Last year's position :   15

Jobs launched Apple Computer in 1977 and kick-started the personal computing revolution in 1984 with the Macintosh. Years of corporate swashbuckling ended in acrimony when he jumped ship (before he was pushed) in 1985 and later took Pixar to box office success with Toy Story. He returned with a flourish in 1996 to revitalise the ailing Apple with the iMac and a focus on aesthetics rather than pure functionality.

One panellist cited Jobs' "innovation and turnaround ability" as a key to the company's survival.

A dark horse in the pack, considering his past performances in Agenda Setters polls (15 in 2002, unplaced in 2001 and 50 in 2000), Jobs wasn't first on any lists but appeared second and in the top five of many to win through on aggregate ahead of old adversary Bill Gates.

Our panel was impressed by his decision to turn to the open source community to develop the core of the company's next generation operating system, OS X, and a dedication to produce quality hardware such as the iPod music player.

However, it was the recent launch of the successful iTunes Music Store that many considered a key achievement, with one panellist claiming Jobs had "lit a fire" under the industry and proved that online music works.

Apple is a relative minnow in the IT industry. However, as personal technology and the internet enter the next age, the key benchmarks for determining goals and success become fuzzy and somewhat enigmatic. To set the agenda for its evolution requires an equally enigmatic individual - Jobs would seem to fit the bill.