The world's best companies for grooming leaders

Rank 1 : IBM

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 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.