50COMPANIES
THAT CHANGED
THE WORLD.
Incisive Profiles of the 50 Organizations,Large & small, that has
Shaped the Course of Modern Business
- HOWARD ROTHMAN
1. Microsoft Corporation
Fact File:
Founders: William H. Gates III and Paul Allen
Distinction: Created the Systems that drive nearly all the world’s PCs.
Primary Products: Computer Software and Internet Services.
Annual Sales: $22.956 billion.
Number of Employees: 31,400.
Major competitors: American Online, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems.
Chairman and Chief Software Architect: William H. gates III;
President & CEO: Steven A. Ballmer.
Headquarters: Redmond, Wash.
Year founded: 1975.
Website: www.microsoft.com
2. AT&T Corporation
Fact File:
Founders: Alexander graham Bell, Gardiner Hubbard & Thomas Sanders.
Distinction: Launched the Telecommunication revolution.
Primary Products: Telephone Services, Internet access, cable television.
Annual Sales: $62.391 billion.
Number of Employees: 148,000
Major competitors: America Online, MCI WorldCom, and Sprint.
Chairman & CEO: C. Michael Armstrong.
Headquarters: New York.
Year founded: 1877.
Website: www.att.com
3. Ford Motor Company
Fact File:
Founders: Henry Ford, Alexander Malcomson, John W. Anderson, C. H.
Bennett, James Couzens, Horace E. Dodge, John F. Dodge, Vernon C. Fry,
John S. Gray, Horace H. Rackham, Albert Strelow & Charles J. Woodall
Distinction: Completely transformed the process of manufacturing.
Primary Products: Cars, Trucks and Auto Finance.
Annual Sales: $162.558 billion.
Number of Employees: 364,550.
Major competitors: Daimler Chrysler, General Motors, Toyota.
Chairman: William C. Ford Jr;
President and CEO: Jacques A. Nasser.
Headquarters: Dearborn, Mich.
Year founded: 1903
Website: www.ford.com
4. Apple Computer
Fact File:
Founders: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak & Mike Markkula.
Distinction: Brought computing to people.
Primary Products: PC, peripherals, multimedia tools.
Number of Employees: 9,376.
Annual Sales: $6.134 billion
Major competitors: Compaq, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems.
CEO: Steve Jobs.
Headquarters: Cupertino, Calif.
Year founded: 1976.
Website: www.apple.com
5. McDonald’s Corporation
Fact File:
Founders: Richard & Maurice McDonald & Ray Kroc.
Distinction: Global fast-food revolution.
Primary Products: Burgers, chicken nuggets, fries and shakes.
Number of Employees: 284,000 in U.S. alone
Annual Sales: $35.9 billion.
Major competitors: Pizza Hut, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell.
Chairman & CEO: Jack Greenberg.
Headquarters: Oak Brook, Illinois.
Year founded: 1955.
Website: www.mcdonalds.com
6. America Online Inc.
Fact File:
Founder: Steven M. Case.
Distinction: Opened Cyberspace to masses worldwide.
Primary Products: Internet access, online content and related software.
Number of Employees: 12,100.
Annual Sales: $6.886 billion.
Major competitors: AT&T, Microsoft, and Yahoo!
Chairman & CEO: Steven M. Case.
Headquarters: Dulles, VA.
Year founded: 1991.
Website: www.aol.com
7. FedEx Corporation
Fact File:
Founder: Fredrick W. Smith.
Distinction: Created the next-day delivery industry.
Primary business: Worldwide express delivery of packages & documents.
Number of Employees: 141,000.
Annual Sales: $16.774 billion.
Major competitors: DHL, UPS, U.S. Postal Service.
Chairman, President & CEO: Fredrick W. Smith.
Headquarters: Memphis, Tenn.
Year founded: 1971.
Website: www.fedex.com
8.CBS Corporation
Fact File:
Founder: William S. Paley.
Distinction: made television journalism respectable and influential.
Primary Products: TV and Radio programming.
Number of Employees: 28,900.
Annual Sales: $7.373 billion.
Major competitors: ABC, Fox Entertainment, NBC.
Chairman: David McLaughlin;
President & CEO: Mel Karmazin.
Headquarters: New York
Year founded: 1927.
Website: www.cbs.com
9. Philip Morris Companies
Fact File:
Founder: Philip Morris
Distinction: Made cigarettes popular; now struggling b’coz of them.
Primary Products: Cigarettes, beer and food products.
Number of Employees: 137,100
Annual Sales: $78.596 billion.
Major competitors: Anheuser-Busch, British American Tobacco and Nestle.
Chairman & CEO: Geoffrey C. Bible.
Headquarters: New York.
Year founded: 1919
Website: www.philipmorris.com
10.Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Fact File:
Founder: Sam Walton.
Distinction: Parlayed retailing innovations into worldwide dominance.
Primary Products: Softgoods, hardgoods, electronics, groceries.
Number of Employees: 1,140,000.
Annual Sales: $165.013 billion.
Major competitors: Kmart, Target, Costco Wholesale.
Chairman: Sam Walton.
President & CEO: H. Lee Scott Jr.
Headquarters: Bentonville.
Year founded: 1962.
Website: www.wal-mart.com
11. General Electric Company
Fact File:
Founder: Thomas A. Edison.
Distinction: It lit up our lives.
Primary Products: Electric equipment, home appliances, jet engines, financial
services, broadcasting.
Number of Employees: 340,000.
Annual Sales: $110.832 billion.
Major competitors: Matsushita, Rolls Royce, Siemens.
Chairman & CEO: John F. Welch Jr.
Headquarters: Fairfield, Conn.
Year founded: 1892.
Website: www.ge.com
12. IBM Corporation
Fact File:
Founder: Thomas Watson Sr.
Distinction: the king of technology throughout the technology age.
Primary Products: Computer hardware, software, peripherals, service.
Number of Employees: 307,401
Annual Sales: $87.548 billion.
Major competitors:
Chairman & CEO: Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Headquarters: Armonk, N.Y.
Year founded: 1911.
Website: www.ibm.com
13. Sears, Roebuck, and Co.
Fact File:
Founders: Richard Sears & Alvah C. Roebuck
Distinction: World’s first mass-retailing network.
Primary Products: Apparel, home fashions, appliances, home improvement
products, Lawn and garden equipment.
Number of Employees: 324,000
Annual Sales: $41.071 billion.
Major competitors: Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney.
Chairman, President & CEO: Alan Lacey.
Headquarters: Hoffman Estates.
Year founded: 1886.
Website: www.sears.com
14. General Motors
Fact File:
Founder: William Durant.
Distinction: World’s No. 1 automaker & largest company in terms of sales.
Primary Products: Cars, Trucks & related products.
Number of Employees: 388,000
Annual Sales: $176.558 billion.
Major competitors: Daimler Crysler, Ford, Toyota.
Chairman: John F. Smith Jr.
President & CEO: G. Richard Wagoner Jr.
Headquarters: Detroit, Mich.
Year founded: 1908
Website: www.gm.com
15. J.P.Morgan & Company.
Fact File:
Founder: J.P.Morgan
Distinction: Preserved & expanded the American Financial System.
Primary Products: Commercial banking & investment services.
Number of Employees: 15,152
Annual Sales: $ 18.110 billion.
Major competitors: Deutsche bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch.
Chairman & CEO: Douglas A. “Sandy” Warner III
Headquarters: New York
Year founded: 1854
Website: www.jpmorgan.com
16. Union Pacific Corporation.
Fact File:
Founders: Oakes Ames, Oliver Ames & Thomas C. Durant.
Distinction: Helped bridge east and west with first transcontinental road.
Primary Products: Transportation services by train and truck.
Number of Employees: 52,000
Annual Sales: $11.273 billion.
Major competitors: Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, FedEx, Norfolk Southern.
Chairman President & CEO: Richard Davidson.
Headquarters: Omaha, Neb
Year founded: 1862
Website: www.up.com
17. RCA Corporation.
Fact File:
Founders: Thomas A. Edison, Elihu Thomson & Edwin Houston.
Distinction: Brought radio, then television, into American homes.
Primary Products: Televisions, camcorders, other consumer electronics.
Number of Employees: 22,800.
Annual Sales: $4.5 billion
Major competitors: Matsushita, Philips Electronics.
Chairman & CEO: S.A Thomson and Thomson Multimedia: Thierry Breton.
Headquarters: Indianapolis, Ind.
Year founded: 1960.
Website: www.rca.com
18. Nike Inc.
Fact File:
Founders: Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight.
Distinction: Made the sports shoe a cultural icon.
Primary Products: Athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories.
Number of Employees: 20,700.
Annual Sales: $8.777 billion.
Major competitors: Adidas-Salomon, Fila, Reebok.
Chairman & CEO: Philip Knight.
Headquarters: Beaverton
Year founded: 1962.
Website: www.nike.com
19. Intel Corporation.
Fact File:
Founders: Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.
Distinction: Invented microprocessor, paving way for computer revolution.
Primary Products: Computer chips, networking and communications gear.
Number of Employees: 70,200
Annual Sales: $29.389 billion.
Major competitors: Advanced micro Devices, IBM, and Motorola.
Chairman Emeritus: Gordon Moore.
Chairman: Andrew S. Grove;
President & CEO: Craig R. Barett.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, Ca.
Year founded: 1968.
Website: www.intel.com
20. Cable News Network.
Fact File:
Founder: Ted Turner.
Distinction: World’s first live, 24*7 television network.
Primary Products: TV, Radio, Internet news program
Number of Employees: 4,000.
Annual Sales: Unavailable
Major competitors: CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC.
Chairman President & CEO: W. Thomas Johnson.
Headquarters: Atlanta, Ga.
Year founded: 1980.
Website: www.cnn.com
21. The Boeing Company
Fact File:
Founders: William E. Boeing.
Distinction: Evolved with aviation industry from biplanes to Lunar Orbiters.
Primary Products: Commercial & military aircrafts, rockets, satellites.
Number of Employees: 197,100
Annual Sales: $57.993 billion.
Major competitors: Airbus Industries, EADS, and Lockheed Martin.
Chairman & CEO: Philip M. Condit;
President & COO: Harry Stonecipher.
Headquarters: Seattle
Year founded: 1916.
Website: www.boeing.com
22.Hewlett-Packard Co.
Fact File:
Founders: Bill Hewlett & David Packard.
Distinction: Leader in technology & the business world that produces it.
Primary Products: PC’s, Printing and imaging products.
Number of Employees: 84,400
Annual Sales: $42.370 billion.
Major competitors: Compaq, IBM, Xerox.
Chairman President & CEO: Carleton S. “Carly” Fiorina.
Headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif.
Year founded: 1939
Website: www.hp.com
23. Standard Oil Company.
Fact File:
Founders: John D. Rockefeller, Samuel Andrews & Henry M. Flagler
Distinction: World’s largest oil refiner before dismantling by the Supreme
Court.
Primary Products: Kerosene, fuel, lubricant.
Major competitors: None.
Founder & President: John D. Rockefeller
Founding location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Market Value B4 dissolution: $100 million.
Years in existence: 1870-1911.
24. Sony Corporation.
Fact File:
Founders: Ibuka Masaru and Morita Akio.
Distinction: Remade the global consumer electronics marketplace.
Primary Products: Electronic devices, movies, TV shows, recorded music.
Number of Employees: 189,700
Annual Sales: $63.082 billion.
Major competitors: Matsushita, Philips Electronics, Time Warner.
Chairman & CEO: Nobuyuki Idei;
President: Kunitake Ando
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Year founded: 1946.
Website: www.world.sony.com
25. USX-U.S. Steel Group
Fact File:
Founders: Elbert H. Gary and J. Pierpont Morgan.
Distinction: When launched, it was the largest business enterprise of all time.
Primary Products: Sheet, tubular, plate and semi finished steel.
Number of Employees: 19266.
Annual Sales: $ 5.380 billion.
Major competitors: Bethlehem Steel, LTV and Nucor.
Chairman & CEO, USX: Thomas J. Usher;
President, US Steel Group: Paul J. Wilhelm.
Headquarters: Pittsburgh.
Year founded: 1901.
Website: www.ussteel.com
26. Agence France-Presse.
Fact File:
Founder: Charles-Louis Haves.
Distinction: World’s oldest international news agency.
Primary Products: Words, photos and graphics for client media worldwide.
Annual Sales: $227.7 million.
Number of Employees: 1,998.
Major competitors: Associated Press, Reuters and United Press International.
President & CEO: Eric Giuily;
Deputy Chief Executive/ Managing Editor: Denis Brulet.
Headquarters: Paris
Year founded: 1835
Website: www.afp.com.
27. Levitt & Sons
Fact File:
Founders: William & Alfred Levitt.
Distinction: Created 20th Century American suburbia.
Primary Products: Small, Low cost houses for the masses.
Total Production: More than 140000 houses all over the world.
Founder: William Levitt
Headquarters: Levittown.
Year founded: 1929-1968.
Value when sold: Company sold to ITT in 1968 for $92 million.
28. Walt Disney Company
Fact File:
Founder: Walt Elias Disney.
Distinction: Family Entertainment.
Primary Products: Movies, Videos, Television, software, resort properties.
Annual Sales: $23.402 billion.
Number of Employees: 117,000
Major competitors: Fox Entertainment, Time Warner & Viacom.
Chairman & CEO: Michael D. Eisner;
Headquarters: Burbank.
Year founded: 1923.
Website: www.disney.go.com
29. Netscape Communications.
Fact File:
Founders: James Clark & Marc Andreessen.
Distinction: Rewrote rules for net navigation and IPO’s.
Primary Products: Internet browser, Web Portal, online development tools.
Annual Sales: $447.8 million.
Number of Employees: 2,936.
Major competitors: Lycos, Microsoft, Yahoo!
Vice President & GM, Netscape Net center: Jim Martin
Headquarters: Mountain View.
Year founded: 1994
Website: www.netscape.com
30. The Coca-Cola Company
Fact File:
Founder: Dr. John Stith Pemberton.
Distinction: Made soft drinks a global obsession.
Primary Products: Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid.
Annual Sales: $19.805 billion.
Number of Employees: 37,400.
Major competitors: Cadbury Schweppes, PepsiCo, Quaker Oats.
Chairman & CEO: Douglas N. Draft
Headquarters: Atlanta
Year founded: 1886
Website: www.cocacola.com
31. Thyssen Krupp AG
Fact File:
Founder: Friedrich Krupp.
Distinction: Helped finance, and arm, the Nazi regime in World War II.
Primary Products: Metal Fabrication, Industrial plants, automotive parts
Annual Sales: $ 29.749 billion.
Number of Employees: 116,174.
Major competitors: Mannesmann AG, Rpbert Bosch, Usinor.
Chairman (Automotive): Gerhard Cromme;
Chairman (Steel): Ekkehard Schulz;
Headquarters: Dusseldorf, Germany
Year founded: 1810.
Website: www.thyssenkrupp.com/eng/index.html.
32. Procter & Gamble Co.
Fact File:
Founders: William Procter and James Gamble.
Distinction: made name in soaps, invented soap operas to promote them.
Primary Products: Cleaning, paper, beauty, food, health-care items.
Annual Sales: $ 38.125 billion.
Number of Employees: 110,000.
Major competitors:Johnson & Johnson, Kimberley-Clark, Unilever.
Chairman: John Pepper;
President & CEO: Alan G. Lafley.
Headquarters: Cincinnati, Ohio.
Year founded: 1837.
Website: www.pg.com
33. Yahoo! Inc.
Fact File:
Founders: David Filo and Jerry Yang.
Distinction: Original online search engine.
Primary Products: Web directory, chat, shopping, community functions.
Annual Sales: $ 588.6 million.
Number of Employees: 2,711
Major competitors: America Online, Microsoft, Lycos.
Chairman & CEO: Timothy Koogle.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif.
Year founded: 1994.
Website: www.yahoo.com
34. Toyota Motor Company.
Fact File:
Founder: Sakichi Toyoda.
Distinction: Revolutionized automobile production for the global age.
Primary Products: Cars, pickups, minivans and SUVs.
Annual Sales: $ 105.832 billion.
Number of Employees: 183,879.
Major competitors: Daimler Chrysler, Ford, General Motors.
Chairman: Hiroshi Okuda;
President: Fujio Cho.
Headquarters: Toyota City, Japan.
Year founded: 1937.
Website: www.toyota.com
35. People Express Airlines.
Fact File:
Founder: Donald Burr.
Distinction: Made air travel affordable.
Primary Products: No-frills, cut-rate airline flights.
Annual Sales: $ 1 billion at peak.
Number of Employees: 3,500 at peak.
Major competitors: American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United
Airlines.
Headquarters: Newark, New Jersey.
Years in existence: 1981-1986.
36. Manpower Inc.
Fact File:
Founders: Elmer Winter and Aaron Scheinfeld.
Distinction: Made “temp” an indelible part of the corporate vocabulary.
Primary Products: Temporary workers for assorted positions worldwide.
Annual Sales: $ 9.770 billion.
Number of Employees: 2,016,000.
Major competitors: Adecco, Randstad Holding, Vedior.
Chairman: John R. Walter;
President & CEO: Jeffrey A. Joerres.
Headquarters: Milwaukee, Wis.
Year founded: 1948.
Website: www.manpower.com
37. Toys “R” Us.
Fact File:
Founder: Charles Lazarus.
Distinction: Invented the toy supermarket and “carpet-killer” concepts.
Primary Products: Toys, games, sporting goods, software, kids’ furniture.
Annual Sales: $ 11.862 billion.
Number of Employees: 76,000.
Major competitors: eToys, Kmart, Wal-Mart.
Chairman: Michael Goldstein;
President & CEO: John H. Eyler Jr.
Headquarters: Paramus, N.J.
Year founded: 1978.
Website: www.toysrus.com
38. National Football League.
Fact File:
Founders: Ralph Hay, George “Papa Bear” Halas, Jim Thorpe and others.
Distinction: Reshaped professional sports and associated business:
Primary business: Overseas individual franchises, general merchandising and
marketing.
Annual Sales: $ 3.27 billion.
Number of Employees: 150
Major competitors: major League Baseball, MBA, and National Hockey
League.
Commissioner: Paul J. Tagliabue;
President and COO: Neil Austrian.
Headquarters: New York
Year founded: 1920
Website: www.nfl.com
39. Kellogg Company.
Fact File:
Founder: Will Keith (W.K) Kellogg.
Distinction: Invented and popularized toasted grain-based foods.
Primary Products: Breakfast cereals and other grain-based foods.
Annual Sales: $ 6.8 billion.
Number of Employees: 14,500
Major competitors: General Mills, Kraft foods, Quaker Oats
President & CEO: Carlos Gutierrez.
Headquarters: Battle Creek, Mich.
Year founded: 1906.
Website: www.kelloggs.com
40. Johnson Publishing Company.
Fact File:
Founder: John H. Johnson.
Distinction: World’s largest black-owned publishing company.
Primary Products: magazines, books, cosmetics and traveling fashion show.
Annual Sales: $371.9 million.
Number of Employees: 2,647
Major competitors: BET, Essence Communications and L’Oreal.
Chairman Publisher & CEO: John H. Johnson.
Headquarters: Chicago, Ill.
Year founded: 1942.
Website: www.ebony.com
41. Firestone Tire & Rubber.
Fact File:
Founder: Harvey Samuel firestone.
Distinction: Developed the first pneumatic automobile tire.
Primary business: Manufacturing and selling vehicle tires.
Annual Sales: $7.4 billion.
Number of Employees: 45,000
Major competitors: Cooper Tire & Rubber, Goodyear and Michelin.
Chairman & CEO: John Lampe;
President: Kenji Shibata.
Headquarters: Nashville, Tenn.
Year founded: 1900.
Website: www.bridgestone.com
42. Avon Products Inc.
Fact File:
Founders: David McConnell and Mrs. P. F.E. Albee.
Distinction: Created one of the first woman-friendly work environments.
Primary Products: Beauty products, fragrances.
Annual Sales: $5.289 billion.
Number of Employees: 33,900
Major competitors: L’Oreal, Mary Kay, Revlon.
Chairman: Stanley C. Gault.
President & CEO: Andrea Jung.
Headquarters: New York.
Year founded: 1886.
Website: www.avon.com.
43. Hilton Hotels Corporation.
Fact File:
Founder: Conrad N. Hilton.
Distinction: Developed the first coast-to-coast hotel chain.
Primary Products: Hotels, resorts and time-share properties.
Annual Sales: $1.769 billion.
Number of Employees: 45,000
Major competitors: Accor, Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Chairman: Barron Hilton
President & CEO: Stephen F. Bollenbach.
Headquarters: Beverly Hills.
Year founded: 1919
Website: www.hilton.com
44. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade.
Fact File:
Founders: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.
Distinction: Successfully combined business and social activism.
Primary Products: Ice cream, frozen yogurt and related products.
Annual Sales: $237 million.
Number of Employees: 751
Major competitors: Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, TCBY Enterprises,
President & CEO: Yves Couette.
Headquarters: South Burlington
Year founded: 1978.
Website: www.benjerry.com
45. RE / MAX International
Fact File:
Founder: Dave Liniger.
Distinction: Created the first global agent friendly real estate network.
Primary Business: Real Estate Sales on six continents.
Annual Sales: $1 million in U.S. alone.
Number of Employees: 58,000
Major competitors: Century 21, Coldwell Banker.
Chairman: Dave Liniger
CEO: Gail Liniger
Headquarters: Englewood, Co.
Year founded: 1973.
Website: www.remax.com
46. The Singer Company N.V.
Fact File:
Founders: Issac merit Singer.
Distinction: Made it easier to produce professional-looking apparel at home.
Primary Products: Sewing machines and other consumer appliances.
Annual Sales: $1.263 billion.
Number of Employees: 18,000
Major competitors: Brother international, Electrolux AB, Hirsch.
Chairman: James H. Ting;
President & CEO: Stephen H. Goodman.
Headquarters: Curacao, Netherlands
Year founded: 1851.
Website: www.singerco.com
47. The Shorebank Corp.
Fact File:
Founders: Ronald Grzywinski, Mary Houghton, James Fletcher
Distinction: Nation’s oldest and largest community development bank.
Primary Products: Financial services for businesses and individuals.
Annual Sales: $991.297 million.
Number of Employees: 337
Major competitors: Louisville Community Development Bank, Vermont
National bank, Wainwright Bank & Trust Company.
President & CEO: Margaret A. Cheap.
Headquarters: Chicago, Ill
Year founded: 1973
Website: www.sbk.com
48. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Fact File:
Founders: Marcus Loew and Louis B. Mayer.
Distinction: Epitomized Hollywood and America during 1920’s and 1930’s.
Primary Products: Theatrical films, television shows, home video, licenced
products.
Annual Sales: $1.2 billion.
Number of Employees: 870
Major competitors: Sony Pictures, Time Warner Walt Disney Company
Chairman & CEO: Alex Yemenidjian
Headquarters: Santa Monica
Year founded: 1924
Website: www.mgm.com
49. L.L.Bean.
Fact File:
Founder: Leon Leonwood Bean.
Distinction: Pioneered mail-order retailing.
Primary Products: Outdoor gear, clothing, shoes, luggage.
Annual Sales: $1.07 billion.
Number of Employees: 4,000
Major competitors: REI, Lands’ End, Spiegel, The Gap.
President & CEO: Leon A. Gorman.
Headquarters: Freeport, Maine.
Year founded: 1912
Website: www.llbean.com
50. H.J.Heinz Company
Fact File:
Founders: Henry John Heinz and John Noble.
Distinction: Made ketchup a household name.
Primary Products: Condiments, tuna, soup, frozen foods, baby food.
Annual Sales: $9.3 billion.
Number of Employees: 40,500
Major competitors: Bestfoods, Campbell Soup, ConAgra, Del Monte, Nestle.
President & CEO: William R. Johnson.
Headquarters: Pittsburgh