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.

Patrick Barbey, Director - Innovaud, Jean-Paul Vionnet, Chief Operations Officer - Sicpa, Abdallah Rizki, Operations Director - Dentsply Sirona, Laurence Verdet, Global HR Business Partner - Dentsply Sirona, Patrick Thévoz, cofonder & CEO - Flyabality, Isabelle Moret, Vaud State Councillor, cheffe du Département et Philippe Miauton, Director - CVCI.
Category "Foreign Company"

DENTSPLY SIRONA
L’entreprise Maillefer, fondée en 1889 à Ballaigues, fait partie de Dentsply Sirona : premier fabricant mondial de produits et de technologies dentaires professionnels. Présent dans plus de 140 pays, le groupe compte quelques 18 000 employés dans le monde, dont plus de 700 dans le canton.
Category «Swiss Company»

SICPA
Fondée à Lausanne en 1927, SICPA développe des technologies de sécurité matérielle et numérique qui protègent la majorité des billets dans le monde. L’entreprise emploie plus de 3000 personnes dans le monde, dont près de 1000 entre Chavornay et Prilly.
Jury's Special Prize

FLYABILITY
Fondé en 2014, Flyability développe des drones d’intérieur à usage industriel permettant d’explorer des espaces complexes. Comptant une centaine de clients dans plus de 50 pays, l’entreprise réunit plus de 120 employés, dont 80 basés à Paudex.
![]() | 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 |
![]() | BENOIT LELEUX Stephan Schmidheiny Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, IMD |
![]() | MICHALE MORRISSEY Executive Vice President & Head of Global Technical, Incyte |
![]() | YASSINE ZAIED |
![]() | FREDERIK FENTER Chief Executive Editor, Frontiers |
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
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The 9th annual Vaud International Business Awards announces its three winners
PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne, 22 November 2022 – The winners of this year’s Vaud International Business Awards are Dentsply Sirona, a supplier of professional dental products and technology, SICPA, a leading global provider of security ink, and Flyability, a developer of pioneering drone technology for inspecting confined spaces. The awards, designed to showcase three thriving local businesses that have also made a name for themselves internationally, are handed out jointly every year by the Vaud Department of Economy, Innovation, Employment and Heritage (DEIEP), the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI) and Innovaud. This year’s awards ceremony took place at IMD in Lausanne on 22 November, with some 200 people attending.
Dentsply Sirona was the winner in the Foreign Company category. It operates in Vaud through Maillefer, a firm founded in Ballaigues in 1889 and today part of the Dentsply group. Dentsply Sirona is a leading global supplier of professional dental products, with offices in over 140 countries. Its comprehensive range of dental-health technology and other medical devices – all engineered and manufactured in-house – is designed to address the needs of dental professionals and their patients. The firm’s endodontic instruments for root canal treatments have been produced in Vaud for over 130 years. Dentsply Sirona employs around 18,000 people worldwide, including more than 700 in Vaud.
The Best Swiss Company winner was SICPA, a security provider that’s been family-owned since 1927. Based in Lausanne, SICPA currently has production sites and R&D centres on five continents. Its engineers develop cutting-edge technology for both physical and digital security. For instance, the company’s security ink is used to protect identity papers and other valuable documents, as well as banknotes. Most banknotes circulating in the world today – including in euros, US dollars and Swiss francs – incorporate SICPA technology. SICPA is also a leading provider of marking systems for secure product authentication, identification and tracing. It employs over 3,000 people worldwide, including nearly 1,000 in Chavornay and Prilly.
The Special Jury Award went to Paudex-based Flyability. Founded in 2014, Flyability is the market-leading supplier of drones for inspecting structures and equipment in confined spaces. With Flyability’s drones, operators can run critical inspections without having to shut down production sites. Not only is this cost-effective, but it prevents having to send workers into hazardous areas. The firm currently has around 100 customers in more than 50 countries and a variety of industries. Flyability is a pioneer in its field, sitting at the forefront of collisionresistant indoor drones capable of navigating complex spaces. It has over 120 employees, including 80 in Vaud.
The awards were handed out on 22 November by members of the selection panel and the three sponsor organisations. The ceremony was attended by Vaud State Councillor Isabelle Moret. The selection panel was chaired by former Vaud State Councillor Philippe Leuba and included Aude Pugin, Chairman of the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI); Rémi Walbaum, Chairman of Innovaud; Benoît Leleux, the Stephan Schmidheiny Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at IMD in Lausanne; and Marianne Schmid Mast, Dean of HEC Lausanne. It also included representatives from last year’s winners: Michael Morrissey, Executive Vice President & Head of Global Technical Operations at Incyte; Yassine Zaied, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Nexthink; and Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor at Frontiers.
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
Isabelle Moret
Vaud State Councillor, Head of the Vaud Department of Economy, Innovation, Employment and Heritage (DEIEP), +41 21 316 60 10
isabelle.moret@vd.ch
Philippe Miauton
Managing Director of the Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CVCI), +41 79 277 68 41
philippe.miauton@cvci.ch
Roselyn Ormond
Head of Events, Innovaud, 079 252 64 27
roselyn.ormond@innovaud.ch