Most Powerful People in Tech World

It isn’t just wealth and it isn’t just control over people or resources. It’s more. True Power is a potent combination of money and influence that enables people to help shape the world. And only a selected group of people really possess the economic and political clout to effect global change. For better or worse, their decisions affect millions, shake industries, and change nations. Here are some men and women who are most influential in technology landscape.

Foremost is IBM CEO Ginni Rometty. Her mandate is to keep one of tech’s most iconic companies which employ 380,000 people on par, relevant and profitable for the long haul even if it means changing some of the most fundamental things about the company. There is a trio of Internet Kings in China, collectively known as “BAT” – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. Robin Li commands the market in Internet search as the Chairman and CEO of Baidu, China Google’s equivalent.

Since becoming Microsoft third CEO last year, Satya Nadella has been busy helping the technology company relevant again. While Microsoft is still a software giant it pulls in about $95 Billion in sales. Oracle Billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison stepped down as the company CEO last year but hasn’t pumped the brakes. He still serves as Chairman and CTO of the $38 Billion database and software titan.

The second richest person in China, Alibaba founder and CEO Jack Ma broke records with the e-commerce company $25 Billion initial public offering in 2014, the world largest ever. Along with fellow co-founder Larry Page, Sergey Brin helped orchestrate Google massive restructuring announced in August. The move made Google a subsidiary of a new holding company called Alphabet, run by Brin as President and Page as CEO. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of world largest social network.

Larry Page, CEO of Alphabet. Google would become a subsidiary of new holding company Alphabet, which would oversee all of Google ventures, such as Nest, Calico, and Google X as standalone entities. Tim Cook runs the most valuable company on the planet in Apple, which is worth $645 Billion. Under Cook’s continued direction as CEO, 2015 has been one of the company best years yet. Amazon.com is an undeniable superpower in e-commerce. Jeff Bezos privately owned Space Company Blue Origin successfully launched its first spacecraft this year and has plans to test rocket engines & launch manned rockets within the next decade.

Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975, builded an Iconic software company and becoming the richest man on earth in the process, with a net worth of $87.3 Billion. Though he still on the company board, he is no longer actively involved in Microsoft. Gates and Warren Buffet started the Giving Pledge to encourage billionaires to follow their lead and give away half or more of their wealth. 

Amazon and Flipkart Control of Ecommerce

Amazon India and its largest local rival, Flipkart, which was modeled on the American Online retailer, are changing their strategies in diverging ways to dominate fast growing e-commerce market. Amazon India and Flipkart are the country biggest e-commerce firms. Both are supposed to operate as marketplace platforms that connect small merchants with buyers. They are not allowed to sell directly to shoppers.

But both the companies have adopted complex corporate strategies and used a mix of the marketplace and the direct selling business model. Amazon is using a joint venture to increase the direct selling component in its model, even as Flipkart is fast moving towards a marketplace. Amazon is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in India, the last big unconquered e-commerce market in the world.

Amazon has already lost out to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in China. Amazon success has been built on its avowed principles of offering the widest product coupled with low prices. To stay true in a nascent market such as India, the company has decided that it needs to have more control over its supply than what a pure marketplace allows. This requires more cash, but the online retailer has already pumped $2 Billion into its India Business over time.

Flipkart has changed its role model to China’s Alibaba. Flipkart was started in 2007 by two Amazon.com Inc. employees. The firm began as book retailer, just like Amazon in 1995 but gradually added all kinds of other products, including mobile phones, laptops and clothes. Until 2013, it sold all these directly to shoppers not through third party merchants. However, this model is simply not conducive to making profits.

Flipkart, which has raised $2.6 Billion over the past 18 months, is expected to report huge loss this year because of its aggressive expansion and deep discounting. At some point it needs to go public and the pressure to do that increases every year. Indian Ecommerce market resembles that of China more than the US. The success of Alibaba IPO strengthened Flipkart resolve to try and adopt Alibaba advertising driven revenue model.

Under this model, Flipkart plans to operate as a marketplace and earn the bulk of its revenue from ads and other services, such as logistics and warehousing charged to sellers. Flipkart is still trying to find the success formula that will work in India. Currently both companies along with Snapdeal have the same goal to dominate the e-commerce sales.