Occidental Petroleum is on Fortune’s list of World’s Most Admired Companies

– The most admired. For a quarter of a century, Fortune ranked the world’s most admired companies. These are companies that are admired by others in the wider business community as well as in their own industries. As editors Matt Heimer and Scott DeCarlo explain, this measure of company reputation encompasses “the impression you make on casual observers by producing good results” as well as “the more intimate esteem you earn on the part of customers, employees and collaborators”, and the reluctant respect of competitors.

This year’s edition of the World’s Most Admired Companies list, in partnership with Korn Ferry, was released this morning; at the top is Apple for the 16th consecutive year. Twenty-six women-led companies feature on this list of 320 companies, showing how rare it is still, despite some progress, for a woman to lead a large company. Accenture, led by CEO Julie Sweet, tops the IT services industry rankings for the 10th consecutive year.

One story worth paying attention to is the resurgence of Occidental Petroleum. The oil and gas business fell off that ranking for two years, a period that coincided with the difficult fallout from a $38 billion acquisition for CEO Vicki Hollub. Activist investors, including Carl Icahn, sued the company. Some have criticized the $36 billion-revenue company for its green tech strategies.

But Hollub’s consistent leadership has won her and her company admirers despite the challenges of the business. Seven years ago, she became the first woman to lead a major oil and gas company. She is now one of the longest-serving female CEOs in the Fortune 500. Occidental shares are up 500% since November 2020.

For Hollub’s peers in the business world, who voted for companies to make this list, this record was enough to relaunch his business in this cohort. Warren Buffett is a longtime supporter of Hollub and Occidental, and Berkshire Hathaway is the company’s largest shareholder. Fittingly, Berkshire has appeared on this list every year since its debut. As Heimer and DeCarlo write, “Obviously, some admired companies really do admire each other.”

See the full list of the World’s Most Admired Companies here.

Emma Hinchcliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchcliffe

The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Kinsey Crowley. Subscribe here.

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SEPARATING WORDS

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