The great things*are done by extraordinary people. Here is my list of top 5 people who I believe shaped the geo industry of the 21 century. It was not an easy choice… Please comment if you have other candidates.
Jack Dangermond – CEO of Esri
Jack Dangermond founded Esri in 1969 with*$1,100… Today his company is worth a few billion dollars and it’s one of the*largest privately*held software*companies in the world. For over 4 decades Jack has been shaping the GIS industry, and today at the age of 70 he is still doing so.
Brian McClendon – VP of Google Maps
Brian McClendon is person behind everything that you love about Google Maps. He joined Google in 2004 when his company*
Keyhole, Inc., has been acquired by Google to create a foundation of Google Earth and Maps. He was leading Google’s mapping efforts between 2004 and 2015 when finally he was replaced by*Jen Fitzpatrick and decided to join Uber.
Steve Coast – Founder of OSM
Steve Coast is a legendary founder of OpenStreetMap, the project that started large-scale Open Source movement in the Geo industry.*When Steve started OSM*back in 2004, he had to build it from scratch. Today the crowd-sourced project offers the most accurate and open map of the entire planet.
Harold Goddijin – CEO TomTom
TomTom is one of the largest mapping companies in the world and although it is not the biggest one, Harold is a person who continues to lead it through all these years. Your first PND, navigation app on your phone, real-time traffic service and now maps for autonomous car have been all influenced by his activities and decisions.
Michael F. Goodchild – Professor at University of California
Michael Frank Goodchild is a Professor of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. If you have ever read any GIS textbooks, there is a big chance that it was written, co-authored, reviewed by Professor Goodchild or at least his work is referenced there. He invented the term Volunteered Geographic Information and he brought up two generations of great geo experts.
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Top 5 most influential living people who shaped the geo industry of the 21 century appeared first on
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