Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella heads Juniper Research’s newly-released rankings of the most influential executives in the technology space, followed by Apple’s Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive.
Microsoft & Apple Lead
The rankings, which are based on Juniper’s assessment of key criteria including vision, innovation and personal capital, noted that Nadella’s implementation of ‘Windows-as-a-Service’ represented a fundamental change to Microsoft’s OS-focused business model, resulting in a very different process of development at Redmond in future.
Meanwhile, Juniper argued that Ive’s designs for the smartwatch – which include the doodle functionality, NFC and Wi-Fi capabilities – will be the benchmark for the category going forward. Ive has also produced very strict guidelines for Apple Watch app design, influenced by the watch’s shape and the glance habit it engenders.
Digital Reflects the Physical
Third place went to Min-Liang Tan, Razer Co-Founder and CEO of gaming products company Razer. Juniper pointed out that as well as serving as CEO, Tan is also the creative director, giving him a large amount of control over the company’s direction. The research house also noted that Tan’s involvement in the OSVR (Open Source Virtual Reality) platform, which allows Razer to showcase its software for use on third-party hardware, creates a common standard for VR program design.
In fourth place came Uber’s Travis Kalanick. The company is undercutting traditional taxi services in multiple locations, notably in New York City, where they outnumber the city’s famous yellow taxis. Kalanick was followed by Reed Hastings, the CEO and Co-Founder of Netflix, who has supervised the company’s international expansion and its move into original content creation.
Below is the Top 10 in full
1. Satya Nadella – Microsoft CEO
2. Jony Ive – Apple SVP Design
3. Min-Liang Tan – Razer Co-Founder & CEO
4. Travis Kalanick – Uber CEO
5. Reed Hastings – Netflix Co-Founder & CEO
6. Jack Ma – Alibaba Founder & Chairman
7. Paul Eremenko – Google ATAP Director
8. Jeff Bezos – Amazon Founder & CEO
9. Elon Musk – Tesla Chairman & CEO
10. Lei Jun – Xiaomi CEO