Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addresses employees to launch a company hackathon. (GeekWire File Photo)
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addresses employees to launch a company hackathon. (GeekWire File Photo)

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is the most influential executive in the technology industry, according to a new ranking released this morning by Juniper Research. The list puts Nadella ahead of Jony Ive, Apple’s newly minted chief design officer, as well as influential tech leaders such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

Juniper says the rankings are based on its “assessment of key criteria including vision, innovation and personal capital.”

Jony Ive
Jony Ive

In a report explaining its picks, Juniper points to Nadella’s influence on the company, as demonstrated in the upcoming launch of Windows 10, and the shift to “Windows as a Service” — a regularly updated operating system, integrated tightly with the cloud, working across a wide range of screens and devices.

“This is a fundamental change to Microsoft’s business model,” write the Juniper analysts. “Instead of (centering) its offerings on the OS, Nadella’s Windows-as-a-Service will result in a very different process of development at Microsoft in future.”

Coming in at No. 2, Ive gets props for his work on the Apple Watch, with Juniper saying that his designs “will be the benchmark for the category in future.”

Here is Juniper’s full top 10.

  1. Satya Nadella   – Microsoft CEO
  2. Jony Ive   –  Apple SVP Design
  3. Min-Liang Tan   – Razer Co-Founder & CEO
  4. Travis Kalanick   – Uber CEO
  5. Reed Hastings   – Netflix Co-Founder & CEO
  6. Jack Ma   – Alibaba Founder & Chairman
  7. Paul Eremenko   – Google ATAP Director
  8. Jeff Bezos   – Amazon Founder & CEO
  9. Elon Musk   – Tesla Chairman & CEO
  10. Lei Jun   – Xiaomi CEO
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