The next edition of the prestigious “Innovation Diamonds” competition is underway, aiming to recognize groundbreaking projects, products, companies, and leaders in key sectors of the economy. We are looking for solutions that change reality, accelerate technological transformation and sustainable development, and set new standards of quality, efficiency, and business responsibility. The winners must also stand out for their commitment to the country’s economic development and demonstrate exceptional adherence to the highest standards of leadership.
The official awards gala, during which the winners will be announced, will take place on October 29, 2025, as part of the 13th edition of the “Executive Innovation Forum” conference – a unique gathering of leaders in business, science, and innovation.
Competition Categories
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: FINANCE AND BANKING
An entity distinguished by its innovation in financial products and services or in improving banking processes and cash flow management.
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGIES
An entity distinguished by its innovation in the production, storage, distribution, and sale of energy, or by the development of groundbreaking technological solutions for the energy sector.
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: PHARMACEUTICALS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
An entity distinguished by its commitment to research and development, creating and bringing to market innovative pharmaceutical products and biotechnological solutions.
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: TECHNOLOGY AND IT
An entity successfully implementing high-quality innovative technologies or pioneering IT tools applicable across multiple sectors of the economy.
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
An entity effectively initiating and implementing innovations in the agri-food sector, including breeding and cultivation methods, novel food product development, or sustainable food production practices.
START-UP PATRON OF THE YEAR
An entity recognized for its substantive, technical, and financial support for emerging and growing start-ups, contributing to the commercialization of innovative products and services.
CEO OF THE YEAR
An individual distinguished by outstanding achievements in building an innovative organization and fostering the conditions necessary to implement groundbreaking ideas.
FINALISTS
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: FINANCE AND BANKING
The winners are the companies:
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGIES
Winner:
Award:
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: PHARMACEUTICALS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Winner:
Award:
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: TECHNOLOGY AND IT
Winner:
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Laureatem została firma:
Winner:
Award:
START-UP PATRON OF THE YEAR
Winner:
CEO OF THE YEAR
Stanisław Słowik, co-founder and President of the Management Board of AKSEL, a position he has held since 1990, the year the company was established. A graduate of the Faculty of Electronics at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Throughout his professional career (and beyond), he has been closely associated with telecommunications. Member of the Program Committee of the National Conference on Radiocommunications, Broadcasting, and Television. Member of the Foundation for the Support of Radiocommunication and Multimedia Technology Development. Honored with the title of Leader of Polish ICT and awarded the Golden Cyborg statuette. Both in his professional life and in his relations with others, he follows the principle expressed by Albert Einstein: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
SPECIAL AWARD
Jury
CHAIRMAN
He was the Academy’s President in the years 2007-2010, re-elected for the term 2011-2014. Between 1995 and 2002, Professor Kleiber was the director of the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where since 1986 he has been chairman of the Department of Computational Science and Engineering. In the years 1998-2002 he was member of the Academy’s Presidium and between 1997-2001 he chaired the Board for Directors of the Academy’s research institutes. Prof. Michał Kleiber pursues research in theoretical and applied mechanics as well as information science and applied math. The main subject of his research are applications of state-of-the-art computational techniques in different areas of scientific research, technology and medicine – particularly for modeling, analyzing, simulating and visualizing of complex non-linear thermo- mechanics phenomena. In recent years, he has been actively involved in research and promotion of national innovation policies. Professor Kleiber is an author or co-author of over 240 scientific works and 7 books published by internationally renowned publishing houses. He is a member of editorial boards of 17 leading international scientific journals and the editor-in-chief of the prestigious Archives of Computational Methods in Engineering (Springer). He has also been active in popularizing science by, among others, being a scientific board member for the popular-science journal Wiedza i Życie (Science and Life). Prof. Kleiber is a winner of many awards, including the most prestigious Polish scientific award conferred by the Foundation for Polish Science and the medal granted by the Kingdom of Belgium for innovation achievements. He has been awarded the title of doctor honoris causa by the universities in Lublin, Kraków, Warsaw, Darmstadt (Germany), Mons (Belgium) and The Polish University Abroad, London, U.K. He also holds the ingenieur honoris causa title from the Ecole National d’Ingenieurs in Metz (France). He is a foreign member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg and member of the Academia Europaea in London. He is a full member of the Warsaw Learned Society.Prof. Kleiber lectured and did research during long-term stays at a number of renowned universities world-wide: in Stuttgart, Hannover, Darmstadt and Bochum in Germany; Berkeley, CA and Stoors, CN, USA; Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong, among others.In the years 1998-2001 Michał Kleiber represented Poland in the EU Joint Research Centre as a member of the Board of Governors and in the “Sustainable Growth” Steering Committee in the 5th Framework Programme. Between 2001 and 2005, he headed the Ministry of Science and Information Technology in the Polish government. From 2002 to 2005, Prof. Kleiber was also the chairman of the Governmental Committee for Offset Contracts. In 2005, he was elected member of the European Research Council (Brussels) and chairman of the European Materials Forum (Strasbourg). In the years 2008 – 2010 he was member of the Governing Council Steering Committee of the European Science Foundation in Strasbourg. He also served as the pro bono science and technology advisor to the President of the Republic of Poland (2006 – 2010).
Doctor of legal sciences, legal counsel, graduate of law at the University of Warsaw and Doctoral Studies at the Institute of Legal Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences He is associated with the banking sector since 2003. From 2010 to 2020 he served as Director of the Legal and Legislative Team of the Polish Bank Association. Vice President of the Polish Bank Association since 2020. Chairman of the Steering Committee of the National Working Group on Reference Indicator Reform. Chairman of the Committee on Cyber Security of Banks. He has held numerous positions representing the banking sector at the national and European level, also within the European Banking Federation. He has participated in legislative work on numerous pieces of legislation in financial market regulations. Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration at the Financial Supervisory Council.
A graduate of the Poznań University of Technology, a manager with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry and business consulting. Co-creator of the success of BPX, specializing in solutions supporting the digital transformation of enterprises. He developed his career by combining knowledge in the fields of management, finance, and technology, thanks to which he effectively leads BPX, expanding its operations on domestic and foreign markets.
He is an active business angel and investor in the real estate, insurance, tourism, and gaming industries, where he supports innovative projects.
Bogusław Cieślak is also involved in charity work, being the founder of the Lepszy Start Foundation, and since 2010, together with his wife Irena Cieślak, he has been running the “Przylądek” Non-Public Primary School for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Parzniew.
Piotr Frankowski serves as Managing Director at Ayming Polska, where he is responsible for leading the strategy, focusing on strengthening the company’s market position as a leader in innovation financing in Poland and implementing new services into the company’s day-to-day operations. Under his leadership, Ayming Poland supports entrepreneurs in the challenges of ESG transformation and CSRD-compliant non-financial reporting. He has over 20 years of experience in managerial positions, gained at leading companies such as SAS Institute, Empik, mBank, and EY. He co-managed SAS Institute in Poland, where he was responsible for the Customer Advisory area, designing solutions in the area of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence maximising customer experience in the banking, consumer finance, payments, commerce and e-commerce sectors. At Empik, he managed the customer value area and was responsible for building and developing the loyalty and subscription ecosystem, and at mBank he launched consumer loans and innovative payment solutions. Piotr Frankowski also spent almost 10 years at EY, where he was responsible for development, project management and strategic consulting services mainly for the financial sector. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Faculty of Organisation and Management at the Technical University of Lodz. He is also a graduate of postgraduate studies at the Warsaw School of Economics and Strathclyde University in Glasgow and has completed a number of management courses, including, among others, at Commerzbank and EY.
Agnieszka Jankowska is responsible for T-Mobile Polska’s relations with the public sector in the area of electronic communication and digital policy. Since 2020, she has been a member of the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, and since June 2022, she has served as a board member of the Digital Poland Foundation. From 2010 to 2022, she served as the Director for the Public Sector at General Electric in Central Europe, overseeing the aviation, energy, healthcare, and financial sectors, as well as a board member of GE Poland Sp. z o.o. and a member of the supervisory boards of Bank BPH and GE Company Polska – Engineering Design Center. From 2005 to 2010, she worked as the press spokesperson for the Minister of Development and the Director of the Department of Operational Program Management for Competitiveness and Innovation at the Ministry of Development. Her professional career began in 1999 at the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, where she was involved in the structural preparation of the Agency for implementing programs financed by EU funds under the Cohesion Policy. Since June 2023, she has been serving in a social role as a member of the Council for Digitization under the Minister of Digital Affairs, and since January 2024, she has been the chairperson of the Council. Agnieszka Jankowska is a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics, where she earned a Ph.D. in Economics, and the National School of Public Administration.
Graduated from Technical Physics and Applied Mathematics Faculty at Łódź Technical University. Post graduate studies on Medical Images Processing at University College Hospital in London. In 1991 employed by Siemens Sp. z o.o. as a Head of Sales in Medical Department and finally Head of Industrial Solutions & Services Department. Responsible for “turn-key” applications of Siemens solutions for industry. In 2009 offered a position of CEO at Veolia Water Technologies Sp. z o.o., a Polish subsidiary of the French Veolia Environment. In 2019 took a position of CEO at SEEN Technologie Sp. z o.o. the leading company on a water treatment market in Poland.
Waldemar Kamrat – full professor, Vice-Rector for Education and Development of the Gdańsk University of Technology (term: 2008–2012). Currently, Director of the Nuclear Energy Center of the Gdańsk University of Technology and professor at the Department of Electrical Power Engineering /Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Control, Gdańsk University of Technology. A graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Gdańsk University of Technology (1977) and the Faculty of Production Economics of the University of Gdańsk (1982). General Director of Mining, 3rd degree. He also completed specialized studies in the field of energy policy and efficiency in the USA, obtaining in 1996 a Certificate of the Institute for Young Investigators in Energy Efficiency – Berkeley/Washington DC. His scientific passion is the development of energy and its possibilities to stimulate the development of the economy. Specialist in comprehensive energy, combining three concepts – electricity, heating and gas. He has been associated with the Gdańsk University of Technology for over 40 years, but at the same time he worked in industry for many years in managerial positions, building energy facilities (in Poland and abroad). He held a number of top management positions in the industry, especially in the energy industry (in the management and supervisory boards of large energy companies. Author of 4 monographs and approximately 250 publications and scientific studies in the field of power engineering and energy management.
Agnieszka Leszczyńska has been working for Angelini Pharma, the international pharmaceutical division of Angelini Industries, for over 12 years, and has been leading the company’s business operations in Poland for six years. She has many years of experience in managing complex brand portfolios in the pharmaceutical sector. Her managerial career in the industry began at Polfarmex S.A., where she was in charge of OTC marketing and sales. Before that, at Pernod Ricard Wyborowa S.A., she was responsible for the marketing activities associated with the company’s flagship brand, Wyborowa, in several dozen export markets.
In her approach to business, she relies on cutting-edge technology, her two guiding principles being digitization and efficiency. This translates into the rapid development and high profitability of the business she manages. As she herself admits, she feels most at home in the pharmaceutical sector. It comes as no surprise, then, that Angelini Pharma Polska has become the undisputed leader in brain health – as evidenced by prestigious awards for bringing breakthrough treatments to the market – and aspires to become an admired European innovator.
Agnieszka Leszczyńska is a graduate of the Poznań University of Economics and Business and of Paderborn University in Germany. In her private life, she is a horse-riding enthusiast who actively advocates for the adoption of abandoned animals.
Titular professor specializing in strategies for digital transformation of organizations, e-commerce and e-marketing. He is particularly interested in the changes that digitalization processes bring about in the higher education sector. He is also the Director of the Digital Transformation Research Centre – CYBERMAN, a member of EFMD Advisory Board for the Central and Eastern Europe region and a member of the Board of the Forum Management Education Association. Since 2020 he has served as President of the International Advisory Board of the French university ISC Paris. In 2016-18 he was a member of the Council for Digitalization at the Minister of Digitalization. His achievements include several dozen English and Polish chapters, scientific articles, books published in the most important journals and publications on management science in Poland and worldwide, including Cambridge University Press, Emerald Publishing, Routledge, European Management Journal, Business Horizons, he is the author of the book “Digital Transformation”. (PWN, 2019) and editor and co-author of the handbook “E-marketing – planning, tools and practice”. (Poltext, 2018), awarded by the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 2012 to 2020, he held the position of Vice Rector for Foreign Cooperation at Kozminski University, responsible for the overall strategy of internationalisation and marketing of the university. He is also the coordinator of the Koźmiński MBA Digital program and post-graduate studies related to digital economy: Internet Marketing, E-commerce, Business Digital Transformation and Manager in Industry 4.0. He was a visiting professor in such centers as, among others, the University of Warsaw: ESCP Europe, SKEMA Business School and École de Management de Normandie (France), ISCTE (Portugal), Nottingham Trent University (UK), Soongsil University (South Korea), Universidad del Pacifico (Peru), Univeristy of Reykjavik (Iceland). Repeatedly awarded for his publication and scientific achievements. In 2015 he was awarded the LUMEN statuette for university management leaders. In 2017 he was awarded the Eduinspirator (FRSE) statuette for those who are active in the field of education, contributing to positive changes in the environment. In 2020 he was awarded the Star of Internationalisation Award in the research category by the “Perspektywy” Foundation. During his term of office, Kozminski University has been repeatedly recognized as the most internationalized university in Poland. Grzegorz Mazurek closely cooperates with the electronic economy environment, including the Chamber of Electronic Economy, Digital Poland Foundation and Interactive Advertising Bureau. He has carried out projects for such brands as: Nokia, Nikon, Polpharma, Egmont, PZU, Michelin, IKEA, Mars Corp., Vivus.
President of the Management Board at PFR Ventures – the largest institutional investor in the VC and PE funds sector in the region. She specializes in business transformation, implementing innovation, and building diverse teams. In recent years, she was associated with Nest Bank – as Vice President (2022–2024) and Member of the Management Board (2020–2022). Previously, she worked at Santander Bank Polska and Ernst & Young, among others. She holds a PhD in Economics (SGH) and lectures at SWPS University. She completed the Personal Leadership Programme at the ICAN Institute. She holds a Global Executive MBA degree from the French business school INSEAD.
Piotr Paszczyk is the President of APN Promise, one of the top Poland IT companies. In 1994 Piotr graduated from the University of Warsaw with a degree in Mathematics, specializing in insurance economics. In 1996 he graduated from the Warsaw School of Actuaries. APN Promise was founded in 1992 by Piotr Paszczyk together with his brother, Stanislaw. At that time, it was one of the first software houses in Poland. By 2009 APN Promise became one of leading IT companies in Poland, with 130 full time employees and has certified as Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and Distributor. Now the APN Promise Group consist of 11 Companies e.g. APN Promise, Sevent., RET-ALL, Alterkom or Supremo with total more than 360 people.
Member of the Program Council of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology. An expert in the field of computer control systems. He led several projects, creating factories referred to as Industry 4.0 in Europe and China. He cooperated with such concerns as VW, GM, Daimler and Siemens.
Mr. Roman Przybylski is a graduate of the Cracow University of Economics, majoring in International Management. He has also completed, among others, executive education programs organized by Cambridge Judge Business School and Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Since 2003, he has been professionally associated with the Nowy Styl Group. In the years 2006–2009, he successively served as a Member of the Management Board of Baltic Wood S.A., Director of Strategy and Business Development at Nowy Styl, responsible for building foreign sales structures, and Managing Director of the Nowy Styl brand, responsible for the entire commercial area. Since 2009, he has been a Member of the Management Board of Nowy Styl, responsible for overall sales, marketing, and product management. In addition, he co-managed acquisition processes, followed by the restructuring and integration of acquired foreign companies within the Group (in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France). From March 2023, he held the position of Vice President of the Management Board of Nowy Styl International. From January 1, 2024, he was Vice President of the Management Board, Director of Investments and Development, and subsequently, from May 29, 2025, President of the Management Board of Grupa KĘTY S.A.
Habilitated doctor in the field of management sciences. PhD in the philosophy of artificial intelligence at the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw. Currently, he is the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation and ESR at the Kozminski University. From 2016, she conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. A graduate of The New School for Social Research in New York, where she participated in research on identity in virtual reality, with particular emphasis on Second Life. Currently a Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. In 2021, it will start working with the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard. He is interested in the development of artificial intelligence, natural language processing, machine learning, social robots and wearable technologies.
A pioneer in building business relationships at the highest level. She is a graduate of the Catholic University of Lublin, the German-language MBA program at Kozminski University and the Higher School of Insurance and Banking. She has over a dozen years of managerial experience. She has worked for large retail chains HIT and Otto. She managed sales networks of several hundred people in financial institutions: the Austrian brokerage company Allfinanz and Skarbiec Asset Management Holding (BRE Bank Group). For over a decade she has also been involved in the executive search industry as Managing Partner at Cigno Consulting, which operates in the field of selection and recruitment and personnel consulting. She is the originator and CEO of the Executive Club, the most elite association of top management. She has worked with the entourage of all presidents of the Third Polish Republic, as well as with the most influential politicians of the European Union countries and intellectuals from such academic centers as Oxford, LSE, London Business School, IESE. She is responsible for the strategy of the Club, which integrates business elites and is a platform for top executives to exchange ideas and inspiration. She consistently promotes diversity, inclusiveness and equal treatment in business. She also supports charitable initiatives by linking business with selected foundations run by charismatic leaders. She has been honored with the “Honoris Gratia” medal, among other awards.
Stanisław Słowik, co-founder and President of the Management Board of AKSEL, a position he has held since 1990, the year the company was established. A graduate of the Faculty of Electronics at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Throughout his professional career (and beyond), he has been closely associated with telecommunications. Member of the Program Committee of the National Conference on Radiocommunications, Broadcasting, and Television. Member of the Foundation for the Support of Radiocommunication and Multimedia Technology Development. Honored with the title of Leader of Polish ICT and awarded the Golden Cyborg statuette. Both in his professional life and in his relations with others, he follows the principle expressed by Albert Einstein: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
Professor Jan Szmidt, Ph.D., D.Sc., President of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) for the current term (2016 – 2020), Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology (2012–2016, 2016–2020), is a graduate of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology (1976), an electronics specialist and Professor of Technical Sciences. In years 2002 – 2005 and 2008 – 2012, Professor held the respective positions of Vice Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology. He earned a doctorate at the University in 1985, and in 1995, in reward for his academic achievement and in recognition of a paper titled ”Plasma-generated DLC coatings for applications in microelectronics”, obtained postdoctoral qualification and the title of Doctor Habilitatus. He was conferred the title of Professor of Technical Sciences in 2005. He contributed to a variety of research programmes and did internships at the Institute of Electron Technology, Semiconductor Research and Manufacturing Centre CEMI in Warsaw and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA. His scholarly output includes authorship and co-authorship of two monographs and ten chapters in Polish and English language books, i.a. NATO ASI Series, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Elsevier and over 580 academic publications including 100-plus contributions to such journals as Diamond Related Materials, Thin Solid Films, Journal of Crystal Growth, Chaos Solutions & Fractals, Solid State Electronics, Applied Physics Letters and Surface Science, as well as almost 200 papers delivered at international academic conferences. He has been part of several international research projects, is an author or co-author of 14 patent applications and 50-plus reports from research projects, has been a member of programme and organising committees for a couple of dozen conferences. He has supervised 12 doctoral dissertations and is presently supervising another couple of PhD students. For his achievement, he was awarded the award of Division IV – Technical Sciences PAS (1997) as well as a number of awards from Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology – for academic achievement, organisational effectiveness or teaching process. He collected awards at invention and innovation shows in Pittsburgh, London, Budapest and Damascus. He has reviewed over 26 PhD and postdoctoral (habilitation) theses and a number of title or promotion applications at technical universities across Poland.
For 26 years he has had connections with business practice while working in managerial positions in various organizations, among others he was Deputy Director of the Board of Municipal Houses Warszawa-Śródmieście, Director of the Department of Municipal Buildings Warszawa-Centrum Municipal Office and deputy director of the District Board Żoliborz- member of the District Board and Chancellor of Warsaw School of Economics. He specializes in the issues of human resources in the organization and corporate social responsibility. He conducts research on: personnel policy in enterprises operating in Poland, negotiations, measuring intellectual capital of enterprises, knowledge management in enterprises and corporate social responsibility. Teaches at full-time, MBA and post-graduate studies. Author or co-author of many publications on negotiations, conflict resolution, human resources management, measurement of intellectual capital and knowledge management in enterprise, corporate social responsibility. Cooperates with consulting and training companies. Practices in development of expert opinions for enterprises and in trainings for managerial staff.
In March 2023, as a result of a management buyout, she acquired 100% of the shares in Soonly Finance (formerly Vivus). She is a manager with many years of experience in international financial institutions and a fintech market expert. She is a member of the Council of Employers of Poland, responsible for the area of cooperation between startups, corporations, and the financial services ecosystem. She participated in the establishment of new financial institutions in the Polish market, including Polbank EFG, Citifinancial, and Vivus, which became the leader in the loan market and redefined the accessibility of online financing. She is an active promoter of the idea of authentic leadership and the development of corporate culture as a source of a company’s success. She is a graduate of IESE Business School, the Warsaw School of Economics, and the Maritime Academy in Gdynia.
Professor of technical sciences, academic lecturer and scientist specializing in coordinate metrology. Vice-Rector for Development of the Warsaw University of Technology in the 2020–2024 term. In the years 2012–2020 he was the Director of the Institute of Metrology and Biomedical Engineering, then the Dean of the Faculty of Mechatronics at the Warsaw University of Technology. In 2005–2006, he worked as visiting professor at the Polytechnique de Montréal in Canada. Author of over 150 scientific publications, including 2 monographs and several dozen articles in prestigious international journals. Organizer and manager of several innovative and research projects, also carried out in cooperation with Polish enterprises. He promoted 6 doctors of technical sciences and several dozen masters and engineers. Member of the Metrology Council, expert of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Foundation for Polish Science, as well as many other institutions.