General Mills named to FORTUNE’S 2010 list of the world’s 50 most admired companies

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - FORTUNE magazine named General Mills to its annual ranking of the World’s 50 Most Admired Companies, recognizing the company’s strong global reputation. This is the second consecutive year General Mills has received this honor.

General Mills ranked No. 47 on the World’s Most Admired Companies list, and No. 3 in the consumer food products industry. General Mills was selected from an initial pool of some 1,400 global companies. The companies are ranked by business executives, directors, and analysts, on nine criteria, including innovation, investment value, global competitiveness, and social responsibility, among others. Fortune considers the Most Admired Companies list the “definitive report card on corporate reputations.”

“We are tremendously pleased with this strong endorsement of our company,” says Ken Powell, Chairman and CEO of General Mills. “Few things are more important than a company’s reputation with stakeholders. It represents the sum of all that we do – and reflects the value and trust that consumers, customers, employees, investors and communities place in our company, our brands and our people. We constantly strive to remain worthy of that trust, and we are very honored to receive this recognition from FORTUNE and business leaders around the world.”

FORTUNE says, “The financial crisis may finally be abating, but after a year of dramatic ups and downs, there’s little doubt that corporate reputation matters more than ever before. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that while entire industries adjust to wrenching changes as the economy starts to stabilize, a ranking of who’s admired and who’s not would have particular import. Indeed, our annual comprehensive Most Admired Companies survey this year generated the highest response rate in its history.”

The recognition by Fortune follows many other honors given to General Mills in the past year, including “100 Best Places to Work For,” FORTUNE magazine; “Global Top Companies for Leaders,” FORTUNE magazine; “100 Best Corporate Citizens,” Corporate Responsibility magazine; “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers,” Working Mother magazine; “40 Best Companies for Diversity,” Black Enterprise magazine, and many others, which can be found here.

About General Mills
One of the world’s leading food companies, General Mills operates in more than 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2009 global net sales of US$15.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales.