Hugo Barra

Years after initially getting turned down for a job at Google, Brazil-born Barra found himself in a plum perch leading the search giant’s mobile aspirations as vice president of Android. It came as a surprise when in late 2013 Barra announced he was leaving Google for the then relatively unknown Chinese startup Xiaomi—tech’s no. 2 unicorn, valued at $46 billion. As vice president, Barra is tasked with leading the company into uncharted territory by ushering its inexpensive products to new international markets—growth areas that are more critical than ever for Xiaomi as China’s smartphone penetration reaches all time highs.