Some leaders chart their own course. Others quietly make it possible for millions to find theirs. Naval researcher and mathematician Gladys West spent decades refining mathematical models of the Earth, work so precise that it laid the foundation for GPS—technology now incorporated into so many aspects of our daily lives. Years later, looking down from a plane, she reflected on all that she had helped map.
Giant Manufacturing Cofounder and Chairman King Liu built a global bicycle powerhouse, but his deeper impact came later, when he took to the road himself—riding hundreds of miles in his seventies and inspiring a global cycling movement. He did more than manufacture bikes; he helped people reimagine how they could move through the world. Paccar Chairman and CEO Charles Piggott reshaped a legacy company into a global truck maker, steering it toward innovation and scale. His leadership helped build the vehicles that move goods—and economies—forward, connecting industries and communities across vast distances.
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A maestro of management, a pension fund strategist, and a true game changer
A turnaround CEO, a bond market virtuoso, and a champion of human visibility
