Amazon's Russell Grandinetti: The Most Powerful Man in Publishing

Grandinetti believes the publishing industry has failed to recognise fundamental shifts in its business. Part of Amazon's mission, then, has been to jolt an often sleepy industry with revolutionary, customer-focused retailing zeal. The real competition, he believes, is not rival publications or publishers but the entire array of information and entertainment, free or otherwise, available to consumers. "Books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, free news sites and more," he says.