Chris Hughes

Only a handful of years ago, practically the only people who were sharing their personal information over the web were on dating sites. Chris Hughes effectively changed all that when, in 2004, he helped hatch Facebook from his dorm room at Harvard. The powerhouse social networking site now boasts 800 million active users.

With an innate understanding of the power of digital connection, Hughes harnessed his entrepreneurial spirit when he became the force behind My.BarackObama.com, the campaign apparatus that helped elect President Barack Obama and revolutionize the web as a political tool. Hughes, who aims to "connect people who want to change the world," is also the founder and executive director of Jumo, a nonprofit social networking site that connects passionate people with organizations that share their goals. In the fall of 2011, Jumo merged with GOOD—a community of millions of educated, creative, and socially engaged young adults—in order to build a robust social activism platform. Currently, Hughes is publisher and editor-in-chief of The New Republic.

A technology superstar whose business is people, Hughes has helped create two of the most successful startups in modern history. With an instinct for building technology that networks the commonality of real people and real communities, he helps organizations understand the limitless power of social networking, espousing the importance of connecting with your customers to gain a better understanding of what they want and expect from your brand, product, or organization.