Eurostars
ENTREPRENEUER
Mate Rimac
Founder & CEO, Rimac Automobili
TITLE: Founder & CEO
COMPANY: Rimac Automobili
BASED: Sveta Nedelja, Croatia
AGE: 30
NATIONALITY: Croatian
CAREER HIGHLIGHTSIn less than 10 years, Rimac has taken his electric sports car company from its start in a garage near Zagreb in his native Croatia, to a 400-employee business part-owned by Porsche. His first project was an electrified version of the original BMW M3 sports sedan, followed in 2011 by the Concept One electric supercar. It went into production in 2016.
REASON FOR WINNINGRimac's success in the still-fluid world of electric-car startups can be measured by how seriously he's taken by the automotive establishment. In June, Porsche announced it had taken a 10 percent stake in his company and talked of close collaboration between the two. Then in July Seat's new Cupra performance subbrand said it was working with Rimac on an electric racecar. The Concept One proved Rimac was at the cutting edge of electric technology, giving the Volkswagen Group brands confidence he could help them.