silicon.com Reveals 2004s Top 50 Tech Titans

silicon.com presents its 5th annual Agenda Setters poll, revealing 2004's 50 most influential individuals in the technology industry. Linus Torvalds and Bill Gates tie at No. 7; Rupert and James Murdoch both make the cut; Unsung heroes steal the show.

London (PRWEB) October 1, 2004 -- silicon.com this week reveals the results of its fifth annual Agenda Setters poll. Agenda Setters 2004 lists the 50 most influential individuals in the technology industry and reflects the emergence of three significant trends: the rise of open source, the maturation of offshoring and the battle for privacy/security.

While some of the big names do prevail, many of this years winners are the unsung heroes working behind the scenes yet playing a pivotal role in driving the industry forward. Notable examples include Jonathan Schwarz, president and COO of Sun Microsystems (No. 24), Bernard Soriano, technology task force leader, California Performance Review Commission (No. 49), and John Connors, CFO, Microsoft (No. 33).

The panel also recognises that CEO Steve Jobs isnt directly responsible for all of Apples successes. Senior VP Jon Rubenstein (No. 39) is singled out for taking the iPod to a whole new level while British design guru Jonathan Ive (No. 15) is recognised for his innovative yet minimalist approach to hardware design.

There are a number of individuals in this year's top 50 who represent wider movements. NHS IT director general Richard Granger (No. 6) symbolises the UK government's commitment to IT investment whilst eSkills UK's Karen Price (No. 21) is working to bridge the skills gap in the UK. Grid computing guru and academic, Ian Foster, and Sasser virus writer, Sven Jaschen, also rank at No. 23 and No.19 respectively.

Finally, this year marks a few firsts for the panel. Linus Torvalds and Bill Gates tie at No. 7 and two generations of the same family make the list, with Rupert Murdoch coming in at No. 18 and James Murdoch placing 2 spots ahead of his father at No.16.

silicon.com editor Tony Hallett said: "This is one of the most interesting lists we've seen in the five years we've been running Agenda Setters. There have never been so many new entries and such a shift in the balance of power from the big names to the unsung heroes of the IT
industry."

The top 10 Agenda Setters for 2004 are as follows:

1. Ashley Highfield, director of new media and technology, BBC
2. Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple
3. Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder and CEO, Skype
4. Tom Ridge, US Secretary of Homeland Security
5. David Blunkett, UK Home Secretary
6. Richard Granger, director general, NHS IT
7. Linus Torvalds, father of Linux
7. Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect, Microsoft
9. Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO, Google
10. Marc Benioff, founder, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com

For the complete list of 50 winners please visit www.siliconagendasetters.com

About Agenda Setters 2004 (www.siliconagendasetters.com)
Now in its fifth year, Agenda Setters is the leading poll of the movers and shakers in the technology industry, ranking 50 of the most influential individuals based on three criteria: Global influence, longevity and decision-making prowess.

About silicon.com
silicon.com (www.silicon.com) is the leading UK website for business decision makers serious about utilising technology to drive their businesses forward and gain competitive advantage. silicon.com delivers high quality, up-to-the-minute news, strategic analysis, and expert commentary, containing over 20 channels tailored to whats important in the areas of hardware, software, networks and management.

About CNET Networks UK
CNET Networks UK is a leading media company focused on informing and connecting the buyers, users and sellers of technology. CNET's approach is to create discrete brands with highly tailored content and services that speak directly to the audience's unique needs. In the UK these are ZDNet UK, Builder UK, silicon.com, the European Technology Forum and CNET Direct. Combined, these brands provide market-leading reach into the UK IT and business decision making audience and are read by over 1.4 million users a month.

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Marissa OHare at CNET Networks UK on 020 7903 6934 or email marissa.ohare@cnet.com.

For further information about Agenda Setters 2004, the voting process and the individuals in the top 50, contact Tony Hallett at silicon.com by emailing thallett@silicon.com.
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