IT: 1. John Chambers, President and CEO of Cisco What more can be said about a man who has been voted the most influential CEO by readers for four consecutive years?
Because of his enduring business acumen, he has always been the most watched idol figure in the Internet industry and the business world.
2. Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Last November, Gates delivered his 20th keynote address at Comdex, although the show’s influence, held annually in Las Vegas, is starting to fade year by year.
has diminished, but Gates' influence has not.
Although controversial, he remains the most influential figure in the software industry and remains at the helm of Microsoft, a company with $32 billion in assets and a $6.8 billion research and development budget.
Sharing his vision for "seamless computing," Gates declared: "In the first decade of the 21st century, we will be able to achieve greater productivity gains than all of the productivity gains that industry has achieved to date."
3. Sam Palmisano, IBM Chairman and CEO When Palmisano said that IBM will hire 10,000 new employees this year in businesses such as services, middleware, Linux and open standards-based software and hardware, he made the Internet industry important to the economy.
There is hope for healthy development.
This was what he said in mid-October last year when he announced that IBM's third-quarter revenue reached $21.5 billion (an increase of more than 9% compared with the same period last year).
Since being promoted to IBM's top executive in March 2003, Palmisano has effectively mobilized the resources of all IBM's hardware, software and services departments around a common central technology vision: e-commerce on demand.
4. Carly Fiorina, HP Chairman and CEO Fiorina's reputation as a capable CEO was hard-earned, and it seems she has no intention of losing it.
Fiorina has deftly pivoted from yesterday's M&A successes to tomorrow's business plan, a strong plan that includes how to ensure leadership in building the "new data center."
HP's $2.5 billion investment in Dynamic Enterprise shows that she is serious about ensuring HP remains at the forefront.
In addition, Fiorina seems to be serious about how to compete head-to-head with Cisco.
This is what some industry observers learned from her resignation from Cisco's board of directors last November, which has the same significance as her joining the company's board of directors in 2001.
5. Linda Dillman, CEO of Walmart Dillman’s decision to specialize in leading Walmart’s technology direction is not just for the behemoth retailer, but for its thousands of suppliers — and the ripple effects it’s creating
It will affect the entire network industry.
Take Dillman's announcement in June last year that it would adopt the radio frequency identification (RFID) mark, for example.
Dillman told attendees at a retail trade show that Wal-Mart will require its top suppliers to have RFID chips embedded in their items by 2004, and all other suppliers will be required to do so by 2006.
It must be so.
Analysts believe this alone could create a $2 billion RFID market.
6. Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon Chairman and CEO As the leader of the nation's largest regional Bell company, Seidenberg has solidified his position when he officially assumed the role of Verizon chairman in November, eight months after he was appointed
Bell Atlantic/GTE's position was much stronger when the merger contract was signed in 2000.
Seidenberg will continue to be a star on his speaking tours, and his talks will never fail to include his now-iconic line: Government regulations are stifling innovation, thereby inhibiting the recovery of the telecommunications industry.
7. Michael Dell, Dell Chairman and CEO Dell has entered the list of top figures in the Internet industry, but it is clear that he has not yet reached his peak.
He is the fastest-rising influencer in our annual Reader Power Index rankings, and he has become a trusted business figure not just for policymakers in Washington, but for leaders around the world.
and technical advisors.
8. John Thompson, Symantec Chairman and CEO Thompson has led Symantec through an extraordinary year, which has resulted in the company being ranked on our "10 Most Influential Networking Companies" ranking for the second consecutive time.
List.
Not surprising.
Thompson was well placed to achieve a perfect financial position, several major customer deals, and Symantec's market position as the No. 1 security company by revenue.
He also completed two all-cash acquisitions, plus a number of other acquisition contracts.