Fortune ranks Novartis one of the world’s most admired companies

Novartis entered this prestigious list in 2005 for the first time, and improved its rank by one place to No. 47 in the 2006 results. Only Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson were ranked ahead of Novartis in the overall listing of companies worldwide.

March 2, 2006 - Johnson & Johnson (No. 5) and Pfizer (No. 34) may have ranked higher in the overall world list, but Novartis was ranked No. 2 behind Johnson & Johnson in the pharmaceuticals industry list. (Pfizer ranked No. 10 in the pharmaceuticals industry survey, while Roche was No. 7). This was due to the fact that respondents had two votes: one for the overall ranking across all industries and one in their respective industry. The high rating given to Novartis by respondents in the pharmaceuticals industry indicates the growing respect among industry peers.

“We are pleased with this confirmation that Novartis is one of the most admired companies in the world. It means that the dynamic growth in recent years as well as our efforts to address the needs of patients worldwide are being recognized by others,” said Ann Bailey, Head of Corporate Communications. “The results are particularly interesting in that the better the respondents knew Novartis, the higher the approval rating for our company.”

To compile the industry lists, Hay Group surveyed more than 10,000 directors, executives, and managers at 357 companies around the world. Each respondent was asked to rank the other companies in his or her industry on nine attributes; their answers determine the industry-specific rankings. To create the All-Star list, respondents were asked to select the ten companies they admired most across all industries.

Hay Group, which has conducted the research for the World's Most Admired Companies since 1997, is a global human resources and organizational consulting firm with 78 offices in 43 countries.