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Top 10 Technology Leaders, Influencers & Visionaries2015
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Introduction
• Leaders, innovators and visionaries have always been at the heart of the technology sector. Their choices, actions
and investments influence the direction and pace of the industry. This free research presents the 10 individuals
that Juniper believes will have the greatest impact on the sector over the next 12 months, discussing how they
influence both their respective organisations and the wider tech sector.
• We have selected and ranked these innovators according to 8 key criteria, delineated on the following page.
• We present short biographies of the top 10 ranked leaders, highlighting how they have inspired, innovated or
influenced the development of specific product categories or organisational strategy. We also comment on how
these individuals have made a real difference in their markets and how they continue to influence the future
direction of the industry.
• In addition, we include a selection of other influencers of particular note. These people are likely to have a strong
impact on their relevant segments, but Juniper considers them less likely to bring revolutionary change to the
technology sector in the short term.
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Ranking Criteria
• Our selection and ranking of these leaders and influencers was based on an assessment of the following 8
criteria:
a) Innovation – how new, differentiated and disruptive their contributions are to the industry.
b) Scalability – how easily their contribution can be applied to multiple markets and product types.
c) Reach –how much impact does this person and their contribution have on a geographical scale?
d) Business Model – the crunch side of innovation, how new is the business proposition of the person’s
contribution.
e) Personal Capital – how much the person’s individual connections, personality, philosophy etc, is able to
complement their business.
f) Outside Impact – the probable impact that the person’s contributions will have on their sector outside the
growth of their business.
g) End-user Impact – how big a difference the contribution will make to the lives of end users.
h) Vision – how complete a picture of the future the person can make. Do they make a convincing case for the
applicability and/or potential of their product?
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1. Satya Nadella – Microsoft CEO
• With the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft will become a platform-centric
company, focusing on transferable OS experiences across devices.
a) These are complemented by the Continuum technology that allows
projection of the Windows 10 Mobile OS from a smartphone to another
device to create a flexible platform.
• Nadella’s background in the cloud and enterprise space means that his vision
of Windows 10 and the new services it offers, is likely to be very cloud-centric
one.
a) Thanks to the advent of universal apps, cloud-based app management
is very likely to be on Microsoft’s future agenda, for both business and
consumer users.
• Nadella has articulated a vision of ‘Windows-as-a-Service’ to meet users’
needs where they are. In practical terms, he intends Windows services to be
platform neutral.
a) There have been hints of these service-first or service-only offerings
with Microsoft signing deals with Samsung and Cyanogen to integrate
its software into a range of mobile devices offered by other vendors.
b) This is a fundamental change to Microsoft’s business model. Instead of
centring its offerings on the OS, Nadella’s Windows-as-a-Service will
result in a very different process of development at Microsoft in future.
Nadella was appointed CEO and a
Director in February 2014. He served as
Executive Vice President, Cloud and
Enterprise from July 2013. From 2011 to
2013, Nadella served as President,
Server and Tools. From 2009 to 2011, he
was Senior Vice President, Online
Services Division. From 2008 to 2009, he
was Senior Vice President, Search,
Portal and Advertising.
Since joining Microsoft in 1992,
Nadella's roles also included Vice
President of the Business Division.
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2. Jony Ive – Apple Chief Design Officer
• Ive is responsible for the features of the Apple Watch that are now being
emulated by many different smartwatch designers.
a) These include the doodle functionality, NFC and Wi-Fi capabilities, all
introduced into Android Wear shortly after the Watch’s launch
b) Similar hardware features, such as the digital crown and haptic
feedback, are likely to be integrated in other watches over time.
• The hype and sector awareness that the Apple Watch has generated means
that Ive’s designs will be the benchmark for the category in future. Consumer
expectations will now compare features to the Apple Watch, even for non-iOS
users.
• The guidelines for Apple Watch app development imply a very distinct vision
from Ive and others about how a smartwatch should be used, more
completely than the competition has articulated at present.
• While the execution of the Apple Watch is best-in-class and is likely to shape
the future of the category as a whole, Apple have not categorically answered
the question of the use case for smartwatches, which Juniper discusses in
depth in our Smartwatch Research.
London-born designer Jonathan Ive is
Apple's Chief Design Officer, reporting
to CEO Tim Cook. Since 1996, he has
been responsible for leading a design
team widely regarded as one of the
world’s best. As the driving force
behind the look and feel of Apple's
innovative products, Ive also provides
leadership and direction for Human
Interface software teams across the
company.
Recognised with numerous design
awards, Apple products are featured in
the permanent collections of museums
worldwide, including MoMA in New York
and the Pompidou in Paris.
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3. Min-Liang Tan – Razer Co-Founder & CEO
• As well as serving as CEO, Tan is also the creative director of Razer, giving
him a large amount of control over the company’s direction.
• Tan is a founding member of the OSVR (Open Source Virtual Reality)
Alliance, This started as a Razer project but announced it had 50 partners at
the Games Developer Conference in March this year, which has since
expanded to 56 hardware partners and 35 universities
a) The inclusion of Vuzix and other sensory companies in the OSVR
highlights the blurring lines between VR and AR. The OSVR could be in
a position to influence both, with the right sensor technology
integration.
• The OSVR platform allows Razer to showcase its software for use on
third-party hardware, creating a common standard for VR programs to be
designed.
A Singaporean, residing in San
Francisco where he oversees the
company's global operations in the US,
Singapore, China, Taiwan, Korea and
Germany. Graduated from the National
University of Singapore Law School.
Practiced law for 2 years before
founding Razer. He is responsible for all
marketing and branding of Razer; and
all design and development of Razer
products.
Named one of ‘The 25 Most Creative
People in Tech’ by the Business Insider
together with Apple's Jonathan Ive and
Valve's Gabe Newell.
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4. Travis Kalanick – Uber CEO
• Uber is the world’s most successful on-demand taxi service, providing
certified drivers when the app is used, rather than checking for cars in the
vicinity like Lyft.
• Uber has been noted as undercutting the rates of taxi companies, through
engaging in contractual relationships rather than employee-employer
relationships. Kalanick’s tenacity in the face of fire has been critical to
furthering the company’s progress.
a) As the challenges to Uber’s business model continues, Kalanick’s vocal
defence of his company will be vital in ensuring that Uber is not
quashed by unsettled firms or unfriendly legislation.
• Uber has announced it is funding university research at Pittsburgh to develop
self-driving cars, which would ultimately put it in direct competition with
Google [x]’s self-driving car initiative.
a) The initiative to get into self-driving cars has been Kalanick’s, as he
believes self-driving cars are the future. He knows this will end Uber’s
current business model, but is not worried as he considers that
‘[d]riverless car is a multi-decade transition.’
Travis Kalanick is the CEO &
Co-Founder at Uber Technologies. He is
a successful entrepreneur in the areas
of consumer Internet, transportation
and enterprise content delivery. His
most recent company, Uber, an on-
demand black car service, seeks to be
‘Everyone’s Private Driver’ by bringing
disruptive technology and business
innovation to urban transportation
challenges.
Prior to Uber, Travis founded Red
Swoosh, an enterprise content delivery
company that he sold to Akamai
Technologies in 2007.
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5. Reed Hastings – Netflix Co-Founder & CEO
• Netflix has become the most popular streamed video service in the world,
with more than 62 million subscribers
a) It accounts for more than 30% of aggregated upstream/downstream US
traffic in 2014.
• As Netflix’s founder and CEO, Hastings has played a pivotal role in the
company’s ongoing disruption of the linear TV model.
a) The company has moved into the production of original content,
creating popular programmes such as House of Cards, Orange is The
New Black and Daredevil.
b) Hastings has said that more than 320 hours of original content will be
delivered this year, 3 times more than 2014, thereby becoming an
increasing threat to traditional pay TV services such as HBO.
• Hastings has also supervised Netflix’s ongoing forays into the international
arena.
a) In September 2014, the company expanded into an additional 6
European markets.
b) Netflix launched in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, and is
poised to enter the potentially lucrative Japanese market.
Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix in
1997, initially delivering DVDs by mail
within the US. The company
subsequently began delivering content
via streaming, which is now its prime
source of income.
Prior to founding Netflix, Reed founded
Pure Software, which made tools for
software developers. Reed is also a
board member of Facebook and was on
the board of Microsoft from 2007 to
2012.
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6. Jack Ma – Alibaba Founder & Chairman
• Alibaba is one of the world’s most successful eCommerce businesses,
expected by some to soon be the world’s largest retailer.
• The company has expressed an interest in wishing to develop its own mobile
OS to compete with the likes of Android and promote its services, in a similar
way to Amazon and the Fire Phone.
a) Using hardware to monetise software is likely to gain more traction in
Asia than elsewhere, as Xiaomi has shown. Any moves made by
Alibaba are also likely to be magnified by its existing presence in the
Chinese eCommerce market.
• Having previously stated that he was dissatisfied with the company’s
penetration of the mobile Internet, Ma drove the mobile-first imperative into
Alibaba’s growth strategy.
• To further this, Alibaba recently invested $590 million in Meizu, a Chinese
smartphone company. This gives Alibaba a potential window into the
smartphone market as a whole, and a potential receiver for their services and
promote Alibaba’s YunOS.
a) Having previously failed to introduce YunOS, the company is now in a
position to insist on at least some YunOS phones.
• This may precipitate similar moves by other Chinese internet companies
(such as Baidu and Tencent) to enter the smartphone market.
Jack Ma founded Alibaba and has
served as Executive Chairman since
May 2013. He was previously Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer.
Jack currently serves on the board of
SoftBank. He is also a Director of Huayi
Brothers Media Corporation, an
entertainment group in China, as well as
chair of The Nature Conservancy's
China Board of Directors and a Director
of its Global Board of Directors. In
September 2013, he joined the
Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Foundation as a Director.
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7. Paul Eremenko – Google ATAP Director
• Having originally worked for DARPA, Eremenko has brought Google’s module
Project Ara smartphone from concept to pilot stage, following DARPA’s
production ethos.
• The aim of Project Ara is to create a fully customisable smartphone, with
components that can be swapped in and out of the phone’s core (known as
the endo) at will.
a) The ultimate aim is to create an app-like ecosystem for hardware,
changing the upgrade cycle of phones in favour of swapping individual
components.
b) If the Puerto Rican pilot is successful, the product should launch in
2016.
• Eremenko has previously encouraged the use of 3D-printed components to
complement the customisable element to Project Ara, but 3D-printed
elements have been pulled from the pilot launch at present.
a) Part of the reason for this is to keep costs down. Project Ara’s current
marketing angle is aimed at those who don’t have smartphones. The
offering therefore needs to compete primarily with the budget end of
the market.
• While modular phones are a fresh innovation, there are already competitors in
the space. Start-up Fonkraft has showcased a similarly modular phone, but is
unlikely to be an immediate competitor following problems with Indiegogo.
Paul Eremenko is currently Director of
Engineering at Google, in the ATAP
(Advanced Technology & Projects)
organisation, where he heads Project
Ara, including all engineering, design,
and go-to-market activities.
Previously he was an Associate Vice
President at Motorola. Here he
conceived and led the development of
Ara, a project to create a modular
hardware ecosystem-rivalling mobile
apps in the pace and level of
innovation--around smartphones, with
the goal of delivering the mobile
internet to the next 5 billion people.
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8. Jeff Bezos – Amazon Founder & CEO
• Since the company’s inception, Bezos has been the driving force behind
Amazon’’s diversification, seeking to create product offerings across adjacent
connected industries.
a) Amazon’s business was initially built on eCommerce, before the launch
of Amazon Web Services.
b) Amazon’s transition from pure eRetailer to eContent aggregator was
most noticeably shown by its acquisition of the DVD, and latterly
cloud-based, video rental service, LOVEFiLM, in 2011.
c) Bezos has consistently pursued a growth over profits strategy. His
latest initiatives include TV set-top boxes, original TV content,
smartphones and unlimited eBook access.
d) The company is also seeking to acquire an eRetail market share in
China, taking on Alibaba in its home market.
• While the Amazon Fire Phone failed to spark interest, its other nascent
ventures are expected to show strong growth, consolidating Amazon’s
primacy across a range of sectors.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994,
having previously worked on Wall Street
and for Bankers’ Trust after graduating
from Princeton. Bezos is also the
founder of aerospace company Blue
Origin, which is working to lower the
cost and increase the safety of
spaceflight, so that humans can better
continue exploring the solar system.
He was named TIME Magazine’s Person
of the Year in 1999.
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9. Elon Musk – Tesla Chairman & CEO
• Moving away from electric cars, Tesla announced the Powerpack and
Powerwall batteries for storage of electricity in buildings in April 2015.
• Powerpack and Powerwall offer some of the first power solutions to store
surplus power generation from solar panels for later use at the individual
home level.
a) The discussion around these products have been underscored by
Musk’s vision of bringing affordable electricity products to consumers,
with affordability a cornerstone of the products’ appeal.
• However, they are currently not economical for home use by many people,
with the smaller units costing $3,500.
a) Musk has hinted that the costs may come down as the company opens
a ‘gigafactory’ in Nevada to ramp up their production.
• The real benefits of this technology will be felt when economies of scale and
competition force prices down further, bringing the technology within easy
reach of consumers.
• The batteries could see wide usage by utilities companies, who currently rely
on peaking plants to deal with surplus electricity demand. This could
fundamentally change the way that power plants are managed and lead to the
development of small-scale smart grids.
Musk co-founded Tesla and continues
to oversee the company's product
strategy; including the design,
engineering and manufacturing of more
and more affordable electric vehicles for
mainstream consumers. As Chairman
and Product Architect, he helped design
the groundbreaking Tesla Roadster, for
which he won an Index and a Global
Green award, the latter presented by
Mikhail Gorbachev.
In October 2008, he took on the
additional responsibility of CEO,
overseeing daily operations.
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10. Lei Jun – Xiaomi CEO
• Xiaomi’s rise to prominence has been on the platform of affordable quality; Lei
has designed phones at the premium end of the Chinese smartphone market,
while keeping margins low.
a) Much of Xiaomi’s profit is derived from software and services,
particularly its MIUI platform, which draws on Lei’s background in social
media to produce a vibrant user community.
b) This is not likely to translate well into contract-driven markets (like the
US and much of Europe), as consumers regularly replace their phones,
meaning any software-based revenue cannot be guaranteed beyond
the 1 or 2 year contract. In addition, engaging with brands through
social media is not common practice in these markets.
• Outside China, and for special occasions, the company offers flash sales of
its devices, relying on the hype provided in social media to promote them,
rather than paid-for advertising.
• Xiaomi also has a growing range of other products, from a fitness wearable to
a tablet and smart TVs. These follow the same online-only strategy as the
phones in distribution.
a) While Xiaomi’s expansion in the phone market may remain checked by
limited profits, these devices which rely on hardware revenue have no
such restrictions. This means that Xiaomi will be a more immediate hit
in non-phone consumer electronics overseas in the years to come.
Lei Jun co-founded Xiaomi with other
partners in 2010, and has taken the
position of Chairman and CEO. Lei is
the chairman of YY Inc, a Chinese social
network. Lei is also the Chairman of
Cheetah Mobile. which is a subsidiary of
the Kingsoft software company, where
Lei also serves as Chairman.
Lei graduated from Wuhan University in
1991 with a bachelor’s degree in
Computer Science. He has been a
member of the board of Wuhan
University since 2003.
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Other Leaders & Influencers
Todd Holmdahl
Microsoft
Corporate Vice President
responsible for Microsoft Health,
Microsoft Band and Microsoft
Hololens Hardware
Eric Migicovsky
Pebble
Founder & CEO
Hong Ku Yeo
Samsung Electronics
Lead Designer for S6 & S6 Edge
James Park
Fitbit
Co-Founder & CEO
John Kunze
Xoom
CEO
Jeff Bewkes
Time Warner
CEO
Kirt McMaster
Cyanogen
Co-Founder & CEO
Sundar Pichai
Senior VP for Android,
Chrome & Google Apps
Paul Travers
Vuzix
Founder,
President & CEO
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