Leonard H. Roberts, 51
Chairman, CEO, and President
Tandy, Fort Worth
Roberts is leading the venerable neighborhood RadioShack stores—once best known for selling batteries, electronic toys, and tape recorders—into the new territory of wireless networks and the Internet. In 1999 he brokered an alliance with Microsoft that will expand RadioShack's reach on the Web (other big Internet players and retail chains quickly followed suit). Roberts, who became RadioShack's president in 1993 and engineered alliances with Compaq, Sprint, and RCA, is also making the chain a dominant player in the wireless phone market. It's already the leading seller of cellular and PCS digital phones and is the biggest retailer of satellite TV systems. No longer does RadioShack want to be America's electronics store; if Roberts has his way, it will be America's telecommunications store.