The 25 Most Powerful People In U.S. Wireless 2009

[1]What makes a person powerful? That's a tricky question and one that the Fierce editorial team has been carefully contemplating over the past few months as we culled together our second annual 25 Most Powerful People in U.S. Wireless list.

We think a person's "power" quotient is the right mix of influence, business savvy, leadership and technical innovation. But many of our selections this year have that something extra--a charismatic personality, a brilliant mind or a down-to-earth approachability that makes you want to work with them, for them, or just follow them in the news.

[2]Interestingly, when we compared our 2008 Most Powerful People in Wireless list [3] to this year's list, more than half of the 2008 candidates didn't make this year's cut. The reasons are numerous--some left their jobs, some retired, and some are just no longer powerful (in our opinion) because of their failure (or their company's failure) to make a mark in wireless this year.

This list is a compilation of who we think are the movers and shakers in the U.S. wireless industry. We realize that wireless is a global business, and many of our candidates oversee international companies, but we selected people based upon their influence here in the United States.

You may not agree with all our picks but I can assure you that this list was not compiled lightly. The Fierce editors scrutinized every person we selected to make sure we could justify their position on our list. Nevertheless, I encourage you to write or comment and let us know if you disagree with our picks or think we overlooked someone.  

[2]Click here to see the 2009 Most Powerful People in the U.S. Wireless Industry [2]

--Sue [4]