In no particular order, here are the folks we considered putting on the Top Ten but, well, didn't.
Bob Muglia, senior VP of Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Enterprise Storage Division: Microsoft is surely, at some point, going to make a big strike in the storage software market. Everyone's afraid of Microsoft, still the most powerful software company in the world. But Muglia hasn't demonstrated he's a player yet. We suspect he's biding his time up in his Redmond aerie, waiting for the right moment to send his troops swooping in like those winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.
Linda Sanford, senior VP and group executive, IBM Storage Systems Group: She's a professional manager and a formidable competitor. But IBM's storage strategy has been inconsistent. Big Blue appears to be in retreat on iSCSI; Shark is still playing catchup to EMC and Hitachi on the technical front; and its Storage Tank project is still a moving target (or, even, an empty vessel into which you can pour your own meaning). Is she "all mouth, no trousers"?
Mark Cree, general manager of Cisco Systems Inc.'s (Nasdaq: CSCO) storage router business unit: The one-time CEO of NuSpeed has been swallowed up in the Cisco maw. And now, pretty much all of Cisco's attention will be on Andiamo so where does that leave Cree? Plus, he's being sued by a former employer. Bad karma, man! (See Cisco Sued Over NuSpeed.)
Gary Bloom, CEO of Veritas Software Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTS): He commands the largest company in the most strategically key sector of the storage industry. But underlings say Bloom is straight from the Larry Ellison school of inflexible, hard-assed management. Which isn't necessarily all bad. But what's his vision for storage networking?
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