TAG

# Top PM rankings

2026-10-12

100 Product Managers Who Changed the World · #27: Kevin Systrom

With a team of just 13 people, two radical design constraints — vintage filters and a 1:1 square crop — demolished the barrier to sharing photos. The $1 billion sale to Mark Zuckerberg was mocked by Silicon Valley at the time; today, it stands as the most valuable tech acquisition in history. #27 in our rankings, with scores of 90/94/95/85/94/89 and an overall score of 90.95.

2026-10-07

100 Product Managers Who Changed the World · #23: Daniel Ek

In 2002 Napster was shut down and piracy carried on anyway. A 19-year-old Daniel Ek drew a conclusion: piracy cannot be legislated away, so the only answer is a legal service that is easier to use than piracy and still pays the music industry. Six years later Spotify launched. In June 2026 it had 777 million monthly users and 300 million subscribers. #23 of 100 Product Managers Who Changed the World, scores 92/90/88/94/94/90.

2026-10-06

100 Product Managers Who Changed the World · #22: Jack Dorsey

On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey posted the first tweet: just setting up my twttr. Three years later a friend lost a $2,000 sale of glass faucets because he could not take a credit card, and the two of them built the Square reader that plugged into a headphone jack. One person built two products from nothing, and both are still around. #22 of 100 Product Managers Who Changed the World, scores 92/90/90/88/94/94.

2026-10-03

100 Product Managers Who Changed the World · #21: Tony Fadell

In 2001 Tony Fadell walked into a meeting with Steve Jobs carrying three foam-core models weighted with fishing sinkers so they would feel like real devices. Half a year later the iPod shipped; it sold 450 million units before it was discontinued in 2022. He then turned a $90 thermostat into Nest and sold it to Google for $3.2 billion. #21 of 100, six dimensions 92/92/96/88/92/92.

2026-09-24

Reed Hastings: the origin story that made him famous was invented

"He was charged a $40 late fee, so he built a company with no late fees" — co-founder Marc Randolph says that story was made up, and Netflix itself charged late fees for its first 17 months. The decision that actually mattered gets told far less often: he killed the DVD business while it was the most profitable thing he had. No. 16 in the 100 Product Managers Who Changed the World, scored 96/90/85/93/93/94.