By Michael Arndt, Reena Jana, Damian Joseph, Jessie Scanlon, and Helen Walters

Leading the Way on Innovation

Twenty-five companies top BusinessWeek's Most Innovative Companies ranking of 2009. These standouts got there with contributions from countless employees, of course. But they also required someone at the top to keep everyone on the right track. Don't call these leaders chief innovation officers, since none officially holds that job. Instead, they have titles like senior vice-president, chief technology officer, or even chief executive officer. They might also be dubbed masters of innovation. Here they are at 23 of the Top 25—Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) (No. 10) and India's Reliance Industries (No. 15) declined to nominate anyone.