GENERAL Electric (GE) has retained the top slot as the worlds most respected company for the seventh year running and Bill Gates of Microsoft is the worlds top business leader in the Financial Times/PricewaterhouseCoopers Worlds Most Respected Companies survey.
Gates emerged top for the third year running while Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, is the worlds second most respected business leader, followed by Nissans Carlos Ghosn. Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina is the only female representative in the worlds most respected leaders survey 2004. She inched up a spot to 8th from 9th this year.