Swedish cybersecurity pioneer Stina Ehrensvärd has made history as the first winner from Sweden and only the fourth woman to be named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year, as Monaco marked the 25th anniversary of the prestigious global award.
In a glittering ceremony held at the Salle des Etoiles on 6th June, Stina Ehrensvärd, co-founder and CEO of Yubico, was awarded the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025. Selected from nearly 5,000 entrepreneurs spanning 43 countries and jurisdictions, Ehrensvärd’s victory marks a series of firsts: she is the inaugural Swedish recipient of the global prize and only the fourth woman to claim the honour in the award’s quarter-century history.
cybersecurity innovation wins global acclaim
Stina Ehrensvärd launched Yubico in 2007 with a mission to make the internet safer for everyone. Just one year later, the company introduced the YubiKey – a physical security key designed to revolutionise multifactor authentication. By 2012, Yubico had secured its place in the cybersecurity ecosystem by partnering with three of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech firms. Today, the company protects 19 of the world’s 20 largest internet companies and has maintained an impressive 40% compound annual growth rate since 2020.
Under Ehrensvärd’s leadership, Yubico has become a global force in online identity protection. Her work has advanced internet safety standards and elevated cybersecurity as a public good, with the YubiKey becoming an industry benchmark. Speaking from Monaco, she described the award not as a culmination, but a catalyst: “This recognition isn’t the finish line. It’s fuel. We are building a safer digital world, and I won’t stop until that mission is fulfilled.”
Monaco celebrates 25 years of global entrepreneurial excellence
This year’s EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year award ceremony also marked the 25th anniversary of the competition, which annually draws together founders, CEOs and business innovators from around the globe. The 2025 judging panel, chaired by Venture Worx CEO Asif Ramji, assessed finalists on four pillars: entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth, and impact. Stina Ehrensvärd stood out as a visionary force who has translated a fundamental belief — that secure digital identity is a human right — into transformative business practice.
Janet Truncale, EY Global Chair and CEO, praised Ehrensvärd as a leader of rare calibre: “Her achievements at Yubico are remarkable on their own – consistently creating new value and making a societal impact – but Stina’s story goes much deeper. Her defining philosophy that a secure digital identity is a basic human right is exactly the type of purpose-driven leadership we look to celebrate.”
Monaco remains a magnet for global innovation
Monaco’s role as host of the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year celebration continues to position the Principality as a centre for global business and thought leadership. The annual event not only honours individual achievement but serves as a platform for international dialogue on the future of entrepreneurship in a rapidly changing world. Ehrensvärd’s win is a reflection of that ethos: visionary, globally relevant, and deeply committed to social impact.
Stina Ehrensvärd now joins an elite group of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni who have helped shape industries, communities, and the world at large. Her story resonates not only for its business success, but for the powerful idea that underpins it — that technology can, and must, be a force for good.
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Photo: Stina Ehrensvärd, EY WEOY 2025 winner, with Janet Truncale, EY Global Chair and CEO.