Steve Jobs’ resignation as chief executive of Apple Computer on August 25 has raised a familiar question around the water cooler: Who is the most respected CEO in the world?

It’s no surprise that the iconoclastic Jobs comes up often in that conversation. The Apple founder returned in 1996 to the company he founded and developed a string of products – the iMac, the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, and the iPad – that remade consumer electronics.  Macolytes argue that Jobs brought a unique ability to know what consumers wanted before they knew they wanted it.

Who else might be the uber-CEO?

How about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, builder of one of the most valuable sports franchises on the planet, who worked through personal tragedy last month to play a key role in ending the National Football League labor dispute?

Or Indra Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, and one of the most powerful female executives in the world, overseeing the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales.

Or Alan Mulally, the former Boeing chief executive who returned Ford Motor Company to profitability without a government-sponsored bankruptcy?

Who gets your vote as the world’s most respected CEO and why? Let the debate begin.  Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.