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The Boeing Company • Founder: William E. Boeing. • Distinction: Evolved with aviation industry from biplanes to Lunar Orbiters. • Primary products: Commercial and military aircrafts, rockets, satellites. • Annual sales: $57.993 billion. • Number of employees: 197,000. • Major competitors: Airbus Industries, EADS, Lockheed Martin. • Chairman and CEO: Philip M. Condit; president and COO: Harry C. Stonecipher. • Headquarters: Seattle, Wash. • Year founded: 1916. • Web site: www.boeing.com. For as long as there has been an aviation business, the Boeing name has been part of it. Just a few years after the Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, William Boeing attended the first American air show in Los Angeles. He immediately saw the possibilities, and over the next several years explored various facets of the exciting new industry. He rode a biplane from atop a wing, took flying lessons from an early barnstormer, and spearheaded the design of a seaplane....

Microsoft Corporation • Founders: William H. Gates III and Paul Allen • Distinction: Created the systems that drive nearly all the world’s PCs. • Primary products: Computer software and Internet services. • Annual sales: $22.956 billion. • Number of employees: 31,400. • Major competitors: America Online, Oracle, Sun Microsystems. • Chairman and Chief Software Architect: William H. Gates III; President and CEO: Steven A. Ballmer. • Headquarters: Redmond, Wash. • Year founded: 1975. • Web site: www.microsoft.com. You may love them or hate them, but there’s no denying them: Microsoft is currently the world’s most powerful company. Founded 25 years ago by two boyhood friends, the corporation grew up with the personal computer. Microsoft is neither the largest on Earth nor the most valuable. It doesn’t set the pace for technical innovations or employee relations. It isn’t sexy like a dotcom, seductive like a sports franchise, or alluring like an entertainment concern. W...

ASOS Dressing the digital generation Founders: Quentin Griffiths and Nick Robertson OBE Age of founders: 32 and 33 Backgrounds: Advertising/media planning and co-founder of Entertainment Marketing Founded in: 2000, UK Headquarters: London, UK Business type: Fashion e-commerce W ith nearly four million customers worldwide and growth of 50% in 2011–12, if you don't already know about ASOS, you soon will. The online-only apparel business, best known for its young, fashion-forward collections, is the largest online fashion retailer in the UK. Furthermore, the website's collection of womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery and beauty products is attracting an increasingly global customer base, with international sales soaring 150% in 2010-11. However, despite the current popularity of the fashion site, ASOS started in 2000 as a portal for celebrity-linked furniture and products under the name As Seen On Screen. The following de...

Made.com Growth by design Founders: Julien Callede, Ning Li and Chloe Macintosh Age of founders: 29, 30 and 37 Backgrounds: Julien: private equity, financial analysis and development management; Ning: co-founder and CEO of Paris-based furniture company Myfab; Chloe: architect and headed the design department at e-tail venture MyDeco. Founded in: 2010, UK Headquarters: London, UK Business type: Design-led furniture e-tailer I n the space of just a couple of years, Made.com has charted a course from unknown start-up to a genuine player in the UK's home furniture and fittings market. The company began with grand ambitions, but a simple idea: to create designer products at affordable prices. Expanding on a direct to consumer model already tried and tested in France, Made.com's three entrepreneurs planned to revolutionise the furniture market. With no storage costs to contend with and designers lining up to take part from the get go, Made.com...

Intel Corporation • Founders: Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. • Distinction: Invented microprocessor, paving way for computer revolution. • Primary products: Computer chips, networking and communications gear. • Annual sales: $29.389 billion. • Number of employees: 70,200. • Major competitors: Advanced Micro Devices, IBM, Motorola. • Chairman Emeritus: Gordon E. Moore; Chairman: Andrew S. Grove; President and CEO: Craig R. Barrett. • Headquarters: Santa Clara, Ca. • Year founded: 1968. • Web site: www.intel.com. Some say Intel became the top computer-chip maker in the world simply because it invented the tiny chips that now control everything from computers and cell phones to toys and thermostats. Others contend the firm’s number-one position stems primarily from its manufacturing prowess, which enabled almost flawless production of millions of chips since they were first introduced some three decades ago. Still others insist it comes from the brilliant management team t...

eBay Buying power Founder: Pierre Omidyar Age of founder: 28 Background: Software engineer Founded in: 1995, USA Headquarters: California, USA Business type: Online auction site F ifteen dollars might seem an insignificant amount, but it was the sum of money that sparked the business known today as eBay, the global auction site with $11.7 billion (£7.6 billion) in revenue. Founder Pierre Omidyar, a software engineer, was experimenting with online auctions as a hobby and advertised a broken laser pointer for sale. He was amazed that someone would consider paying just under $15 ($14.83 to be precise) for an item that didn't work, and it convinced him that there was potential in a business that catered to people's passion for collecting. The laser pointer was duly sold and dispatched and has gone down in history as eBay's first transaction. Today eBay is the world's largest online marketplace and one of the most successful compan...

Nike Inc . • Founders: Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. • Distinction: Made the sports shoe a                   cultural  icon. • Primary products: Athletic footwear,               apparel, equipment, and accessories. • Annual sales: $8.777 billion. • Number of employees: 20,700. • Major competitors: Adidas-Salomon, Fila,       Reebok. • Chairman and CEO: Philip Knight. • Headquarters: Beaverton, Ore. • Year founded: 1962 • Web site: www.nike.com. Nike Inc . When Michael Jordan ruled the basketball court, athletic footwear ruled the world—and Nike was the undisputed king of shoe business. This Oregon-based company had totally transfor med the once-humble sneaker into sporting gear-as-fashion statement. It unveiled a cool new slew of highly technical models designed expressly for highly specific activities, each year with more fanfare, features, and snappy names...

According to FNATIC itself, Fnatic  is a global esports entertainment brand headquartered in London, laser-focused on seeking out, levelling up and amplifying gamers and creators. Our history is unparalleled. Founded in 2004, we are the most successful esports brand of the last decade, winning more than 200 championships across 30 different games. Today, driven by entertainment, Fnatic is the channel through which the most forward-thinking brands communicate with young people. We deliver industry-leading content, experiences and activations through offices and facilities in cities between Los Angeles and Tokyo. And a future even brighter. We are forerunners in competitive mobile gaming, as the first Tier 1 esports team to launch a presence in India. We pioneered the intersection of street culture and esports with merch collaborations, and will continue to lead the industry in relation to quality of pro wear and fan apparel. Our pros and creators will generate more th...

RCA Corporation • Founder: Thomas A. Edison, Elihu Thomson, and Edwin Houston  • Distinction: Brought radio, then television, into American homes.  • Primary products: Televisions, camcorders, other consumer electronics.  • Annual sales: $4.5 billion.  • Number of employees: 22,800.  • Major competitors: Matsushita, Philips Electronics, Sony.  • Chairman and CEO: S.A. Thomson and Thomson Multimedia: Thierry Breton.  • Headquarters: Indianapolis, Ind.  • Year founded: 1960.  • Web site: www.rca.com .  Moments after the R.M.S. Titanic hit that infamous iceberg on April 14, 1912, a 21-year-old radio operator with the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company picked up its distress signal in his Manhattan office. The young Russian immigrant David Sarnoff remained at his post atop the Wanamaker department store for the next 72 hours, relaying increasingly pessimistic reports from sea to others throughout his network. He was unable...