Hindustan Unilever
Mumbai, IndiaRevenue1: $2.74 billionNo. of employees: 15,000CEO: Douglas BaillieTop alumni: Anand Kripalu, managing director of Cadbury India; P.M. Sinha, chairman of Bata IndiaPlace the Right People in the Right Jobs. At this Anglo-Dutch-owned Indian conglomerate, known for churning out leaders as fast as it produces Pears soap and Lipton tea, managers are rated in colorcoded boxes. The top 200 to 250 managers, called greens (as in "go," not "novice"), are singled out on a leadership rating matrix. Mediocre execs are labeled amber, and at the bottom are reds. The aim is to get the top 50 greens into critical jobs at various levels of seniority. The ranking system, the company says, helps it attract and nurture leaders.
