The world's best companies for grooming leaders

Aditya Birla Group, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Wipro and Bharti Airtel have featured in a list of top global companies for leaders. The list of 25 companies by Aon Hewitt, the RBL Group and Fortune, titled 'Top Companies for Leaders 2011 Study Results', is topped by IBM, with General Mills and P&G coming next.

Rank 1 | IBM

The New York-headquartered technology company sends SWAT teams to coach their local staff.

Rank 2 | General Mills

In this Fortune 500 company, which primarily deals with food products and is the owner of famous brands such as Pillsbury and Haagen-Dazs, over 90 per cent of management promotions are internal.

Rank 3 | Procter & Gamble

Every chief executive at P&G, which is also on the Fortune list of most admired companies, started at the entry level in the company.

Rank 4 | Aditya Birla Group

The multinational conglomerate, which operates in over 33 countries, honours its employees who teach skills to villagers.

Rank 5 | Colgate-Palmolive

The healthcare and personal products company has a seven-day Colgate Leadership Challenge in which junior employees work on a team business project, are taken through presentations by senior leaders, and do charity work.

Rank 6 | Hindustan Unilever

HUL, India's largest consumer goods company, sends young managers to live in Indian villages so that they can understand the needs of rural consumers.

Rank 7 | ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, assigns talent scouts to identify promising employees.

Rank 8 | McDonald's

McDonald's, the world's largest chain of fast-food restaurants, has an officer development programme to train talent in finance, human resources and marketing.

Rank 9 | Whirlpool

The American home appliance manufacturer has a set of senior executives who serve as "innovation mentors" who are tasked with evaluating business ideas.

Rank 10 | PepsiCo

The American multinational food and beverage company works on 10-year growth plans for individuals who the company believes have the potential climb high on the corporate ladder.

Rank 23 | Wipro

Wipro Ltd is India's third-largest software services exporter. More than 100 executives have gone on to start their own businesses.

Rank 24 | Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel is India's leading telecom services provider. The company has a reverse mentoring programme, in which junior employees tutor senior staff about new technology.