Dr. Jay Desai worked at GE from 1976-89 and from 1984-89 for Fred Garry, Corporate SVP responsible for Innovation and Productivity for GE, who reported directly to Jack Welch. He worked on the planning and execution of strategy, Innovation and Productivity programs throughout GE with significant financial impact. GE's market cap increased from $30B to $300B during this period.

Jay left GE to create the Institute of Global Competitiveness (IGC) in 1989 because of the tremendous passion he had to take GE's management thinking, core ideas and practices to the next level, including developing a holistic and sustainable management system of game-changing leadership and breakthrough strategy based on dramatic innovation and productivity improvements. The result is our Cornerstone Management System we call "Out-think and Outdo"  "Don't Just Out-think, Outdo®" is a registered trademark of IGC.

He has taught executive programs at GE's Crotonville Management Institute, MIT, Stern and Kenan-Flagler, and has been invited to teach executive programs at Global 500 companies as well as at Kellogg, Wharton, Stanford, Chicago and Duke Corporate Education. Dr. Desai has served on "US and Global Competitiveness" task forces under President Reagan and President Clinton. Jay holds four different engineering and science degrees including a Ph.D. and an executive MBA. He is a co-founder of Pan-IIT organization (prestigious and renowned group of Indian Institute of Technology in highest standing with leading companies/CEOs such as GE and Bill Gates, profiled in CBS 60 minutes). He is also co-founder of TiE Carolina (one of the largest entrepreneur organizations in the world).