István Kapitány

The meeting was held on January 20. The newly elected president’s mandate begins on March 8 and lasts for 3 years.
The formal transfer of the presidency will take place a day before, at the 26th Executive of the Year Awards Gala.  

“It is a great honor for me to be elected President of the organization by the general meeting of the Association of Executives,” said István Kapitány. “My goal is to encourage top executives in Hungary to join the association, mentor and support as many emerging Hungarian executives to become key players in, regional and international business, in an even larger number.

“My career started in Hungary, so naturally I would like to share my 30 years of international business experience with talented Hungarian executives.
I also have an ambition to establish the most efficient cooperation with Hungarian and European partner organizations in order to strengthen the corporate social responsibility of executives,” he added.

According to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal, the Hungarian Association of Executives, led by Botond Szirmák, has undergone a major transformation over the past five years. Under his presidency, the association focused on recruiting new members, increasing the prestige of the executive profession and the active advocacy of executives. The outgoing president worked on increasing the visibility of the organization and further promoting their high profile events that have been renewed in recent years. New programs such as the Future Executive Program, Mentor Program, and Business Menu were introduced during his tenure.

Furthermore, CEC European Managers officially accepted the application of the Hungarian Association of Executives for membership at its meeting in Belgrade on May 20, 2019, thus the Association of Executives became a full member of CEC European Managers.

Outgoing president Szirmák said, “I feel we have renewed the Association over five years, giving it a boost. We have made great strides forward on the digital front and have changed our communication; as a result, our membership has also become younger. However, I have recently become responsible for the European market of Provident 4, so I am no longer able to reconcile the work for the association with my increased professional responsibilities.”

Tímea Buday Kollárik, managing director of the Association of Executives noted, “I learned a lot in working for Botond Szirmák and it was very harmonious working with him and the presidency. We worked a lot to increase the Association’s visibility, engage female executives, develop the Future Manager Program with a view to rejuvenation and knowledge sharing and, last but not least, the process of nominating and selecting Executive of the Year Awards, which has come under trademark protection during this period, thereby raising the prestige of the awards.”

“At the beginning of our work, the Association presented two awards and today we present seven. The 200-person gala has increased to 400. By involving sponsors, we have tripled our annual budget. Due to our work with the current presidency, we have also succeeded in replacing the outgoing president with a charismatic new president, such as István Kapitány, whose decision was largely based on the fact that we can continue building on a strong foundation together. I also take this occasion to thank Botond for his trust and support, and I look forward to working with István,” she added.