Human resources consultancy Hay Group has named IT major Infosys among the world's 20

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best companies for leadership, evident from its continued focus on employee development even during the global slowdown.

The annual study by Hay Group, in partnership with Bloomberg BusinessWeek.Com, ranked the best companies for leadership globally and examined how those companies develop leaders.

General Electric, which has been ranked number one in the list, spends around USD 400 million annually on leadership development, the study said.

It is followed by low-cost American airline Southwest Airlines, conglomerate 3M Company, consumer products maker Procter & Gamble and IT consultancy Accenture.

Indian IT firm Infosys, which employs over one lakh people, has been ranked 10th overall in the top 20 list for best companies in terms of leadership practices.

The study quoted Infosys leadership philosophy, "Creating leaders is an absolute need. We have no option other than a process that is formalized, hard-coded into our DNA."

Other firms in the list include -- retailer Wal-Mart(6th), Nestle (7th), Coca-Cola (8th) and fast-food chain McDonald's (9th).

"Top 20 Best Companies for Leadership not only entered recession with strong leadership in place, they maintained their commitment to prepare and retain leaders and are highly committed to developing leaders," Hay Group Leadership and Talent Practice director Rick Lash said.