innovator

noun

Etymology: From Late Latin innovātor, from innovō; equivalent to innovate + -or.

1. Someone who innovates; a creator of new ideas.

   “Described by the judging panel as a "Swiss army knife of the 21st century", Apache Hadoop picked up the innovator of the year award for having the potential to change the face of media innovations.”

   “Competition gets thinner still when it comes to the 00s: Animal Collective and Joanna Newsom do one thing very well, Gaga and MIA are aggregators not innovators. Björk is peerless.”

2. An early adopter.