Signature 40 once again – Signature Platform takes things to the next level: Signature Alumni Club launched

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/11

Márton Nagy: – We are happy to report that we took things to the next level, as we received exactly 1,209 recommendations during the entry period, from which the jury evaluated 178 entries. The range of organisations applying in the programme is constantly widening and thanks to the thematic list, we are able to keep the evaluation system as objective as possible.

– Although the number of recommendations increased, there was a 20% drop in applications. Isn’t it a contradiction that you still consider this year a success?

Ádám Vaszary: – Not at all. In 2023 we received serious and – I must say – justified criticism from a large part of the 70+ jury and the board of trustees that there had been many incomplete applications. In response to this, we set much stricter criteria this year. As a result, there were fewer applications, but much more work was put into them.

This year’s Marketing Summit once again saw the presentation of the Signature 40 awards. The awards ceremony was proudly presented by the two founders, Márton Nagy and Ádám Vaszary

– Over the past 2 years you regularly expressed your desire to forge a single entity from these award-winning professionals. This year it has also been reflected in your on-stage communication. What is the Signature Alumni Club?

M.N.: – From the very beginning, our plan was to stay in touch with this community. We have so many valuable professionals emerging in front of our eyes, and we wish to give them all the support we can. Finally we could start to move this community – and this is still just the beginning.

Á.V.: – During the application period we received the news about the fatal accident of one of our recommended candidates, Gábor Józsa, trade marketing manager of Bonafarm In this situation it was no question for Signature Platform that Gábor should get the recognition posthumously.

This year, Signature Platform paid special attention to the professional positioning of the award winners

– Where to next? How can these numbers be surpassed and what are the plans?

Á.V.: – As Márton has said, our goal isn’t to increase the number of recommendations significantly. According to our surveys, there are about 5,000 people who can be part of the Platform, who meet the criteria. Presently there is already a nearly 25% penetration. We do want more and better quality applications. In 2025 – together with a renowned auditing body – we want to further guarantee to applicants and candidates that Signature Platform is really about objectivity and opportunity. //

The Award Founders and Zsuzsanna Hermann, managing director and editor-in-chief of Trade magazine, which sponsors the two lists, congratulated the FMCG and Trade thematic list winners on the spot. Trade magazine joined the Signature 40 programme this year again to provide an opportunity to meet, professionally recognise and thereby highlight more trade and brand managers

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In memoriam Gábor Józsa

Gábor Józsa
trade marketing
team leader
Bonafarm

The award was received by Gábor Józsa’s son, Nándor Józsa, a young marketer, and his long-time colleague and friend, Krisztián Király, Business Development Manager of Bonafarm Group, from the founders of the award, Ádám Vaszary and Márton Nagy

He was a true polyhistor in the world of trade marketing, a real role model who also devoted a lot of time and attention to his family. He was a great athlete and had energy that ordinary people can’t even imagine. As senior triathlon champion, he was a true iron man! //

Present at the award ceremony were his colleagues and family (from left to right): Eszter Bartos-Kovács, PICK trade marketing manager, Zsuzsanna Pető, PICK trade marketing assistant, Yvette Lakos, wife of Gábor Józsa, Nándor Józsa, son of Gábor Józsa, Krisztián Király, PICK trade development team leader and Zsuzsanna Hermann, managing editor of Trade magazine

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1. Tamás Harmati

8. Kinga Milassin

senior brand & media specialist – foodora

She has a degree in retail marketing. When she joined NetPincér she wasn’t the most experienced person, but she has always been driven by a strong desire to succeed. She has been involved in two successful brand changes. She is now working in one of the fastest growing industries, building the foodora brand and helping to make people’s lives better. //

9. Zoltán Mata

key account & trade marketing manager – Törley Pezsgőpincészet

He is a winemaker and marketing expert. At Törley he started his career as a bottling plant foreman and acquired experience in various fields, including production, quality assurance, marketing, sales and the launch and management of the company’s webshop. As key account manager he is responsible for managing trade marketing activities. //

10. Bettina Nagy

senior marketing and PR expert – Erste

Currently she is doing her PhD studies at ELTE’s Faculty of Economics. She has acquired seven years of experience on both the agency and client side. She has spent three years at NetPincér and now at Erste Bank she works as a senior marketing and PR specialist. She has coordinated several Erste focus campaigns, such as the student account ads. //

12. Dóra Vágó-Kovács

marketing communications expert – CIB Bank

Her goal is to acquire as many skills as possible at a high level in the financial sector. Her tasks included crisis and customer communications during Covid and a moratorium, and her portfolio now includes several segments – CSR, social media management and various communication platforms. //

11. Patrícia Farkas-Marton

customer marketing manager (off trade) – Borsodi Sörgyár

She had joined Borsodi in 2017 as a trainee and was appointed junior HoReCa & small food trade marketing manager in 2019. Later she began specialising in the off trade channel, and since 2021 has been working as senior off trade customer marketing manager, leading an enthusiastic team of two. She is proactive, creative and passionate about her work. //

13. Krisztina Sarolta Hittner

PR and customer relations team leader – dm

Leading a team of 10 is an exciting task in itself, but in addition to people management she also leads the professional work, working closely with the marketing and PR manager, plus with the international departments. Their main objective is to strengthen the dm brand and effectively engage customers through authentic content and events.//

14. Eszter Guba

junior brand manager – Henkel Magyarország

Within the organisation she has had the opportunity to work in two business areas: initially in detergents and cleaning products and now in cosmetics. For the first time in its history, Henkel Magyarország organised the “Pink October with Henkel” CSR campaign in October 2023, and it was her who developed the concept and managed the project. //

15. Dávid Porkoláb

digital marketing solutions manager – Erste Bank Hungary

He started out as a junior digital marketing expert in 2013 and joined Erste as a senior expert in 2016. Since 2019 he has been responsible for digital marketing solutions as a manager. He is currently responsible for all paid and owned digital platforms of Erste Bank’s Hungarian operations, excluding PR and internal communications. //

16. Tamás Várfi

senior digital marketing specialist – Erste Bank

A proactive professional who is constantly looking for ways to optimise how he performs his tasks. He is keen to try new and innovative solutions and places a strong emphasis on professional development. He is mainly involved in selling unsecured loan products, and investment and micro-enterprise products. //

17. Dávid Kiricsi

head of campaign management – Erste

Originally an IT graduate, the link between technology and marketing has always been a key part of his thinking. This convergence has made it possible for him to see familiar things in a new light and bring creative, innovative solutions to the workplace. He is solely responsible for the concept of large campaigns such as TV commercials, from preparation to delivery. //

18. Gabriella Tánczos-Székely

head of franchise – Cafe Frei

She took over the management of the Café Frei franchise network in 2022. She introduced a number of changes to the operation, in order to preserve the brand’s value. She is currently working on opening 5 cafés in two new countries and another 10 cafés in Hungary, which are expected to start serving guests at the end of 2024. //

19. Bence Borszéki

brand manager – HELL ENERGY Magyarország

As brand manager for HELL Ice Coffee and Sunnywood Farms, he is responsible for developing ATL, BTL and innovation strategies and managing product development processes in more than 30 countries. He is currently responsible for the overall strategy and communication of HELL ENERGY’s dairy-based portfolio. //

20. Ádám Major

brand communications manager & brand guardian – Yettel

He joined Telenor in 2019 as marketing communication manager. Yettel’s launch became one of the biggest milestones for the company and in his career, which led to his current position. From 2020 to 2022 he was the key brand expert for Telenor’s Yettel rebranding project, working directly under the brand director and coordinating marketing communication. //

21. Orsolya Verik

content marketing & social media group manager – Yettel Magyarország

She started working for Telenor Magyarország in 2019 as head of the social media team. She is responsible for producing content for the company’s official social media platforms. One of the most exciting moments of her career has been introducing a new brand and building a stronger connection with consumers through the power of social media. //

22. Pál Molnár

commercial manager – Szerencsi Bonbon

He has been a member of the Szerencsi team for more than 6 years. He also acts as a Szerencsi brand ambassador as a member of Hungarian Product’s trade committee. In addition to this, being a qualified diver one of his most important activities is the protection and conservation of nature, which he practises as a hobby together with family and friends. //

23. Anett Polyák

regional trade marketing manager – Rauch Hungária

For almost 20 years she has worked as a trade marketing manager at Rauch Hungária , where she strengthened the market presence of Rauch brands through innovative solutions. She has supported trade activities for well-known brands such as Happy Day or Rauch MyTea. She is a member of the international Rauch trade marketing board. //

24. Ágnes Zelei

marketing manager – Budapest Bábszínház

She started her career in 2013, having worked at multinational companies in FMCG (L’Oréal, Unilever, Reckitt) and IT (Iron Mountain). Since 2021 she has been working on the Budapest Puppet Theatre brand, where she leverages her multinational background. At her suggestion, the theatre has been working with the Kids in Children’s Homes Association since 2021. //

25. Tünde Ilcsik

content & production manager – Libri-Bookline

She joined the Libri-Bookline team almost 3.5 years ago as a junior media manager, and after six months she was promoted to media manager. She now leads the creative team. In 2023 she won a bronze award at Hipnózis with Bookline’s “I am off to read” campaign, which presented a modern reading experience. Her other projects include the 20 Minute Book Club. //

26. Emese Barta

mass brand product owner – OTP Bank

She started her career on the agency side. Next she spent five years in the telecom sector, managing integrated campaigns for Telekom. Then she switched to the banking world, where she was product owner of two agile teams at OTP for more than two years. She currently coordinates the work of the team managing OTP’s domestic brand. //

27. Péter Gerber-Németh

head of marketing – ACE Telecom

After graduation he became junior marketing manager at Magyar Telekom, and then marketing manager at Vodafone, where he worked on the introduction of mobile internet services. Later he was appointed senior marketing manager and then acting campaign manager at Invitel and Invitech. He is currently marketing manager at ACE Telecom. //

28. László Jambrik

senior manager local brands & portfolio strategy – Borsodi Sörgyár

He started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he worked as associate brand manager on several brands in the Gillette brand group. Next he moved to ReckittBenckiser as senior brand manager. He then joined Zepter as health brand director, but after starting a family he entered the SME sector, before returning to the corporate world in 2021. //

29. Roland Szűcs

senior category manager – Yettel Magyarország

In 2010 he became sales representative at Magyar Telekom. He decided to join Telenor Magyarország in 2016. As Go2Market Manager he was responsible for the in-store implementation of B2B and SoHo campaigns. From 2017 he was responsible for the entire accessories portfolio as category manager. //

30. Viktória Szirmák-Szabó

brand & sustainability manager – Henkel Magyarország

She started her career as a junior brand manager at Beiersdorf , where she worked on several Nivea categories. She then spent 2 years at Philips Magyarország In 2023 she organised the first Perwoll Sustainable Fashion Day, which was held for the second time in April 2024 – both events took place in the Hungarian National Museum. //

31. Tünde Csabai

marketing manager – Endomedix Diagnosztikai Központok

She worked in the FMCG sector for ten years, progressing from trainee to senior brand manager, working on soft drinks, energy drinks and alcohol brands. She is currently at Endomedix, Hungary’s leading network of private gastroenterology clinics in Budapest and 8 cities in the countryside. She is particularly excited about the rise of AI in diagnostics. //

32. Dóra Csoknyai

senior trade marketing manager – HELL ENERGY

She has been a trade marketing manager at HELL Energy for three years, where she was involved in the expansion of the organisation and was appointed senior trade marketing manager. In four years she increased the size of the trade marketing team from 0 to 4 people, reflecting the company’s commitment to trade marketing. //

33. Péter Kerkay

category and customer marketing manager – Molson Coors

His career is characterised by continuous development, spending nine years in sales positions in Hungary and Poland, where he was responsible for several countries as KAM and KAM team leader. In the past four years at Molson Coors he has led a team of 13 people and has been involved in the company’s annual planning process and category management. //

34. Judit Hellinger

trade marketing manager – Tchibo Budapest

She started out as a trade marketing specialist at Tchibo Budapest. Currently as trade marketing manager she is responsible for strategy, retail brand support, go-to-market processes and efficient trade marketing operations. Shopper focus is a priority for her and she leads a small team supported by one FTE and a part-time student. //

40. Anett Monori

brand manager – Maresi Foodbroker

Prior to joining Maresi, she managed the Moët Hennessy portfolio in Hungary. Her work is varied, challenging and highly appreciated at executive level. The “Let’s Open Together” project from 2021 is particularly close to her heart, which she launched to support bars and restaurants that had been hit hard by the pandemic.//