Jonathan Ive

Apple via Bloomberg News

Jonathan Ive

Steve Jobs is widely held to be the design maestro at Apple (AAPL). But Ive, the company's senior vice-president for industrial design, also requires nothing less than perfection from his team. Ive, 42, has overseen such iconic products as the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and, most recently, the iPad. In so doing, he and his team have produced a range of products that have been central to the company's revitalization. For his part, Ive says he prioritizes "better" over "new" and favors user-friendly design that is simple to use and understand, a philosophy that many have copied, few have repeated.