Say what you will about their controversial personal histories, these 10 corporate leaders have proved themselves individualistic in their approaches, astoundingly successful in business and masters at setting trends despite their nonconformist methods.

• Bing: Qualities of successful leaders

Our list includes mavericks such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, competing computer giants who have become cultural icons; John Mackey, the "right-wing hippie" behind Whole Foods Market who doesn't believe that climate change exists; Oprah Winfrey, a dynamo who built her Harpo Productions empire by blasting through social norms; and Andrew Witty, GlaxoSmithKline's young chief, who has dramatically improved access to drugs in poor nations and encouraged other Big Pharma companies to follow suit.

Continued: Mike Duke

Take one dyslexic high school dropout, add a dash of rebelliousness and sprinkle with entrepreneurial spirit. Soon you could have an empire consisting of 200 companies across a multitude of sectors.

A young Richard Branson was once told by his school's headmaster that he'd either end up in jail or become a billionaire. The prediction came true: Branson is now the 212th-richest man in the world, with a net worth of $4 billion. He's got his own airline, record label, bank, mobile carrier and space tourism outfit.

• Video: Branson's carbon war room

The man who signed the Sex Pistols to his fledgling record company has changed the way we live in many ways. Among them: Branson created a discounting business model in recorded music, and he's currently working on a new way to fuel aircraft.

Read about his bet on biofuel here.

Continued: What do you think?