Marketing - Thought Leader (Go-To-Expert)

They are recognised

"...as an authority in a specific field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded that can be an expert, a historical figure, or wise person with worldly impact...''
Wikipedia, 2021d

-"...by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who deeply understands the business they are in, the needs of their customers and the broader marketplace in which they operate. They have distinctly original ideas, points of view and new insights..."
Joel Kurtzman as quoted by Wikipedia, 2021d

In recent times it has been linked with business and marketing to describe a potentially winning strategy, ie see diagram below

(source: https://www.ninachristian.com/julie-mason-enroll)