Rob Chandhok, president of Qualcomm Internet Services and SVP of software strategy, Qualcomm

A long-time Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) veteran, Rob Chandhok is well-liked among the press for his ability to explain complex technologies in understandable terms. At Qualcomm, however, Chandhok is known for his ability to bring new product strategies to life and make them commercially viable.

Both these skills are critical in his current role as the president of Qualcomm Internet Services and senior vice president of software strategy, where he oversees the company's development and commercialization of new service platforms such as the company's Vuforia augmented reality service and Gimbal context-aware application program, and where he works with its existing products such as QChat and QPoint.

Chandhok is also responsible for integrating mobile operating systems and their applications into the company's chipsets as well as driving the company's strategies for enabling and optimizing open source software. Both are key to Qualcomm's future success.

Chandhok is well-versed in what it takes to bring products from concept to reality. During the course of his career at Qualcomm, he has worked on various projects including MediaFlo, BREW and QChat, the VoIP push-to-talk over CDMA IP data technology that Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) uses. He's also been an important part of Qualcomm's developer outreach.

Although Qualcomm's primary goal is to sell more chipsets, with visionaries like Chandhok among on its executive team, the company continues to push the boundaries on what is possible for wireless technology.