MYUNG HWAN KIM

Senior vice president, battery Research and development, LG Chem

Chosen because: LG Chem of South Korea generates annual battery sales of $8.5 billion for consumer electronics and other markets. A wholly owned subsidiary, Compact Power Inc., has won several battery contracts, including one for the Ford Focus Electric. It is one of the Asian battery suppliers poised to dominate the global automotive market for lithium ion batteries, according to a report by Pike Research of Boulder, Colo. Kim directs LG Chem's research into batteries for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrids.

Quote: "The reason we were able to sign deals with companies like GM, Ford, Volvo and Renault, is we copy nobody's technology, but lead the market with our own."