Person of the year: Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick is revolutionising the world of transport. His company Uber confronts vested interests in the ride-hailing business in some 300 cities in 50 countries and is aiming to push on into more. Unafraid of making enemies, he infuriates regulators and established operators alike to bring a service that — with the use of up-to-date technology — is recognised as efficient, comfortable and of all-round good value by the increasing numbers of people who use it. At a time when economies are experiencing so much “disruptive” innovation, he merits the Person of the Year award.
No other network has had such a consistent cultural impact on television as HBO. For more than 40 years, the Time Warner-owned network has broken new ground in TV production and distribution. It has unleashed a string of memorable characters and pioneered groundbreaking series, from The Sopranos and Sex and the City to True Detective. It has 130m subscribers internationally and is to expand its reach this year when it launches a digital-only service in the US. This will free it from the ties of cable and satellite TV and, potentially, turbocharge its subscriber base.
Corporate responsibility/environment: Handelsbanken
The Swedish bank came through the global collapse in robust health and takes a back-to-the-future approach. Branch managers make lending decisions at local levels and the bank does not pay annual bonuses to employees for sales of loans or mortgages. The bank’s ethos is based on satisfying its customers. It has outperformed most other providers of banking services in the world. Among its core principles are “building a bank around what customers want”.
The automotive technology company uses a camera mounted inside a vehicle and algorithms to detect objects in a car’s pathway. The driver is alerted to dangerously close pedestrians or vehicles. Mobileye, based in Israel, works with 23 carmakers, or about nine in 10 of the industry’s big producers, in the push towards autonomous driving. Its products have been built into 5.2m vehicles, allowing for features such as autonomous braking. Its listing on the New York Stock Exchange was one of the most sought-after technology company flotations of last year.
Open Garden’s FireChat app creates a form of private internet that can work without a mobile connection or WiFi. It was launched less than a year ago by the US-based company and 5m people downloaded it in its first few months. The French government’s chief technology officer advised people to use it after the attack in Paris on satirical journal Charlie Hebdo, when he feared mobile phone networks would become overloaded. Some may see it as a next version of the internet, with smartphone users downloading FireChat to “network on the fly”.
South Yorkshire-based Xeros has developed a system that could reinvent the washing machine. Using small, hard, white nylon beads, each about the size of a large grain of rice, that attract stains in fabric, its machines wash at lower temperatures than normal and require only 20 per cent of the amount of water used in a regular appliance. While the technology is at present limited to industrial-sized machines — some top US hotel brands are users — the company is working on plans for it to be adapted to the domestic environment.
Developing markets: Mara Group
The multinational has grown from a small information technology business set up by its chief executive Ashish Thakkar with a $5,000 loan in Uganda in 1996 into a large multi-sector investment group. The company spans technology, agriculture, financial services, property and manufacturing. With Atlas Mara, his joint venture with veteran banker Bob Diamond, Thakkar aims to transform African financial services. Property development has also been a strong group focus of late, with Mara building hotels, malls and service apartments in, among other places, Uganda and Tanzania.
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Nominees
DRIVERS OF CHANGE
Aldi, German supermarket retailer
Cheniere Energy, US specialist in storing liquefied natural gas
HBO, US cable television network
Tencent, Chinese internet service portal
Tesla Motors, US electric car producer
Uber, US ride-hailing company
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY/ENVIRONMENT
BMW, German car manufacturer
D.light, US low-cost solar lamp producer
Handelsbanken, Swedish bank
Novo Nordisk, Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer
Storebrand, Norwegian financial services company
Vaude, German mountaineering equipment specialist
TECHNOLOGY
Electrocore, US medical technology company
Open Garden, US internet technology specialist
Klarna, Swedish online payments company
Proteus Digital Health, US medical technology company
RexBionics, New Zealand robotics’ manufacturer
Shape Security, US anti-hacking technology specialists
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Coupang, South Korean ecommerce company
Glasspoint Solar, US enhanced oil recoverer
Micro Housing Finance Corporation, Indian informal sector housing loan provider
Mobileye, Israeli automotive technology company
Snapchat, US mobile software specialist
Supercell, Finnish computer games developer
SMALLER COMPANY
Euglena, Japanese biofuel company
Fever-Tree, UK premium-quality drinks producer
GW Pharmaceuticals, UK cannabis-based pharmaceuticals company
Hampton Creek, US food technology specialist
Planet Labs, US miniature satellite company
Xeros, UK washing machine manufacturer
DEVELOPING MARKETS
EMS, Brazilian pharmaceuticals business
Flipkart, Indian ecommerce company
Indigo, Indian airline
Mara Group, Dubai-based African multinational
Santa Teresa, Venezuelan spirits distiller
Xiaomi, Chinese consumer electronics specialist
