Biz journalist's relationship with Welch leads to column

John Byrne, who left Fast Company as editor last year to return to BusinessWeek as executive editor, has written books with former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch in the past and his journalism has focused on management issues.

So it was Welch’s relationship with Byrne, according to this item in Women’s Wear Daily, that lead to Welch and wife Suzy Welch, herself former editor of the Harvard Business Review, beginning to write a management advice column for BusinessWeek. The first column appeared in the issue that hit newstands last Friday.

Said Byrne: “There are very few people who are out there who give very smart pragmatic advice and he is at the top of the list, really. You may see an occasional critical story here or there, but I think it’s indisputable that he helped to keep GE at the top of its game.”

Byrne will edit the column, according to the item.