L’Oreal climbs 10 places to the 20th position in the annual Financial Times’ survey of the World’s Most Respected Companies. L’Oreal has reached the 20th position on this year’s survey of the World’s Most Respected Companies, compared to the 30th position it held in last year’s ranking. A total of 72 international businesses were in the running. L’Oreal Group’s CEO, Lindsay Owen-Jones, also made a very strong impression for leadership; he was ranked number 16 on the list of the World’s Most Respected Business Leaders, climbing 14 positions in only three years. In the sector rankings, L’Oreal was placed fourth on the list of some of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers.


4th EUROPEAN COMPANY

L’Oreal has improved its ranking every year since the launch of the survey in 1998 and is keeping company with some of the world’s top companies such as General Electric, which is ranked in first position, followed by Microsoft, Toyota and IBM. L’Oreal was fourth among European companies after DaimlerChrysler, Nestlé and BMW and first among French companies.


JUDGED BY BOTH PEERS AND OUTSIDE OBSERVERS

The global survey of CEO opinion conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the Financial Times for the sixth year, involved interviews of 1000 respondents in 20 countries. “The core of the survey remains consistent over time, identifying those companies and business leaders globally that are the most respected by their peers and the reasons for those choices” explains the Financial Times.

Leading decision-makers and opinion-formers from the corporate world were first asked which companies they most respected and why. They were then asked to select three companies that they most respected in their industry sector in the world. And finally, they were questioned about the three business leaders they respected and the three companies that created the most value for shareholders.

In addition, the respondents were asked to list the companies seen to excel in areas such as corporate governance and social responsibility.


HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Along with more easily quantifiable elements such as share performance and product quality, those involved in the survey this year placed a great deal of importance on integrity and transparency. The companies that made the list are perceived as presenting a consistently honest picture of their value, their markets, their successes and their challenges.