John Carmack. He's consistently at the edge of technology - whether it is game engines or avionics. His insights are excellent and can often be used in other areas of engineering / software development.
If it weren't for John I would have absolutely no interest in VR... but with his involvement it's hard to not be at least a little curious.
> John Carmack, co-founder of id Software, is commonly associated with the code, though he actually did not write it.
Finding your way to an elegant solution does not mean you created that solution. In 1999, Google had 8 employees. Not every algorithm was available at his fingertips. He had to care, seek, and find that solution to use it back then, which might not seem like much now. That's a manifestation of his caring about his craft; not inventing an algorithm.