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APRIL 13, 2006

Innovation

25 Innovators, 6 Industries

A look at the best of the best, broken down by industry

What's immediately clear from our 2006 list of the world's most innovative companies is that "innovation" is becoming even more broadly defined. True product innovators have their place on our list -- Nokia (NOK ) and newcomer Research In Motion (RIMM ) come to mind.

But respondents to the BusinessWeek-Boston Consulting Group survey value other kinds of innovators, too, from process masters, who remake the supply chain, logistics, or sales channels, to business model revolutionaries, who create brand new ways of doing business. Here's a look at how the top 25 companies break down by industry.

  CONSUMER PRODUCTS/RETAIL

Rank	Company	Votes
1	P&G	15
2	Danone	7
3	Tesco	3
3	Amazon	3
3	Nike	3
4	Zara	2
4	Whole Foods	2
4	Unilever	2
4	Starwood	2
4	Best Buy	2
4	L'Oreal	2
4	IKEA	2
4	FedEx	2
(51 with one vote)

  FINANCIAL SERVICES

Rank	Company	Votes
1	ING Bank	4
2	State Street	3
2	Progressive	3
4	Wachovia	2
4	UBS	2
4	PayPal	2
4	Macquarie Bank	2
4	HSBC	2
4	Geico	2
4	Banco Santander	2
4	Bain Capital	2
(52 with one vote)

  HEALTH CARE

Rank	Company	Votes
1	Genentech	15
2	Pfizer	4
2	United Healthcare	4
2	Novartis	4
3	Amgen	3
3	Johnson & Johnson	3
4	Roche	2
4	GSK	2
(29 with one vote)

  Industrial Goods/Autos

Rank	Company	Votes
1	3M	13
2	GE	8
2	BMW	8
3	Toyota	7
4	BASF	3
5	SKF	2
5	Nucor	2
(58 with one vote)

  OTHER

Rank	Company	Votes
1	IDEO	20
2	BCG	13
3	McKinsey	11
4	Accenture	8
5	Strategos	4
5	IBM Global Services	4
7	?What If!	3
8	ACS	2
8	PWC	2
8	Ernst & Young	2
8	Bain	2

  TECHNOLOGY/IT

Rank	Company	Votes
1	Google	27
2	Apple	24
3	Microsoft	10
4	IBM	9
5	Salesforce.com	6
5	Nokia	6
7	SAP	4
8	Samsung	3
8	Philips	3
8	HP	4
9	Yahoo!	2
9	Adobe	2
9	Cisco	2
9	Avaya	2
9	Motorola	2
(27 with one vote)

  TELECOM

Rank	Company	Votes
1	NTT DoCoMo	4
2	BT	3
3	Vodafone	2
3	Skype	2
(12 with one vote)