Daniel Ek · CEO & Co-founder · Spotify · The WLS 100 · 2026 Edition
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Inaugural edition 2026 · Europe

Daniel Ek

CEO & Co-founder

600M+ utilisateurs. Innovation européenne.

Education
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Organization
Profile

A self-taught programmer from the suburbs of Stockholm, Daniel Ek co-founded Spotify in 2006 with Martin Lorentzon to offer a legal alternative to music piracy. Launched in 2008, the streaming service reshaped the economics of recorded music and now reaches more than 600 million users in over 180 markets, including a large base of paying subscribers. Listed in New York since 2018, the company has expanded into podcasts and audiobooks. Through his investment firm Prima Materia, Ek also backs European deep-technology ventures in fields such as health and defense.

Why this selection

He demonstrates that a European company can hold its own against American giants and durably transform a global cultural industry.

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