25 Most Influential People in Mobile Technology

#19 Most Influential Person in Mobile Technology

David Hill

Position: Chief designer, Lenovo
Age: 50
Location: Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

In mobile technology, slim and light is a grail that’s forever receding, because what was last year’s impossibly trim is today’s status quo. This year, Lenovo has set the pace. Hill is the chief designer behind the ThinkPad X300, a laptop that pushes the envelope by literally fitting into it, just like Apple’s MacBook Air. A black yin to Apple’s yang, Hill’s creative risk-taking paved the way to a machine that packs more of the punch business users demand (removable battery, optical drive, built-in mobile broadband) into a remarkably compact and lightweight chassis, setting a new target for the competition.

Did You Know: Hill holds more than 50 patents focused on design innovation.