Netflix

Not so much a single innovation as the successful application and extension of an innovative business model, Netflix has impressed by building on what it already had. Taking advantage of the growing digital economy, it’s changed the way television, in particular, is accessed and absorbed

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

2014 was the year Regeneron’s Genetics Centre became fully operational, and new research collaborations, including with Columbia University, were announced. The centre will allow Regeneron to continue its work in biopharmaceuticals

Airbnb

In 2014, Airbnb launched its first global marketing campaign – ‘Views’, by agency Pereira & O’Dell – to showcase its offerings around the world. It worked – the company has continued to grow, and Airbnb is now enshrined in tourists’ thinking

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate

Krawcheck’s purchase of women’s networking club 85 Broads, which she rebranded as ‘Ellevate’, has helped open up chances to professional women across the globe. In a world in which equal pay and opportunities have still not been achieved, her efforts are a welcome step

Lei Jun, Xiaomi

Xiaomi sold 61.12 million phones last year, partly as a result of its expansionary policies. Jun has taken the company into new markets such as India, where it sold one million devices in five months. Jun has confirmed That expansion will continue in 2015

China’s answer to Apple was founded by one of the country’s leading businessmen in the form of Lei Jun. Jun has overseen the prolific growth of what is now the world’s fifth largest supplier of mobile phones. Xiaomi has moved to the front of the Chinese smartphone market over the past few years under his stewardship and continues to diversify, moving forwards in a variety of markets and sectors, with a variety of new products coming to realisation from its award-winning R&D department.

Supplements

Innovation 40 - 2014

Netflix

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Airbnb

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate