Budapest, March 10, 2017 11:00

Szabó Béla, currently working as director of strategy and innovation at DDB was nominated the new director of communication of the Magyar Telekom Group. Szabó Béla will fill the position of director of communication of the Magyar Telekom Group from May 15, 2017. He will be in charge of the group level communication activities of Magyar Telekom , including brand management, activities related to sponsorship and events, external and internal communication, as well as media strategy.

Béla Szabó: “It is huge inspiration to join Telekom after the great and professionally progressive years spent at DDB. It is motivating challenge and opportunity to put into action what I represented so far in the fields of brand building, communication and behavior transformation to the benefit of one of the most important and biggest brands of Hungary. DDB has been a trusted partner of Telekom for years, therefore during our cooperation I got familiar with many colleagues and tasks. I have always had high appreciation for the professionalism of Telekom and I truly believe that big and important things are ahead of us.”

Hannes Wirnsberger, CEO of the DDB Budapest Group : “ Béla has been part of the DDB management for 2 years and has been essential for driving ideas, work and culture. He has become a good friend of many here, including myself. Béla is particularly passionate about building influential brands that impact the way people think, feel and behave. With his in-depth experience and his good intuitions about brands and their destiny, he will be a great asset for Telekom and a valuable partner for his new colleagues at Telekom, just like he was for us here at DDB. Rather than seeing Béla leave, we see his move to Telekom as a different, exciting way of working together and this will ensure that the great cooperation continues. We are happy and proud that Bela was offered this opportunity. In the name of DDB, I would like to congratulate Béla and wish him all the best."

The professional career of Béla Szabó:
During his career, Béla Szabó uniquely combined the agency and client level knowledge as well as experience about brand building and communication. Béla held important positions at several international agencies, at Y&R he coordinated Ericsson’s communication activities, at Leo Burnett as Strategic and Client Services Director, he was responsible for the quality of the agency’s products and for the new business. In the telecom industry he worked at the local and London based global Vodafone organizations as brand and marketing communication leader. Among others, developing a compelling story out of the network development of the telco operator was his initiative. Beside the local and global experiences he participated in establishing the digital transformation and communication strategy for Africa’s strongest brand, the MTN telecommunication operator, as Strategy Director of the South-Africa based regional MetropolitanRepublic integrated agency. He joins Telekom from DDB where as Strategy and Innovation Director his task was to introduce the clients’ brands and business in new territories.

As announced recently by Magyar Telekom, from April 2017 the current communication director of the Magyar Telekom Group, Zsófia Bánhegyi will continue to work as chief officer responsible for marketing communication of the Hungarian Tourism Agency.