We are so happy and proud to share that this year will be the 11th time that we are organising our International Women’s Day Conference.
Please mark your calendars for the 8th of March 8:00 a.m. to 17:00. The event will be held in Hungarian and English, with online interpretation.

Breaking the glass ceiling

How to implement female quota and support future leaders?

During the day, exciting presentations and roundtable discussions will explore what organisations can do to increase female representation in their leadership and how they can support the women leaders of the future. Besides learning from successful corporate leaders, we will meet inspirational entrepreneurs, writers, actors and journalists – all actively playing role models for future generations.
During the day, we present 2 practical workshops that you can attend next to the plenary sessions. (More details coming soon.)
Inspiration, best practices, trends and personal stories for young leaders, entrepreneurs and not only for women.
Time: 8th March, 2023, 8 am – 5 pm
Location: Magyar Telekom HQ (1097 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán krt. 36.)

PROGRAM

START
PROGRAM
SPEAKERS
08:00 Welcome, networking
09:00 Opening Antónia Mészáros (Unicef Hungary)
09:10 Keynote speech Zsuzsa Rácz (writer, journalist, MomTheresa)
09:35 How can the EU accelerate the journey towards equality Marusa Gortnar (European Institute for Gender Equality)
09:45 How to prepare effectively for the EU female quota? Péter Kemény (E.ON Hungária Zrt.; moderator)
Zsuszanna Friedl (Magyar Telekom)
Boglárka Kricskovics-Beli Dr. (KPMG in Hungary)
Veronika Molnár (Nokia)
10:25 My personal journey towards a diverse and inclusive leadership Sonia Dimogli (The Coca-Cola Company)

10:40

Coffee Break

10:55 Program, technical information Antónia Mészáros (Unicef Hungary)
11:00 Surfer Mentality:The most important lesson I learned from my father about happiness and success Gabriella Bódi ([eureka] Consulting and Games)
11:15 Behind the glass wall – why don’t we have women in so many professions? György Nagy (Sigma Technology Hungary, moderator)
Ben Copeman (BlackRock)
Nóra Zsuzsanna Héger (E.ON Hungária Csoport)
Barbara Szigeti (Tesco Magyarország)
Éva Zanin (Deutsche Telekom)
11:55 Personal success story and mentoring the new generation Szabina Tomán (Toman Lifestyle)
György Bovier (motivational speaker, trainer)
12:20 Entepreneurs competing internationally Andera Dintsér (MVÜK Women Leaders’ Club, moderator)
Gabriella Bódi ([eureka] Consulting and Games)
Andrea Prohászka (TUTTI Élelmiszeripari Kft.)
Viktória Takács-Fulai (Blue Colibri App)
13:05 Menopause Award Orsolya Iványi (Community Builder, Menopause Activist)

13:15

Lunch Break

13:45 Program, technical information Antónia Mészáros (Unicef Hungary)
13:50 Contributing to equality as a male ambassador Balázs Fremda (Morgan Stanley)
14:05 The power of the female communities Krisztina Kende-Hofherr (TMC Management and Communication, moderator)
Erika Csatos (Álomjövő Tanácsadó Iroda)
Nóra Hevesi (Tesco Hungary)
Orsolya Iványi (Community Builder, Menopause Activist)
Orsolya Szabó dr.(Zsolya Communications)
14:50 What are the real problems of Hungarian women today? Antónia Mészáros (Unicef Hungary, moderator)
Krisztina Bombera (CauseArt Platform)
Dorka Gryllus (actress)
Edina Heal (Egyenlítő Alapítvány)
Veronika Munk (Telex.hu)
15:40 Closing speach Edina Heal (Egyenlítő Alapítvány)
During the day we will provide catering.
The event is free for the membership of the Foundation and open to the press, but registration is required.
The event is free for our members, but registration is required. For external visitors, personal attendance is possible with the purchase of a support ticket (10.000 HUF).
The conference will be streamed as a Zoom webinar, online participation is free for all, but the registration is required.

SPEAKERS

OD Specialist, Coach, Master Trainer, Economic Psychology Expert

I have been working as an OD and HR strategist since 1996. As a business, one of my main profiles is finding operational hitches and diagnosing the problems that obstruct effectivity in workflow. As a result, I present strategies to my clients on how to do better in their business and make them see alternatives for optimal operation or find a way to boost their activities to achieve their goals.

Personal development has become my main focus in the past few years. As a trainer and coach, I have created several developmental tools, systems and methodologies, and even held seminars in civil and professional environments.

In 2022 I launched a self-developmental card deck called KÉRDEZŐ. It is available on the Hungarian market and has become a massive role player at my seminars as an effective tool. 

My Irish-based company, NewDoor Apps International, aims to create a self-reflecting and self-development mobile app to appeal to the international user market.

11:00 | Woman and leader – How to see ourselves in two roles at the same time? (workshop)

Head of HR for Hungary, and HR Operations Lead for Europe, Middle East and Africa, BlackRock

Ben had strong focus on diversity and inclusion throughout his career, having led global inclusion programmes, and inclusion has been a keen focus during his tenure in Hungary.

Ben has 3 children, the latter one who was born in Hungary (Zsofia, named to honour the country that has been a happy home for the last 4 years).

11:15 | Behind the glass wall – where are women in certain professions? (roundtable)

Founder, Chief Vision Office @ [eureka] Consulting and Games

Fed up with the conventional school system and being driven by believing in myself I started my first business at age 17. I was born as a roma, queer woman into a working-class family in Budapest. As a young, roma and queer woman I was trained in the lion’s den – the boardroom- that helped me become a fearless leader. In 2014 I co-founded [eureka] which is a leadership development and consulting company located in Hungary. After serving thousands of clients with workshops, training and coaching to develop high-trust, high-performance teams, [eureka] entered the international stage in 2022. I am passionate about supporting ambitious leaders and entrepreneurs to create the career and life they want.

11:00 | Surfer Mentality:The most important lesson I learned from my father about happiness and success (presentation)

12:20 | Entepreneurs competing internationally (roundtable)

14:00 | Entrepreneurial mindset barriers: how are you holding yourself back from success and what can you do about it? (workshop)

Broadcast journalist, moderator and speaker, lawyer, business leader

Krisztina Bombera J.D. is a broadcast journalist, event moderator and speaker, co-founder of CauseArt Platform, a value-advocacy agency. She worked several years in the U.S.A. dominantly as a broadcast correspondent and – with a degree in law – as a junior legal assistant at Princeton University for a year.

She has been a long-time volunteer of numerous NGO’s to help strengthen several social causes. As a moderator and communication expert she helps enhance and communicate social responsibility projects of multinational and medium-size Hungarian companies. Her agency organizes campaigns that strengthen awareness and sensibility towards causes for the common good.

She is the host of several shows produced by the Hungarian Association of Executives – “Business Menu with Krisztina Bombera,” “B Menu Extra,” – where she conducts in-depth interviews with managers of outstanding performance in the fields of social, environmental or business sustainability. Krisztina is the mother of two teenagers, her husband is a university professor of philosophy.

14:50 | What are the real problems of Hungarian women today?(roundtable)

Trainer, inspirational speaker, communicator

Motivational speaker, integration and marketing expert, first wheelchair participant at the Bamako Rally; member of the Hungarian wheelchair tennis team; director of business development at Szeglet Közösségi- és Élménytér.

György Bovier gives an answer through his own example and life experience on how to use our innate resilience, how to use the ability to adapt to our advantage and how to make appropriate decisions even in difficult situations.
He plays an expert role to support company managers in connection with the integration of employees with disabilities, and he gives lectures and workshops for employees on the topic of sensitization. His lectures touch on serious topics with a sense of humor, most of the time in an interactive form, with honest communication.

11:55 | Personal success story and mentoring the new generation

Founder, ÁLOMJÖVŐ Tanácsadó Iroda

Csatos Erika, the founder of the ÁLOMJÖVŐ Consulting Office is considered as one of best financial advisors not only in Hungary but internationally as well.

Her specialties are the long-term financial planning, creation and execution of comprehensive financial strategies. She has been working for more than 20 years to improve the Hungarian financial culture.

Today she is mostly considered as a financial mentor for women, she believes financials have a female character, too. As women face special financial challenges during their lives, she creates special programs for them so that their cients avoid getting into unworthy situations due to lack of money.

She created and started the Nőnek lenni jó! (It is good to be a women) conference in 2014 that became well-known in Hungary. She supports lots of female social initiatives. Her goal is to enhance charity culture within her community as well.

14:05 | The power of the female communities (roundtable)

Leader of the Women Leaders’ Club of the Business Association of Hungarian Corporate Executives (MVÜK), and the founder and CEO of the integrated marketing and communication agency, YourStory.hu

Andrea is a passionate communicator and networker. He has 25+ years of management experience as a marketing, communication and knowledge management professional and leader at PwC and then KPMG, in the Hungarian economy, Central and Eastern Europe and even more internationally. He believes in the power of well-designed and precisely targeted communication, be it online or offline, and in the human relationship that can be effectively complemented and supported by online tools.

For 5 years now, she has been the leader of the Women Leaders’ Club of the Business Association of Hungarian Corporate Executives (MVÜK). The focus of their strategy is to strengthen the proportion, position and recognition of female managers and entrepreneurs in the Hungarian economy. In the 5-year history of the Club, the proportion of female leaders in the business community increased from 4% to 30+%, they won the Women Power Category of Bridge Budapest Entrepreneurial Community Award in 2020, and in 2022 the Hungarian Business Leaders Forum (HBLF) Business Life for Diversity Award.

Member of the boards of trustees of the Equality Foundation. She also mentors startups during the development and implementation of their strategy in the mentor team of Design Terminal and Tőkeportál.

12:20 | Entepreneurs competing internationally (roundtable)

Head of Human Resources @ Morgan Stanley

Balazs Fremda is the Head of Human Resources for Budapest at Morgan Stanley since 2016. After completing his Master’s degree in economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Balazs worked at Korn Ferry Hay Group as a Reward Consultant focusing on compensation benchmarking and consultancy at various technology companies and shared service centers in Hungary.

He joined Morgan Stanley in 2009 and has been instrumental in building up the Budapest office. Over the years Balazs served in various HR leadership roles in the Compensation & Benefits, HR Business Partner, Talent Acquisition and Talent Development domains. He is passionate about sustainable living and is the senior sponsor of the Morgan Stanley Budapest Sustainability Committee.

Balazs typically commutes to work by bike, enjoys singing old music in a choir and serves as an elder in a reformed church community. He lives in Érd with his wife and four children – two daughters and two sons.

13:50 | Contributing to equality as a male ambassador (presentation)

Chief People Officer @ Magyar Telekom 

She is a senior manager of one of Hungary’s largest employers, who has acquired her knowledge and developed her leadership skills in various industries over the past 20 years. In addition to HR activities related to the entire workforce of the Magyar Telekom Group, she is responsible for areas supporting the company’s agile transformation, as well as internal and strategic external communication. She considers the implementation of the employer brand strategy, elaborated in accordance with the development of the new organizational structure and culture, to be one of the biggest challenges of the past years, a tangible result of which is that Telekom is considered one of the most attractive workplaces in the country. She is convinced that outstanding performance – regardless of gender, age or life situation – is worthy of recognition. She works with her team to create a working environment where work is truly an experience and each colleague feels valued. 

09:45 | How to prepare effectively for the EU female quota? (roundtable)

Actress

Already during her first year of studies, Dorka Gryllus assumed the leading role in the film adaptation of Péter Esterházy’s bestseller ‘Seventeen Swans’ which made her nationally famous in Hungary. 

Engagements at many important European and American theaters and institutions followed, including the Deutsches Theater and HAU in Berlin, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and Volkstheater in Vienna, PS122 in New York, the Atrium, Örkèny, as well as the Thalia Theaters in Budapest. Currently she is a member of Trojka Theater Company. 

She attracted international attention with her leading roles in Sam Garbaski’s ‘Irina Palm’, in Fatih Akin’s ‘Soul Kitchen’ and the Berlinale entry ‘Dallas Among Us’ for which she was awarded the film festival’s ‘European Shooting Star’.

Dorka Gryllus works internationally as an actress and lives in Berlin and Budapest.

14:50 | What are the real problems of Hungarian women today?(roundtable)

photo ©MalinaEbert

Program manager @ E.ON DSO

After eight exciting years of being an organization development consultant, I joined E.ON Hungária as change management program lead in 2019. Within the company I was lucky enough to lead the Sunrise program related transactional program from 2021 and after closing the transactions I joined the DSO organization to lead a complex IT project, that aims to transform our core operational processes with implementing a new SAP system. I really enjoy in my daiy job, that I can leverage my diverse educational background (work-and organizational psychology and economics) by supporting the projects, teams in developing solutions that are not only appropriate from the professional perspective but also serving our goal to make sustainable changes by considering the human aspects as well. 

I keep my daily balance with practicing yoga and dancing tango and I regularly create an opportunity to really be “out of office” somewhere around the globe to get inspired and become recharged by different cultures.

11:15 | Behind the glass wall – why don’t we have women in so many professions? (roundtable)

Founder and leader @ Egyenlítő Alapítvány

A senior executive experienced in managing change, fostering innovation, inspiring a diverse workforce, and creating motivated and effective teams. In 20217 Forbes Magazine has selected her as one of the five most influential women in the business category. Her personal goal is to create equal opportunities for women and men.

14:50 | What are the real problems of Hungarian women today? (roundtable)

15:40 | Closing speach (presentation)

Head of Communications and Campaigns @ Tesco

She’s a communication professional with nearly 30 years of experience and the mother of two adult children. She has been with Tesco for almost 10 years and is committed to supporting and organizing the company’s diversity programs and equal opportunity efforts.

14:05 | The power of the female communities (roundtable)

Community builder and Menopause expert

She started the “Éljenek a 40 feletti nők” movement three years ago, which now has nearly 20,000 members. In her previous life, as a communications manager she worked for corporate companies and agencies (Vodafone, Wizz Air, G2 London) in Budapest and London. She started blogging ten years ago, wants to show the positive side of aging, wants to shake up middle-aged women that never too late to start anything. She runs her one-woman communications agency from Tuscany, where she moved through her husband five years ago. She is a Vichy Neovadiol Midlife Ambassador, and a founding partner of the menopause at workplace program at Tesco.

13:05 | Menopause Award

14:05 | The power of the female communities (roundtable)

photo ©Gregus Máté

Diversity and inclusion expert @ EON Hungary Ltd.

After gaining experience in the social and public administration fields, I turned to the competition sector and soon became E.ON’s diversity and inclusion expert in 2012. Since then, in addition to strategies aiming equal opportunities between women and men, the integration of employees with disabilities, and the support of Roma communities, I have also been dealing with employee cooperation development, corporate wellbeing, and sustainability topics. I am convinced that one of the best advancing investments for employers is the development of diversity and inclusion, which is also a basic element of a sustainable future.

Next to work, I have volunteer duties as a curator of the Hungarian Larche Foundation, which is a social employment service provider for adults with intellectual disabilities, and as a curator of the Romaster Foundation, I work on catching up with disadvantaged students.

09:45 | How to prepare effectively for the EU female quota? (roundtable)

Owner and CEO @ TMC Group

Krisztina Kende-Hoffher is a serial entrepreneur and community builder, the Founder of the TMC Group talent agency, television producer, media and communications expert, dedicated supporter of women entrepreneurs the founder of AJMAFT selfmade career support community.

14:05 | The power of the female communities (roundtable)

Counsel

After finishing her studies in 2006, as lawyer at the University of Pécs, Faculty of Law, Boglárka gained practice at a prestigious Hungarian law firms with international clientele, in the field of employment, corporate and data privacy law. As a part of her actives Boglárka advised multinational companies on various employment law matters, and took part in numerous due diligence projects, cross border TUPE transactions, restructuring or collective redundancy processes and in collective employment matters. Between 2010 and 2015 Boglárka taught Introduction to Business Law at Budapest Business School, hold lectures in the frame of adult trainings and regularly publishes and speaks on employment and labour law matters.

09:45 | How to prepare effectively for the EU female quota? (roundtable)

Head of Research and Policy Support Unit

Maruša Gortnar is the Head of Research and Policy Support Unit at the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), overseeing the areas of research and data collection, gender mainstreaming and gender-based violence. Before joining EIGE, she worked for many years in the area of gender equality in the Slovenian Government and was a member of different EU and national bodies for gender equality. A graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana, she holds an MA Degree in Gender Studies from the Central European University

09:35 | How can the EU accelerate the journey towards equality (presentation)

Executive Director @ UNICEF Hungary

Antónia Mészáros is the Executive Director of UNICEF Hungary, previously a journalist, tv anchor and documentary film director. She has worked in news, current affairs and documentaries in Hungarian media, as well as British Public Broadcasting.  During her seven years at the BBC, she has worked at the prestigious prime time current affairs strand Panorama, Newsnight, Correspondent and other well known programmes. She covered wars, filmed in hostile environments and worked also as an investigative journalist. Antónia continued making documentaries for the BBC after her return to her native Hungary, in parallel to her on screen work for Hungarian Public Television. One of her films was selected „best of the year” by BBC World, another premiered in a cinema in front of King Charles. In 2006 she wrote a book about Eastern European migration to the UK. Over the years she has been selected as a European Young Leader, an Aspen Young Leader and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and completed executive education courses at Harvard and Oxford University.

Moderator of the event and roundtables

Head of People Experience EUR Care, CECA (CECA stands for Central Europe and Central Asia)

I’m really proud to work at Nokia Hungary, this is a company where we are open to learning, feeling empowered to create significant impacts and being fearless in our everyday life. Here at Nokia we are aiming to create an open and inclusive culture as we are putting the People into the Heart of everything what we are doing. As part of the People Experience organization our aim is to enrich the experience, promote the Nokia essentials and Care about our employees.

I’ve joined to Nokia in 2017, after finishing my Social Studies and I feel lucky to have found an amazing workplace where we are strengthening each other and giving the possibility to young female talents to grow.

09:45 | How to prepare effectively for the EU female quota? (roundtable)

Head of Content Development @ Telex

Veronika Munk is a Hungarian journalist, founding Editor-in-Chief, Head of Content Development of one of the largest Hungarian independent online news dailys, Telex. She was the Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Index online news daily, where she has worked for 18 years. She has a media studies PhD and teaches courses on journalism at ELTE University, the largest Hungarian university, and she is the Director of Telex Academy, Telex’s educational center.

14:50 | What are the real problems of Hungarian women today? (roundtable)

photo ©Ajpek Orsi

CEO, Sigma Technology Hungary
Executive VP, Sigma Technology Group

I have always been fascinated by two things: technology and communication. When in 2004 I joined Kudos, a UK-based tech-writing company, I felt I was realizing a childhood dream by getting paid for what I’d also do for free. I became country manager in 2006, and MD a year later, when Sigma – a  Swedish tech consultancy with international ambitions – acquired Kudos. Today, almost 20 years and several company name changes later, I have so much to be proud of. Sigma Technology Hungary is a successful and fast-growing engineering services provider with 230 people, bronze medalist in WeAreOpen’s Open Survey, and chosen as the ’Coaching Mindset Company of the Year’ in Hungary, just to name a few. And the one thing that I’m the most proud of: we don’t just design, write, test or code – we are creating long-lasting relationships with customers, partners and staff members alike.

11:15 | Behind the glass wall – where are women in certain professions? (roundtable)

Managing director @ Tutti Élelmiszeripari Kft.

Andrea Prohászka was born in Győr in 1980, she is the mother of 3 children and the managing director of Tutti Élelmiszeripari Kft., which has a turnover of 7.5 billion and employs 140 people. The company was founded by his father in 1986, and the initial ice cream powder manufacturing plant has grown into a factory that produces thousands of powder-based food and nutritional supplements due to the dynamic development.

In 2004, she graduated with a degree in foreign trade from the BGF Faculty of Foreign Trade and in 2006 she obtained her MBA qualification in Győr. In 2004 she started her career as a foreign trader in the family company, and from 2009 she worked in the management of the company until 2019, when she took over the executive position from her father. She is an active member of the Women Leaders’ Club.

12:20 | Entepreneurs competing internationally (roundtable)

writer, journalist – MomTheresa

I am Zsuzsa Rácz, a writer and a journalist. 20 years ago the success of my first novel titled -Stop MomTheresa!- made a lot of women share their stories with me. 

So I had to understand what forces shape the road women need to take, how many difficulties we have to overcome on our way.

Since then I work for equality, by creating supportive women’s clubs, and female awards. I believe that we have the power to understand what women and men can achieve if we work together on creating a more equal and fair society.

09:10 | Keynote speech

Country Manager Hungary, Coca Cola Company

Sonia joined The Coca-Cola Company from Coca-Cola Hellenic, where she has worked for the past three years as Regional Marketing Director for Greece and Cyprus. 

Previously, she gained experience in corporate management, sales and marketing , holding senior positions with several consumer brands, FMCG manufacturers and multi industries, in several European countries, including Greece, the Netherlands and Bulgaria.

10:25 | My personal journey towards a diverse and inclusive leadership (presentation)

Founder, Zsolya Communication

In 2017 I founded Zsolya Communication, a location independent online communication agency. Since then we have been assisting thousands of small, medium and large Hungarian companies with online and offline trainings, individual consulting and mentoring, copywriting, social media management services.

In 2022, we launched Zsolya Social Media Bank, a unique subscription-based system for content production.

14:05 | The power of the female communities (roundtable)

Head Of Country People Operation @ Tesco Magyarország

Barbara’s passion for the retail sector, as well as the fact that she has been a member of the Tesco family for more than two decades make her a great HR leader. In addition to her strong focus on HR management, she has a proven experience in operational management which greatly helps her to implement Tesco’s HR strategy based on accountability and results.

She’s a mother of two daughters and the face of the company’s work-life balance initiatives. Her work has been recognized in recent years with numerous industry awards.

Her motto: “The only constant thing in life is change.” 

11:15 | Behind the glass wall – why don’t we have women in so many professions? (roundtable)

Co-founder, CEO @ Blue Colibri International Kft.

In 2019, we founded the Blue Colibri App, a customizable Employee Platform for internal communication, engagement, administration and training. Our goal, now in 10 countries and 16 languages, is to make employees’ everyday lives easier with our digital solution.

12:20 | Entepreneurs competing internationally (roundtable)

Founder and president @ Toman Lifestyle Kft.

Szabina Tomán is the founder and the president of Toman Lifestyle Kft., the creator of the Toman lifestyle program, investor and the mother of 2 children. After 15 years of modeling career, she has been building her own business for 10 years, with more than 17,000 people changing their lifestyles and more than 170,000 kilograms shed thanks to her program. There are dozens of Toman Diet salons in Hungary already and international expansion has also begun recently. She has been a mentor to the Hihventures StartupHER Women Entrepreneurship Program since 2019, the 2019 winner of the Glamour Women of the Year in the Entrepreneur of the Year category, and 2019 candidate for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Improving Quality of Life.

It is the 4th season she participates in the Hungarian adaptation of the business show “Shark Tank”, as the only female investor. She started her own mentoring program supporting female entrepreneurs in 2021. She has been awarded by the Hungarian Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers in 2022 for her Exceptional Social Responsibility.

11:55 | Personal success story and mentoring the new generation

Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Products Manager @ Deutsche Telekom Group

After ten years of academic career she joined the NGO and later the corporate sector as a sustainability and equity expert. She led the delivery of Magyar Telekom’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy for five years. As a result of her operations Hungary’s leading Telco reached gender equity in its senior leadership, gender pay gap has been reduced, the number of returning caregivers doubled, and she developed the first Hungarian language open source unconscious bias training material, which was made available for all local entities. Next to her strategic delivery role she has been the product owner of a crossfunctional team leading customer facing units towards the achievement of 100% accessible customer experience. She joined Deutsche Telekom Group in November, working on the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy of the company group. She firmly believes, that proficient data science, agile way of work and digitally mature, business focused HR operations are key to open and inclusive workplace design in all industries.

Social scientist, member of Egyenlítő Alapítvány, member of curatory board of Employer’s Equal Opportunity Forum. Her professional achievements and her work for the equity of underserved social groups has been awarded by several Hungarian and international  bodies.

11:15 | Behind the glass wall – why don’t we have women in so many professions? (roundtable)

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