Budapest University of Economics and Business

He obtained his law degree with distinction in 2000 at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. He began his professional career at Educatio Public Services Nonprofit LLC as Deputy Director, and later held the position of Director at Multinova Ltd. He worked in Budapest as a trainee lawyer, and subsequently held the position of Director at Commitment Ltd./Plc. for more than five and a half years. Between 2010 and 2011, he served as Head of the Secretariat, State Secretariat for the Coordination of Development Policy, Ministry of National Development. 

Over the course of his career, he has served as Managing Director of Humán Jövő Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd. and of the National Holiday Service Ltd. From 2011 to 2012, he was CEO of Hunguest Asset Management Plc., and since 2012 he has been Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hungarian National Holiday Foundation. He has been active in several areas of the public sector: from 2012 to 2014, he served as Ministerial Commissioner at the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice; from 2014 to 2016, as Ministerial Commissioner at the Ministry of Human Capacities; from 2016 to 2022, as CEO of the Hungarian Tourism Agency; and from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2022, as Ministerial Commissioner responsible for coordinating state tasks related to the development of tourism regions. 

From 1 September 2022, he served as Ministerial Commissioner responsible for the operation and development of unified, transparent and structured government IT and e-government, and as CEO of the Digital Hungary Agency. He is currently Chair of the Board of the Hungarian Tourism Agency. 

“I believe that, building on the traditions and community of BUEB, renewal creates opportunities for further development and innovation. Together with my fellow trustees, we will strive over the coming years to use our business and policy experience to effectively support the further development of the University. Personally, I hope to put my leadership skills to good use in steering the Board and in shaping a balanced and sustainable management of the University.”

Katalin Pintér obtained her first degree at the Budapest College of Commerce and Catering in 1981. She began her career at the age of 19 at the New York Café, and has since worked in the fields of hospitality and tourism. She has applied her outstanding professional expertise in positions including Restaurant Manager at the Duna Intercontinental, Sales Manager at the Radisson SAS Béke Hotel, and Director of the Szidónia Castle Hotel. Her connection with BUEB and its predecessor institutions has remained unbroken; to this day, at the Faculty of Commerce, Catering and Tourism, she serves as a guest lecturer, instructor, and chair of final examination boards. Since 2000, she has been the owner and Managing Director of Gerbeaud Gastronomy Ltd., a company with a history of more than 160 years. She runs the family business – comprising the Gerbeaud Café, the two-Michelin-starred Onyx restaurant and Émile House – with her son and daughter. In recognition of her outstanding work in the tourism and hospitality sector, she has twice been awarded the Pro Turismo Prize and, in 2016, the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit. 

“The inspirations gained at Cornell University have for years guided my thinking towards the need to implement similarly practice-oriented education in Hungary. This process has already begun, and now, as a trustee, I wish to contribute to development on an international scale.”

By decision of János Csák, Minister for Culture and Innovation, Ádám István Kiss has been President of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office since 7 March 2023. Under the professional supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, as President of the Office he participates in the renewal of the Hungarian innovation system, in the development of calls, programmes, research projects and strategic documents concerning the innovation ecosystem, and coordinates the use of resources of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund. 

He was born in 1975 in Gyöngyös. After graduating from the Gárdonyi Géza Cistercian Secondary School in Eger, he obtained his degree at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences in 1999. He studied on scholarship at the Faculty of Finance of the State University of New York at Oswego. 

He began his professional career as an investment banker; between 1998 and 2006 he served as Deputy Director and later as a member of the Board of CA IB Securities, where he acted as financial adviser in the company’s major privatisation and other corporate acquisition transactions. In 2001, he spent six months in London working with CA IB’s energy team. 

In 2006, he joined Díjbeszedő Holding Plc., which provides comprehensive billing services for Budapest’s public utilities, as Deputy CEO. Between 2006 and 2010, as Deputy CEO for Strategy and Business Development at DBH, he directed the preparation of the entire Díjbeszedő Group’s strategic plans and their implementation at project level. Between 2010 and 2017, he was CEO of the Company’s largest subsidiary, Díjbeszedő Faktorház (DBF). Under his leadership, DBF became Hungary’s leading financial institution for the purchase of retail receivables. 

Between 2017 and 2022, as a financial investor, he acquired minority stakes in IT and fintech companies. 

Since 2022, he has been serving as Ministerial Chief Adviser at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation. President of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office since March 2023. 

In his free time, he supports the work of social organisations. Between 2015 and 2023, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Mosoly Foundation, which provides healing for chronically ill and emotionally traumatised children through fairy-tale and art therapy sessions as well as experience programmes. 

He currently lives in Budapest, is married, and has three children. 

Dr. Tamás Lőcsei is an internationally recognised expert in taxation and state aid, has on several occasions contributed to the professional drafting of legislative proposals representing the interests of economic operators, and has facilitated numerous Hungarian and regional investments by foreign investors. He obtained his law degree summa cum laude in 1998 at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. He began his career at PwC in 1997 as an intern, and in 2005 became one of the youngest partners in the firm’s history when he was appointed Head of Indirect Tax Department. Under his leadership, the business line grew dynamically. Between 2014 and 2017, he led the tax and legal services of the Central and Eastern Europe region, and since 2017 has served as the region’s Innovation Leader. BUEB and PwC have a long-standing cooperation; many guest lecturers teach at the Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, and numerous BUEB alumni build their careers at the company. 

“As a Trustee, my goal is to support the University’s operation in its renewal to 21st-century standards, and to ensure that, as a result of the education provided, graduating students possess the preparedness required by current and future labour market needs, enabling them to integrate successfully and seamlessly into the modern corporate environment. Drawing on my innovation role at PwC, I wish to place emphasis on fostering young people’s openness to innovation. A BUEB degree must be a guarantee that its holder is prepared for the challenges of digitalisation and proficient in new technological platforms.”

Bálint Szécsényi was born in 1974 in Budapest and, after attending the specialised mathematics programme at Berzsenyi Dániel Secondary School, graduated in 1998 in Finance and Corporate Valuation from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. Between 1998 and 2000, he worked as a futures broker and later as a foreign exchange broker. Since 2000, he has been a key owner and executive of Equilor Investment Ltd. At the company, he served as Corporate Finance Director between 2002 and 2004, and as Managing Director from 2005 to 2009. Since 2010, he has been CEO of Equilor Investment Ltd. Concurrently, Chair of the Supervisory Board of Equilor Alapkezelő Zrt. (Equilor Asset Management Private Limited Company) and CEO of Közép-Európai Kockázati és Magán Tőkealap-kezelő Zrt. (Central European Venture and Private Equity Fund Management Private Limited Company). In the spirit of social responsibility, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation of the Department of Corporate Finance at Corvinus University of Budapest, and between 2011 and 2015 he also held the position of Vice-Chairman of the Budapest Stock Exchange. Since April 2018, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Gedeon Richter Plc. 

"Drawing on my leadership experience in the money and capital markets, I wish to support the University in becoming one of the region’s outstanding institutions, offering both theoretical and practical knowledge."