We took on a mighty task – naming the leaders in the OKC metro area who wield the most influence. But what did we mean by influential? Did we mean power? Or notoriety? Surely it’s not popularity we’re highlighting. Is influence synonymous with years in an industry or a certain executive title inside a company?
No, this list of The Metro’s Most Influential highlights those who take their position of leadership and use it to mold, shape, inspire and propel their spheres of influence forward. They are working to use their influence for the greater good – of their organization, their profession and the city they clearly love.
To be clear, power and influence don’t have to overlap. It’s easy to find yourself in a place of power. It’s much harder to be influential. The leaders we’ve chosen to highlight on this inaugural list certainly have the credentials, titles and resumes to be included in any most powerful, top-of-their-profession list we could have created. But they were chosen for this publication because they’ve turned their position of leadership into a position of influence.
In the end, this list of carefully curated Influentials is dramatically subjective. And it is not comprehensive. No doubt, in this vast city of more than million, we have missed those that absolutely should be on this list. And, we are certain you’ll argue that some should not have made the cut. Don’t worry, we’ll do this all again, and we can fuss over who we choose then too.
In the meantime, enjoy a preview of 10 of the almost 250 metro-area leaders, which include a lot of the biggest names in OKC.
