Scots web guru joins elite group of global leaders

HE STARTED his business empire six years ago as a teenager from his bedroom in his parent's Aberdeenshire home. Now the young Scot to whom millions turn every morning for analysis and insight on the latest developments in the online world has been recognised as one of the most influential leaders of his generation.

• Pete Cashmore

Pete Cashmore, the chief operating officer of Mashable, has joined a select group of young people who the World Economic Forum (WEF) believe will help shape the world's future. As a newly appointed member of the organisation's Young Global Leaders group, the 25-year-old will be expected to attend summits at the Swiss ski resort of Davos to discuss how technology can help developing nations.

His peers in the group consist of figures from the realms of business, politics and culture, such as Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google. One of only a handful of Britons to join the club, he follows in the footsteps of Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor.

Cashmore, from Banchory, told Scotland on Sunday: "It's certainly not something I envisaged, but it's a pretty distinguished group, so it's humbling to join such amazing, accomplished people.

"When I was in Aberdeenshire, I didn't necessarily have a lot of opportunities to influence people, but the internet changed that. I was able to really become engaged with people around the world in what I was interested in."

Although he was only appointed a WEF Young Global Leader on Thursday, Cashmore has already visited Davos. He was invited by the organisation to a summit in January, where he rubbed shoulders with Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist.

The Scot's admission to the club is recognition of the rise to prominence of the website he set up in 2005. The first port of call for many social media enthusiasts, it offers news and tips on how to get the best use of Facebook and Twitter.

Mashable has a readership of 12 million people every month, and Cashmore has more than 2.2 million followers on Twitter. The site was tipped earlier this year to be the subject of a 11 million takeover by AOL.

The Young Global Leaders forum was launched by the Geneva-based foundation six years ago to bring together "exceptional young leaders who share a commitment to shaping the global future".

Previous inductees include Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, Jimmy Wales, and fashion designer Stella McCartney. Cashmore was one of 190 young people from 65 countries chosen this year to join the group out of 5,000 nominations.