Time Magazine (TIME) just released its list of what it deems the 100 Most Influential Companies in the world, and it is guaranteed to get people talking. In fact, we can think of one person who will absolutely have a lot to say, or Tweet, about it.
In a letter from the editors, Time noted that the special issue was designed to highlight the businesses and corporate leaders shaping our future. It also outlined the selection process, which included soliciting nominations from “our global network of editors and correspondents, as well as from industry experts,” across the fields of health care, entertainment, technology.”
From there, the nominees were evaluated on factors such as “relevance, impact, innovation, leadership, ambition, and success.”
So who made the cut?
Well, Of Course They Were Going To Be In There
Are you sitting down? Do you have your fainting couch and a glass of water ready? Because you’re never going to believe this, but Time has deemed Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) (or as most people still think of it, Google), and Apple (AAPL) to be important companies. Good for them, they could use the boost.
Jokes aside, in its interview with new Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, he reflects on taking over for founder Jeff Bezos. “I have an incredible amount of respect for Jeff, but I haven’t thought of this opportunity in the context of following an icon or needing to put a stamp on the CEO role.” But Jassy also makes it clear the company won’t be resting on any laurels either. “There are businesses that we just haven’t started yet that have, I think, a real opportunity to change what’s possible.”
Speaking of titans of business that more or less seem unsinkable, Mark Zuckerberg has been having a very bad, no good year, what with the shrinking stock price and the widespread roasting of his pivot to the metaverse. But Time threw him a bone by including (MVRS) on the list. But are there even magazine stands in the metaverse?
Also, both Modern (MRNA) and Pfizer (PFE) were recognized for developing COVID-19 vaccines.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
That’s Entertainment
We all need our content. Our precious, precious content, and the Time list includes several of the world’s leading entertainment providers.
While AMC has been struggling of late, they managed to make the cut, with Time saluting its “meme-stock mastery,” aka taking advantage of its popularity with Reddit investors, goading them on and selling stock to raise money. Well done, apes, well done.
Disney (DIS) got the nod for leading the way to the new normal as pandemic restrictions loosened, but it also got chided for CEO Bob Chapek’s response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Netflix (NFLX) and Spotify (SPOT) got the nod, as did Sony (SNE), largely on the success of the “PlayStation 5” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Peter Parker stays winning.
Also in the entertainment world, cover girl Mindy Kaling and her Kaling International were lauded for “telling stories about the inner lives of women of color that have long been missing from TV.” And honestly, getting John McEnroe to narrate “Never Have I Ever” was such a masterstroke idea that Kaling deserves all the awards.
Time Salutes The New Guard
Alongside the expected names were some younger (or at least, younger-ish) companies that emerged in the past few years to reshape the modern economy and point the way towards the future.
Some of the new jacks getting the nomination include the vegan kings Impossible Foods, NFT marketplace OpenSea (and to heck with the backlash, apparently), copyediting software company (and friend to the typo-prone) Grammarly and sustainable footwear company Allbirds.
Also making the list was Peanut, a social media network designed to connect women at various stages of their pregnancy which has grown to be a support group and learning platform.
Wait, Who Didn’t Make It?
You can love Tesla (TSLA) and Elon Musk, or you can think they’re over-hyped and problematic.
But there’s no question that it’s a company that people talk about all the time, and only the most strident haters refuse to give them some amount of credit for, however imperfectly, popularizing electric vehicles.
But surprisingly, Tesla did not make the list. Musk was Time’s Man of the Year in 2021, so maybe they felt that he had enough attention for the time being.
Musk isn’t known for biting his tongue about, anything at all (which, let’s be real here, maybe has something to do with the snub) so stay tuned for some fire Tweets in the near future.
