The untimely death earlier this year of Rajeev Motwani, the Stanford professor who had advised Google's co-founders, unleashed an astonishing wave of tributes to this classic Influencer.
Inspired by his example, I've been assembling my own list of The Influencers of Silicon Valley. I wasn't interested in touting, yet again, Steve Jobs, Mark Hurd and their high-profile counterparts. Instead, I wanted to identify others like Motwani — quiet, unheralded people who are shaping conversations and ideas across the Valley and around the world through their research, their advising, their teaching, their networking or their investing.
Through conversations, emails and tweets with colleagues, friends and sources, I compiled an initial list of more than 100 candidates, including many I had never heard of. Then I whittled it down, in part by focusing on those who are having a real, quantifiable impact. In many cases, these people might be superstars in their realm yet barely known outside of it. My final 10 are not necessarily the most influential, but they are playing an essential role in shaping the valley's innovation economy.
Consider this list a celebration of what is best about Silicon Valley.
Original Article: O'Brien: The Influencers of Silicon Valley - San Jose Mercury News
