DRIFTGLOBAL LAUREATES
9330 September31 December
Global Laureates · 2026
The people building Germany.
DAY 11 / 93 · FOOD & COMMERCE
Piran Asci helped build KoRo, now a €252m food business.
From customer to shareholder and managing director, Asci helped build KoRo from Berlin. The food company recorded €252 million revenue in 2025.
Read Piran’s story Photo: Melanie Greim / © KoRo Handels GmbH · Editorial press photograph
DAY 10 / 93 · SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Ijad Madisch built a €20.6m business connecting scientists.
The physician with Syrian family roots co-founded ResearchGate. Its German operating company recorded €20.632 million in revenue in 2024.
Read Ijad’s story Photo: Noam Galai / Getty Images for TechCrunch · CC BY 2.0
DAY 9 / 93 · BUSINESS SERVICES
Catherine Dussmann at the helm of a €3.4bn services group.
The American-born entrepreneur chairs the board of trustees of a Berlin family business spanning building services, catering and care. Group revenue reached €3.4 billion in 2025.
Read Catherine’s story Photo: © Dussmann Group
DAY 8 / 93 · IT CONSULTING
How Bülent Uzuner helped build a €176m IT consulting business.
From a Bremen consultancy to BTC: €176.1 million in reported 2010 group revenue during his leadership, followed by a second business.
Read Bülent’s story Photo: WFB · unchanged · Bülent Uzuner on the right
DAY 7 / 93 · RESTAURANTS & HOSPITALITY
How The Duc Ngo built a €65m restaurant business.
From Kuchi in Berlin to restaurants in Frankfurt and Baden-Baden: a business ranked among Germany’s 50 largest restaurant groups in 2022.
Read The Duc Ngo’s story Photo: Z thomas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · unchanged
DAY 6 / 93 · COSMETICS & RETAIL
How Judith Williams helped build a €100m cosmetics business.
She launched her brand in 2007 and became the majority owner of an Austria-based cosmetics group with around €100 million in 2024 revenue.
Read Judith’s story © Superbass / CC-BY-SA-4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons); crop by Mithoron
DAY 4 / 93 · SAVINGS & FINANCE
How Tamaz Georgadze’s Berlin fintech helped customers earn €5 billion.
The Berlin savings platform reported €80 billion-plus in customer assets and over €5 billion in cumulative customer returns in March 2026.
Read Tamaz’s story Photo: Eóin Noonan / MoneyConf via Sportsfile · CC BY 2.0
DAY 3 / 93 · TRAVEL & TOURISM
Tao Tao helped build a Berlin platform selling €4 billion in travel experiences.
From a childhood move to Germany to co-founding GetYourGuide: the company reported €4 billion-plus in bookings and €1 billion-plus in revenue in 2025.
Read Tao’s story Photo: GetYourGuide press kit
DAY 2 / 93 · BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
How Hakan Koç helped build an €8.2 billion used-car platform.
The company behind wirkaufendeinauto.de, AUTO1.com and Autohero started in Berlin. Today, it operates in more than 30 countries.
Read Hakan’s story Photo source: AUTO1 Group
DAY 1 / 93 · BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
The Berlin founder behind Omio’s $1 billion in ticket sales.
A frustrating trip across Europe became Omio. Naren Shaam built it from Berlin into a platform selling more than 100,000 tickets a day.
Read Naren’s story Forbes cover · Photograph © Peter Rigaud
+One profile a day
For the final 93 days of 2026
Drift will celebrate people with immigration histories doing remarkable things in Germany.
+Why 93?
More than one in four people
One Global Laureate will be recognised for each of the final 93 days of 2026.
+ The idea
Stories from people shaping the country they live in.
A portrait of Germany, told through the people building it.
From 30 September to 31 December, Drift will publish one profile every day.
Together, the stories will celebrate people shaping Germany through business, science, culture, food, sport, design, research, and public life.
+ Who can be nominated?
You can nominate someone else or yourself.
Someone doing remarkable work connected to Germany who has an immigration history.
Business and technology
Science and research
Arts and culture
Food and hospitality
Sport
Design and architecture
Public life and community
Education
They may already be widely recognised, or they may be doing work more people should know about.
+ How it works
A public invitation to notice remarkable work.
93 days. 93 people.
For the final 93 days of 2026, Drift will celebrate people with immigration histories doing remarkable work connected to Germany.
Work worth knowing.
Founders, researchers, artists, chefs, athletes, educators, organisers, and people creating something that makes life here better, richer, smarter, or more interesting.
Your name belongs in the conversation.
Nominate someone you admire, or nominate yourself. Tell us what they have achieved, why it matters, and where we can learn more about their work.
Nominations open until 31 December 2026
Someone deserves to be seen.
Please do not share private information about someone's citizenship, visa, ethnicity, religion, or residence status.
Business. Science. Food. Sport. Culture. Public life. The full picture belongs on the page.
GLOBAL LAUREATES+Put their name forward.
Nominations open until 31 December 2026
Nominate a Global Laureate.
Selected profiles are independently researched and do not imply endorsement of Drift by the person or organisation featured.
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