The Innovation Bracket

You pick the CEOs that drove the most important new developments in the past 25 years

UPDATE: (drum roll please) Vint Cerf wins!

After more than a month of voting, the voters named Vint Cerf the most innovative tech executive in the past 25 years. He carried 64% of the vote in beating out Apple's Steve Jobs. After 31 matches, it came down to the scientist (as one commenter called him) who created the Internet winning the whole ball of wax.  I am sure this award will go right up next to his Presidential Medal of Freedom.

There were some intriguing matchups and some upsets. It was not surprising to see Steve Ballmer knocked out in the first round, but a bit surprising that Steve Jobs went as far as he did but Bill Gates was defeated in the second round. Guess that could be because Gates went up against Cerf.

To continue reading, register here to become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

UPDATE: (drum roll please) Vint Cerf wins!

After more than a month of voting, the voters named Vint Cerf the most innovative tech executive in the past 25 years. He carried 64% of the vote in beating out Apple's Steve Jobs. After 31 matches, it came down to the scientist (as one commenter called him) who created the Internet winning the whole ball of wax.  I am sure this award will go right up next to his Presidential Medal of Freedom.

There were some intriguing matchups and some upsets. It was not surprising to see Steve Ballmer knocked out in the first round, but a bit surprising that Steve Jobs went as far as he did but Bill Gates was defeated in the second round. Guess that could be because Gates went up against Cerf.

As some commenters noted, it should not be assumed that CEOs are the ones behind innovation at a company. Some said Bob Metcalfe should have been in here. Who else? Create a write-in candidate in the comments section at the bottom of this page. 

From the beginning

It is time for May Madness. OK, there might not be as much fanfare as the college basketball version of the brackets, but think of this as a second chance at redemption after all those red marks littered your NCAA picks this past March.

The Network World staff has selected 32 of the top innovative minds in the technology industry in the past 25 years. It is now up to you, the reader, to determine who moves onto the next round. There will be a daily poll pitting industry execs and the brackets will be updated each day.

So what segment of the tech industry will come out on top? Will the young pups of social media like Mark Zuckerberg or Twitter's Biz Stone come in and steal the thunder from stalwarts like Bill Gates or IBM's Lou Gerstner? Who believes that software is the main innovation in the tech industry or is it hardware. There could be some interesting matchups down the road with someone like Joe Tucci of EMC going against Oracle's Larry Ellison. How will open source hold up? 

Click to see: Brackets of tech industry's most innovative person

Reconnect with your inner Dick Vitale and make some predictions below in our comment section. Am I allowed to call Zuckerberg a "Diaper Dandy," as the boisterous ESPN announcer would say? Or is Steve Jobs a PTPer? (Prime Time Player for those of you not up on your Vitale speak.)

Make your voice heard each day and vote in our poll below. Let the games begin.

TODAY'S MATCHUP: Vint Cerf vs. Steve Jobs

It is the Father of the Internet vs. the person who has brought comsumerization into the enterprise. Vint Cerf and Steve Jobs have steamrolled their way through the field to get to the finals. It is now a chicken-and-egg situation: without the Internet would Apple's products be as popular today? Or did Apple's products push the Internet to new heights? 

SEMIFINAL 2: The line of products Apple has put out appears to be what is driving voters to put Steve Jobs in the finals. He defeated Marc Andreessen with 74% of the vote.  

SEMIFINAL 1: The "Father of the Internet" vs. the creator of the World Wide Web. Apparently the Internet trumps the World Wide Web as Vint Cerf moves on to the finals with a 59% majority over Tim Berners-Lee. Cerf now awaits the winner of Steve Jobs and Marc Andreessen to see who wins the whole ball of wax.