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The ten most influential people in mobile

Mobile phones don’t make themselves. Behind every keypad, every touchscreen and every LED flash are huge teams of people that spend their time coming up with exciting new handsets. But who leads these teams? Who drives the mobile industry forward? We’ve put together a list of the ten most influential people in mobile.

Andy Rubin – Google’s vice president of mobile platforms is also the guy who co-founded Android, an operating system on the cusp of greatness. Next year will be filled with shiny new Google Android handsets and Rubin will be key to their success.

Mike Lazaridis – Research in Motion has managed to stay in the game through a series of clever moves. It’s incredible how far Mike Lazaridis has managed to push his company and according to insiders, he’s one of the most hands-on CEOs in the industry.

Peter Chou – If you haven’t heard of HTC yet then you definitely will in 2010. Peter Chou has taken a once behind-the-scenes company to dizzy new heights, including being a major player in the Android and Windows Mobile space.

Jon Rubinstein – Not many people would take on the challenge of evolving Palm’s business but if anyone can it’s Jon Rubenstein. From the man who helped bring us the iPod, we’ve seen Palm produce sexy new phones such as the Pre. 2010 is Palm’s make or break year.

Jack Dorsey – When your service gets promoted by manufacturers and mobile networks, you know you’ve made something special. Jack Dorsey (image by Joi) is the man behind Twitter, a service that we predict will dominate 2010’s mobile landscape. Dorsey is currently working on a new mobile payment service called Square.

Sanjay Jha – Similar to Jon Rubenstein’s challenge, Sanjay Jha is tasked with bringing Motorola back to life. This year we’ve seen a flash of light from Motorola in the form of the Dext and Milestone. Next year we hope that Jha can turn that flash into a flame.

Steve Jobs – Few people could have anticipated the impact Apple would have when it entered the mobile market. Without Steve Jobs Apple would not be where it is today and we’re extremely excited to see where his company will take the iPhone next year.

Kevin Russell – Most mobile networks like to play it safe but 3, owned by Hutchison Whampoa, has taken risk after risk and helped to change the industry for the better. Some of the most innovative services and offers have come from 3 under Kevin Russell’s leadership.

Gee-Sung Choi – In the past few years Samsung has become the second largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. Gee-Sung Choi is credited with helping Samsung to grow its mobile market share. Samsung enters 2010 in an incredibly strong position.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo – Holding the top spot is always tough and Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia, knows that. This year Nokia has learnt a lot and next year it will hopefully put its knowledge to good use. We expect a better app store and some impressive new phones.

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