[1] He served as president of General Electric from 1950 to 1958, and as its chairman and chief executive officer from 1958 to 1963.
[2][3] He attended Whitman College, working odd jobs and selling washing machines, and graduated in 1922 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.
[3] He joined the Edison General Electric Appliance Company, a GE affiliate, in 1923.
[1][2][3] In 1958 Cordiner fired Homer Oldfield as General Manager (from 1956) of GE's Computer Department for exceeding his authority by developing the Bank of America ERMA system, because he did not see any potential in the computer business.
He served as chairman of the Defense Advisory Committee on Professional and Technical Compensation in the Armed Forces.