Exclusive: Steve Jobs tops list of most influential people in tech

Find out why - and who are the 50 most important individuals in technology today

Published: 8 October 2009 14:54 GMT by Steve Ranger

Tags: agenda setters, silicon.com

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been named the most influential individual in the global technology industry, topping the silicon.com 2009 Agenda Setter's list.

Jobs has made pole position on the list for the second time (the first time being in 2003) - the only person to have achieved this feat in the 10-year history of the list.

The silicon.com Agenda Setters list is voted for by an expert panel which chooses the 50 people who exert the most influence on the worldwide IT industry. You can find out more about the judging panel here.

Whether launching new products (such as the new iPhone 3G S) or even just being the subject of rumours of new products (such as the much discussed Apple tablet), Steve Jobs and Apple have earned the power to set the agenda in the technology industry and far beyond.

"Apple continues to set the agenda in IT desirability," said one of the Agenda Setters judges.

"There are few companies which continue to astound with product innovation. Steve Jobs' Apple is still shiny and sweet," said another.

"He has the Midas touch," said a third, while another was impressed by his sustained pioneering and ability to drive "continuous innovation", whether in hardware, software or service practicalities.

Other Agenda Setters on this year's list include Evan Williams in second place for his work on the social media wonder that is Twitter. Jimmy Wales makes his third appearance in the top 10, and Eric Schmidt of Google makes the top 10 for the sixth time.

New entrants to the top 10 include Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison - a reflection of how pervasive Oracle's technologies have become - and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani for his work on the Indian ID card project.

Also in the top 10 Agenda Setters this year are Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and CEO, and US President Barack Obama.

silicon.com editor Steve Ranger said: "As always the Agenda Setters list celebrates those movers and shakers who have the biggest impact on the technology industry. Steve Jobs has an influence that reaches far and wide, and certainly deserves to top this year's list."

See the full list of Agenda Setters and the complete Agenda Setters special report.

Who do you think should have won this year? Who is missing from the list? Who should be included? Post a reader comment below and let us know.