Agenda Setters 2004: Where are they now... Bill Gates

With just one week left until the launch of silicon.com's fifth annual Agenda Setters poll of tech's 50 most influential individuals, we're looking back at those people who held top 10 positions in 2003. Today we take on Microsoft's chairman.

There's no prizes for guessing that Bill Gates will almost certainly once again feature in the Top 10 of the Agenda Setters poll, but that's not to say it's been the best of years for Gates, or one of much laurel-resting either.

As much as anything it's because it wouldn't be a list without Gates.

His place each year owes much to the fact that for 'Gates' you can read 'Microsoft' - he is still seen as the man behind the company by most, even keeping the considerable frame of Steve Ballmer in the shade - and there are few who could claim to do that.

The past 12 months most notably saw Microsoft move to resolve antitrust matters - this time in Europe - before reopening old wounds with the inevitable appeal against Mario Monti's record-breaking fine.

Gates has also become more vocal an opponent of old foe Apple, who he once mockingly viewed from afar. It's been a while since we saw Gates so obviously looking over his shoulder.

Microsoft has also been linked with a number of high-profile acquisitions which could yet bear fruit and for a while threatened to turn a number of markets on their heads - perhaps most notably security, where the noises coming out of Redmond this year suggest the company is ready to launch its assault on the desktop antivirus market.

Longhorn development continues apace and Service Pack 2 has done much to raise the temperature in IT departments around the world.

Gates sets an agenda of sorts simply by existing, more than any other person. He serves as a constant reminder of who created the modern IT marketplace. He also carries with him the gravitas and power that the world's richest man could never distance himself from. His 'kingmaker' potential is considerable and his agenda setting transcends the world of tech and has a resonance in all fields, from charitable to political.

silicon.com's Agenda Setters panel, made up again of CIOs, analysts, VCs, consultants, lawyers, academics and other experts, will be convening this September at our London offices with our results revealed at the end of that month. If you want to pass on your comments for our experts, about Bill Gates or any other contender, drop us an email at editorial@silicon.com.