The ever-increasing technology options offered to us by some powerful, creative people, give us the opportunity to change the way we run our business and personal lives. Yes, this is also known as disruption. Deciding on ten of the most influential leaders is not an easy task, considering how many have contributed to the leaps and bounds experienced in the industry. Indeed countries like the US, Israel, China and India played a pivotal role in producing these amazing leaders.
Perhaps not everyone will agree that the ten that follow are the most influential since there are various industries – but in TECH, these people certainly matter a lot. Scores of brilliant people work hard and are contributing in wonderful ways to the field of technology. However, everyone has to agree that the ten people that follow have made a huge impact on our lives and our modern civilization, challenging us to also move at an ever faster pace as we try to keep up. Even those who have no interest in the world of technology but who have seen their lives changed drastically because of it, have to admit that there are some brilliant minds out there.
Smartphones alone are owned by millions around the world, an even if they have no other interest in technology, this little gadget can incorporate just about everything that has recently been discovered in the world of tech. These great names have all contributed creations that everyone relies on.
Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos, through Amazon, has managed to transform the retail industry, while the company is also currently leading the race in AI. Alexa, the powerful weapon in his arsenal has changed the way people shop or turn on their music, heat, and lights. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services is the cloud computing platform that other big tech companies like Netflix and Spotify rely on to provide their services to clients. These changes in the lifestyles of people around the world have other business leaders worried about what Bezos will come up with next and are forcing them to match his creativeness.
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft, without which most of the other tech companies would not exist as we know them today. The rapid growth of the internet over the last thirty years was because of Microsoft which has often been criticized as a dominator in the field. Even though there has been much criticism, the truth is that Bill Gates, Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have challenged and influenced the world of tech and the world beyond for many years. It seems safe to say that it will continue to do so for many more.
Mark Zuckerberg
Some love him and some not, but Mark Zuckerberg is the undeniable king of social networks. He is the founder of Facebook, the campus experiment that now has 2 billion monthly users. His company also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR and more. His vision to connect the whole world does not seem as impossible now as it did ten years ago and he is concentrating his company efforts on acquisitions. Mark launched Internet.org that takes the Internet to remote and rural regions around the world. He is faced by many challenges at this time with issues that include privacy and the rise of “fake news’” and the whole world is watching how Facebook deals with these issues. Facebook uses some of the most unique algorithms and powerful algorithms but is also researching AI and other technological fields.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is the man who made the Apple personal computer and iPhone a necessity for almost every person in the world. His legacy also changed how we listen to music and watch films. Through these developments, we now all feel lost if we leave home without our phone. The iPhone has ensured that all Generation Z does not understand what the world was like before we carried our whole lives with us constantly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk has taught the world to dream. He is a business mogul, investor, an engineer and is the co-founder of PayPal, one of the leading global payment and banking technologies. He is the creator of Tesla Motors and SpaceX and is known to be a tough boss to work for. Some of his dreams are easier to achieve while others may take a little longer – to develop fully-electric, self-driving cars and to take the first humans to Mars. Μusk has developed the world’s first reusable rocket and is followed by many on social media channel. He strongly influences how the young and old think about issues like AI, cleaner energy and environmental issues and is followed closely by many on his social media accounts.
Evan Spiegel
The CEO of SnapChat, Evan Spiegel, is still under 30 and is considered the person to watch as far as social media goes. SnapChat changed social media from sharing with as many users as possible to a more intimate and private level and Spiegel even proposed to his girlfriend via a SnapChat filter. Google offered 30 billion to buy the company but was turned down, while SnapChat succeeded where Google failed, with the launch of wearable sunglass technology. Even though many of the popular features of SnapChat have been copied by its main competitors, the company will have to keep innovating in order to keep everyone interested.
Linus Torvalds
The creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds, is without a doubt another top visionary in the tech world. He is the principal developer of the Linux kernel, the open-source operating system which powers a multitude of systems, including operating systems like Android and Chrome OS. These systems run asoftware and smart devices. Without Linux’s impact, the world would not be connected as efficiently as we know it now.
Andrew Jassy
Andrew Jassy is the person behind the previously unheard of idea of computing power rentals. Amazon Web Services is teaching the rest of the tech world a few things and everyone is scrambling to adapt. Amazon’s cloud is used by some of the biggest companies in the world to send real-time data, stream video and a whole lot of other applications. Netflix, Spotify and Major League Baseball are just a small example of the companies that rely on Amazon Web Services to offer their own services to customers across the world daily.
Avi & Henri Ben Ezra
The two Israeli brothers, Avi Ben Ezra and his brother Henri, are empowering businesses around the world deploy chatbots to work alongside humans. Their company SnatchBot is a leader in the field of AI with its easy Bot builder platform that allows businesses and developers easy access to chatbot development. These developments have changed the way that companies work, while they have raised the bar for customer expectations and satisfaction. Credit card fraud has been reduced significantly because of their genius approach to credit card security with the deployment of AI and Chatbots and consequently, crime mafias are constantly been pushed out from call centers globally. Early on, companies in France, Israel, and the US have readily adopted their AI thereby reducing their carbon footprint in local areas since fewer people need to travel to work during peak hours – now it has gone global to all corners of the world.
Larry Ellison
Oracle’s co-founder, billionaire Larry Ellison might have stepped down as CEO last year, but he still serves as chairman of the board and chief technology officer of the database and software giant. Oracle was started in response to the growing need for customer relationship databases and has branched out into cloud-software computing. The company revealed that 20% of its clients are now buying tech via the cloud rather than traditionally and their numbers are rising. Ellison has other interests outside of Oracle and just recently purchased 3 million Tesla shares.
