Expat CEO of the Year Award
Congratulations to the Winner!
WINNER OF THE BBJ EXPAT CEO OF THE YEAR 2022 REVEALED
THE BBJ EXPAT CEO OF THE YEAR 2022 SHORTLIST
The Budapest Business Journal officially announced the three-person shortlist for its eighth annual Expat CEO of the Year Award, one of the most anticipated events in the expat business calendar, on Feb. 10, 2022.
The 2022 award was contested by Britain’s John Ford, managing director of GoTo in Hungary, Dutch national Frank Iepema, CEO of Hydro Extrusion Hungary Kft., and Giacomo Pedranzini, CEO of Kometa 99 Zrt., our first-ever Italian nominee.
The shortlist was announced at a BBJ Boardroom meeting held at the Matild Palace Luxury Collection Hotel for award stakeholders drawn from the diplomatic corps and business circles. The final decision as to who would be the 2022 winner was taken minutes before the BBJ Expat CEO of Year black-tie awards gala at the Corinthia Hotel Budapest on Friday, March 25, 2022.
The Budapest Business Journal, Hungary’s leading business biweekly publication, founded the award in 2015 to recognize the efforts of expat CEOs in Hungary, both for their companies and the country. The title is given to the person living and working in Hungary who has done the most for this country’s development and international recognition through their professionalism and outstanding achievements last year.
“The BBJ is Hungary’s only English-language economic bi-weekly and has always played an important role in providing information for expat CEOs working and living in Hungary. That is why we decided to found an award to recognize their efforts annually,” explains Balázs Román, the CEO of the Budapest Business Journal.
The shortlisted trio was chosen by a professional awards jury put together for the event. It will also make the final decision on March 25. This year its members are Írisz Lippai-Nagy, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary; András Sávos, president of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Róbert Ésik, CEO of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), our official award partner, and Balázs Román, CEO of the Budapest Business Journal. The fifth seat on the jury is traditionally taken by the previous year’s award winner, who in 2021 was Erik Slooten of Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Hungary.
The BBJ Expat CEO of the Year Gala is one of the most prestigious annual events in Hungary. On that evening the Expat CEO of the Year Award is presented to a company head chosen from among a pool of what amounts to several hundred expat leaders.
In receiving the award, the chosen CEO is recognized as the most successful foreign leader in the past year. Success here means that they contribute at an exceptional level to the economic development of Hungary, and that within their Hungarian organization they show a great example to their employees and also their peers within the expat community.
The award is now a tradition; it has been granted every year since 2015. The idea to create an award that would be given as exclusive recognition for their efforts to the most outstanding CEO of the year, came from the Budapest Business Journal.
“The BBJ is Hungary’s only English-language economic bi-weekly, and has always played an important role in providing information for expat CEOs working and living in Hungary. That is why we decided to found an award to recognize their efforts annually,” explains Balázs Román, the CEO of the Budapest Business Journal.
The BBJ Expat CEO of the Year Award
The BBJ Expat CEO of the Year Gala is an invitation only event for the most important players in the Hungarian economy. The award is given to the foreign business leader who is determined to have made the most outstanding achievements in the previous year.
After a COVID-induced delay to the gala of 18 months, Erik Slooten, CEO of Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Hungary, was selected as the 2021 Expat CEO of the year. His immediate redecessor, albeit one named in January 2020, was BlackRock’s Melanie Seymour. Taira-Julia Lammi, CEO of ABB Hungary Kft., won the award in 2019, while in 2018, the title went to Marc de Bastos Eckstein, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Components Technology Hungary Kft. In 2017, it was Jörg Bauer, then of GE Hungary; in 2016 it was Jost Ernst Lammers, of Budapest Airport Zrt., and the inaugural award was presented in 2015 to Javier González Pareja, of Bosch Magyarország.
Each year, our official event partner, the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency presents its Partnership Award in recognition of the work of foreign-owned multinational firms for the use of local suppliers in their value chain and of their CEOs for the ambassadorial role they play in representing Hungary to their home boards. Over the years, the award has been presented to the following: Nevijo Mance, director of engineering, Jaguar Land Rover Hungary (2021); Dale A. Martin, president-CEO of Siemens Zrt. (2020); Kannan Prabhakar, projects chief of Apollo Tyres Hungary Kft. (2019); Frank Müller, head of the Regional Office of VW Group Eastern Europe (2018); Ekkehard Günter Philipp, CFO of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft. (2017); Naoyuki Takeuchi, CEO of Magyar Suzuki Zrt. (2016); and Kersten Bachmann, CEO of TAKATA Safety Systems Hungary Kft. (2015).
The independent jury members’ expertise strengthens the high quality of the award. It is comprised of leaders of bilateral chambers and international business development organizations with outstanding experience both in international and domestic economic life, complemented by the prize winner of the previous year and the CEO of the Budapest Business Journal.
Jury members are charged with nominating expat CEOs for the award based on the following criteria:
- Innovative skills
- Successes on domestic and international markets
- Being a prominent and committed representative of his or her mother country in Hungary
- Their impact on Hungary’s economic life
- The CEO must have lived in Hungary for at least two years
- The financial results of the company represented by the CEO must be positive
The jury responsible for deciding the 2022 winner:
PREVIOUS WINNERS OF BBJ EXPAT CEO OF THE YEAR
EXPAT CEO OF THE YEAR GALA
Video Gallery for Past Years:
2022:
2021:
2020:
Photo Gallery:
2022:
2021:
2020:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Dress-code
The dress code is black-tie: black tuxedo for men with a bow tie, evening wear for women (long ball gown or cocktail dress).
Food allergy, special diet
When registering, please let us know about any special dietary requirements.
Registration process
Registration to the event is open to those who have received a personal invitation to the BBJ Expat CEO of the Year Gala via email. Please note that only by giving a written confirmation of your registration here will you be entitled to attend the Gala. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at event@bbj.hu.
Venue
The venue of the Expat CEO of the Year Gala 2020 is the Grand Ballroom of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest.
Website: www.corinthia.com/hotels/budapest/
Address: Budapest, Erzsébet krt. 43, 1073 Hungary
Parking is possible on site at the hotel garage (spaces permitting) according to the parking rates of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest.
