Meet tech's hottest CXOs

Started by dwarakesh, Oct 29, 2009, 11:07 AM

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dwarakesh

Ever wondered who will rule the enterprises of tomorrow? Who will be the men to guide the new economic order globally? Fortune magazine has come out with a list of Business's hottest rising stars.

According to the magazine, these young innovators, value creators, and agents of change will dictate the world economy in the years to come. Here we bring to you the technology CEOs for Tomorrow from the list.

Topping the list of hottest rising stars are Google duo Sergey Brin and Larry Page both aged 36. According to the report, both are worth $14 billion each.

The report notes that despite challenges like antitrust investigations, growing concern over privacy and copyright issues and a fall in ad revenue due to tough economic climate, Google continues its rapid strides in newer areas like mobile devices and software applications. The company has an estimated market value of $174 billion.

Brin, the president and head of Google's technology division, started Google along with Page in 1998 out of a friend's garage. Moscow-born Brin received a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in mathematics and computer sciences from the University of Maryland. Brin continues to share responsibility for day-to-day operations along with Page and Schmidt.

Larry Page is Google's founding CEO and grew the company to be the behemoth it is today. In 2001, he moved into his role as president, products. Son of a computer science professor at Michigan State University, Page's love for computers began at age six. He earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Michigan.

dwarakesh

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders, Google

Topping the list of hottest rising stars are Google duo Sergey Brin and Larry Page both aged 36. According to the report, both are worth $14 billion each.

The report notes that despite challenges like antitrust investigations, growing concern over privacy and copyright issues and a fall in ad revenue due to tough economic climate, Google continues its rapid strides in newer areas like mobile devices and software applications. The company has an estimated market value of $174 billion.

Brin, the president and head of Google's technology division, started Google along with Page in 1998 out of a friend's garage. Moscow-born Brin received a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in mathematics and computer sciences from the University of Maryland. Brin continues to share responsibility for day-to-day operations along with Page and Schmidt.

Larry Page is Google's founding CEO and grew the company to be the behemoth it is today. In 2001, he moved into his role as president, products. Son of a computer science professor at Michigan State University, Page's love for computers began at age six. He earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Michigan.

dwarakesh

Mark Zuckerberg, founder, Facebook

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg figures at No 2 spot on the list. A Harvard University dropout, 25-year-old Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004 from his Harvard dorm room.

Starting off as a networking site for university grads, Facebook opened its arms to general audience in 2006 to emerge as the no. 1 social network in 2009. The social networking numero uno is currently estimated to be worth $10 billion and boasts of 300 million users globally.

Mark is responsible for setting the overall direction and product strategy for the company. He also heads the design of Facebook's service and development in the core technology and infrastructure.

Last year, Zuckerberg was estimated to be worth $1.5 billion, making him the world's youngest billionaire. According to Forbes he has lost at least $600 million and is "simply a youthful multi-millionaire."

dwarakesh

Biz Stone and Evan Williams, co-founders, Twitter

At No. 5 on Business's hottest rising stars list are the Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams.

Aged 35 and 37 respectively, the duo in March 2006 launched (along with Jack Dorsey) the social networking and micro-blogging service Twitter that allows users to post their latest updates.

Since its creation, Twitter has gained immense popularity around the world, with the service being often described as the "SMS of the Internet." The site has also been ranked as one of the 50 most popular websites worldwide by Alexa's web traffic.

In March 2009, a Nielsen.com blog ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009. However, many believe that the site still needs to come out with a proper business model.

dwarakesh

Jason Kilar, CEO, Hulu

Next on the list of Business' hottest rising stars is Jason Kilar, CEO, Hulu, an online video joint venture of News Corp and NBC Universal.

At No 8 on the overall ranking, Jason joined Hulu from Amazon.com in 2007. After writing the original business plan for Amazon's entry into the video and DVD businesses, he became Vice President and General Manager of Amazon's North American media businesses, which included the company's books, music, video, and DVD categories.

He later served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Application Software, and reported directly to CEO Jeff Bezos. Jason began his career with The Walt Disney, where he worked for Disney Design & Development. He is an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he studied Business Administration and Journalism & Mass Communication.

Regarded as a big fashion freak, Jason is believed to own 15 of the same shirts, jeans, and dress shirts.

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Marc Andreessen, Founder, Netscape, Opsware, Ning, Andreessen Horowitz

At No 10 is Marc Andreessen, entrepreneur who co-founded Web browser pioneer Netscape Communications in 1994 as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois. Later he sold Netscape Communications to AOL for $4.2 billion.

He is also credited for launching Mosaic, the first widely-used web browser. Since then Andreessen started two companies: software firm OpsWare (sold to HP in 2007 for $1.6 billion) and social networking platform Ning.

Thirty-eight years old Andreessen recently joined the board of Hewlett-Packard Co (HP).

dwarakesh

Tim Armstrong, CEO, AOL

Google's senior VP, Tim Armstrong, became the Chairman and CEO of AOL, LLC, Time Warner Inc in March 2009 replacing Chairman and CEO Randy Falco and President and COO Ron Grant.

Thirty-eight year old Armstrong was a member of Google's Operating Committee and served as the president of the Americas Operations. Under the Americas Operations, Armstrong's team managed publishers and advertisers' relationships and platforms with some of the world's most widely recognized media and agency brands. Armstrong started at Google in the year 2000 and opened the first office outside of the Mountain View, CA headquarters.

Armstrong joined Google from Snowball.com, where he was vice president of sales and strategic partnerships. Prior to his role at Snowball.com, he served as director of integrated sales & marketing at Starwave's and Disney's ABC/ESPN Internet Ventures, working across the companies' Internet, TV, radio, and print properties. He started his career as co-founder of a Boston-based newspaper before joining IDG to launch their first consumer Internet magazine, I-Way.

He is a graduate of Connecticut College, with a double major in economics and sociology.

dwarakesh

Raul Vazquez, CEO, Walmart.com

Thirty-eight year old Raul VazquezCEO, president & CEO of Walmart.com figures at No 14 on the list of rising stars.

Having joined Walmart.com in 2002, Vazquez also worked as a chief marketing officer for the site. Currently he looks into day-to-day operations at Walmart.com and focuses on integration of online and in-store capabilities that provide multi-channel options for customers.

Vazquez was also responsible for the site's major redesign initiative and managed all marketing and creative functions for the online business. Vazquez started out as an industrial engineer but moved to San Francisco for a consulting job. After working at few Internet startups, he joined Walmart.com where he became CEO in 2007.

Today Walmart.com boasts of nearly 40 million visitors a month, making it the among the most heavily trafficked brick-and-mortar retailer website. The site is said to have revenue of $1.7 billion.

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"Pony" Ma Huateng, founder and CEO, Tencent

Thirty-eight year old Chinese entrepreneur, Ma Huateng ranks at No 18 on the list. He is founder and CEO of Tencent Computer System, provider of internet and mobile-phone value-added services.

The company currently has 450 million active instant messenger users and reported $1 billion revenue last year. Prior to Tencent, Ma was in charge of R&D for Internet paging sysytem development at China Motion Telecom Development Limited, a supplier of telecommunications services and products in China.

Ma has a Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Computer & its Application 1993 from Shenzhen University.

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Marissa Mayer, VP, search product and user experience, Google

At No 21 is thirty-four year old Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Product and User Experience, Google. Mayer heads the company's user experience division and oversees programming and design for over 100 web products, from search to Google News.

Having joined Google in 1999 as company's first female engineer, she led the user interface and web server teams at that time. Her key roles included designing and developing Google's search interface, internationalising the site to more than 100 languages, defining Google News, Gmail, and Orkut, and launching more than 100 features and products on Google.com.

She has several patents filed on her work in artificial intelligence and interface design. Marissa has also taught introductory computer programming classes at Stanford to more than 3,000 students.

dwarakesh

Max Levchin, co-founder, Paypal, founder, Slide

Next rising star from the technology industry on the list is Ukranian-born Max Levchin, co-Founder of Paypal at No 25. When eBay acquired it for $1.5 billion in 2007, Levchin earned $34 million from his 2.3% stake.

Thirty-four year old Levchin is credited for his contributions to PayPal's anti-fraud efforts. In 2004, Levchin founded Slide, a personal media-sharing service. He also helped start Yelp, an online social networking and review service.

Source:infotech