mastermind

Etymology

From master + mind.

noun

1. A person with an extraordinary intellect or skill that is markedly superior to his or her peers.
   At long intervals some master-minds appeared, looking upon each advance in practical science as a retro-gradation in the true utility. 1840, Edgar Allan Poe, The Colloquy of Monos and Una
   His first outside hire wasn't an electronics whiz or a mechanical mastermind, but a young industrial designer, a creature hitherto unknown at DEKA. 2003, Steve Kemper, chapter 2, in Code Name Ginger: the Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's Quest to Invent a New World, page 34
2. A person responsible for the highest level of planning and execution of a major operation.
   The first was with none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM), mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. 2007, Mark S. Hamm, chapter 6, in Terrorism as Crime: from Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond, page 196

verb

1. To act in the role of mastermind.
   It would later be revealed that the corporation contributed over a quarter of a million dollars to the effort—a whopping 93 percent of the total coffer—and hired a team of media and political experts to mastermind it. 2007, Kevin Danaher et al., Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots, page 136
   Travelling over the route today, it is well to remember the ongoing role of the Friends of the S&C and the work of the late Ron Cotton. He masterminded its revival, thereby reversing the role he had been given by BR to bring about its closure. July 1 2020, David Allen, “Signalling from Leeds along the S&C”, in Rail, page 78