Two Indian companies, Tata and Reliance, figure in the list at 17 and 33 much above BMW and Siemens and many others. US companies come on top as the most innovative.
Before the world shuddered two years ago, U.S. companies dominated our Most Innovative Companies ranking, easily outnumbering corporations based outside of America. But now that the global economy seems to be growing again, senior executives surveyed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) no longer consider the U.S. the be-all and end-all in innovation. Yes, Apple reigns as No. 1 again, trailed by silver medalist Google. And Microsoft and IBM find themselves back in the top five, based on BCG’s global poll. But for the first time ever, more companies on our Top 50 are based outside the U.S. China’s rise is the fastest. A year ago, its only representative was Lenovo, at 46. This year Greater China is tied with Asia’s postwar powerhouse, Japan, thanks to showings by BYD (8), Haier Electronics (27), Lenovo (29), China Mobile (44), and Taiwan-based HTC (47). To make room for 2010’s freshmen, a half-dozen American giants on 2009’s list got dumped: AT&T, ExxonMobil, 3M, Johnson & Johnson, Southwest Airlines, and Target.