After what some would call a "lost year for tech," which also saw once-great American retailers fall from grace, we're thinking of 2014 as a glass-half-full kind of year.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised big reveals, which could include the launch of the iWatch. Google's Larry Page will likely continue to explore the "Internet of Things," scooping up start-ups along the way.
And there's really no telling what's up Elon Musk's sleeve.
Other companies will need saving, such as Eddie Lampert's Sears, which shuttered hundreds of stores and had net losses as high as $1.4 billion last year.
These 23 CEOs are leading companies on the brink of greatness, or extinction, and will be the ones to watch this year.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
Mary Barra
General Motors
In December Barra was named Dan Akerson's replacement at the Detroit-based auto company. The 33-year veteran of GM will be the company's first female CEO, a huge leap forward in an industry historically dominated by men.
She already has major influence over the design, engineering, and quality of GM's vehicles, and has made noticeable improvements in both the internal structure of the company as well as its sales growth. With this kind of track record for success, she's likely to continue taking the company in the right direction.
Jeff Bezos
Amazon
There's a lot in store for Amazon this year: Not only is it planning to make deliveries on Sundays, it's also introducing a Netflix rival, Amazon Prime Instant Video, which will be cheaper than Netflix, comparable in terms of selection, and feature its own original programming.
Bezos is continually lauded for his "insane focus on the customer," a primary reason his company was the most highly regarded in 2013, according to the YouGov Brand Index. That, plus his ever-evolving visions for innovation, makes him a frontrunner for CEOs we can expect big things from.
Patrick Byrne
Overstock
Byrne made headlines over the summer by announcing that Overstock would start accepting the much buzzed-about digital currency Bitcoin as a form of payment in 2014, the first major online retailer to do so.
Byrne has already shown great follow-through on his plan to accept Bitcoin: he reached out to a Bitcoin payment processor immediately after the new year, and launched the new payment methods within a week, making good on his promise. More than 100 Bitcoin purchases, including some large ones, were made just two hours after the currency was accepted.
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