It is a massive undertaking to develop a list of only 50 individuals when there are perhaps 50,000 (or more) who are making and marketing incredible products and services.

Forward-thinking, innovative and influential individuals abound in the technology and marketing sector, and they are changing the world and propelling their companies, communities and careers forward. To kick off the new year, this news source is featuring 50 tech movers and shakers who play pivotal roles (or are expected to) in critical areas like commerce, cryptocurrency, content and more.

Starting the list, for instance, is second-year CEO Adolfo Hernandez whose company, SDL, is one of the foremost authorities on language Audio translation by using a combination of human expertise and machine learning to ensure organizations deliver accurate and compelling content relevant to global audiences.

Going down the list, there is SAP Hybris Co-Founder and President Carsten Thoma who is leaving his position at Hybris to reportedly focus on tech startups, which will certainly be worthy of industry attention based on his energy and experience.

Dotcom Distribution CEO Maria Haggerty’s role in tech is equally intriguing, as her company is not only making shipment packaging more attractive and more engaging for recipients, who are more likely to share photos of their deliveries on social media if they include gift-like elements, but also offers client services to help fix this often broken part of the commerce experience.

 

Jim Kaskade, Janrain 
As CEO of Janrain, Kaskade is passionate about customer identity management and security. To Janrain, he brings more than 30 years of experience in enterprise software as well as a unique level of transparency. Kaskade will lead Janrain into what is bound to be one of the more exciting times for customer identity management with the impending general data protection regulation as well as the company’s main competitor, Gigya, being bought by SAP.