By IANS
New York : Apple Computer, the maker of iPhone, iPod and Mac PCs, has topped 20 most admired global companies in a list prepared by Fortune magazine.
PepsiCo, headed by India-born Indra Nooyi, at 13th position is more admired than archrival Coca-Cola at 19th spot, according to the list published in the latest edition of the US business magazine, famed for its authoritative Fortune 500 lists of US and global corporations ranked on gross revenue.
Apple in the most admired list is followed at second place by General Electric, the diversified industrial conglomerate, while Japanese auto major Toyota occupies the third place.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, is the fourth most admired company.
Others in the top 10 include courier firm FedEx at sixth, Johnson & Johnson (7), known for its baby products, luxury car maker BMW (9) and software giant Microsoft (10), which is trying to acquire Yahoo!.
Aircraft maker Boeing is way down at 16th, the world’s largest retailer Wal-Mart at 17th and Japanese automaker Honda Motor at 18th.
Fortune said it surveyed over 600 companies in 65 industries for the list. It partnered with global management consulting firm Hay Group for the study. Over 3,500 businesspeople were asked to vote for the companies that they admired most, from any industry.
The companies were ranked on the basis of eight attributes – innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment and quality of products/services.
In Fortune’s list of America’s most admired companies, Apple is again at the top, followed by Berkshire and GE at second and third place respectively. Pepsi figures but not in the top 20, for whom the rankings have been given.
Adobe Systems, a software company led by Indian American Shantanu Narayen, has also made it to the club, but way down among the 317 companies listed.