mover and shaker

Idioms  

1. A person who wields power and influence in a particular activity or field, as in He's one of the movers and shakers in the art world. At first the two nouns referred specifically to God, alluding to the belief that a divine force was responsible for all events. The current usage refers only to human beings. [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

But before Stein was a mover and shaker, his passion for music helped change the contours of the industry.

From Los Angeles Times

China’s tech world is watching closely what will happen to Mr. Bao, who knows or has worked with nearly every mover and shaker in the industry.

From New York Times

Before the invasion, Feb. 24 hadn’t been much of a mover and shaker as a date in world history.

From Seattle Times

But it also represented a chance to be a mover and shaker - as he himself said about the spy films he watched as a teenager, "one spy could decide the fate of thousands of people".

From BBC

She sold her company in 1995, just months before she died at the age of 74; in the words of her sister, “a mover and shaker all of her life.”

From Seattle Times