The List: 50 Names in the Boardroom

Boardroom spotlights 50 athletes, artists, leaders, and more who defined 2025 and will shape 2026, featured in our December Cover Story.

The December Cover Story spotlights what we’re calling “The 50 Names in the Boardroom.” It’s not a ranking of the most powerful people, or the most successful or famous people. We applied the same filter and lens we use as a brand on the daily to decide what’s relevant to BOARDROOM to curate our end-of-year list. The names span athletes, designers, musicians, entrepreneurs, executives, directors, actors, and restaurateurs.

There’s no blueprint to success. Everyone’s path is different. You could take every single step another person took on their way to the top and still not wind up where you want to be. It’s just not the same. You could heed every warning, listen to every bit of advice—there’s just no guarantee. The only thing that is guaranteed to work is doing the work. As Thomas Edison once said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Or, put another way, the only way to make it is not to give up.

That’s what connects everyone in this feature. Yes, each of the 50 people featured here is exceptionally talented and has figured out how to rise to the top of their field. They’ve each also had a hell of a 2025 or are gearing up to have a crazy 2026. But, more than their actual output and the things they’ve contributed to business, culture, and the world at large, everyone here persisted. They didn’t settle with the ground they’ve covered or the wins they’ve notched. They pushed and pushed some more.

Whether it’s Coco Gauff winning the French Open and then fighting her way through other majors, or Napheesa Collier launching a completely new basketball league to go up against the juggernaut that is the WNBA. Or the Safdie Brothers deciding to branch off and make separate movies for the first time, both of which have garnered a ton of critical acclaim. Or it’s Jerry Lorenzo not being satisfied with his adidas collaboration and closing deals with the NBA and NFL for his Essentials collections. Their stories are pretty much all the same. They all decided somewhere on their journey that failure wasn’t an option.

To bring this project to life, we partnered with artist Neil Jamieson to create the illustrations and printed 1,000 limited-edition issues. Next year, we’re really betting on print. The ability to touch and feel something has more value today than it has in decades. We hope you enjoy what we’ve put together and share our pride in the selections that close out a wild year in a wild world.

SHOHEI OHTANI: The Living Legend

The thing about Shohei Ohtani is that he doesn’t compete with other players; he competes with history. Ohtani is what happens when mastery stops apologizing for its ambition. When the love of the craft becomes so total, it transcends translation. He’s not just baseball’s greatest living experiment — he’s its final evolution.

Full story here on Ohtani here.

NAPHEESA COLLIER: The Changemaker

The story of 2025 women’s basketball starts with a simple truth: Napheesa Collier stopped asking for permission. While everyone else debated how to “grow the game,” she bounced and built a new one. Her dominance feels different from flashier stars. She’s cerebral, economical, precise. You can see it in the way she operates in the high post: patient, composed, surveying defenders the way a CEO surveys a balance sheet.

BAD BUNNY: The Superstar

Every generation gets one artist who rewrites what a genre means. For 2025, that artist is Bad Bunny. The numbers tell part of it: a record-breaking world tour, 12 Latin Grammy nominations, another Billboard 200 No. 1. But numbers can’t measure gravity. Benito has become something larger, a frequency that everything else in pop now tunes itself to.

ANTHONY EDWARDS: The Crown Prince

If basketball were rap, Anthony Edwards would be the SoundCloud king turned global headliner. His rise didn’t follow the usual industry plan — no slow build, no polished rollout. He arrived loud, raw, confident, and by 2025, unstoppable. Every era needs its statement player. Jordan had fury. Kobe had obsession. LeBron had calculation. Edwards has conviction — the kind that turns potential into prophecy.

PAIGE BUECKERS: The Future

Every comeback story sounds dramatic until you remember Paige Bueckers never left — she was just waiting for her body to catch up with her spirit. 2025 became the year the myth met the moment. Bueckers isn’t the next anything. She’s the proof of concept for what’s possible when talent, timing, and tenacity finally sync.

HAILEY BIEBER: The Influencer

Influence has changed dramatically over the past decade. Instead of resulting in vibes, follows, and maybe a sponsorship, it can now result in equity. Very few have exemplified that better than Hailey Bieber. 2025 was the year she made the cleanest exit in the creator economy: selling her skincare brand, Rhode, to e.l.f. Beauty for a reported one billion dollars and retaining her role as chief creative officer. The girl who once just modeled campaigns became the campaign itself.

SAFDIE BROTHER: The Auteurs

No one films tension like the Safdies. It isn’t drama; it’s adrenaline disguised as narrative. 2025 was the year their chaos theory went global. Two films — one neon noir shot in Queens, one sun-bleached thriller set in Miami — each pulled perfect scores and polarizing think pieces. Together, they reaffirmed what Uncut Gems hinted at: the Safdies aren’t just directors; they’re stylists of stress.

MICHAEL B. JORDAN: The Leading Man

Fame goes quick. Vision doesn’t. Michael B. Jordan spent 2025 proving that distinction matters. For years, he’s been the guy who delivered box-office gravity with the polish of a leading man. But this year, he turned precision into authorship. That’s what makes him singular. He’s learned how to treat performance like production, image like infrastructure. The old stars chased immortality. Jordan’s chasing control. And control, as he keeps showing, looks a lot like freedom.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: The Champion

Scottie Scheffler’s 2025 season featured no flash, no drama, just precision so relentless it felt inevitable. In a sport addicted to spectacle, he made consistency look revolutionary. He’s proof that you don’t need noise to be iconic — just discipline, faith, and the ability to keep hitting the same perfect note when everyone else is trying to remix the song.

CHASE INFINITI: The Rookie

Chase Infiniti has undeniably become one of the most exciting new entertainers of the year, a force that has quickly captivated critics and audiences alike through a series of high-profile, standout performances. Rising from a self-tape audition to holding her own against Hollywood heavyweights like Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn, Infiniti’s immediate impact is a testament to her natural charisma, raw talent, and impressive versatility.