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

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Agenda Setters 2007

No. 2 - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO

Position: 2    Last year: 5

Why? The iPhone

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Apple's long-awaited mobile phone is the main reason its CEO Steve Jobs has leapt back up the Agenda Setters rankings.

Apple launched the iPhone at the end of June in the US, and sold one million there in 74 days, before unveiling its plans to bring it to the UK in time for Christmas. And whether you love it, or simply love it but can't afford it, Apple has set the agenda again with the mobile phone.

As one Agenda Setters panellist put it, the whole mobile phone industry "held its breath" when the iPhone came out.

In terms of both design and functionality, the iPhone has left other handset makers scrambling to respond. And it also seems that Apple has been able to strike a deal with the telecoms carriers to take a slice of the revenue coming from mobile users - turning the industry standard around and reflecting how keen mobile operators are to be associated with the device.

But it's not just gleaming hardware that swayed the panel - Jobs' ambition extends far further than that, stretching into content in the form of music and film on iTunes.

He's also on the board of Disney, since it acquired Pixar last year. And we haven't even mentioned any of the more traditional Apple products.

As one member of the panel said: "I think it's incredible that Jobs has made the music industry wholly a subsidiary of Apple. The same with the movie industry and now Apple's taking over the mobile phone industry."

Jobs may well have been a fixture in the Agenda Setters for a number of years - he was at number 5 last year - but his skill in driving the resurgent Apple shows there's still plenty in the tank.

Expect more excitement from Jobs in the coming year, with speculation around upgrades to the iPhone and iPods already feverish.

Steve Jobs's rankings over the past eight years

Position

Steve Jobs's graph of positions over the last 8 years

Year

Plot position against other Agenda Setters

Closest Rivals

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

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