2014 Best Companies For Leaders

Each year since 2005, Chief Executive has sought to identify those companies that excel in leadership development. In partnership with Chally Group Worldwide, a Dayton, Ohio-based sales and leadership talent-management firm, and with the Human Capital Institute, we canvas world-class companies through a questionnaire and interviews in order to learn what companies are doing to identify and nurture people three or more levels down the chain from the CEO.

Because it would be inappropriate to compare private companies with larger, public companies that enjoy greater resources, we list the ranking of large, private organizations with in-depth leadership development programs separately. The full Leadership Research Report will be available in February at chally.com.

Where They Go for Talent—and Why

Participants cited these three companies as top targets when recruiting from outside:

P&G

Known for outstanding technical leaders, marketing expertise and leadership know-how.

IBM

A technology and solutions leader boasting an excellent reputation for developing leaders, reinventing business models profitably and sharing success with global communities.

GE

Multinational organization with complex business units and a strong reputation for developing leaders and leading innovation in technology.

2014 Rank
Company/CEO
2013 Rank
Company/CEO
1 P&G  / A.G. Lafley 1 P&G / Robert McDonald
2 IBM / Virginia Rometty 3 General Electric / Jeffrey Immelt
3 General Electric / Jeffrey Immelt 2 IBM / Virginia Rometty
4 Accenture  / Pierre Nanterme Dow Chemical / Andrew Liveris
5 Unilever / Paul Polman Verizon Communications / Lowell McAdam
6 Dow Chemical / Andrew Liveris 4 Caterpillar / Douglas Oberhelman
7 McDonald’s / Donald Thompson 18 Hitachi Data Systems / Jack Domme
8 Monsanto / Hugh Grant 11 Arthur J. Gallagher / J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr.
9 Hormel Foods / Jeffrey M. Ettinger Boeing / W. James McNerney, Jr.
10 General Mills / Kendall Powell 15 3M / Inge Thulin
11 VF Corporation / Eric C. Wiseman Monsanto / Hugh Grant
12 W.W. Grainger / James T. Ryan PepsiCo / Indra Nooyi
13 Caterpillar / Douglas Oberhelman 6 Royal Caribbean Cruises / Richard Fain
14 Verizon Communications / Lowell McAdam 5 The Cooper Companies / Robert Weiss
15 TJX Companies / Carol Meyrowitz General Mills / Kendall Powell
16 Sprint / Daniel Hesse 16 Sprint Nextel / Daniel Hesse
17 Maxim Integrated / Tunc Doluca 37 Bridgestone Americas / Gary Garfield
18 Southwest Airlines / Gary Kelly McDonald’s / Donald Thompson
19 DENTSPLY International / Bret Wise ADP / Carlos Rodriguez
20 ADP / Carlos Rodriguez 19 Shoppers Drug Mart / Domenic Pilla
21 HNI / Stan A. Askren Bayer MaterialScience / Patrick Thomas
22 McKesson / John Hammergren Barnes Group / Gregory Milzcik
23 3M / Inge Thulin 10 NOVA Chemicals / Randy Woelfel
24 Konecranes / Pekka Lundmark 30 Bristow Group / William Chiles
25 Ecolab / Douglas M. Baker, Jr. 28 Cardinal Health / George Barrett
26 EMC Insurance / Bruce Kelley 35 BP China / Robert Dudley
27 Cardinal Health / George Barrett 25 Dimension Data / Brett Dawson
28 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters / Brian P. Kelley Ecolab / Douglas M. Baker, Jr.
29 RPM International / Frank C. Sullivan Johnson Matthey / Neil Carson
30 Emerson Electric / David Farr Konecranes / Pekka Lundmark
31 Comcast / Brian Roberts Olympic Steel / Michael Siegal
32 Shoppers Drug Mart / Domenic Pilla 20 Phillips NV / Frans van Houten
33 Barnes Group / Patrick Dempsey 22 Autoliv / Jan Carlson
34 Cash America Int’l  / Daniel R. Feehan Hyatt / Mark Hoplamazian
35 Dangote Cement / Aliko Dangote EMC Insurance  / Bruce Kelley
36 The Cooper Companies / Robert Weiss 14 Harman International / Dinesh Paliwal
37 Huntington Bancshares / Stephen Steinour Maxim Integrated / Tunc Doluca
38 Citigroup / Michael Corbat Libbey / Stephanie Streeter
39 Paychex / Martin Mucci ResMed / Peter Farrell
40 Esterline / Curtis Reusser Kelly Services / Carl Camden

2014 Best Companies For Leaders Links

Top 10 Skills Needed for Effective Leadership
Biggest Hurdles to Developing Leaders
Deloitte: Building a Future on Millennial Recruits
10 Best Private Companies
List of 40 Best Companies for Leaders


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