These are the 100 "Digital Shapers 2026" in Switzerland

Eight editions, ten categories, eight hundred award winners. What began as a ranking in 2016 is now the definitive reference format for digital excellence in Switzerland. Tonight, the 100 "Digital Shapers 2026" will be announced and celebrated for the first time at a festive gala at the Folium in Zurich.

AI research and innovation from Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the few countries that is not only involved in the discussion on artificial intelligence, but is also helping to shape it. ETH Zurich and EPFL are among the international leaders in AI research. Their findings flow directly into start-ups that use them to build concrete applications. Virtually all global AI heavyweights, from Google and OpenAI to Palantir and Meta, have set up substantial development departments in Switzerland. This is no coincidence, but the result of years of investment in talent, infrastructure and research.

At the same time, several waves of technology are converging: AI, robotics, quantum computing and the digitalization of critical infrastructures are developing in parallel and are beginning to reinforce each other. The "Digital Shapers 2026" reflect precisely this breadth.

Gala with prominent guests

At the invitation of Ringier CEO Marc Walder, around 200 guests from the worlds of business, politics, culture and society celebrate the 100 award winners. The evening is accompanied by keynote speeches from Allen Cao, CEO Huawei Switzerland, Christoph Aeschlimann, Group CEO Swisscom, and Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi.

Marc Walder, CEO Ringier, says: "Eight editions of "Digital Shapers" are eight years of living proof of how much innovative power there is in this country. Artificial intelligence is changing every industry and every sector that we represent in this ranking: Banking, telecommunications, media, medicine, public administration, research and so on. Switzerland has the brains, institutions and infrastructure to successfully master this transformation. The personalities we are honoring today are proof of this."

Franziska Barmettler, CEO Digitalswitzerland, explains: "In order to drive forward the digital transformation in Switzerland, we need digital shapers who provide new impetus and inspire those around them. When the best minds from science, administration and business from all parts of the country work together on solutions, we secure Switzerland's competitiveness."

Allen Cao, CEO Huawei Switzerland, adds: "It is a privilege for us to support this project. We can help develop the technological foundations for digital transformation, but it is the creativity of the "Digital Shapers", the founders, researchers and visionaries, that transforms them into tangible solutions. They are the forces that drive the Swiss economy and society forward."

Jury with broad support

The "Digital Shapers 2026" were selected by a 12-member jury chaired by Marc Kowalsky, deputy editor-in-chief of BILANZ and "Digital Shapers" project manager. The jury members include Christine Antlanger-Winter (Country Head Google Switzerland), André Kudelski (CEO Kudelski, President Innosuisse) and Roland Siegwart (Professor of Autonomous Systems, ETH Zurich).

After a nomination phase at the end of 2025, the jury selected ten personalities in each of ten categories from all the submissions. Particularly striking: women make up the majority in the AI Acrobats category. Six out of ten honorees are driving AI development in Switzerland.

Ten categories of digital excellence

The "Digital Shapers 2026" were honored in ten categories:

The AI Acrobats: They are making Switzerland fit for the age of artificial intelligence.

Benjamin B. Bargetzi, Founder & CEO, MindGuard | Chris Beyeler, Managing Director, BEYONDER AG | Cindy Candrian, Co-Founder, Delta Labs | Andy Fitze, Co-Founder, SwissCognitive | Vanessa Foser, Co-Founder & CCO, AI Business School | Sabrina Schenardi, Co-Founder, BLP Digital | Dalith Steiger, CEO, SwissCognitive | Michael Wegmüller, Co-Founder, Artifact | Sabine Wildemann, Co-Initiator, Swiss {ai} Weeks | Katrin J. Yuan, CEO, Swiss Future Institute.

The Androids: You are working on Switzerland's supremacy in robots and drones.

Ulrich Amberg, CEO, Swissdrones | Marko Bjelonic, Co-Founder & CEO, Rivr | Raffaello D'Andrea, Founder, Verity / ETH Professor | Péter Fankhauser, CEO, ANYbotics | Florian Gutzwiler, CEO, Voliro | Marco Hutter, ETH professor and serial founder | Ryan Luke Johns, CEO & Co-Founder, Gravis Robotics | Dominique Megret, CEO, Ecorobotix | Elvis Nava, Founder, Mimic Robotics | Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Board of Directors and Advisory Board of various robotics start-ups.

The Cloudriders: They deliver applications and infrastructure for the cloud age.

Luca Callegari, Managing Director, Google Cloud DACH | Serge Gansner, CEO, Luware AG | Markus Gebert, Co-Founder & CEO Hostpoint | Elmar Grasser, CTO, Sunrise | Chris Keller, Managing Director Europe Central + ACH, AWS | José Lopez, Group CEO, CONVOTIS | Mohamad Ali Mahfouz, Leading Services Sales, Microsoft Switzerland | Roger Suess, CEO, Green.ch | Andreas Waber, CEO, Swiss Fibre Net | Eric Wolff, CTIO, Salt.

The Defenders: They ensure the security of hardware, software and data.

Christoph Aeschlimann, CEO, Swisscom | Samir Aliyev, CEO, Swiss Cyber Institute | Christian Cachin, Professor of Computer Science, University of Bern | David Haber, CEO, Lakera / VP AI Security Checkpoint | Kristof Hertig, Senior Program Manager, digitalswitzerland | Thomas Holderegger, Security Lead, Accenture Switzerland | Antti Partanen, CISO Sunrise| Daniel Seiler, Head of Platform Services, BACS | Beatrice Smit, COO, Axpo Systems AG | Andy Yen, CEO, Proton.

The Energizer: They make the generation, storage and use of energy more efficient through digitalization.

Liliane Ableitner, Co-Founder & CEO, Exnaton | Pierre Bi, CEO, enshift AG | Felix Bünning, Co-Founder & CEO, Viboo | Sébastien Cajot, CEO, urbio | Martin Everts, Managing Director Energy & Mobility, AMAG Group | Giampiero Frisio, Head of Electrification Division, ABB | Hagen Lihl, Co-Founder & CEO, Upgrid | Robert Piconi, Chairman & CEO, Energy Vault | David Taylor, CEO, Unbound Potential | Yves Zischek, Managing Director, Digital Realty.

The Fintechies: They are taking the financial industry to the next digital level.

Kathrin Braunwarth, CIO, AXA Switzerland | Pascale Bruderer, Founder, Swiss Stablecoin AG | Riccardo Conti, Co-Founder Fume | Johs Höhener, Independent Board Member | Igor Izraylevych, CEO & Founder, S-PRO AG | Lidia Kurt, CEO, BX Digital & Seturion | Adriano Lucatelli, Founder & CEO, Descartes Finance | David Riegelnig, CEO & Co-Founder, RULEMATCH AG | Michael Stemmle, Founder, Additiv AG | Hans Peter Wolf, CTO, FNZ.

The Frameworkers: You set the guard rails for digitalization in politics, administration and associations.

Gerhard Andrey, National Councillor / VR Liip | Judith Bellaiche, President, ASUT | Martin Bürki, President, ComCom | Jon Fanzun, CEO, SWICO | Richard P. Hess, Head of Digital Finance, Swiss Bankers Association | Marcel Meyer, Managing Director, GRdigital and Head of Tourism Graubünden, Conters im Prättigau | Lennig Pedron, CEO, Trust Valley | Viktor Rossi, Federal Chancellor | Joanne Sieber, CEO, Deep Tech Nation Switzerland | Karin Taheny, Chief Digital + Technology Officer S-GE.

The Health Techies: They digitize medicine and healthcare.

Lucas M. Bachmann, medignition AG | Verena Barthelmes, Product Manager IoT and Digital Platforms | Romain Boichat, Partner, Rhome | Pascal Chatelain, CCO, Zur Rose Suisse AG | Guillaume DuPasquier, Co-Founder & CEO, Domo.Health | Yalak Garif, Director Digital Innovation, Cisco Switzerland | Lara Gervaise, CEO & Co-Founder, Virtuosis AI | Gregory Inauen, CEO, Grape Insurance | Christine Jacob, Lecturer Health-Tech, FHNW School of Business | Peter Ohnemus, Founder & CEO Dacadoo.

The Quantum Leapers: You are working on the next IT revolution: quantum computing.

Alexandra Beckstein, CEO, QAI Ventures | Daniel Brau, CEO, Miraex SA | Klaus Ensslin, Professor of Experimental Physics, ETH Zurich | Jonathan Home, Professor, ETH Zurich | Thomas Landolt, CEO, QuantumBasel | Markus Pflitsch, CEO & Founder, Terraquantum | Heike Riel, IBM Fellow & Chief Scientist, IBM Rüschlikon | Andreas Wallraff, Team Lead Superconducting Circuits, ETHZ/PSI | Hugo Zbinden, Prof. Honoraire, Université de Genève | Dominik Zumbühl, Director NCCR SPIN, University of Basel.

The Mentors: They pass on their digital experience as consultants, trainers, VCs or evangelists.

Andreea Cretu, Head, BioMed Entrepreneurship Programs | Sunnie J. Groeneveld, Managing Partner, Inspire 925 | Arnold Hermann, Co-Founder 42hacks / active investor | Amit Joshi, Professor AI & Marketing Strategy, IMD Lausanne | Pascal Mathis, Partner, Founderful | Max Meister, Koyo Capital AG | Marc K. Peter, Professor of Digital Transformation, HES-SO Valais/Wallis | Romano Roth, Global Chief of Cybernetic Transformation, Zühlke Group | Philipp Stauffer, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Fyrfly Venture Partners | Stefan Steiner, Co-CEO, Venturelab.