Geopolitics, Global Economic Challenges, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing: The Hungarian Business Leaders Forum Organized its 24th Financial Summit
The Hungarian Business Leaders Forum (HBLF) organized its 24th Financial Summit, titled "Games People Play: Geopolitics, Global Economic Challenges, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing". The unique economic conference took place on 16 February 2024, at K&H Bank's Headquarters in Budapest.
The conference shed light on the conflicting economic and economic policy interests that are increasingly prevalent in today's world. As technology and the widespread use of artificial intelligence continue to shape our daily lives, economy, and physical security, it is crucial to interpret global political events and changes, both within the European Union and overseas—which was precisely what called the event’s theme into being.
To navigate this complex landscape, the conference featured an esteemed lineup of speakers from various sectors, including innovation technology, foreign and security policy, and economics. These speakers, who are ministers, respected economists, renowned C-level experts, successful business leaders, ambassadors, and distinguished international specialists, provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by the ever-evolving global landscape.
The event was opened by András Bácsfalvi, the HBLF board member responsible for the Financial Summit, followed by the greetings of Attila Gombás, Board Member and K&H Deputy CEO. Márton Nagy, Minister of National Economy, a keynote speaker of the event, urged the launch of a program to support the purchase of electric cars at a European level and shared important details on the ongoing global economic changes regarding the automotive industry along with its possible impacts and consequences. In the panel discussion titled ‘Global politics through the lenses of ambassadors’, H.E. André Erdős, Ambassador, Vice President of the Hungarian UN Association, former Permanent Representative to the UN, H.E. Julia Gross, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Hungary, and H.E. Andrew Davidson, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the United Kingdom to Budapest shared their valuable thoughts. The section was moderated by H.E. Borbála Czakó, former Hungarian Ambassador to London, Honorary President of HBLF.
The program continued with the ‘Economy, security and artificial intelligence’ panel, moderated by András Bácsfalvi, with the participation of Dr. Ádám Balog, President of Rheinmetall Plc., Éva Hegedüs, President and CEO of Gránit Bank, György Jaksity, Founder of Concorde Securities Zrt, and Ferenc Vágujhelyi, President of the National Tax and Customs Administration.
Paolo Sironi, IBM Global Research Leader in Banking and Financial Markets shared the results of IBM Institute for Business Value’s research on AI and productivity during his presentation titled ‘Transparency in the age of AI’. In the Asia panel - moderated by András Bácsfalvi - Dávid Németh, senior analyst at K&H Bank, Feledy Botond, lawyer, foreign policy expert, István Joó, CEO of HIPA, Government Commissioner responsible for investment promotion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the implementation of priority large-scale investments in Hungary, and Tatai-Szabó Marcell, BDO Hungary, FDI Partner participated. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of National Defense was also a keynote speaker: he talked about the development of the Hungarian armed forces, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
According to its two-decade long tradition, the 24th HBLF Financial Summit was an exceptional platform of knowledge, networking, and collaboration. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with industry leaders and explore innovative solutions to address the pressing economic and geopolitical issues of our time. The event concluded with the closing thoughts of Prof. Dr. István Stumpf, university professor, former constitutional judge, and chancellor minister.
