Standing still is anathema to the technology world. If anything, it looks as though developments like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robotics, and space exploration are poised to transform the world and our lives in unexpected and unprecedented ways.
While we have millions of dedicated, highly skilled individuals to thank for such developments, it’s clear that a handful of people are leading the charge. Here are the six people we believe are instrumental in shaping the current and future technological landscape as well as society’s views and attitudes toward it.
1. Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO
Few influential tech leaders have experienced a rise to prominence as meteoric as Sam Altman. Like many of his trailblazing peers, Altman dropped out of Stanford to found a company called Loopt that created location-sharing apps. Loopt attracted interest from Y Combinator, a startup accelerator Altman eventually led as president.
Altman joined and heavily invested in OpenAI in 2019. The company focuses on training and developing large language models that interact naturally with humans. While tech companies have been using AI in one form or another for decades, it wasn’t until the unveiling of ChatGPT in late 2022 that it became part of the collective consciousness. It took the world by storm, attracting a million users in just five days. As OpenAI’s CEO and with a failed ousting attempt behind him, Altman is one of the key architects in AI today.
2. Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
Our next tech titan followed a more traditional path yet reached similar levels of acclaim. Satya Nadella grew up and earned an Electrical Engineering degree in India. He got his Master’s in Computer Science after moving to the States and joined Microsoft in 1992 after a brief stint at Sun Microsystems. Nadella steadily rose through the ranks, culminating in his appointment as CEO in 2014.
We can thank Mr. Nadella for reinvigorating the tech behemoth after a long period of resting on its old laurels. In the last ten years, Microsoft has greatly expanded in the cloud and hardware space, while Windows continues to be the OS of choice for most desktop users. More importantly for Microsoft’s staying power, Nadella takes the credit for shifting Microsoft away from its monopolistic tendencies towards becoming a team player.
3. Troy Hunt, Microsoft Regional Director
The people we covered so far helped shape the digital world as we know it; Troy Hunt has dedicated his career to protecting it. While he is currently a regional director at Microsoft, Mr. Hunt made the list due to his exceptional contributions to cybersecurity and related education. He’s the founder of “Have I Been Pwned,” a website that tracks whether data breaches exposed email addresses users entered. He also received Microsoft’s award as the Most Valuable Professional.
Hunt is a prolific educator. His courses on Pluralsight delve into everything from cybersecurity fundamentals, like the necessity of using secure passwords, to full-on ethical hacking instructions. He’s also a keynote speaker with worldwide engagements.
4. Robert Playter, Boston Dynamics CEO
Not all groundbreaking tech advancements happen in the digital space, as Mr. Playter can attest. He heads Boston Dynamics, the firm lauded for spearheading cutting-edge robotics and automation developments. He joined the company as a founding member in the mid-90s, and his skillset was crucial to shaping its unique approach.
Playter has a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering and was an accomplished gymnast. This combination led him to help design robots whose grace and agility could rival those of animals or even humans. Boston Dynamics currently sells Spot, a doglike industrial inspection robot, and a warehouse logistics bot named Stretch. These are just the first in a line of practical designs, with even more disruptive ones to follow.
5. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and COO
Reaching for the stars is the epitome of tech development, and no one embodies that drive better than Gwynne Shotwell. A mix of engineering prowess, business acumen, and affability helped her gradually make a name for herself after becoming one of SpaceX’s first employees.
Shotwell was first responsible for attracting buyers and investors, efforts that culminated in the first billion-dollar NASA contract, with more to follow. As president, Shotwell also oversees the company’s launch operations and manufacturing processes. During Ms. Shotwell’s tenure, SpaceX has grown into the most accomplished private aerospace company ever and continues to push the boundaries of the field with each successful mission.
6. Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Another veteran of the tech world, Cook has been integral to Apple’s success long before succeeding the iconic Steve Jobs. During the late 1990s and 200s, he optimized Apple’s supply chains and shifted manufacturing away to overseas contractors. Cook was also savvy in recognizing the importance flash memory would play in smartphone development and helped secure Apple’s production advantage.
Jobs’s passing marked Cook’s ascendancy, yet it didn’t disrupt Apple’s innovative streak. The Apple Watch came first, with AirPods following suit. Apple continues to offer the world’s most sought-after smartphones that have included security features like automatically stopping spam texts on iPhones. Most recently, it has released the Vision Pro, a next-generation headset with unique controls and immersion capabilities.
