The 10 most interesting business people of 2005

When people take a nostalgic look at 2005, it's likely the same cliched adjectives will be reused: watershed, defining, momentous.

With so many forceful personalities dotting the local business landscape and so many major projects that will take years to complete, it would be easy to again recognize developer Jerome J. Parks and Alan Hyatt, an Annapolis attorney, banker and real estate broker. Some influential executives could be honored every year.

But others stood out for being unusually ambitious, fearless or farsighted.

Whether it was a developer like Brian J. Gibbons finally pushing through the long-awaited...