DataIQ has released the list of their top 50 influencers and important people in the Big Data field for 2014. Topping the list: Viviane Reding! (the European Commissioner for Justice). 2014 is anticipated to be a year with numerous changes in European Data Protection Law, including the probable introduction of an opt-in right for all consumers. This should drastically affect the Big Data landscape, in particular targeted marketing.

Also in the top ten are:

– Peter Fleischer: global privacy counsel of Google

– Janet Smith: in charge of the Tesco Club Card program

– Erin Egan: Chief Privacy Officer for Facebook, at the helm of a constant privacy pain-point especially in the EU

– Simon Hay: CEO of dunnhumby, the company that manages the analytics for, among others, Tesco