Influencers on LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) are selected by invitation only and comprise of more than 500 members. This includes some of the world’s finest thinkers, leaders and innovators. They take to LinkedIn to share their insights on current topics and have access to more data and briefings than the general public.
How they communicate this information to the rest of the world is an exciting but crucial element, at least for those who follow them rigorously. The attention these Influencers garner the intelligence in their writings and their leadership skills, set them apart. Hence, LinkedIn released its second annual list of the top voices on LinkedIn that have an influential force on the rest of the crowd.
Among the top voices of 2016, the top 10 Influencers on LinkedIn comprised a diverse group of founders, CEOs, authors, and entrepreneurs. The selection of top 10 influencers on LinkedIn is based on factors such as the number of likes, shares, comments on their posts and the followers’ growth.
Meet the Top 10 Influencers on LinkedIn:
1. Mohamed El-Erian:
No doubt one of the world’s greatest thinkers, El-Erian is currently the Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz. He was also the former CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) before resigning in 2014. Before that, he was appointed as the chairman of US President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council in 2012.
What made him a Top Influencer?
El-Erian was already a renowned investor since his time at PIMCO. According to LinkedIn, El-Erian’s consistent writing on the global economy, financial market and monetary policies set him apart from others. Moving up from the #3 position last year, El-Erian has made his presence felt by penning down detailed analysis of the world’s money market. His posts on what the UK and EU may look like three years after Brexit and a Quick Central Bank Primer for Volatile Financial Markets garnered maximum views over 250,000 viewers.
2. Liz Ryan:
Liz Ryan is the founder and CEO of Human Workplace, a multi-million member community. A former Fortune 500 Human Resource, Liz now writes columns on how to integrate the human element into a work environment. Her columns are read by millions every month on LinkedIn as well as Forbes.
What made her a Top Influencer?
Liz Ryan is the world’s most widely-read leader. Not only is she well-respected for her visions in bringing ‘life to work and bringing work to life‘, but she is also a much sought-after international keynote speaker. Her articles echo a playful and fun theme that teaches every employee to have a practical and human approach when dealing with work-life challenges. Ryan’s article, “Smart Answers To Stupid Interview Questions” is one of her most popular writeups so far. The practical approach in her writings and ideas have attracted readers far and wide.
Though she did not appear in the list last year, she sure has made her mark in the world now. With her influential and clear-cut approaches, Ryan attempts to make work more productive and rewarding for everyone by incorporating the human element, along with advice to managements on motivation.
3. John Battelle
John Battelle holds many positions currently. He is the Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman at NewCo, Chairman of sovrn Holdings, Owner, GP at Battelle Media and Board Director at Acxiom. In 2005, he founded the online advertising network Federated Media. He was also the co-founder of the Web 2.0 Summit from 2003 to 2012.
What made him a Top Influencer?
According to LinkedIn, Battelle is a veteran media entrepreneur. His articles are mostly based on events that cause shifts in business estrangements and set trends that affect businesses. He has also interviewed companies like Airbnb, Box and AltSchool. Battelle made his debut on this list this year.
With his sole focus on game-changing news, it is not hard to understand why Battelle is one of the top Influencers. His post titled The Biggest Industry in the World Just Got Served garnered over 460,000 views. The post was based on the FDA’s new food labelling regulations. Battelle was also named as the “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum.
4. Vivek Wadhwa
Vivek Wadhwa is a distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, who researches on exponentially advancing technologies based in Silicon Valley. He is also a globally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post since 2011. Vivek Wadhwa is also the Director of Research at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering.
What made him a Top Influencer?
His research comprises of the advances made in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, computing, synthetic biology, 3D printing, medicine, and nanomaterials. According to him,
“I research and teach the impact of exponentially advancing technologies — how these will enable us to solve humanity’s grand challenges and disrupt entire industries along the way.”
His post on living in the future is one of the favorite articles featured by LinkedIn. This is the first time he made it to the Top Voices Influencers’ list. In September 2015, he was second in The Financial Times’ list of Ten Men Worth Emulating. Apart from contributing to The Washington Post, he also writes for VentureBeat and The Huffington Post.
5. Jill Schlesinger:
Jill is the Business Analyst for CBS News. Previously, Jill Schlesinger worked as the Editor-at-Large for CBS Interactive. She is also the host of the nationally syndicated radio show, Jill on Money, which airs across more than 90 markets.
What made her a Top Influencer?
Jill writes about the economy, markets, investments and anything that is accompanied with a dollar sign! According to Jill, her goals are to convert the complex economic news into easier topics that everyone will understand. According to LinkedIn, her two posts “Is College Worth It” and “Brexit Blues: What Happens Next?” garnered a lot of attention.
Last year, Jill was ranked #8 in LinkedIn’s Top Voices List. Thanks to her visible influence and appealing columns, she is now at #5. She also writes a syndicated column for Tribune Media Services, called Jill On Money. Not just a writer, Jill also speaks on topics like workplace issues for women, LGBT employees in financial services and more.
6. Sallie Krawcheck
The CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, Sallie Krawcheck has over 900,000 followers on LinkedIn. Previously, Krawcheck has worked as the President of Global Wealth & Investment Management division of Bank of America.
What made her a Top Influencer?
A righteous feminist, Krawcheck talks about issues women face while trying to develop their careers. Her company, Ellevest, is a women-focused investment platform launched earlier this year. She was recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of its Young Global Leaders and was awarded CNBC’s ‘Business Leader of the Future‘ Award. Incidentally, she has appeared on LinkedIn’s Top List for the second time and at the same position at #6.
Her article “A Letter to Young Women, in the Age of Trump,” sparked a huge discussion, with more than 2,300 comments and 2,900 shares. She has also spoken about what obstacles she had to face while rising on Wall Street.
7. Ian Bremmer
President and Founder of the Eurasia Group, Ian Bremmer has come a long way. Additionally, he is also a Foreign Affairs Columnist and Editor-at-Large at Time Magazine and a Global Research Professor at NYU. In 1998, Bremmer established Eurasia Group with just $25,000.
What made him a Top Influencer?
Eurasia Group is the world’s largest political risk consultancy and consulting firm. Bremmer specializes in U.S. foreign policy, states in transition and writes mostly about economies and governments across the world. Last year too, Ian Bremmer clinched the #7 spot in LinkedIn’s Top Voice 2015.
He is also the founder of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geopolitical Risk. Bremmer also produced Wall Street’s first global political risk index, now simply called GPRI (Global Political Risk Index).The government of Italy knighted Bremmer in December 2015. His article, President Trump enters the geopolitical recession, expressed his and everyone’s shock at the Trump presidency.
8. Jeff Selingo
Jeff is the author of There Is Life After College, a New York Times bestseller. Jeff Selingo is also a regular contributor to the Washington Post’s higher ed blog, Grade Point. He is also a special advisor and professor of practice at Arizona State University.
What made him a Top Influencer?
Selingo writes about higher-education and how it could benefit the country with a fast-changing economy. His articles help “educators, students, parents and employers understand the workforce of the future and the education and skills needed to succeed.” The author has made his debut on the list this year.
Seligo is a best-selling author and award-winning columnist. He has received awards from the Education Writers Association, Society of Professional Journalists, and the Associated Press. He is also one of the most sought after keynote speaker at dozens of functions and conferences. His article, What happens when millions of jobs are lost because of automation, is mentioned as the favorite by LinkedIn.
9. David Sable
What made him a Top Influencer?
David is a digital entrepreneur who is an expert at marketing and oversees the world’s leading market company. He is an active philanthropist. He became the Chair of UNICEF’s New York Board in 2013.
Writing about the communication of business, life and technology, Sable says that “A theme that consistently interests me is that while digital is everything, not everything is digital.”
10. Betty Liu
Betty Liu, as we all know, is an anchor on Bloomberg Television. She is also the CEO and Founder of Radiate, Inc. a media platform launched in March this year. Along with this, she also worked as an anchor at CNBC, Hong Kong.
What made her a Top Influencer?
Liu is an entrepreneur and anchor. She has interviewed leaders like Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Carlos Slim, Ted Turner and Lloyd Blankfein to try and understand how to be better leaders. Also, her articles range from Gaining Access to Almost Anyone, to what Successful People Do When They’re Having a Bad Day.
She was awarded the Dow Jones Newswires Award in 1997 for her coverage of the Asian financial crisis. Betty Liu became the first female and Asian student to be inducted into Central High School’s Alumni Hall of Fame in October 2011.
