logo
Action Against Hunger Honored by Fast Company as One of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2025

Action Against Hunger Honored by Fast Company as One of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2025

Action Against Hunger, a nonprofit leader creating a future where every life is well nourished, today was named to Fast Company's prestigious list of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2025, honored alongside corporate leaders such as Waymo and Nvidia. The list celebrates organizations that are driving innovations that are setting new standards in their sectors. Action Against Hunger was recognized as one of the top ten most innovative nonprofits globally.
'We are honored that Action Against Hunger is being recognized by Fast Company for our 45 year track record of innovation, and the game-changing work we are doing today, from predicting hunger hotspots to creating more efficient and effective approaches to screening children for malnutrition,' said Dr. Charles E. Owubah, CEO of Action Against Hunger. 'The world produces enough food for everyone, so chronic hunger isn't just an issue of food. If we invest in improving the way global systems work, we can deliver on the promise of zero hunger for all.'
Fast Company recognized Action Against Hunger's pioneering approaches to:
In a typical year, Action Against Hunger conducts more than 30 research initiatives across more than 25 countries. While many of these efforts are at risk due to U.S. government cuts to its budget for international aid, the nonprofit is actively exploring ways to sustain both its lifesaving work — every 15 seconds, a child dies because of hunger's effects, because there isn't enough funding for treatment — as well as its award-winning innovation efforts.
Action Against Hunger invented the first formula to treat malnourished children, screens thousands of children for malnutrition every day, and delivers life-saving treatment that is 90% effective. It also conducts groundbreaking research to promote even greater impact and efficiency, and scales what works globally. The organization harnesses data to predict potential hunger emergencies and prevents hunger by helping farmers grow more resilient crops, providing access to clean water, and engaging local communities to co-create programs that improve livelihoods, successfully advocate for new policies, and strengthen health systems.
'Our list of the Most Innovative Companies offers both a comprehensive look at innovation today and a playbook for the future,' said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. 'At a time when the world is rapidly shifting, these companies are charting the way forward.'
The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's hallmark and one of its most anticipated annual editorial efforts. To determine honorees, Fast Company's editors and writers review organizations driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from NGOs to some of the most valuable companies in the world.
'By honoring Action Against Hunger alongside other leaders, Fast Company also is spotlighting hunger as one of the most pressing issues of our time—and an area where innovation can make a meaningful difference,' Dr. Owubah said. 'We are inspired by the people we serve and have seen them overcome unthinkable challenges – with the right support. But conflict, climate change and budget cuts mean that hunger is once again on the rise. Today, nearly one in three people worry about where their next meal is coming from. Hunger is a crisis. Yet, by investing in innovation, it is a crisis we can solve.'
The full list of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies honorees can now be found at fastcompany.com. It will also be available on newsstands beginning March 25.
Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala for honorees on June 5. The summit features a day of inspiring content, followed by a creative black-tie gala including networking, a seated dinner, and an honoree presentation.
# # #
ABOUT FAST COMPANY
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com.
The organization innovates to prevent malnutrition and respond to hunger hotspots, working in 59 countries and reaching more than 21 million people each year. Together, Action Against Hunger promotes resilience and working to end hunger for everyone, for good.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Pursue performance over benchmarking for ultimate success
Pursue performance over benchmarking for ultimate success

Fast Company

time2 hours ago

  • Fast Company

Pursue performance over benchmarking for ultimate success

Regression to the mean is the unfortunate outcome of most benchmarking today. The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more. BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 6:35 'How are we doing against the industry benchmark?' This question made me recoil, and I felt my body tense up. I heard it twice in a short period of time at two different organizations. In both cases, the question led toward the same outcome: justifying current performance and not seeking true excellence. Ever since customer satisfaction and employee engagement surveys began, survey companies have been selling benchmark data to their clients. I have personally been involved with surveys for over three decades and I consistently object to the practice. In short, survey providers who cannot help their clients truly address the issues discovered sell them excuses about why they are good enough. Yes, it makes me mad. Why? Because it is the ultimate deception. As long as there is a lengthy list of bottom feeders in your industry, you are safe. You are not that bad. And with this false sense of security, you will make the biggest mistake: understanding your customers and creating exceptional value that will be worth the price and profit margins you charge. Two cases exemplify the issue Let me explain using two examples. In the first, the organization was celebrating an improved Net Promoter Score (NPS). Their 10-point jump sounded very respectable. But it was based on a 9% sample of its customers. 'Where are the other 91% of your customers,' I asked. 'If they refuse to respond to a 5 minute survey, how committed are they to a long-term profitable relationship?' Stop celebrating relative successes and instead examine the true essence of your customer relationships. In the second case, the company enjoyed close to a 90% response rate from its employees and celebrated beating the benchmark by double digit points. Cause for celebration, right? Think again. The company is a top industry performer and should never compare itself to the average. This company's expectations are very different than the expectations of number 50 on the industry list. It ought to determine how to lead the industry, not follow it! Benchmarking—the wrong perspective Using industry benchmarks has its flaws: Regression to the mean: Benchmarking directs the attention to the industry average, not the leaders. Imitation over innovation: When focusing on competitors' perspectives, one imitates their practices, not creating new one to delight customers. Competitors over customers: Focusing on competitors provides the wrong reference point for business value creation. Instead, focus on the customers. Blind context: Companies factor many decisions into creating and delivering value, which is then reflected in their customer scores. Profitability, market segments, and cost positioning are a few factors that can direct different strategies and therefore different customer engagement. Lowering standards: Benchmarking often results in relaxed performance standards. If the mean is acceptable, so is the justification to ignore the performance of competitors exceeding it. Future backwards: Customer scores reflect past performance and past value delivery. Companies may already be innovating, but those new developments are not part of the overall discussion as they are not reflected in the scores. But beyond these arguments, there is simple trust. The business truth we ought to consider above all. Is 50% customer satisfaction a good or bad number? If the industry benchmark is 22%, you are killing it. Keep it up If the industry benchmark is 83%, you are in trouble. Do you understand how ridiculous this conclusion is? Fifty percent of your customers are not happy with the value you deliver. They are at risk of switching to the competition. Should that a big enough red flag for immediate attention? In the empowered-customer era, we can no longer afford to compromise and play with the number. We live in a world where every customer is a segment of one. A personal brand using our product or solutions to promote their brand. They create content publicly and share their opinions. No, 50% customer satisfaction should not be considered good results. Unless, of course, you decide to get rid of the other 50% of your customer base. The pursuit of absolute performance In the late 1970s, benchmarking was first introduced by Xerox Corporation to compare themselves to their intense Japanese competitors and ensure they raise their performance bar. The original purpose was constant improvements and adopting best practices. But like many great concepts, it has become a method to relax the pursuit of excellence. Even for the bottom feeders in any benchmark, the goal was to become average, not exceptional. In a time when we are concerned about the impact of AI on organizations and performance, we can be confident that average work will be automated and taken over by AI. True exceptional value will be the survivor of the fittest. If your response level is low, it means your customers do not believe the sincerity of the dialogue you proclaim to conduct. If your employees do not take the time to respond, your situation is dire. The current state of surveys does not seem to produce the sincere dialogue necessary to truly improve relationships (customers or employees). We need to rethink this system. The addiction to the false sense of security peddled by survey companies with benchmark data should end. It is the pursuit of relative performance over ultimate performance. Relative performance focuses on the good enough vis a vis the competition. Ultimate performance is delightful and surprising customers, so they have no reason to consider any other provider. The former creates a false sense of security the latter ensures business continuity. To achieve ultimate performance, we ought to establish a true dialogue with our customers. A dialogue in which customers take the time to provide the insights and organizations address it sincerely, completely, and on time. This is not a one-time event but rather an ongoing dialogue about the performance process, ensuring that we are always ahead, not with the industry average, but with our customers' expectations. In a world of ultimate performance, the real question we ought to ask is 'How can we outdo the current performance and value?' Lior Arussy is chairperson of ImprintCX and author of Dare to Author! The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.

Tesla Robotaxi pulls ahead of Waymo in San Francisco
Tesla Robotaxi pulls ahead of Waymo in San Francisco

Miami Herald

time3 hours ago

  • Miami Herald

Tesla Robotaxi pulls ahead of Waymo in San Francisco

Tesla (TSLA) may have started the robotaxi race running behind Waymo, but it has taken the lead in the pair's hometown of San Francisco. Silicon Valley, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, is the home of both Tesla and Waymo, as well as Waymo's parent company, Alphabet. After years of beta testing in the city, Waymo finally made Waymo One (think Uber, but for autonomous vehicles) available to the public in June 2024. Related: Alphabet's Waymo flexes on Tesla Robotaxi with latest update Waymo had nearly 300,000 signups at launch, which has only grown since. As of July 2025, Waymo One is available 24/7 to customers in Los Angeles, Phoenix, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. Waymo partners with Uber in Austin and Atlanta. Waymo also says it has plans to expand to Miami and Washington, D.C., in 2026. It has been testing in Miami in since December. Waymo's current fleet features over 1,500 vehicles spread across its four current host cities, but by next year, it expects to more than double its fleet with more than 2,000 new additions. Meanwhile, Tesla just launched in Austin in June. But on Thursday, July 31, Tesla officially launched Robotaxi in San Francisco. San Franciscans can hail Robotaxis through the app, but just like the service in Austin, there is a human "safety monitor" in the passenger seat making sure everything is working properly. Thanks to the months of safe testing, Waymo One users in San Francisco get the added privacy of having a truly autonomous riding experience without another human present. But while Tesla is behind in some areas, it's starting off life in the Bay Area with a huge advantage over Waymo. A user on X (the former Twitter) and Tesla enthusast @JoeTegtmeyer posted a map with the Tesla Robotaxi's coverage area overlaid on Waymo's. It doesn't take a cartogropher to see which company has the advantage. So even though Tesla Robotaxi is months behind Waymo One and still needs human training wheels, the Robotaxi has a lot more space to roam in the Bay Area. Earlier this year, Tesla said that its FSD system has driven a cumulative total of 3.6 billion miles, nearly triple the 1.3 billion cumulative miles it reported a year ago. More Tesla Robotaxi Tesla's newest Robotaxi rival has experence and deep pocketsTesla robotaxi safety called into question after frightening videoTeslas faces its most serious court battle in years But according to Musk, the FSD in regular Tesla vehicles is a lower grade than the technology Robotaxi uses. So this more advanced technology has a long way to go to catch up to the real-world traffic miles Waymo has driven. While Tesla Robotaxi is just getting off the ground in Austin and San Francisco, Alphabet's Waymo has been testing its cars on U.S. streets since at least 2018. Since then, Waymo robotaxis have driven more than 100 million miles autonomously, doubling its mileage from just six months ago, according to a company update. "Reaching 100 million fully autonomous miles represents years of methodical progress now accelerating into rapid, responsible scaling," said Waymo Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi. "As we expand to serve more riders in more cities, we'll encounter new challenges that will continue strengthening our service." Waymo had reported traveling 71 million miles autonomously in March, after reaching 50 million at the end of the year. In May, Waymo said its Waymo One app registers over a quarter of a million paid weekly trips across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. Related: Tesla fans flock to social media to celebrate Robotaxi launch The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

ChatGPT chats are showing up in Google Search — how to find and delete yours
ChatGPT chats are showing up in Google Search — how to find and delete yours

Tom's Guide

time4 hours ago

  • Tom's Guide

ChatGPT chats are showing up in Google Search — how to find and delete yours

If you've ever shared a ChatGPT conversation using the app's 'Share' feature, you may have unknowingly made it searchable on Google. A new report from Fast Company reveals that thousands of publicly shared ChatGPT conversations are being indexed by search engines, and some contain personal, sensitive, or even confidential information. When you click 'Share' inside ChatGPT, it creates a public link that anyone can access. But what many users don't realize is that those links can also be crawled by Google and show up in search results. In fact, a simple site search (site: revealed over 4,500 publicly indexed chats; many include conversations about trauma, mental health, relationships, work issues and more. Even if a link is deleted or you no longer want it public, it might still be visible through cached pages or until Google updates its index. Before you panic, the good news is, OpenAI doesn't attach your name to the chat. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. However, if you've included identifying information (like names, locations, emails or work details) you could be exposing more than you realize. This is a wake up call for big tech and part of a broader shift in how we think about AI and privacy. As we rely more on AI for writing, research and brainstorming, we need to treat these conversations like we would emails or documents stored in the cloud: with caution. Even if the tools feel private, they're often not. And as this story shows, the internet doesn't forget, even when you try to delete.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store