SwipeJobs Founder Katrina Leslie Takes Australia's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Crown

Katrina Leslie, founder and chair of AI hiring platform Swipejobs, has been named Australia's EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2025 at a ceremony at Melbourne's Regent Theatre on October 22. Her company generated $1.3 billion in revenue in 2025 and now operates in the US and UK, roughly twelve years after its founding in 2013.

The awards, run by professional services firm EY Australia for 26 years, recognised 27 national finalists across six categories this year. EY says previous winners of the top honour collectively support about 135,000 jobs and have contributed $21.4 billion to Australia's GDP — a benchmark Leslie's company now joins.

What did the judges single out?

Naomi Simson OAM, chair of the independent judging panel, praised Leslie's record of building a recruitment business that scales across borders.

"As founder and chair of Swipejobs, Katrina stood out for her forward-thinking approach and ability to turn bold ideas into a globally scalable business," said Simson.

"She has challenged traditional thinking about what recruitment can look like, creating a business model that is reshaping the industry. We need more role models like Katrina in the entrepreneurial community."

Swipejobs uses AI to match jobseekers with employers based on skills and preferences. The platform is one of the clearest Australian examples of recruitment automation moving from startup pitch to billion-dollar revenue.

How did Leslie build her track record?

Leslie is a Queensland cattle farmer's daughter with more than 30 years in recruitment. She has watched the industry move from 'help-wanted' signs in shop windows and newspaper columns to online hiring platforms.

Her corporate career included recruitment roles at Westpac, Microsoft and BHP. She turned entrepreneur in 1997, launching assessment and career services company IPS. She later founded applicant screening and ranking provider ePredix and applicant tracking and sourcing platform HRX in 2005.

Leslie frames her approach in terms of momentum rather than legacy. "If you want to get out of bed and drive a car at 100 kilometres an hour, you can't be looking in the rearview mirror at the same time," she said.

Swipejobs is eyeing further international expansion. Leslie will represent Australia in Monaco in 2027, competing against national winners from more than 60 countries for the title of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2027.

Who won the other categories?

• Consumer: Lou Tandy, co-owner of The APT Travel Group, a premium travel business with nearly a century of history that now welcomes 60,000 guests annually across six continents.
• Emerging: Omar Sabré and Zane Sabré, founders of luxury accessories brand MAISON de SABRÉ, which grew from a premium phone case concept into leather bags, wallets and bag charms.
• Industry: Dave Riches, who has built GenusPlus Group Ltd from a Western Australian powerline business into a billion-dollar infrastructure group since 2009, spanning electricity transmission, renewables and telecommunications.
• Services: Daniel Tucker AM, who founded Carey Group Holdings in 1995 and grew it into Australia's largest 100% First Nations-owned commercial enterprise, spanning mining, civil works and training.
• Social Impact: David Elliott OAM, who found a dinosaur fossil while mustering sheep on his Queensland property in 1999 and built the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum into a scientific institution and regional tourism engine.

What stands out among the category winners?

The Emerging winners took an unconventional route. With no background in fashion or luxury, the Sabré brothers used their outsider status as a tool.

"Rather than asking how luxury products had always been designed or sold, we asked what customers actually valued and where the category had stopped evolving," said Zane Sabré.

Tucker pointed to consistency as the driver of three decades of growth at Carey Group. "The key is delivering consistently on safety, quality and outcomes, while staying true to why the business exists," he said.

Elliott's museum has measurably changed his region. Tourism in the Winton area has doubled in just over a decade, and growth in local jobs and businesses has driven population growth of about 10%.

Leslie's next test is global: a 2027 world title in Monaco against winners from more than 60 countries, with Swipejobs still expanding internationally.