At the annual Alumni Reunion Gala, which took place on May 12, 2012 at Hilton Buda Castle Hotel, CEU alumna and recipient of the 20th Anniversary Alumni Hero award, Borbála Czako (IMC 1990), spontaneously stood up to make a leadership pledge of 1,000 USD to the university in support of student scholarships.
Borbála spoke about how crucial her scholarship to attend the International Management Center (currently known as CEU Business School) in 1989 had proven to be for her future as both a professional and an individual, seeking her personal path in life during a turbulent time in the history of her native Hungary and the Central Eastern European region.
possible."
She concluded by urging her fellow alumni in the room and all over the world to consider following her example and supporting their Alma Mater. "We got so much from the school," she said later in an interview with CEU President and Rector John Shattuck. "We need to give something back. This is a small contribution, but we should do that."
Borbála Czakó is an internationally renowned public figure and professional in the field of business and finance. She is currently a Global Partner of Ernst & Young in London, a post she took up in 2010, immediately after the end of her four-year term as Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the United Kingdom.
Borbála is President (1995-present) of the Hungarian Business Leaders Forum (HBLF), which is a non-for-profit organization that promotes responsible business practices to underpin sustainable economic, social and environmental development in Hungary. She has been actively engaged in numerous civic and business organizations in Hungary and worldwide, and has served on the CEU Business School Board of Directors. She has held the post of Vice Chair of the Greek-Hungarian Business Association, President of the Foreign Direct Investment Committee at American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary and a Member of the Budapest Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Committee.
Borbála holds a BA degree in Technical Sciences from the Budapest Economic University. In 1990, she earned her Master in Business Administration, focusing on Finance, from the International Management Centre in Budapest (IMC, currently CEU Business School) and Tulane University in New Orleans, USA.
Today, Borbála continues to be an active and generous member of the CEU alumni community, organizing events, contributing to student scholarships at the University and facilitating alumni involvement wherever she goes. Learn more on her 20th Anniversary CEU Alumni Hero profile.