Some people like Professor John Naughton – our first Big Thinker – see digital as being as important as the invention of the printing press- a revolution whose implications and consequences we have only just begun to grasp.

Media owners are in the eye of the storm as their business models are undermined and they have to find new ones. Newspapers are now multi platform, TV can be watched again on the web and all media owners are interested in how mobile can make their brands ubiquitous, portable and personal.

Our second Big Thinker was Alan Rusbridger, Editor-in- chief of The Guardian who has been responsible for the innovative drive that has made his title strong in print and on digital platforms. Alan believes that it’s not about traditional versus new media, rather how traditional and new media can and do work together, for the benefit of (in his case) readers.

Our third big thinker was Martha Lane Fox, who co-founded lastminute.com, Chairs Luckyvoice, holds multiple non-exec directorships and is now Champion for Digital Inclusion. She  believes passionately in the liberating and empowering aspect of increasing access to web based services and information.

Our fourth big Thinker was Richard Sambrook whose long career at the BBC culminated in being Director of the world service and navigating the world service from being mainly a TV service to a multi-platform and trusted world media brand that integrates social media and citizen journalism

Our next Big Thinker will be Ashley Highfield, who is most well known for his work leading the development of the IPlayer at the BBC and is now MD of Microsoft Uk, which gives him a unique perspective on what’s coming up next that will be important in the digital revolution. He will speak on 20 th May.

And, hot off the press, Richard Thaler will be a Big Thinker in June. His book “Nudge”, Co-written with Cass Sunstein, has been highly influential among government policy makers and communicators around the world