In the very competitive consumer-goods industry, Kellogg has made significant progress in the last year. Its dramatic improvement will earn this company the 2012 DiversityInc special award as our Top Company for Diversity-Management Progress.

CEO and President John Bryant has been instrumental in leading the improvements. He has instituted a policy of holding executives accountable for diversity results through compensation, chairs the executive diversity council, and visibly communicates how critical diversity is to connecting with the customer base. Bryant will speak at our Oct. 11–12 event. For more on that event, visit www.DiversityInc.com/events.

Bryant and four of his direct reports serve as executive sponsors for the six resource groups—and he meets quarterly with the groups. The groups are available to all employees, including hourly workers, which can be a challenge in this industry. They are used for recruitment, talent development, customer and community relationships, and diversity training.

The company’s supplier-diversity initiative has improved significantly, with a six-fold increase in spending in the last decade to minority-owned suppliers, women-owned suppliers and suppliers owned by veterans with disabilities.

The company is known for its strong philanthropic commitment to underserved communities. The Kellogg Corporate Citizenship Fund’s $75,000 donation to the NAACP funds the NAACP Law Fellows Program, an internship program to develop the next generation of civil-rights attorneys. Over the past few years, the Kellogg Specialty Channels team has donated more than $100,000 to the Marriott Foundation’s “Building Bridges … From School to Work” program, which helps young people with disabilities.

Kellogg received DiversityInc’s 2012 Top Company for Diversity-Management Progress special award.

U.S. Headquarters: Battle Creek, Mich.

Global Employees: 30,700

U.S. Employees: 20,630

Last Year’s DiversityInc Top 50 Ranking: One of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies