EY Switzerland has named three winners of its Entrepreneur Of The Year awards for 2026, announcing the results at a ceremony at the Kongresshaus Zürich on 23 October. According to an EY press release, the evening marked the programme’s 29th edition and drew more than 400 guests.
The Three Winners
Daniela Marino of CUTISS, a Zurich company working in biotechnology and healthcare, won the Scale-up Leaders category. EY says CUTISS develops biotechnological ways of producing human skin tissue, including a personalised tissue therapy called denovoSkin. In the judges’ words, as quoted by EY, Ms Marino “combines scientific excellence and entrepreneurial courage with exceptional resilience and a clear vision.”
Thomas Taroni of PHOENIQS, based in Schwyz, took the Visionary Entrepreneurs category. EY describes the company as a Swiss artificial intelligence and cloud service provider offering sovereign, high-performance computing. The Entrepreneurs in Family Business category went to Pascal Bourquard Jr of BIWI in the canton of Jura, a maker of high-performance materials that EY says holds more than 22 patents. Mr Bourquard is the third generation to lead the family firm, according to the release.
How the Selection Worked
EY reports that 70 business personalities from 57 companies were nominated this year and that nine companies reached the final round. An independent panel of 11 judges chose the winners. Julius Baer is the programme partner, and the sponsors named in the release are Girard-Perregaux, HDI Global, SWISS and Volvo Cars.
EY adds that the Swiss awards sit within a global Entrepreneur Of The Year network of 60 programmes in more than 94 countries and regions, which it says connects more than 50,000 business personalities. Stefan Rösch-Rütsche, EY Switzerland’s Country Managing Partner, was quoted as saying that Swiss entrepreneurs make a significant contribution to the country’s prosperity.
Why It Matters
Awards of this kind are one way a business community signals which kinds of leadership it wants to encourage. This year’s three winners span a scientific scale-up, a computing infrastructure company and a multi-generational industrial firm, which suggests that the programme’s judges are looking at very different routes to building a company. The headline EY chose for its own announcement notes that one of the three winners is a woman, and Ms Marino’s win in a science-led category will be of interest to those following women’s representation among founders and chief executives. As with any awards list, the results reflect the views of one judging panel and one organiser, but they offer a useful snapshot of the sectors and leadership styles being celebrated in Switzerland at the end of 2026.
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