AGENDA SETTERS 2007 - WHO ARE THE DRIVING FORCES IN THE TECH INDUSTRY?

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Agenda Setters 2007

No. 7 - Niklas Zennström

Niklas Zennström

Niklas Zennström, Skype CEO

Position: 7    Last year: 10

Why? Getting Joost

Agree with panel rating?

Too High Too Low

Niklas Zennström may have sold Skype to eBay in 2005 but that wasn't the end of the story for this serial entrepreneur. His latest venture has pushed him back up the Agenda Setters rankings.

Because VoIP technologies are now part of everyday life for even the least tech-savvy internet user - no doubt to the consternation of the big telecoms providers - the Swede is now looking at shaking up another industry: television.

Last year with Janus Friis, Zennström founded Joost, a video-on-demand service, which promises to bring together TV and the interactive power of the internet and has already won plaudits for its interface and peer-to-peer architecture.

Previously known by its code name, The Venice Project, the start-up has already signed a number of content deals with big boys such as Viacom and CBS as well as with small independent production companies - and recently revealed it has a million users.

In May it picked up $45m in funding from venture capital firms. Industry watchers are already warning that broadcasters and pay-TV operators will come under increasing pressure from virtual networks, such as Joost.

If that wasn't enough, as Skype CEO, and co-founder back in 2003, Zennström remains responsible for setting strategy and overseeing the business around the world.

Before Skype, Zennström founded P2P software firm Joltid, and file-sharing software company Kazaa - which means he's got a track record that should have competitors quivering in their boots.

Niklas Zennström's rankings over the past eight years

Position

Niklas Zennström's graph of positions over the last 8 years

Year

Plot position against other Agenda Setters

Closest Rivals

  1. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO
  2. Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
  3. John Chambers, Cisco CEO
  4. Ashley Highfield, BBC technologist
  5. Nicholas Negroponte, laptop creator
  6. Niklas Zennström, Skype CEO
  7. Diane Greene, VMware president
  8. Jonathan Ive, Apple chief designer
  9. Viviane Reding, Euro Commissioner
  10. Paul Coby, BA CIO
  11. Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com CEO

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure
Agenda Setters Past

Take a walk down memory lane - and find out who made the Agenda Setters poll in years past:

Quotable

"Blogging's definitely got to the point where there're enough mainstream consumers watching it for the top bloggers to be regarded as agenda setters."
Michael Smith,
Agenda Setters panellist

"Open source gets more important rather than being something that will get squeezed out of the enterprise."
Simon Briskman,
Agenda Setters panellist



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