ANNUAL REPORT 2020 ADVOCACY • COMMUNITY • KNOWLEDGE THIS ANNUAL REPORT IS DEDICATED TO OUR MEMBERS, WHO HAVE REMAINED COMMITTED TO OUR ORGANIZATION AND OUR MISSION DURING TABLE OF CONTENTS THIS MOST DIFFICULT TIME. LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT . 4 THE AMCHAM BOARD AND SUPERVISORY BOARD . 5 LETTER FROM THE CEO . 6 WHILE FACING AN UNPRECEDENTED THE AMCHAM STAFF . 7 CHALLENGE WITH COVID-19 ON YOUR OWN, WAY OF WORKING . 11 POLICY TASK FORCES AND COMMITTEES . 14 YOU DEDICATED TIME, ENERGY AND EXPERTISE AVOCACY SUMMARY . 16 TO THE AMCHAM COMMUNITY, PROJECTS . 20 AIDING OUR EFFORTS TO ALLEVIATE ADVOCACY TIMELINE SINCE COVID-19 . 22 EVENTS . .. 28 THE IMPACT OF THIS PANDEMIC MEMBERSHIP . 42 AND HELP RESTART THE ECONOMY. SECRETARY TREASURER’S REPORT . 48 AMCHAM FOUNDATION . 53 THANK YOU FOR YOUR Publisher: Írisz Lippai-Nagy, CEO, AmCham Hungary • Published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary, 2020 • Managing editors: Péter Kovács, Communications Manager UNSWERVING DEVOTION and Robin Marshall, chief editor, JOURNAL, the Voice of AmCham Hungary • Contributor: Vivien Csernik-Tihn • Design & production: Business Publishing Services Kft. • Photos by: AND CONTINUOUS SUPPORT. Lázár Todoroff, Hajnalka Hurta • Contact information: AmCham Hungary H-1051 Budapest, Szent István tér 11., E-mail: [email protected], www.amcham.hu AmCham Hungary received a one-time grant from the Arconic Foundation in support of the Career Orientation Program and its objective to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects and careers among students of secondary education in 2019. The Arconic Foundation is an international organization dedicated to support programs developing the next generation of engineering and manufacturing workforce. Because of this grant, AmCham Hungary is considered a foreign-funded organization under the Act LXXVI of 2017. 3 WELCOME AmCham office contact: H-1051 Budapest, THE AMCHAM BOARD Szent István tér 11. Email: [email protected] AND SUPERVISORY BOARD Website: www.amcham.hu LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Members, and cooperation are the only way to overcome this pandemic. In my previous letter at the end of 2019, on the back of an amazing Cooperation of the best minds will President First Vice President Second Vice President Secretary Treasurer Dr. Farkas BÁRSONY Edit BENCSIK Kevin A. MURRAY Mike CARLSON 30th anniversary celebration, give us the vaccine. Kondor Holding TATA Consultancy Citibank Europe PLC, KPMG Hungary I wrote jubilantly that we were Services Hungary Branch about to open a new chapter in the Cooperation can help contain proud history of our organization. the spread of the virus and protect I never expected that, at the very the vulnerable people in our community. We do not take beginning of this new chapter, communities. this for granted. we would have to face the most severe global, social and economic Cooperation between businesses, Thanks to your commitment and disruption since the financial organizations and governments continuous support, we managed crisis of 2008. drives forward the recovery of to cement our place as one of Board Member at Large Board Member at Large Board Member at Large Board Member at Large the economy. the most influential and effective Ildikó BECK, PhD Ákos BURJÁN Dr. Dávid KŐHEGYI Taira-Julia LAMMI With so many lives lost and at risk, business organizations in the Beck To Nature, LLC PwC Magyarország Kft. DLA Piper ABB healthcare systems under extreme Cooperation will lead to a global country in the most testing of duress, educational institutions economic reform for a more times. More than ever, the voice of under massive pressure, sustainable future. AmCham Hungary matters. As an businesses struggling and closing, outgoing president, I could not have causing rising unemployment, AmCham Hungary is built on asked for more. economies destabilized and the cooperation of like-minded societies divided, we are facing professionals who want to make a It was a privilege to be an unprecedented challenge difference and, once again, you have. the President of AmCham that pushes our economic, Hungary these past four years. Board Member at Large Board Member at Large Board Member at Large AmCham Chief Executive Officer social, cultural and political All of you had to work overtime to Representing such a dedicated Tímea PESTI Zoltán SZABÓ Melinda TOPOLCSIK Írisz LIPPAI-NAGY infrastructures to the limit. steady the ship at your respective and diverse community has been LeasePlan BT Regional Bridgestone Tatabánya companies while working the honor of a lifetime. Thank Hungária Operations Center Manufacturing It is in times like this, however, remotely, and coping physically you for putting your trust in me. that the human spirit shines at and mentally in an unprecedented EX OFFICIO MEMBERS its brightest. situation. And still, you spared no time, effort, or resources to William BENKŐ AmCham President (2013-2014) For all our differences, in work with your fellow AmCham Speak Academy, experiences, opinions, and members, sharing your expertise Rózsakert Medical Center background, we are all in the same and insight, combining your Dr. Farkas Bársony, Ferenc PONGRÁCZ boat, and we can only endure if knowledge to drive change for AmCham Hungary Supervisory Board Supervisory Board AmCham President (2015-2016) we work together. Solidarity the benefit of the entire business President, 2017-2020 Dr. Andrea JÁDI-NÉMETH David YOUNG Tungsram Group bpv JÁDI NÉMETH Amrop Attorneys at Law Kohlmann & Young 4 5 WELCOME AmCham office contact: H-1051 Budapest, AMCHAM STAFF Szent István tér 11. LETTER FROM THE CEO Email: [email protected] Website: www.amcham.hu Dear Members, with you early next year. We even built a new website and a CRM system to 2020: A year that everyone will become more efficient and effective. remember! This year also gave us opportunities. As I am sitting in my home office Opportunities to stop for a while and after completing a series of online think about our future, have a fresh events and meetings, I realize I could look and make a restart. While the key write this letter in two very different questions are when will we return to ways, and both would be true! I could “normal” and when we will reach the speak about all those things we have 2019 GDP growth, I wonder if that is lost, and we miss, most importantly really what we need and want? While Chief Executive Officer Events Manager Membership Manager Irisz LIPPAI-NAGY Anita ÁRVAI Ildikó TAKÁCS-BERKA the personal contact, and the AmCham has been and is focusing [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] predictability of the future. on competitiveness, and each of our staff, are not experts in the many members has a growth and recovery fields represented by our member Equally, I could go ahead by plan, we must also think about our companies. Everything we do is highlighting what we have won children and what legacy we leave based on the professional input and what I am proud of. First for them. Our past actions led to the we receive from you. Needless and foremost, I am very proud of present, and where we find ourselves to say, we couldn’t maintain our my team who transformed our now. If the only measure of success is operation without your ongoing operation online within one day in based on revenue and market share trust and support. I am aware of March. We were able to continue our growth, we could soon find ourselves the difficult situation some of you professional discussions, provide a in a similar, or potentially even worse, face, nevertheless I do hope we can Policy Officer Policy Officer Policy Officer Zsuzsanna VARGA József GÁL Zsófia VALKÓ-JUHÁSZ platform for best practice sharing situation than that we are currently in. continue working together for the [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] and collecting your inputs for our benefit of each of us and our society. advocacy activities. Furthermore, this year not only We are thankful to be able to count gave us the opportunity, but also on you in the future as well! We could organize most of our highlighted the responsibility we events, some in a hybrid format, hold with regards to the ways in 2020: A year that everyone will such as the VI Business Meets which a sustainable economy could remember! It depends on us how we Government Summit and a couple and should be built. will look back at it in 2050: whether of business forums. We not only it was an “end” or a “beginning”. continued our existing projects but Thus far, AmCham has been a great Communications Manager Project Coordinator Finance and Office Manager launched new ones, preparing new community for uniting companies Péter KOVÁCS Vivien CSERNIK-TIHN Judit SZEMEREI recommendations in many fields and business leaders willing to work [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] from healthcare reform to the Labor together to build a more competitive Code, just to mention two. economy in Hungary. Now we aspire to be a platform where our powerful Our Policy Agenda, highlighting our community can work even harder, focus areas for 2021-2025 is being finding new ways to develop the Írisz Lippai-Nagy, prepared based on your inputs, is economy in a more responsible way. Chief Executive Officer We would also like to thank our former staff members, Rebeka Gáti and Katalin Csillag about to be finalized and will be shared I always say that we, the AmCham of AmCham Hungary as well as our interns Benedek Kiss and Réka Szalontai for their work in 2020. 6 7 Our Way of Working ▶ Working Groups ▶ Projects ▶ Advocacy During COVID-19 ▶ ADVOCACY HIGHLIGHTS ADVOCACY THE AMCHAM WAY OF WORKING AmCham’s advocacy activity that come out from these events such as the Business is based on an annual cycle of activities are discussed and Meets Government Summit.