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Stina Ehrensvärd from Sweden named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025
Stina Ehrensvärd, founder of Yubico, was named the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 at an award ceremony held in Monaco’s Salle des Etoiles. Stina was selected from among nearly 5,000 program participants that included 52 winners across 43 countries and jurisdictions competing for the global title. She is the fourth woman to hold the title and first winner from Sweden in the award’s 25-year history.
Stina is a natural business leader whose determination, drive and innovative mindset has created exponential growth for her company and a lasting impact on Sweden and its people. She has built an industry-leading and highly profitable company that has set new standards for internet security. Through her unwavering commitment to creating a safer and more secure world, Stina has successfully driven systemic change — protecting digital identities, strengthening democracy and building global trust in the connected world.
In 2007, she co-founded Yubico, a company with the mission to make the internet safer for everyone. Within a year the company launched its first YubiKey, a physical security key for multifactor authentication (MFA), and over the next five years, it transformed the entire cybersecurity landscape by securing work with three of the biggest technology companies in Silicon Valley. Since then, Stina has scaled Yubico to where it now protects 19 of the world’s 20 largest internet companies and its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has been 40% since 2020.
Romania was represented by Irina Arsene, the winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Romania 2024 title, Founder and Chair of the Board of mindit.io, a Romanian software development company founded in 2015, which has quickly established itself in the international market through innovation and excellence in delivering customized technological solutions.
Bogdan Ion, Country Managing Partner EY Romania & Moldova and Chief Operating Officer Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe & Central Asia (CESA): "World Entrepreneur Of The Year is a celebration of entrepreneurial spirit on a global scale, bringing together business leaders from around the world to recognize innovation and its impact on society. This competition highlights the remarkable achievements of entrepreneurs, demonstrating how bold ideas can transform not only businesses but also communities. Irina Arsene, the founder of mindit.io, exemplifies this entrepreneurial spirit, showing how vision and dedication can lead to significant advancements that positively influence society and inspire entrepreneurs in Romania to pursue their dreams."
Irina Arsene, Founder and Chair of the Board, mindit.io: ”When I embarked on this entrepreneurial journey, I envisioned a business that would inspire and create impact. Representing Romania at EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025 is a celebration of the dream turned into reality and, above all, of the team that made it all possible. It has been an incredible experience to connect with other inspirational stories from around the world. I believe that transparency and authenticity in sharing the entrepreneurial journey can generate trust and inspiration within the business ecosystem, encouraging other leaders to turn their vision into reality. For me, this moment is more than a personal recognition. It is the validation that the story of mindit.io is an authentic success, built on innovation, empathy, and determination. I hope this step will generate not only pride but also confidence among those who have the courage to build something new.”
EY hosts the annual World Entrepreneur of the Year event to celebrate the accomplishments of visionary leaders who are shaping the future with confidence, growing the economy and answering the call to address global challenges. The annual gathering brings together founders, CEOs and business leaders for a series of networking opportunities and workshops, culminating with the announcement of the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year.
The EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 was chosen by an independent panel of judges against four criteria: entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact. This year’s panel included a diverse and esteemed group of entrepreneurs from all over the world, chaired by Asif Ramji, Founder and CEO of Venture Worx.
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About EY Romania
EY is one of the world's leading professional services firms with 392,995 employees in more than 700 offices across 150 countries, and revenues of approx. US$51.2b in the financial year that ended on 30 June 2024. Our network is the most integrated worldwide, and its resources help us provide our clients with services allowing them to take advantage of opportunities anywhere in the world.
With a presence in Romania ever since 1992, EY provides, through its more than 1000 employees in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, integrated services in assurance, tax, strategy and transactions, and consulting to clients ranging from multinationals to local companies.
Our offices are based in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi and Chisinau. In 2014, EY Romania joined the only global competition dedicated to entrepreneurship, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. The winner of the national award represents Romania at the world final taking place every year in June, at Monte Carlo. The title of World Entrepreneur Of The Year is awarded in the world final. For more information, please visit: www.ey.com
