General Mills Named to Ranking of the Top 50 “World’s Most Admired Companies”
03/02/2009
General Mills ranks among the top 50 “World’s Most Admired Companies,” according to FORTUNE. Ranked No. 45 overall, General Mills was selected from an initial pool of some 1,400 global companies in what Fortune describes as “the definitive report card on corporate reputations.”
FORTUNE said with the interlinked nature of the world economy painfully clear, it no longer made sense to generate separate lists of American and global companies. “We've expanded this new directory beyond our previous global list to create the most comprehensive worldwide reputation ranking anywhere,” said Fortune in announcing the rankings.
“We are very pleased to be recognized by the global business community,” said Ken Powell, Chairman and CEO of General Mills. “This honor recognizes General Mills’ role in the world and reinforces the tremendous value we have in the General Mills brand.”
The magazine noted that faring well in the rankings is especially noteworthy this year because trust in business has fallen.
“Trust, in our view, is the most important measure of corporate reputation,” said Powell. “General Mills values its reputation tremendously, and we constantly strive to remain worthy of the trust of our customers, consumers, employees, investors and communities.”
Corporate reputation is more important than ever in a challenged global economy, according to FORTUNE. “Any company that can perform well and maintain its good name during the worst recession in 75 years is arguably more admirable than the best performer during boom times,” the magazine said.
To create the 64 industry lists, executives, directors, and analysts were asked to rate companies in their own industry on nine criteria, including innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services, and global competitiveness.
General Mills ranked third among consumer foods companies.
This recognition by FORTUNE follows many other honors given to General Mills in the past year, including “100 Best Places to Work For,” FORTUNE magazine; “100 Best Corporate Citizens,” Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine; “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers,” Working Mother Magazine; “World’s Most Reputable Companies,” Reputation Institute; “40 Best Companies for Diversity,” Black Enterprise Magazine, and many others.
About General Mills
One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had fiscal 2008 global net sales of US$14.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales. Visit www.generalmills.com.
For More Information, Contact:
Kirstie Foster
General Mills
763-764-6364
