Sándor Csányi (banker)
 |
Sándor Csányi | |
|---|---|
 Csányi in 2023 | |
| Born | 20 March 1953 Jászárokszállás, Hungary |
| Alma mater | Budapest Business School Karl Marx University |
| Occupation(s) | CEO, OTP Bank |
| Known for | holdings in OTP Bank, MOL Group and Bonafarm President of the Hungarian Football Federation |
| Board member of | Hungarian Football Federation MOL Group |
| Spouse | Erika (Kári) Csányi |
| Children | 5 |
Sándor Csányi (born 20 March 1953) is a Hungarian billionaire businessman and banker. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of OTP Bank Group, one of the largest financial groups in the CEE Region and the largest bank in Hungary. He is a shareholder and board member of the Hungarian-based multinational oil and gas company, MOL Group. He owns Bonafarm, the holding company of a Hungarian agricultural and food manufacture group. With an estimated wealth of 393,4 billion forint ($1,33 billion) as of 2022, he is according to Forbes, the wealthiest person in Hungary,[1] and the country's first billionaire.[2]
Early life
[edit]Sándor Csányi was born on the 20 March 1953 in a lower middle-class agricultural family in Jászárokszállás. His father, József Csányi was the field guard of the cooperative of Jászárokszállás. His mother, Amália Ballagó was a line driver also in the town's cooperative. He has two brothers. His parents were beekeepers and produced sugar beets. He is of Jassic descent.[3]
When he was 14 years old, he moved from rural Hungary to Budapest.[4]
Education
[edit]He graduated from Budapest Business School in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and in 1980 from the Budapest University of Economics with a degree in economics and thereafter received his doctorate in 1983.[5]
Career
[edit]After graduation he worked at the Revenue Directorate and then at the Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance. Between 1983 and 1986, he was a departmental head at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. From 1986 to 1989 he worked as a head of department at Magyar Hitel Bank. He was deputy CEO of Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank from 1989 to 1992. In 1992 he became chairman & CEO of OTP Bank Group and fired a number of managers (which was unheard of in a formerly socialistic country). He is responsible for the Bank's strategy and overall operation.[6] After the privatization of OTP Bank in 1995, he started focusing on questions of broader strategic development.[4] Through a series of acquisitions and steady organic growth, OTP Group has become one of the major financial institutions in Central Eastern Europe with a footprint in 11 countries; through its 1 656 branches and online channels OTP Group offers universal banking services to over 18.5 million customers.
He is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of MOL Group [7] and Co-Chairman of Chinese-Hungarian Business Council.[8]
He has been chairman of the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) since July 2010.[9]
In 2015, he was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee, and in March 2017 he was elected as a member of the FIFA Council, before being named vice president of FIFA in February 2019.[10] Csányi was also appointed as a UEFA vice-president in February 2019.[11] He is the Chairman of the UEFA National Team Competition Committee and member of the UEFA Finance Committee. He is a member of UEFA Professional Football Strategy Council.[12]
He is the owner of PICK Szeged Handball Club.[13] He is the Honorary Vice President of the International Judo Federation.[14]
He maintained personal friendships with leading politicians, such as then Minister of Finance, later Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.[4] His net worth is estimated at over US$1.33 billion.[4]
Together with other rich people of the country, he was implicated with the leaked documents Panama Papers in 2016. He justified his connection with the argument that it had been necessary due to international cooperation.[15][16]
Personal life
[edit]He is married to Erika Csányi,[citation needed] they live in Budapest, and have five children.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "| Itt a Forbes legújabb milliárdoslistája – már nem Mészáros Lőrinc a leggazdagabb magyar | Forbes Magyarország".
- ^ "Hungary's First Billionaire Went From Banking To Farming And Beyond". Forbes.com. 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ^ "Orbán Csányiról: "jász, az pedig kemény fajta"". 4 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Forbes profiles Hungary's first billionaire". Hungarian Free Press. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
- ^ "OTP Bank - Senior management, Board of Directors".
- ^ "#1941 Sandor Csanyi". Forbes. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
- ^ "Board of Directors - About MOL Group".
- ^ "Elnökség bemutatása / VOSZ, Kína-Magyar Üzleti Tanács".
- ^ "New five-year term for Csányi in Hungary | Inside UEFA". 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Sándor Csányi re-elected to UEFA ExCo while also becoming UEFA and FIFA vice president". DAILY NEWS HUNGARY. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
- ^ "Sándor Csányi | Inside UEFA". 5 April 2017.
- ^ Composition of the UEFA Executive Committee 2019-2021/23 Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "PICK SZEGED Kézilabdacsapat".
- ^ "Organisation / IJF.org".
- ^ "Panama Papers: Hungarian billionaires's offshore secrets revealed". DIREKT36. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Panama files: the richest Hungarians included". DAILY NEWS HUNGARY. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Forbes profile: Sandor Csanyi". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2021.