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

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is known for its uniquely high R&D expenditure, and in 2014 part of the fruits of those labours were revealed, as a new, highly efficient 10-speed gearbox was demonstrated, as well as new lightweight technology and more efficient climate control

Targeting mid-range and high numbers, Volkswagen has hit mass markets hard and with great success: the company has three out of the top 10 highest-selling cars in the world. The company has evolved both its product design and output, as well as its financial structuring – which is considered revolutionary in itself. The organisation’s technological efficiency has been regarded as second to none in the automotive sector, as Volkswagen expands into new markets all the time.

Supplements

Innovation 40 - 2014

Netflix

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Airbnb

Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevate