Agenda Setters: Where are they now... Tom Ridge

As the countdown begins to silicon.com's sixth annual Agenda Setters poll of tech's 50 most influential individuals, it is time to look back at those individuals who held top 10 positions in 2004. Today we catch up with Tom Ridge.

Tom Ridge earned a high ranking on last year's Agenda Setters list for his work as US Secretary of Homeland Security, a post which put him in charge of a massive $40bn budget. Much of that amount was spent on technology used to track the country's citizens and visitors at its borders.

He was also chosen as a symbolic representation of what appeared to be a new age of regulation, especially in the US following the 9/11 attacks.

Just a few short months after appearing on the list, though, Ridge resigned from his post. To explain his departure, he cited the well-worn line of 'a desire to spend more time with my family', as well as complaining of exhaustion, but given the stress his job entailed in reorganising numerous agencies into the new Homeland Security Department, it seemed relatively sincere.

Ridge also mentioned a desire to earn more money to put his children through college, which he felt he could do a better job of in the private sector.

Since leaving office in November 2004, Ridge has nabbed at least one such well-paid position - a spot on the board of Home Depot, the DIY retail chain, which comes with a salary in the neighbourhood of $100,000 per year.

More recently the former governor of Pennsylvania played an active role in commemorating the victims of the flight 93 crash, speaking at the memorial on 11 September 2005 and leading the fundraising effort for the event.

Yet none of this is likely to win him a spot on this year's Agenda Setters. The current Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, could have a better shot. But given that fervour in the US over national security has waned in the wake of more immediate concerns such as the ongoing war in Iraq, we wouldn't be surprised if he's left off the list altogether.

silicon.com's Agenda Setters panel, made up again of CIOs, analysts, VCs, consultants, lawyers, academics and other experts, convenes in September at our London offices with the results revealed at the end of the month. If you want to pass on your comments for our experts - about Tom Ridge or any other contender - drop us an email at editorial@silicon.com.