25 top companies for leaders
These are the global businesses that are tops in attracting, retaining and nurturing talent.
(Fortune magazine) -- Most large companies love to talk about developing strong leaders. But when it comes down to it, many of them don't know how to turn their words into action. So Fortune teamed with human resources consultants Hewitt Associates and the RBL Group to find out which companies do it best.
The names that top our list, like IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) and Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500), have gone beyond the basics of grooming strong leaders and have come up with new ways to test their employees in the global marketplace.
To create the ranking, we surveyed more than 500 global companies in search of the top businesses at attracting, retaining, and nurturing talent. After several rounds of analysis and interviews, we turned to a team of respected judges from around the world to help select the final list.
The results highlight the top 25 global companies for developing leaders. We also rank companies within four geographic regions. The companies that made the cut have one thing in common: They know that investing in their employees isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity. 
The Rankings
| Rank | Company | HQ | Revenue | Employees | CEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IBM | Armonk, NY | $103.6 billion | 398,455 | Samuel Palmisano |
| 2 | Procter & Gamble | Cincinnati | $79 billion* | 135,000 | Bob McDonald |
| 3 | General Mills | Minneapolis | $14.7 billion* | 30,000 | Ken Powell |
| 4 | McKinsey | None | More than $5 billion*** | 17,000 | Dominic Barton |
| 5 | ICICI Bank | Mumbai | $47.4 billion* | 36,335 | Chanda Kochhar |
| 6 | McDonald's | Oak Brook, Ill. | $23.5 billion | 1.4 million | Jim Skinner |
| 7 | General Electric | Fairfield, Conn. | $182.5 billion | 300,000 | Jeff Immelt |
| 8 | Titan Cement | Athens | $2.3 billion | 6,063 | Dimitri Papalexopoulos |
| 9 | China Mobile Communications Corp. - Shanghai | Shanghai | $2.5 billion | 7,919 | Jie Zheng |
| 10 | Hindustan Unilever | Mumbai | $4.4 billion** | 15,000 | Nitin Paranjpe |
| 11 | Natura Cosméticos | Cajamar, Brazil | $1.6 billion | 5,700 | Alessandro Carlucci |
| 12 | Colgate Palmolive | New York City | $15.3 billion | 36,600 | Ian Cook |
| 13 | TNT | Hoofddrop, Netherlands | $16.5 billion | 152,000 | Peter Bakker |
| 14 | Deere & Company | Moline, Ill. | $28.4 billion | 56,000 | Samuel Allen |
| 15 | Whirlpool | Benton Harbor, Mich. | $18.9 billion | 70,000 | Jeff M. Fettig |
| 16 | 3M | St. Paul | $25 billion | 75,000 | George Buckley |
| 17 | Cargill | Minneapolis | $116.6 billion* | 159,000 | Greg Page |
| 18 | Olam | Singapore | $8.9 billion* | 10,000 | Sunny Verghese |
| 19 | Eli Lilly | Indianapolis | $20.4 billion | 40,800 | John C. Lechleiter |
| 20 | PepsiCo | Purchase, NY | $43 billion | 198,000 | Indra K. Nooyi |
| 21 | American Express | New York City | $28.4 billion | 59,200 | Ken Chenault |
| 22 | Lockheed Martin | Bethesda, MD | $42.7 billion | 140,000 | Robert J. Stevens |
| 23 | Intel | Santa Clara, Calif. | $37.6 billion | 80,800 | Paul Otellini |
| 24 | Infosys | Bangalore, India | $4.6 billion* | 105,000 | S. Gopalakrishnan |
| 25 | Fedex | Memphis | $35.5 billion* | 275,000 | Fred Smith |
Footnotes: *Companies that have reported 2009 fiscal year revenue. All other revenue is for 2008.
**Revenue for 15-month period from January 2008 through March 2009 due to change in accounting year.
***Fortune estimate; the Company does not disclose revenue.
**Revenue for 15-month period from January 2008 through March 2009 due to change in accounting year.
***Fortune estimate; the Company does not disclose revenue.
| 1. IBM, information technology |
| 2. Procter & Gamble, consumer products |
| 3. General Mills, food consumer products |
| 4. McKinsey, consulting |
| 5. McDonald’s, food services |
| 6. General Electric, diversified financials |
| 7. Colgate-Palmolive, consumer products |
| 8. Deere, industrial and farm equipment |
| 9. Whirlpool, appliances |
| 10. 3M, diversified manufacturer |
| 11. Cargill, food production |
| 12. Target, general merchandiser |
| 13. Eli Lilly, pharmaceuticals |
| 14. PepsiCo, food manufacturer |
| 15. American Express, diversified financials |
| 16. Lockheed Martin, defense |
| 17. Intel, semiconductors |
| 18. DaVita, health care |
| 19. FedEx, mail, package, and freight delivery |
| 20. Sonoco Products, packaging |
| 21. Cummins, engine manufacturer |
| 22. VF, apparel |
| 23. Capital One Financial, diversified financials |
| 24. Hewlett-Packard, information technology |
| 25. Raytheon, defense |
| 1. ICICI Bank, financial services |
| 2. China Mobile Communications–Shanghai, telecom |
| 3. TCL, telecom and electronics manufacturer |
| 4. Hindustan Unilever, consumer products |
| 5. Olam International, agriculture |
| 6. Aditya Birla Group, diversified holdings |
| 7. Lion Nathan, beverages |
| 8. Infosys Technologies, information technology |
| 9. New Zealand Refining, petroleum refining |
| 10. Wipro, information technology |
| 11. TrustPower, energy |
| 12. British American Tobacco, tobacco |
| 1. Titan Cement, building materials |
| 2. TNT, mail, package, and freight delivery |
| 3. Man Group, auto manufacturer |
| 4. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, financial |
| 5. Micro Focus International, info technology |
| 1. Natura Cosméticos, personal care |
| 2. Bancolombia, financial services |
| 3. WEG Equipamentos Elétricos, diversified manufacturer |
| 4. CPFL Energia, energy |
| 5. Wal-Mart de México, general merchandiser |
-
The retail giant tops the Fortune 500 for the second year in a row. Who else made the list? More -
This group of companies is all about social networking to connect with their customers. More -
The fight over the cholesterol medication is keeping a generic version from hitting the market. More -
Bin Laden may be dead, but the terrorist group he led doesn't need his money. More -
U.S. real estate might be a mess, but in other parts of the world, home prices are jumping. More -
Libya's output is a fraction of global production, but it's crucial to the nation's economy. More -
Once rates start to rise, things could get ugly fast for our neighbors to the north. More
