PRESS RELEASE
Building Beyond Business: The Founders Awards 2026 Winners
From AI and healthcare to circular mobility, sustainable materials and space technology, the 2026 Founders Awards recognize founders building companies with ambitions that extend beyond growth.
The 2026 Founders Awards celebrate founders transforming industries, opening new markets and addressing societal challenges through business. This year’s winners represent a broad range of sectors, from digital transformation and life sciences to sustainable transport, consumer brands and advanced engineering.
Presented by Founders Alliance, the awards recognize founder achievements in company building and long-term value creation. The winners include both emerging entrepreneurs and established founders whose businesses have developed into internationally recognized companies.
“The 2026 winners represent what entrepreneurship is about at its best: the courage to see an opportunity, the determination to build something lasting, and the ambition to create impact beyond the company itself. What unites these founders is their resilience, long-term commitment and responsibility for building the future,” says Niclas Carlsson, Founder and CEO of Founders Alliance.
TECHNOLOGY AND AI RESHAPE ESTABLISHED INDUSTRIES
Technology remains a powerful driver of business transformation. Among this year’s winners are founders applying digital solutions to industrial operations, advertising and global supply chains.
Laith Al-Hashimi, founder of Sirocco, receives Silver in Founder of the Year, Small Size Companies. Sirocco helps industrial businesses modernize sales operations through CRM, configure-price-quote (CPQ) solutions and AI-powered digital transformation.
Håkan Nilsson, founder of Zinnovate International, also receives Silver in Founder of the Year, Small Size Companies. Founded in 2013, Zinnovate leads logistics transformation projects for customers in more than 150 countries, combining technology and specialist expertise to improve global freight operations.
In the large-company category, Peter Hellgren and Henrik Sandell, founders of Consid, receive Silver. Founded in 2000, the company combines technology, strategy and business insight to support digital transformation. Niklas Hedin, founder of Centiro Group, also received Silver in the category. Centiro develops supply-chain technology used by major brands across more than 175 countries.
In the Young Founder of the Year category, Lukas Flöer, founder of met[ads], received Silver for combining AI and proprietary technology to deliver 3D advertising for major brands.
HEALTHCARE INNOVATION AND ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Healthcare and life sciences feature prominently among the winners, with businesses addressing needs ranging from early parenthood to menstrual health.
Michaela Forni, Damon Foroozesh and Timothy Forni, founders of Baby Journey, receive Silver in Founder of the Year, Small Size Companies. Their digital platform combines information, care and technology to support people through pregnancy and early parenthood.
Clara Lidman and Liza Eriksson, founders of RedLocker, receive Gold in Young Founder of the Year. RedLocker provides menstrual products in public spaces, working to improve access to menstrual care across Europe.
Both businesses demonstrate how entrepreneurship can address everyday needs while creating opportunities for broader social impact.
SUSTAINABILITY AND CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS GAIN GROUND
Several awards recognize founders developing alternatives to conventional materials, improving resource efficiency and supporting the transition to more sustainable energy systems.
Linn Frisinger, founder of Swedish Stockings, received Silver in Founder of the Year, Small Size Companies. The company combines premium fashion with recycled materials and more sustainable production methods.
Jing Liu, founder of BPC Instruments, also received Silver in the category. The company develops analytical technology for biomethane and the bioeconomy, with operations in more than 90 countries.
In the medium-size company category, Miriam Wennberg, Morten Christophersen, Magnus Eikens and Stian Sagmo Magnusson, founders of ECOnnect Energy, receive Silver. The company develops marine infrastructure designed to enable cleaner energy transfer between sea and land.
Janna Naser, founder of Alga Insulation, receives Silver in Young Founder of the Year for developing algae-based building materials as alternatives to fossil-based products.
MOBILITY: FROM CIRCULAR TRANSPORT TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING
The mobility category brings together businesses pursuing different approaches to transport, from the reuse of vehicles to the development of high-performance cars.
Malika Haidari and Matin Amini, founders of Truxco, receive Gold in Founder of the Year, Large Size Companies. Truxco is building a circular European transport ecosystem centred on quality-verified used buses and energy solutions.
Christian von Koenigsegg, founder of Koenigsegg Automotive, also receives Gold in the large-company category. Founded in 1994, the company has established an international reputation for high-performance hypercars, innovative engineering and design.
The honorary award goes to Salvatore Grimaldi, founder of Grimaldi Industri. He has built an international industrial group spanning manufacturing and mobility. With around 600 employees, the group includes cycling brands such as Crescent, Monark, Sjösala, Kildemoes, DBS and Bianchi.
DESIGN-LED BRANDS BUILD INTERNATIONAL REACH
In consumer products, fashion and lifestyle, this year’s winners reflect the role of design, product quality and long-term brand development in building enduring businesses.
Malin Glemme, founder of LAYERED, receives Gold in Founder of the Year, Small Size Companies. The brand combines Scandinavian design with sustainability and a long-term approach to brand building.
In the medium-size company category, Victor Halvarsson, founder of VANBRUUN, receives Silver for the jewellery brand’s combination of Scandinavian design, craftsmanship and responsibly sourced diamonds. Mikael Bergström and Christoffer Granback, founders of Smartshake, also receive Silver for developing hydration and fitness products with a focus on functional design.
The honorary award recognizes Gun Nowak and Martina Arfwidson, founders of FACE Stockholm. Founded in 1982, the Swedish beauty brand has grown into an internationally recognized business. Nowak and her daughter Martina continue to develop the company while retaining full private ownership.
HOSPITALITY AND EXPERIENCES BUILT AROUND QUALITY
The awards also recognize entrepreneurs developing distinctive hospitality and accommodation businesses.
Pontus Frithiof, founder of Pontus Group, receives Gold in Founder of the Year, Medium Size Companies. His group develops hospitality concepts built around quality, premium partnerships and a strong founder-led culture.
Karolina Flink Berndtsson, founder of Avisita, also receives Gold in the category. Avisita combines technology and personal service to simplify corporate accommodation management in the Nordic region.
EDUCATION, FAMILY SUPPORT AND SOCIAL IMPACT
Two winning businesses focus on supporting families and improving access to essential services.
Fredrik Fridlund, founder of Allakando and myNanny, receives Gold in Founder of the Year, Small Size Companies. Together, the businesses provide tutoring and childcare services to around 26,000 families. Their long-term ambition includes reaching one million students worldwide.
Freja Najafi Kristensen and Niklas Najafi Kristensen, founders of Najell, receive Silver in Founder of the Year, Medium Size Companies. The Swedish design brand develops products for pregnancy and early parenthood and continues to expand internationally.
SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED ENGINEERING
Entrepreneurship in the 2026 awards also extends beyond established industries and into emerging technologies.
Perttu Yli-Opas, founder of Aurora Propulsion Technologies, receives Gold in Young Founder of the Year. The company develops compact, cost-efficient propulsion systems designed to help satellites avoid collisions and safely deorbit.
Adéle and Cassian Cockings, founders of HenleyPrint3D, receive Silver in the same category. Their business uses AI-driven additive manufacturing to produce high-precision parts and advance on-demand manufacturing.
In organizational transformation, Anna Nyvelt and Rachel Altmann, founders of BeHive Consulting, receive Silver in Young Founder of the Year. The company applies behavioral science to organizational challenges, helping businesses navigate transformation and change.
RECOGNIZING THE LONG-TERM WORK OF FOUNDERS
The awards reflect different stages of entrepreneurship, from young founders developing new technologies to established business owners building companies over decades.
The Founder of the Year awards recognize active founders of profitable companies with significant ownership, across small, medium and large company categories. Candidates are assessed through the Founders Alliance Index, which considers past performance, future potential and societal benefits, alongside evaluations by experienced founder juries.
Young Founder of the Year recognizes entrepreneurs under 30 with the capacity to lead, inspire and build successful companies with significant future potential. The Founder of the Year Honorary Award celebrates founders whose long-term company building has created enduring impact and can serve as an example to future generations.
The winners receive The Growth Rings, the distinctive Founders Alliance award symbolizing the growth and development of companies over time.
Across the sectors represented, the underlying ambition is similar: to build businesses that endure, create value and contribute to the development of their industries and wider society.
ABOUT FOUNDERS ALLIANCE
Founded by Niclas Carlsson, Founders Alliance is a collaborative business forum built on the principle For Founders, by Founders. Its community brings together more than 300 founders who own more than 3,000 companies across industries and international markets.
The organisation provides a platform for founders to connect, exchange experience and build stronger companies together, based on trust, mutual understanding and the belief that entrepreneurs can achieve more when they work together.
For more information:
Founders Alliance
PRESS CONTACTS
Niclas Carlsson
Founder & CEO
niclas.carlsson@foundersalliance.com
Nina Hahn
Chief Marketing, Information & Communication Manager
nina.hahn@foundersalliance.com