In the 2013 Book of Lists, we began a new tradition. While the book has traditionally focused on businesses, we wanted to add some new lists that highlighted the vast array of business people in our community. That led us to two questions: Who does the business community think is the most influential business leader and which nonprofit has the most influence? We polled our readers and revealed the first list in the 2013 Book of Lists. Once again, based on readers’ votes, we have ranked the top 25 business leaders and the top 25 nonprofit organizations, in an effort to help you get to know some of the key movers and shakers in Des Moines. In the past, we had our readers vote specifically for the organizations with the most influential board of directors. Last year, we began asking voters to look at nonprofit organizations’ total influence on our community. While having a strong board is generally a critical component of an organization’s ability to have influence, board strength is just one factor of many that should be used to evaluate the influence these organizations wield. We hope you enjoy the lists and, as always, thank you for your participation in this year’s survey.

– Chris Conetzkey, president & group publisher of BPC