By Steve Pipe
Sr. Manager, Internal Communications
Seagate’s Mark Re, left, accepts innovation award from Raymond Tumacder of Thomson Reuters.
Quick—think of the world’s top innovators and which companies come to mind? Apple, Google and Samsung are sure to make most such lists. Now, make room for Seagate.
The company has been ranked among the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators. Seagate joins the above technology stalwarts, along with consumer-focused companies such as Nike, GE, Sony and Panasonic, and automotive firms Toyota, Honda, Ford and Renault.
This was the first year that Seagate made the two-year-old Thomson Reuters list. Other storage-industry companies on the list include EMC and SanDisk. See the full list here.
“This is a real honor,” said Seagate’s Mark Re, SVP of recording media and heads R&D, who accepted the award last week in Cupertino on behalf of the company. “It reflects the fact that we’re very innovative in our product line, and that we’re supplying solutions that our customers value. Our employees at Seagate always strive to do better, and I think that shows in the amount of IP we’re generating and in all aspects of our business.”
Seagate has amassed more than 7,400 global patents for its inventions; the company generated more than 350 U.S. patents in 2012.
“This award confirms Seagate’s commitment to global innovation, the commercialization of its inventions and the protection of its assets,” said Raymond Tumacder, regional manager for Thomson Reuters. “Seagate has proven, without a doubt, that it belongs in this elite category.”
IP, or intellectual property, is a key yardstick for measuring a company’s innovation. The Thomson Reuters list evaluates companies based on criteria such as the ratio of patents that were filed and actually granted, and the subsequent influence an invention has after it’s been patented. Click here to read the full methodology behind the list.
According to Thomson Reuters research, companies among the Top 100 Global Innovators added 124,214 new jobs year over year and had a 15 percent increase in cumulative stock value from 2011 to 2012. The largest percentage of Top 100 Global Innovators companies comes from North America (47 percent), followed by Asia (32 percent) and Europe (21 percent).
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