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Past Roundtables

2013

2012

2011

2013

Lean Startup Methodology: Is Experimentation an Alternative to Planning?
April 19, 2013 

The popularity of the lean startup methodology is growing. Is it hype or a modern and efficient way for designing and launching businesses? What are the pros and cons? What can we learn from practitioners? This roundtable explored the topic and a question entrepreneurs with limited time and resources often ask: Is it worth working on a detailed business plan and then implementing it? Or is it better to launch a prototype as soon as possible and see how customers react?

Moderator: György Bőgel, Professor, CEU Business School

Key Partner: Imre Hild, CEO, iCatapult

Other Panelists:
Peter Kadas, Entrepreneur
Tamas Locher, Entrepreneur 

Related:
- “Lean” Means Listening Before Spending, CEU Business School Roundtable Concludes

Special Workshop on Social Entrepreneurship
March 8, 2013

While gaining increasing momentum across the globe, social entrepreneurship is still a largely misunderstood concept and movement. Fundamentally, it aims to apply market-based mechanisms and innovative business models to address some of deep social problems. Yet the design and implementation of social entrepreneurship approaches are highly diverse and its success varies. This special workshop assembled experts and admired social entrepreneurs from Hungary and beyond in order to bring greater clarity to the definition of social entrepreneurship and, more importantly, to identify the most effective ways to be successful in this arena.

Moderators:
Bala Mulloth, Assistant Professor and Faculty Director of InnovationsLab, CEU Business School
Barbara Erős, Strategic Program Officer, DemNet Hungary 

Speakers:
Zsazsa Demeter, Country Representative, Ashoka Hungary
Edit Győrik, President, Down Town School Foundation - Belvárosi Tanoda Alapítvány and Ashoka Fellow
Hunor Király, Fundraising Program Director, DemNet Hungary
Áron Jakab, Founder and CEO, Fruit of Care; NESsT Enterprise and Ashoka Fellow
Juli Pécsi, Community Relations, Prezi
Janos Setenyi, Principal Consultant, Expanzio Consulting
Ildikó Szigeti, Writer, Trainer for X-Change and Botsport, Ashoka Fellow
Éva Varga, Director of Portfolio Performance, NESsT 

Sponsors:
CEU InnovationsLab
Ashoka Hungary
Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights (DemNet)
NESsT 

Related:
- CEU Business School Workshop Explores the Business of Doing Good

The Global Supply Chain Forum - Central/Eastern Europe
February 22, 2013

The supply chain sector and function are becoming key parts of the 21st century business economy in our region and, among other things, the region represents a natural crossroads between east and west and between north and south. This was the first in a series of events to present the latest thinking, with major examples, in the modern supply field. The Supply Chain Forum is a partnership between CEU Business School and the University of Tennessee in the United States, the acknowledged academic leader in supply chain education and research. 

Partner: The University of Tennessee College of Business and Administration

Speakers:
Mel Horwitch, Dean and University Professor, CEU Business School
Paul Lacourbe, Associate Professor and Director of CEU’s Supply Chain Innovation Project, CEU Business School
Matt Myers, Associate Dean, University of Tennessee College of Business Administration
Mark Moon, Head, Department of Marketing & SCM, University of Tennessee
Paul Dittmann, Executive Director, Global Supply Chain Institute, University of Tennessee
Matteo Fumagalli, Associate Professor, Head of Department CEU
Michael LaBelle, Assistant Professor, CEU Business School 

Related:
- Industry Joins Academia to Discuss New Realities of Global Supply Chain Management 

2012

The Business Impact of Energy Innovation and Sustainability
December 10, 2012 

Innovation in energy and sustainability is occurring at a rapid pace resulting in emerging business opportunities and new management priorities. This roundtable explored business opportunities stemming from innovation and changing market conditions in sustainability and energy technology. It brought together local and multinational business leaders and entrepreneurs, all of whom are part of this global transformation. Roundtable participants described how new technologies and services reduce demand, produce cleaner electricity, and provide opportunities for business.

Moderator: Michael LaBelle, Assistant Professor, CEU Business School and Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy

Panelists:
Dale Martin, CEO, Siemens Hungary
Szabolcs Erki, Co-founder and CEO, Remaine Technologies
Mark Dickinson, CEO, M&C Energy Group (now part of Schneider Electric)
Willy Benko, renewable energy entrepreneur

Commentator: Barbara Stoll, Greenpeace 

Related:
- Roundtable Explores Business’ Role and Opportunities in Energy Innovation and Sustainability

The Current Role of Venture Capital in Creating and Scaling Startups: Emphasizing the Hungary-Emerging Region Connection
November 20, 2012

Apart from being important for financial investment, venture capital (VC) has other very critical functions for creating and scaling startup companies, such as helping startups form teams, develop partnerships worldwide and expand globally. In a country like Hungary where management talent is relatively scarce compared with its technical talents, these additional roles of VC are often crucial for success. This roundtable identified the distinctive features of VC in our region.

Co-organizer: Hungarian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (HVCA)

Moderator: Paul Lacourbe, CEU Business School

Panelists:
Péter Tánczos, Euroventures
Iván Halász, Finext
János Kóka, Cellum
Zoltán Kovács, Kirowskiisobar 

Related:
- What Venture Capitalists Really Do

Business Opportunities and Innovations in Life Sciences
May 16, 2012

Innovation in life sciences is very different from innovation in other fields. Because it affects people’s health, there’s little margin for error. Regulatory policies make the innovation life cycle unique. Consequently, commercializing life science advances has been traditionally long and difficult. New technology and changes in Big Pharma business models is disrupting that paradigm, opening up biotech in particular as an area for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Co-organizer: Semmelweis Innovations

Moderator: Paul Lacourbe, CEU Business School

Panelists:
Attila Bérces, Omixon
Peter Grossman, Medicover
Zsombor Lacza, Semmelweis Innovations

Related:
- Roundtable Explores Opportunities and Lessons in Life Science Entrepreneurship

Intellectual Property Strategic Management: One Size Fits All?
March 21, 2012

Intellectual property (IP) is a key component of modern innovation strategy. Any investment in R&D requires adequate protection of inventions, brands, design and artistic creations, and effective enforcement of intellectual property rights. What are the elements to be considered when developing an IP strategy? Does the approach to be followed depend on the geographical region the firm operates in? Are there golden rules for SMEs and young startup projects, and do they vary according to the industry sector at stake?

Moderator: Caterina Sganga, CEU Business School

Panelists:
Zsombor Lacza, Semmelweis Innovations
Zoltán Ormós, Ormós Law
Dóra Petrányi, CMS Cameron McKenna
Peter Varga, Organica

Related:
- video
- Intellectual Property Is Nothing Without Strategy: Rountable Talks Protecting (and Profitting From) IP
- event poster

Commercialization of New Technology and Services: Emphasizing the Hungary-Emerging Region Connection
February 13, 2012

The process of taking new technology to the market is a long and often complex journey filled with many obstacles. And increasingly, commercialization of new technology requires cooperation across borders. What is the global process of modern commercialization of technology? Who are the international parties involved? What is the new role of China and other emerging nations in today’s commercialization of technology? Can the immense markets in Asia provide enough opportunities for new technology developed in Hungary and the region?

Moderator: Paul Lacourbe, CEU Business School

Panelists:
Peter Grossman, Medicover
Daniel Koval, HeadsUp
Soma Ungar, Gauswheel
Zsolt Vaszary, WebCam

Related:
- video
- event poster

The Emergence of Angel Investing in Central Europe: A Key Dimension in Successful Entrepreneurship
January 25, 2012

To be successful as an entrepreneur one must understand and tap into angel investing. An angel investor or business angel is an individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Unlike venture capitalists, angel investors risk their own money. Who are business angels? How do they work? How can they increase the value of a new venture? What happens after this round of financing?

Moderator: György Bőgel, CEU Business School

Panelists:
Gábor Baranyai, QualyPlan
David Maasz, Entrepreneurship Foundation
György Simó, Day One Capital
Elek Straub, Day One Capital

Related:
- roundtable discussion (video)
- moderator's introduction (video)
- interview with panelist Gábor Baranyai
- event poster

2011

Obstacles and Opportunities: Building Intelligent Communities in Central and Eastern Europe
October 28, 2011

Although pockets of innovation exist, the Central and Eastern European region requires more robust hubs of innovative thinking, and especially action, if its economies are to thrive. At this roundtable, participants explored the essential ingredients for building “intelligent communities” like those in Stockholm, Eindhoven, Taipei, and Hong Kong that could lead to such hubs. Speakers from the intelligent-community world and regional leaders in the public and private sectors discussed ways to apply their findings to Budapest and other cities in Central and Eastern Europe.

Moderator: Mel Horwitch, Dean of CEU Business School

Participants:
Daniel Barcza, Moholy-Nagy University of Arts & Design, Budapest
Minister Suvi Linden, UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development, TBC
Gábor Nagyunyomi-Sényi, City Community Wealth Plc., Budapest
Mónika Németh, Ministry of National Development, Department of Electronic Communications, Postal Services and Information Society, Hungary
Ferenc Pongrácz, IBM, Hungary
Eva Yi-Yuan Yueh, IDEAS Institute, Taiwan
Louis Zacharilla, Intelligent Community Forum, New York

Related:
- CEU Business School event posting
- Intelligent Community Forum event posting