thought leader

Noun

thought leader (plural thought leaders)

1. A person, organization, publication, etc. regarded as an authoritative source of new ideas or intellectual trends.
   • Mr. Beecher retains his position as the most eminent preacher and one of the great thought leaders in America, while his principal accuser, who at one time occupied a foremost position in journalism and literature, has almost disappeared from public recognition.1887, Lyman Abbot et al., Henry Ward Beecher: A sketch of His Career, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Co., page 56
   • Referring illustratively to the debate on industrial policy between "thought leaders," . . . Yankelovitch says that below the level of media rhetoric, "one can detect a core of agreement emerging because the different parties are influencing one another."1990, Manfred Stanley, “The Rhetoric of the Commons”, in The Rhetorical Turn, →ISBN, page 243