of Henrietta Swope. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is located down the street from a real school, Harvard. ... Herbert Bayard Swope (1882 - 1958) was a U.S. editor and journalist. ... Henrietta Hill Swope (1902 - 1980) was a U.S. astronomer. ...