Vaud International Business Award
The strength of the canton of Vaud lies widely in the diversity of its economy, which has earned recognition far beyond the cantonal and national boundaries. In order to reward companies that have contributed to the image and international reputation of the canton of Vaud, the Department of Economy, Innovation and Sports (DEIS), the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI) and Innovaud have set up the Vaud International Business Award.
The purpose of this award is to highlight the contribution of international companies, the diversification they bring and their positive impact on our economy.
Three distinct prizes are awarded:
- Category "Foreign company": foreign international company based in the canton of Vaud
- Category "Swiss company": Swiss exporting company
- Category "Jury's special prize": additional organization that the jury wishes to reward
The organisation of the Prize is coordinated by International Link, the CVCI's service dedicated to international entities.
Philippe Leuba, Minister of Economic Affairs, Innovation and Sport, Philippe Prat - CEO, Yassine Zaied, Chief Strategy Officer - Nexthink, Kamila Markram, cofondatrice et CEO - Frontiers, Jonathan Dickinson, Executive Vice President and General Manager Europe - Incyte, Claudine Amstein, director - CVCI, Michael Morrissey, Executive Vice President & Head of Global Technical - Incyte et Patrick Barbey, director - Innovaud.
Category "Foreign Company"
INCYTE
Active in the development of novel medicines, Incyte is present in 14 countries. Besides the European headquarters in Morges, a production unit was inaugurated in Y-Parc in 2021, with a total of some 270 employees in the canton of Vaud and more than 2000 internationally.
Category «Swiss Company»
NEXTHINK
Founded at EPFL and currently based in Prilly (Switzerland), Nexthink is a global leader in Digital Employee Experience (DEX) software. With offices in nine countries, the company employs some 800 people worldwide, including more than 250 in the canton of Vaud.
Jury's Special Prize
FRONTIERS
Frontiers is a leading open science platform and scientific publisher specialising in innovation and open access. With over 300 employees in Lausanne, the company has tripled in size with offices in Europe, North America and Asia.
 | PHILIPPE LEUBA State Councillor, Minister of Economic Affairs, Innovation and Sport |
 | AUDE PUGIN President, Vaud Chamber of commerce and industry |
 | RÉMI WALBAUM President, Innovaud |
 | MARIANNE SCHMID MAST Full Professor, Faculty of business an economics (HEC), University of Lausanne |
 | DOMINIQUE TURPIN Dean of External Relations, IMD |
 | JEAN-YVES RAIMON VP International and EU HQ Lead - Intuitive Surgical |
 | GABRIEL & MARCEL BOSCHUNG |
 | FRANCOIS RANDIN CEO - Green Motion |
Many thanks to our partners for their contribution to the success of the Vaud International Business Award.
With the support of
Partners
With over 150 beds, the Clinique de La Source is the biggest private institution offering acute multidisciplinary care (Surgery – Medicine – Maternity) in the canton of Vaud.
Media Partner
In the ever-changing environment that is the canton of Vaud, "24 heures" brings local knowledge to the fore. Through a variety of voices, the newspaper offers complete news coverage as well as an extended dialogue with their readership.
Would your company like to contribute to the promotion and success of the Vaud International Business Award? Do not hesitate to contact us!
The 8th annual Vaud International Business Awards announces its three winners
PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne, 25 November 2021 – The winners of this year’s Vaud International Business Awards are Incyte, which is developing innovative drug treatments for cancer; Nexthink, a leading provider of Digital Employee Experience (DEX) software; and Frontiers Media, an innovative publisher of scientific journals that is a leader in the drive for open science. The awards are handed out jointly every year by the Vaud Department of Economy, Innovation and Sports (DEIS), the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI) and Innovaud, and showcase three thriving local businesses that have also made a name for themselves internationally. This year’s awards ceremony took place at IMD in Lausanne on 25 November, with some 200 people attending.
Based in Morges, with a production unit at Y-Parc in Yverdon-les-Bains, the global biopharmaceutical company Incyte won in the "Foreign company" category. Founded in 2002 in Delaware, U.S., Incyte - which discovers, develops and commercializes novel medicines - has chosen to develop its presence in Europe from the canton of Vaud. The BioPlant located at Y-Parc can manufacture biologically active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for commercial and clinical use and will be focused on producing oncology products, specifically monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).
Nexthink, founded at EPFL in 2004 and currently based in Prilly (Switzerland) and Boston (USA), won the Best Swiss Company award. The firm is a global leader in Digital Employee Experience (DEX) software. Its technology allows CIOs to shift from reacting to and resolving IT disruptions to continuously and proactively optimizing their digital assets. With Nexthink’s DEX management hub, system administrators can get up-to-the-minute information on individual employees and how they use specific applications, across all of their company’s workstations, operating systems and sites – even at remote locations. Nexthink has offices in nine countries and employs over 800 people worldwide, including close to 250 in Vaud.
The Special Jury award went to Frontiers Media, a Lausanne-based publisher of open-access scientific journals. Founded in 2007 by two neuroscientists from EPFL, the company aims to make research results widely available in order to speed scientific and technological innovation, further societal progress and support economic growth. Frontiers improves the way research findings are published, reviewed and disseminated by providing free, open access to both data and results. Its publications currently span over 900 disciplines, providing a knowledge base that can help scientists develop responses to the critical challenges humanity is now facing. The company has tripled in size with offices located in Europe, North America and Asia, and has over 300 employees in Lausanne.
The awards were handed out on 25 November by members of the selection panel and the three sponsor organisations. The selection panel was chaired by Philippe Leuba, the head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Innovation and Sport (DEIS), and included Aude Pugin, the chairman of the Vaud Chamber of commerce and industry (CVCI); Rémi Walbaum, the chairman of Innovaud; Dominique Turpin, the dean of external relations at IMD in Lausanne; Marianne Schmid Mast, a professor at HEC Lausanne; and representatives from last year’s three winners – Jean-Yves Raimon, VP International and EU HQ Lead at Intuitive Surgical; Gabriel and Marcel Boschung, co-CEOs of Boschung; and François Randin, CEO of Green Motion.
Awarding local businesses in three categories
The Vaud International Business Awards were introduced in 2014 to recognise companies that have had their headquarters in Vaud for at least three years and have successfully expanded internationally. The companies must also play a role in boosting Vaud’s image abroad and creating jobs at home. Additional selection criteria for the Best Foreign Company award are whether the company’s goods and services are produced locally, how much it helps diversify the Vaud economy, how many of its suppliers are local, and how well it is integrated into the canton. Additional selection criteria for the Best Swiss Company award are how much the company helps train local workers, whether it has any joint R&D programs, and how much of its revenue is generated internationally. And finally, the additional selection criteria for the Special Jury award are how innovative the company is, how big of a role it plays in the local community, and to what extent it works with other local businesses. We would like to take this opportunity to thank 24 heures, which provided press coverage for the awards.
Contacts
Philippe Leuba
Vaud State Councillor, head of the Vaud Department of Economic Affairs, Innovation and Sport (DEIS), +41 21 316 60 10
philippe.leuba@vd.ch
Claudine Amstein
Managing Director of the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and industry (CVCI), +41 79 210 67 88
claudine.amstein@cvci.ch
Lara Rossi
Head of communications at Innovaud, +41 78 260 96 65
lara.rossi@innovaud.ch
In collaboration with
