Dorottya Szilagyi is an IP lawyer. She had worked as an attorney prior to joining aiMotive in 2016.
At that time, aiMotive was a startup company, focusing on advanced driving technology based on artificial intelligence solutions. In 2022, Stellantis acquired aiMotive, it was one of the biggest exits in Hungarian startup history.
"Thanks to the profile of our company, I am lucky enough to deal with technology, software law, and AI-related questions on a daily basis," Szilagyi commented.
Emese Sallai-Simon is an experienced intellectual property legal counsel with a strong background in both in-house and international law firm settings. Currently, she manages the global IP portfolio for TEQBALL Group, overseeing the maintenance of IP rights and infringement management and the drafting of commercial agreements, while also advising the board on IP-related projects. Her expertise extends to competition law and IP diplomacy, gained through roles with the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Justice.
Emese holds a Master's Degree in Law from the University of Szeged, with additional certifications in German law and advanced intellectual property courses. Proficient in international environments, she brings a global perspective to legal challenges and has also been a speaker at various IP and AI-related conferences.
Miklos Klenanc has been the Head of M&A at Schoenherr's Budapest office since February 2024. His expertise encompasses mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and restructuring, company simplifications, corporate law, corporate governance, corporate compliance, and reverse compliance (limitation of liability, internal regulations). He is also an experienced dispute prevention and resolution lawyer and a licensed mediator.
After obtaining his JD law degree from the University of Szeged, he received an LL.M. in comparative constitutional law with EU specialization from Central European University. Currently, he is preparing his doctoral dissertation. Between 2017 and 2020, he was the Hungarian national representative of AIJA – International Association of Young Lawyers. Since 2019 he has been a listed mediator of the Bar for client-attorney disputes. In addition, he was appointed in 2019 as the president of the Youth Committee of the Hungarian Law Society.
Agnes Besze joined the Borsodi Brewery in January 2008 as a Legal and Corporate Relations Manager and has led the legal and communications department since May 2017. Prior to that, she worked as a junior lawyer in several positions in the state administration at local governments and at Michelin Hungaria Tyre Manufacture Company.
Currently, Agnes leads the Legal and Corporate Affairs function, providing strategic business advice on legal and corporate matters, ensuring regulatory compliance, and managing legal risks to support the company’s goals. She also oversees internal and external communication strategies.
Her academic credentials include graduating summa cum laude from the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Pazmany Peter Catholic University and passing the professional examination in 2007.
Aaron started his career as an Associate at Jenner & Block in Chicago and subsequently worked for Baker McKenzie in Budapest as a professional development officer.
Ioana also acts in post-arbitration proceedings before French courts and regularly sits as an arbitrator before major arbitral institutions, both international (ICC, ICSID, VIAC) and regional (CICA-CCIR, CCIJ), including with states and state-owned parties.
Ioana has extensive knowledge of the CEE region, having dealt and worked with every Eastern European jurisdiction, and having spent ten years in the Warsaw and Budapest offices of an international law firm. The first Romanian arbitrator appointed on an ICSID panel and the former Secretary General of the Paris Arbitration Week, Ioana is currently a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration, as well as of the Board of the SCC Arbitration Institute.
With over 15 years of legal communication experience, his team has worked with over 100 lawyers and law firms in Hungary, Europe, and even the United States. He regularly organizes trainings for lawyers and legal departments, mostly on social media presence, with a strong emphasis on LinkedIn.
He also lectures at the University of Szeged's Faculty of Law, where he teaches legal marketing and public relations.
Peter Virag is Head of the Antitrust, Competition, and Trade practice at Oppenheim Law Firm. He has 15 years of experience in EU and Hungarian competition law. His practice focuses on antitrust cases, merger notifications, state aid advice, and consumer protection investigations.
Prior to joining Oppenheim, he worked for eight years as a Senior Associate in the Budapest office of a prestigious international law firm. Earlier, he spent four years as a Case Handler at the Hungarian Competition Authority and one month as an ECN Official at the European Commission's DG Competition. Peter has been a member of the Budapest Bar Association since 2016. Peter obtained his law degree from ELTE Faculty of Law in 2009, while he also spent a semester at Lund University (Sweden) in 2007, studying European and competition law.
Peter Sukosd has been the Legal, Compliance, and Public Affairs Director at eMAG Magyarország since 2021. Before joining eMAG, he spent five years at Metro Cash & Carry Hungary as Head of Legal, Compliance, and Public Affairs. From 2019 onward, he also held the position of Head of Competition and Antitrust at DLA Piper Hungary. Earlier in his career, beginning in 2012, he served as Senior Legal Manager at British American Tobacco, overseeing legal matters for Hungary and Croatia. He began his professional journey with nearly a decade of experience at the Hungarian Competition Authority.
Kinga Kovacs has led the Legal & Compliance department at Samsung Electronics since 2015. Before that, she spent more than three years at Philip Morris International and gained earlier experience at Sole Law Firm.
Throughout her career, she has acquired extensive experience in commercial law, labor law, corporate governance, intellectual property, consumer protection, data protection, competition, and advertising law. To enhance her ability to support businesses more effectively, Kinga pursued studies at the University of Pecs, where she earned a BA in Management and Business Administration in January 2017. Additionally, she obtained an LL.M. in Competition Law in 2018.
Balazs Mak has been serving as a Vice President of Legal Affairs at Paramount since 2022 and is based in the Netherlands. Prior to this role, from 2017 to 2022, he was Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs & Managing Director at Paramount Pictures in Budapest, Hungary, focusing on international distribution and legal compliance. He also held senior legal roles at Viacom International Media Networks and served as General Counsel for Online Business Technologies.
As a seasoned media & entertainment lawyer with over 19 years of international experience in television, media, and entertainment law, Balazs excels in negotiating complex agreements and navigating regulatory landscapes.
His background encompasses strong competencies in intellectual property, telecommunications, and IT law, complemented by a proven track record in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation management.
Daniel Szeszler is the Group Legal Director and General Counsel of Magyar Telekom Plc., the leading Hungarian telecommunications provider. He graduated from Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest in 2005. He holds an LLM from University College London (UCL) and an MBA from Central European University (CEU). He started his career with White & Case LLP in Budapest in 2005 and went in-house in 2010. He has been leading the legal function of Magyar Telekom Group since 2014.
Tamas Feher is heading the dispute resolution practice of Jalsovszky, one of Hungary’s largest independent law firms. Holding a law degree from the ELTE University in Budapest, he spent 10 years with the tax and dispute resolution teams at a major international law firm. He then joined Jalsovszky in 2014 helping develop its dispute resolution team from a tax litigation boutique to a full-fledged practice. Tamas is a tax advisor, holds an LL.M. degree from the WU University in Vienna and also regularly acts as an arbitrator. He is fluent in Hungarian, English as well as Norwegian.
Bernadett is the Legal Director of Sanofi-Aventis Zrt. and Chinoin Zrt., and supervisory board member at Sanofi Shares Fund. She has been managing several cross-country transaction projects being responsible for the legal management. She has experience in business unit divestments, competition, and pharma investigations, and developed and implemented distribution strategies.
Prior to her current position, Bernadett ran her own practice with clients from the pharma industry, FMCG, and media. Bernadett also served as Head of the Legal Department at LG Electronics Hungary and started her career as Legal Counsel at Hungarian RTL Television Zrt. She holds an LL.M. in European law and a Master's in media studies with a specialization in television and public relations.
Andrea Simandi is a Senior Corporate Counsel leading Microsoft’s EMEA Legal Central Team, focusing on commercial customer' digital transformation and AI adoption. Prior to this, she was the Head of Legal at Microsoft Hungary for five years. She specializes in AI, data protection and the GDPR, cloud computing, intellectual property law, and IT law. Andrea was previously heading Bird & Bird’s Hungarian office and the IPTC group of Linklaters in Hungary.
Balazs Fazekas started his career at White & Case and has been active in TMT law for almost three decades. In 2017, Balazs became the Legal & Regulatory Director of the Invitel Group, which later transformed into Invitech. Upon the acquisition of Invitech by 4iG in 2021, Balazs became a Senior Counsel of the 4iG Group, responsible for the legal matters of the telco B2B, wholesale, and infrastructure branches of the group. Balazs is a lecturer in the LLM program on "Regulated Industries Law" at Pazmany University. Balazs is singing in a choir and loves cycling and hiking with his family.
Marianna has been a Board Member of the Budapest Bar Association’s Legal Counsel Division since 2018 and a lecturer at Eotvos Lorand University’s Faculty of Law since 2010.
Daniel holds a Master of Law degree from Pazmany Peter Catholic University, Faculty of Law, and earned a postgraduate degree in EU Business Law from Eotvos Lorand University in 2012.
His journey in the legal field began at Tesco, where he served in various capacities from 2009 to 2019, evolving from in-house Legal Counsel, through Head of Legal for Tesco in Hungary, all the way to Head of Ethics & Compliance for the Central European region, encompassing Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. In this role, Andras not only managed standard legal duties but also played a crucial role in supporting significant projects such as Clubcard, Tesco Mobile, and the introduction of online business, while accumulating extensive experience in compliance.
In October 2019, Andras transitioned to Market Epito Zrt. As its Group Legal Director, he and his team offer comprehensive legal support across the company group, navigating complex legal landscapes and driving ethical business practices.