America's Top Talent Incubators Are Organizations Where People Want to Stay

Organizations like GE, IBM, and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have long been touted as the classic "academy companies." Academy companies produce first-rate executives who populate their own senior ranks and also go on to lead other companies. We wondered if academy companies continue to play a role in today's markets. Do they still exist? Do they matter? Have the names changed?

In partnership with The Official Board, our team surveyed 853 executives and interviewed executive search consultants to better understand today's academy companies. We asked executives to list the top three academy companies in their function, industry, and country. (Executives weighed on the academy companies operating in their country, rather than just those companies headquartered in their country.) Looking across all three lists, the most mentioned companies were: McKinsey, Google, Microsoft, Unilever, and P&G. (See this piece for a full list of the top 25 mentioned companies.)

The top vote getters for each category are listed below. While the classic academy companies still make the list, they are not as prevalent as some other companies. Strategic consultants, global accounting firms, and CPG companies loom large. The largest companies globally had a strong showing in the survey. (Four of the five largest companies by market cap (Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft) appear in multiple lists.)

When asked what defines an academy company, respondents highlighted a range of people management practices including: general training; succession planning; leadership development; mentoring; and rotation programs. But they also focused on more general company attributes such as innovation, values, investment in R&D, compliance, and company image. And numerous respondents stressed that an academy company is somewhere that people want to work. As one executive summed up, "Academy implies learning and learning needs time, even for talented individuals. This can only be achieved in an organization in which people want to stay."

Note: Numbering below reflects the fact that the survey produced many ties, with multiple companies getting the same number of votes.

Top Academy Companies by Function

Note: In the Corporate function, no company beyond the top 6 garnered more than a single vote.

Top Academy Companies by Industry

Note: Includes only industries with more than 50 responses. In the Transportation industry, no company beyond the top 8 garnered more than a single vote.

Top Academy Companies by Country / Region

For more detail on this survey, see Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott. "Talent Incubator Rankings." Harvard Business School Background Note 424-038, November 2023. (Revised December 2023.)