In this issue we present our first annual TIME Digital Europe 25, the people who are doing the most to influence the shape of the New Economy in Europe. We spent weeks talking to venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, technology consultants and bankers to compile the list.

No doubt different names would have been chosen before last March, when the tech stock meltdown began. There are no dotcoms here, no 20-something paper millionaires who went directly from university classrooms to corporate boardrooms. Nor will you find dominant phone companies or network equipment makers who have ridden the Internet wave rather than the tech wave, but had little to do with creating it.

Instead, our list looks at entrepreneurs at the helm of European firms with bold thinking, solid technology and the right kind of experienced management to back their global visions. Of course, entrepreneurs need capital to get ahead, so we've also included several who have been instrumental in funding and guiding some of Europe's best tech companies. And, since you are only as good as your network, we have included some of the people who facilitate the deals, the relationship brokers who are helping Europe's start-ups to meet each other — and hook up with America's tech elite.

Together, the people on this list come from nine European countries, a sign that innovation is not limited to a few hot spots but is becoming an integral part of Europe's identity.