Who matters now?

Schmidt may not be as celebrated as Larry and Sergey, but as Google gets into the serious business of media and advertising, it increasingly relies on the grownup at the helm, not its youthful cofounders, to keep the peace with big media partners. As Google's headcount soars past 10,000 -- a figure set to double by the end of the year -- Schmidt is the one keeping Google's finance, sales, and dealmaking executives marching forward.

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Tell us who you think matters now -- and why