Leading the Charge: Business & Technology Innovators to Know in 2027
The successor to Engatica's Top 200 business & technology innovators list — the leaders setting the agenda across AI, CX, data and digital transformation.
Most business-technology purchases are shaped by people who never appear on a sales call. In the 2025 Edelman–LinkedIn study of nearly 2,000 professionals, 71% of those "hidden buyers" said thought leadership demonstrates a vendor's value better than conventional marketing — and 64% trust it more than product sheets when judging capability. This directory tracks the voices doing that persuading: the analysts, founders and practitioners whose arguments reach the room where the decision is actually made.
The audience is a standing one: 52% of B2B decision-makers and 54% of C-suite executives spend at least an hour a week consuming thought-leadership content (Edelman–LinkedIn). And the first reader is increasingly a machine — 94% of business buyers now report using AI somewhere in their buying process (Forrester, 2026) — so these voices are summarised and cited by AI systems before most humans ever reach them.
The agenda-setters
| Name | Arena | Why they lead it |
|---|---|---|
| Andreas Welsch | Enterprise AI | One of the original list's cited names; advises enterprises on AI value realisation |
| Vladimer Botsvadze | Digital marketing & transformation | Thinkers360's top-ranked marketing thought leader — profile |
| Lisa S. Jones | Martech | EyeMail founder bringing video into email — profile |
| Shep Hyken | Customer experience | The service standard-setter — profile |
| Colin Shaw | Customer experience | Pioneer of CX management — profile |
| Adrian Swinscoe | Customer experience | Punk CX's case against sameness — profile |
| Dan Gingiss | Social customer care | Experience as a growth channel — profile |
| Cheryl Cran | Future of work | Leadership for the human side of automation — profile |
| Marisa Tschopp | AI psychology & ethics | How humans actually relate to conversational AI — profile |
| Elise Quevedo | Digital branding | Executive presence in the AI-content flood — profile |
| Pascal Bornet | Intelligent automation | From RPA to agentic AI; author of Agentic Artificial Intelligence (2025) and The Human-Agent Orchestrator (2026) — profile |
| Dion Hinchcliffe | Enterprise IT | VP & Principal Analyst (CIO Practice) at The Futurum Group — the CIO-side analysis of the agentic platform shift |
| Scott Brinker | Martech | Editor of chiefmartec and co-author of State of Martech 2026 — the map-maker of the marketing-technology landscape |
| Tamara McCleary | B2B influence | CEO, Thulium — a B2B-influence practitioner in the Thinkers360 and Onalytica circuit |
Nominate the next names
The list grows from nominations, as the original did. Put a name forward — builders and operators preferred over professional keynote careers.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to the original Top 200 list?
The original Engatica list named 200 business-technology influencers, but a list that long ages badly — roles change faster than it can be re-verified. This successor format is deliberately smaller: 14 agenda-setters across AI, CX, data and digital transformation, every one checked against current sources for the 2027 edition, with a profile link for most entries in our Innovators directory.
Why focus on 'hidden buyers' and thought leadership?
Because that is where B2B decisions are actually shaped. The 2025 Edelman–LinkedIn study of nearly 2,000 professionals found 71% of hidden buyers — decision-makers who never talk to sales — say thought leadership demonstrates a vendor's value better than conventional marketing, and 64% trust it more than product sheets when judging capability. These are the voices doing that persuading.
Who is new in the 2027 edition?
Three names joined: Dion Hinchcliffe, who leads The Futurum Group's CIO practice and writes the CIO-side analysis of the agentic platform shift; Scott Brinker, editor of chiefmartec and co-author of State of Martech 2026; and Tamara McCleary, CEO of Thulium and a B2B-influence practitioner in the same Thinkers360 circuit as several existing entries.
How can someone be added to the directory?
The list grows from nominations, as the original did. Anyone can put a name forward; we favour builders and operators over professional keynote careers, and every nominee is checked for current, verifiable work in their arena before being added. Entries are also re-verified for each new edition, so the directory reflects who is leading now, not who led when it launched.
Sources
- Andreas Welsch — speaker profile — Speakers Associates, 2026
- Andreas Welsch author profile — Tiny Tech Guides, 2026
- Meet Vladimer Botsvadze — Shoutout Colorado, 2026
- Lisa S. Jones — Wikipedia, 2026
- About — Lisa S. Jones — EyeMail Inc., 2026
- Marisa Tschopp author page — scip AG, 2026
- Marisa Tschopp profile — ResearchGate, 2026
- Amazing Business Radio episode archive — Shep Hyken, 2026
- Intuitive Customer podcast archive — Beyond Philosophy, 2025
- Cheryl Cran / NextMapping — NextMapping, 2026
- Dan Gingiss commentary release — GlobeNewswire, 2025
- Punk CX with Adrian Swinscoe — PolyAI, 2025
- Adrian Swinscoe author archive — CustomerThink, 2025
- Elise Quevedo — profile and publications — Thinkers360, 2026
- Elise Quevedo — Tech Global Thought Leader — BusinessABC, 2026
- The Great CIO Platform Reset: agentic AI forcing 2026 reckoning — The Futurum Group, 2026
- New global CIO survey reveals 2025's defining IT shifts — The Futurum Group, 2025
- State of Martech 2026 — Brinker & Riemersma, MarTechDay, 2026
- Tamara McCleary — talent roster (CEO, Thulium) — MN2S, 2026
- Leadership, tech equity and the future of work: Tamara McCleary — Russell Reynolds Associates, 2026
- 2025 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report — Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025
- Thought Leadership Development: A 2026 Playbook — The Best Reputation, 2026
- LinkedIn's marketing VP says AI cites point of view, not formatting (Forrester Buyers' Journey Survey) — PPC Land, 2026