NEW YORK, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Jack Welch, former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of U.S. conglomerate General Electric Company (GE), passed away due to renal failure late Sunday at home at the age of 84, his wife Suzy said on Monday.

Born in 1935, Welch worked as chairman and CEO of GE from 1981 to 2001, lifting the market value of GE from 12 billion U.S. dollars to 410 billion dollars and bringing in far-reaching transformations.

"Today is a sad day for the entire GE family. Jack was larger than life and the heart of GE for half a century. He reshaped the face of our company and the business world," said Larry Culp, chairman and CEO of GE, in a statement on Monday.

Culp said Welch will be deeply missed and "we'll continue to honor his legacy by doing exactly what Jack would want us to do: win."

Welch also founded Jack Welch Management Institute in 2009 and penned multiple books like "Winning" in 2005 and "Jack: Straight from the Gut" in 2001.