Agenda Setters 2007

Niklas Zennström, Skype CEO

Position: 7    Last year: 10

Why? Getting Joost

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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.