This year, the most outstanding leaders of the year were awarded again

Almost six hundred guests were welcomed at the awards ceremony organized by the Trust Circle, and the event was once again hosted by the impressive ballroom of the Corinthia Hotel. The central theme of the evening was “origin”, i.e. the source of origin, which was also reflected in the visuals of the event and foreshadowed this year’s message: leadership power is fueled by returning to the origins and internal motivation.

After the spectacular opening, Péter Gangel, founder of the Trust Circle and dreamer of the Leader of The Year award, greeted the guests:

“The members of the community may be different on the surface, but they are connected at their roots, just like the trees of the forest. The Trust Circle thus becomes the “underground network” of business life, bringing experience, connections and trust to where it has the greatest value. Because connection is a resource, trust is energy. They create better strategies, faster decisions and a more abundant harvest”

The jury looked for added value

The hostess of the evening was Anita Köböl, and after the presentation of the finalists of the categories, the winners were praised by the jury and previous awardees, and then the awards were presented. The independent professional jury consisted of the most prominent professionals in the domestic business world.

According to Dr. Péter Oszkó, founder and CEO of O3 Partners, a good leader is consistent, credible and thinks long-term, but also sets an example in everyday operations and bases his decisions on transparent and ethical foundations. After the gala, he said that the award is also very important to show the world: Hungarian entrepreneurs can achieve great results with their persistent work.

Dr. Hajnalka Csorbai, Strategic Director of Opten Kft., said that it was a difficult decision to choose the winner, as they found some special talent in everyone, and although she was used to data-based evaluations, she found it particularly refreshing and inspiring to learn about the personal stories of the company leaders within the framework of the competition.

Dr. Judit Zolnay, business and management consultant, founder of Zolnay Consulting, said at the end of the evening: it is almost essential for a competitor to have excellent business results and good approaches. The jury and the jury are looking for the plus: what kind of value the leader creates, what kind of impact he has on his environment, and how he can pass on the work he has built up to that point to the next generation.

Tibor Tóth, one of the newly joined members of the jury and CEO of the Budapest Stock Exchange, was primarily interested in evaluating the competitors, which companies could represent potential not only for the stock exchange, but also for the entire economy, because these dynamic, innovative companies can bring growth to the country. “The good news is that we found many such companies, and this award can be a good feedback for them to continue the valuable work they have started”  – he emphasized.

Here are the most outstanding leaders of 2025

The absolute winner, ’Leader of The Year ’25’ award, was received by Zoltán Szabó, managing director and owner of Ghibli Kft., who said at the end of the evening that although he received the award, his company won the recognition. According to him, the secret of a good leader is, “to love your team, to persevere, to sometimes push the boundaries, but to let it be a real game. For this, you always need rules, freedom and goals. If we can provide these three conditions, then it will be a workplace where it is good to work.”

The Young Manager of the Year award was received by Fanni Szalczinger, who has been running the family business Allegro Cafe Kft. for three years.  “It is not easy to succeed as a young manager, but I have always tried to plan one step ahead. Faith, perseverance and trust in the team made this possible.”

The winner of the special digitalization award, Krisztián Egerszegi, the head of MiniCRM Zrt, spoke about his success after the award ceremony. “Digitalization is our lifeblood, but both the person and the company must perform, and the leader has a very important role in this. Not only should he be able to work hard, but he should also be able to teach this to his colleagues.”

Balázs Matusz, the winner of the Large Company category, the president and CEO of MATUSZ-VAD Zrt. built his company from a sole proprietorship. According to him, the key to success is different at every stage of the career. While maximalism and perseverance used to drive it forward, today it is driven by innovation and a systems approach.