Board of Trustees

President and Members of the Board of Trustees

Milán Gauder

President of the Board of Trustees

Milán Gauder is an economist, business executive, philanthropist, fintech expert, and startup investor. He graduated with distinction in Economics from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences (now Corvinus University of Budapest) in 2001. He began his professional career at Deloitte Consulting and later joined the Budapest office of McKinsey & Company.

In 2005, he joined Mastercard, where he held various local, regional, and global leadership positions until 2022. Following senior roles across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, he concluded his Mastercard career as Global Executive Vice President responsible for Global Acceptance. His professional work has focused on digital payment solutions, financial innovation, and the advancement of modern payment technologies. Among his notable achievements is his contribution to the adoption and expansion of contactless payments and Apple Pay in Hungary and across Europe.

Since 2022, he has continued his professional activities as an advisor, investor, and board member for fintech companies. He is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences across Hungary and Europe on topics related to finance, technology, and digital payments.

His public and cultural engagements include being a co-founder and co-owner of Átrium Theatre, founding the Gauder Art Residency artist-in-residence program in Marrakech, supporting the Van Helyed Foundation for more than a decade, and serving as a mentor in the Bankárképző Mentor Program since 2011. Most recently, since 2025, he has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Hungarian edition of MIT Sloan Management Review Hungary. Earlier in his career, he was also a founder of the Planet Club and UniqMBA initiatives. In recognition of his collective philanthropic and community contributions, he received the Forbes Philanthropist of the Year Award in 2024.

He has two brothers: Áron Gauder, an animation director known for The District! (Nyócker!) and the Academy Award-nominated Four Souls of Coyote (Kojot négy lelke), and Márk Gauder, co-founder and owner of Szimpla Kert, widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading bars.

His partner is actress Andrea Osvárt, known for her roles in Maternity Blues, the Academy Award-nominated Chuchotage (Susotázs), and What Ever Happened to Timi. He is the father of three daughters: Frida, Blanka, and Luna.

Dr. Mária Dunavölgyi

Member of the Board of Trustees

I am an economist and hold a PhD. I have spent most of my life in Hungary, but I also worked for four years at the UN headquarters in New York. As Deputy Director of the Government Debt Management Centre, I was one of the leaders of the reform of government debt management. As Chief Executive of the Budapest Stock Exchange, I worked with my colleagues to implement the digitalisation of trading. As a partner at Deloitte, we provided advice during the EU accession process. As a regional manager at Mastercard, I was involved in preparing the global company’s stock market launch. At OTP, I led the development of the scope of operations and the business launch of a newly established subsidiary.

I have been working at Corvinus University for ten years. Under my leadership, the MBA programme successfully secured accreditation, after which I was appointed head of external relations. Following the election of András Lánczi as rector, he removed me from this position, citing differences in our political views. I was working as a lecturer and researcher when, six years ago, the university community elected me as Chair of the Employee Council. In September 2026, I became a member of the Board of Trustees of the MUC Foundation, which funds the university.

I live with my family. I have two adult sons and two young grandchildren.

Dr. László Péter Lakatos

Member of the Board of Trustees

László Péter Lakatos is an economist, lawyer, statutory auditor and court-appointed forensic expert. He is Head of the Institute of Accounting and Law at Corvinus University of Budapest and Programme Director of the English-language MSc in International Accounting and Auditing. He has been teaching at Corvinus for over two decades at bachelor’s, master’s, MBA and doctoral level, first as Head of Department and later as Head of Institute.

He graduated in economics in 2001 from Corvinus’s predecessor institution, the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration, with a major in accounting and a minor in business valuation, and also studied at Eastern Illinois University (USA). He obtained his PhD in 2012 from the Doctoral School of Business and Management at Corvinus University of Budapest and his law degree in 2014 from Eötvös Loránd University, passing the Hungarian professional bar examination in 2019. He has been a certified auditor since 2006, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) since 2011, and a registered forensic expert since 2015.

His teaching and research cover financial reporting, international accounting, accounting for financial instruments, forensic accounting and auditing; as the author of several textbook chapters, he also works on the accounting treatment of dissolution without a legal successor, voluntary winding-up and corporate transformations. Since 2012 he has taught on the Master in Audit and Accounting programme of the University of Luxembourg, and since 2017 at ISM University of Management and Economics in Vilnius. He has been named Lecturer of the Year on several occasions and is a recipient of the Kenneth Rice Award.

As an auditor he works primarily with listed companies and corporate groups: he has led audit teams for more than fifteen years, first as audit manager and then as audit partner, and has directed numerous IFRS conversion projects in the financial, energy, real estate and asset management sectors. On behalf of the Ministry of Finance he carries out statutory peer reviews of the audits of major banks and significant listed companies, and he has supported the work of the State Audit Office of Hungary as an external expert. As a forensic expert he acts in civil and criminal proceedings and in money and capital market matters, and has also advised banking and financial regulatory institutions in the Middle East.

He is President of the Chartered Auditor Qualification Board and a member of the Supervisory Board of AutoWallis Nyrt. He has been a member of the Association des Formations Européennes à la Comptabilité et à l’Audit since 2002 and served as its President between 2017 and 2023.

In his work as a trustee he is guided by the preservation of the academic values of the university community, by well-founded and accountable decision-making, and by strengthening the long-term competitiveness and financial stability of Corvinus.

Dr. Zoltán Balázs

Member of the Board of Trustees

Zoltán Balázs is a professor at Corvinus University (Institute of Social and Political Sciences), Chair of the University Doctoral Council, and Research Professor at the Institute for Political Science of the Centre for Social Sciences.

He earned a degree in economics from the university (or its predecessor institution) in 1990. He obtained his PhD in Political Science in 1996 and completed his habilitation in 2006.

He taught at the Central European University and later at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. He has been a research fellow and visiting researcher at various universities in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and Portugal. He was an active participant in the college for advanced studies movement.

He headed the Department of Political Science at Corvinus University, as well as its Doctoral School of International Relations and Political Science. Eight of his doctoral students have earned their degrees. He played an important role in introducing the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) programme in Hungary and in launching it at Corvinus University.

He served as Chair of the Political Science Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and as President of the Hungarian Political Science Association.

For two consecutive terms, he was elected as a constituency representative in the local government of Rákospalota-Pestújhely-Újpalota. He chaired the Finance Committee and later, for three years, served as a deputy mayor with a social mandate, overseeing the financial management of the municipality.

His research interests include selected questions of political theory and political philosophy, as well as certain chapters in their history. His publications in Hungarian, English, and German are listed in the Hungarian Scientific Bibliography (MTMT). In addition to the works listed there, he continuously engages in professional and political commentary and public affairs writing.

He is committed to the values and entire tradition of Corvinus University, and during his term of office, he strives to work in the spirit of these values and to uphold them.

Dr. Ágnes Tóth

Member of the Board of Trustees

Dr. Ágnes Tóth is an economist with more than 15 years of senior executive experience in the service sector and higher education. Throughout her career, she has focused on leading organizational transformations and managing complex change processes.

Previously, she served as President and CEO of Budapest Metropolitan University (METU) and as CEO of Prohuman Ltd. As the leader of METU, she directed the organizational and business transformation of Hungary’s largest private university, significantly enhancing the institution’s operational efficiency, market position, and business integration. Under her leadership, METU became the most commercially successful university in the Central and Eastern European region.

Her current professional focus is on executive leadership, organizational transformation, and leadership development. She supports transformation initiatives at major Hungarian corporations and works with senior executives at the Corvinus–SEED Executive School, concentrating on leadership, strategy, organizational transformation, and change management.

She holds a PhD in Economics and also earned a master’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. Her leadership approach is characterized by the combination of structured, analytical thinking and strong interpersonal sensitivity.

She firmly believes that the successful university of the future is not only distinguished by excellence in education and research but is also deeply connected to its business and social environment and capable of continuous renewal and adaptation.