41. Stan Miller
President/CEO, Rosco Laboratories
Upon Rosco’s 100th anniversary this year, one can’t overlook the fact that, for half that span, Miller has been its president and CEO. When he and his late partner bought the company in 1958, it was a storefront in Brooklyn. Today, with wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Brazil, England, Spain, and Australia, as well as employees in Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Mexico, Japan, and Beijing, the company boasts a technical Emmy and four technical Academy Awards, all received under Miller’s leadership.

42. Stephane Mongeau
Executive Producer, Cirque du Soleil
You might not find him swinging from the rigging at KÀ or diving 90' into the pool at “O,” but Mongeau is the guru for excellence in production and head of all things technical at Cirque du Soleil, where his discerning eye takes in every detail and oversees making everything work. His most recent focus has been shaking things up for Viva Elvis!, Cirque du Soleil’s seventh resident show in Las Vegas, bringing the King back into the house.

43. Richard Pilbrow
Lighting Designer, Theatre Consultant, Author
Founder and chairman emeritus of Theatre Projects Consultants, this esteemed practitioner claims to be retired, but his workload suggests otherwise. His recent collaboration with architect Norman Foster proves it takes two talented Brits to build the first new opera house in the US in decades, the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, a fitting crown to Pilbrow’s 50-year career.

44. Bruce Rodgers
Production Designer, Tribe Inc.
Rodgers creates some of the grandest events each year. In 2008: the Democratic National Convention and President Obama’s Nomination Speech; in 2009: Obama’s Election Night Acceptance Speech. He’s tackled four Super Bowl Halftime performances (Prince, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and The Who) and designs for Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Walt Disney Imagineering, the NHL, and 2009 and 2010 Country Music Awards. Already on tap for 2010 are tours for Tim McGraw, Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, and Rascall Flatts.

45. Abigail Rosen Holmes,
Production-Lighting Designer/Professor
Rosen Holmes creates lighting, media, and production designs spanning many disciplines, and now, she can add one more title to the list: professor. Having recently joined the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University to teach design, she has an innate ability to translate the art, music, and moods of her clients—from Shakira, The Cure, Martina McBride, Peter Gabriel, and Janet Jackson to Jean Michel Jarre and The Dallas Symphony Orchestra—into evocative visual imagery.

46. Susan Tesh
Director of Lighting Division, VER
This is a woman who knows how to wrangle the biggest lighting rigs and tame the fiercest top-name designers. She has parlayed decades of experience supplying gear for a who’s who in concerts and television into running a global lighting division with an emphasis on convergence of lighting, LEDs, and DMX media/content delivery systems. Now that’s creative!

47. Bob Usdin
Owner, Showman Fabricators
Usdin is a man on a mission, and that mission is “green.” And he practices what he preaches, taking the bull by the horns and making a statement in an industry that was slow to adopt green practices. With his help, production is catching up. His concern for the environment deserves kudos and will help ensure that many future generations can get into this crazy business.

48. Colin Waters
CEO, TMB
Who hasn’t been entranced by the unmistakable TMB black-and-white, graph paper theme at any given trade show? Must be the people; must be the products; must be the bar. But seriously, TMB has the stuff to back it all up. Around since 1983 and one of the first one-stop shops for touring folks, the company now has offices in Los Angeles, London, New York, Toronto, and Beijing, 150 employees, $50 million in annual revenue, and a helmsman who has been in the biz since the tender age of 16, when Waters drove a van and set up gear for touring rock band Quiver.

49. Josh Weisberg
President/COO, Scharff Weisberg
With 34 years working in media technology (30 with Scharff Weisberg), Weisberg splits his time between managing the company and collaborating with clients on creative uses of technology. He recently led the company through a merger with West coast Video Applications and a new corporate relationship with Steve Gilbard of TCI and coolux International. His team designed and installed the projection system for the media-intensive installation Butchers, Dragons, Gods & Skeletons by Philip Haas in Fort Worth, Texas, named one of Time magazine’s Top 10 Art Exhibits of 2009.

50. John Wiseman
Partner, Chaos Visual Productions
Wiseman began his career in production in 1979 as the concert chairman at California State University, Sacramento. While he’s managed bands and even produced an album, he settled into the world of automated lighting in the mid-1980s. In late 2008, he launched his own video production company, now working alongside partner Nick Jackson, another heavy-hitter in this industry. After just a year, Chaos claims vendor credits on Beyoncé, Green Day, and Keith Urban, and the company landed Michael Jackson’s last tour before the artist passed. Next up: Chaos opens a UK office this Spring.