DOUG PARKS

Global vehicle line executive & chief engineer, global electric vehicles, General Motors

Chosen because: Parks, 49, is responsible for the delivery and execution of the Chevrolet Volt and other future electrified vehicles for GM. Central to his challenge was readying GM's plug-in hybrid propulsion system for the Volt's December 2010 production launch. Now Parks must push forward the additional plug-ins that GM CEO Dan Akerson has said he wants.

Quote: "Providing customers around the world with electrification technologies that will reduce fuel consumption drives me and my team everyday. Technology solutions, like the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera, are real and are enabling a future that can and will truly change the way we use our energy."