György Kossa, President and CEO of ITK Holding, spoke about successful business building, the difficulties and conditions of implementing innovation, the foundations of disciplined management, conscious company management, and the most important stages of his career at the first podium discussion of the Engineering and Business Development Innovation Institute ( Mérnöki és Üzletfejlesztési Innovációs Intézet – MÜZLI) of the University of Debrecen.
MÜZLI has launched three years ago, the aim of which is for practicing professionals to share their experiences, thus the institute can weave itself into the diverse system of the University of Debrecen by offering students the opportunity of live learning, through practical advice can recognize the entrepreneur in themselves. The first guest of the series of panel discussions was György Kossa, President and CEO of ITK Holding, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the István István Debreceni University Foundation, which maintains the University of Debrecen, who was asked by Endre Ascsillán, the MÜZLI, about the priorities of being an entrepreneur and his experiences on the road to success. its director.
If someone has a goal, work is not a burden, if you set a goal at a young age, you can achieve it
– said György Kossa, who, coming from a family that lived in difficult conditions, also worked as a telephone mechanic and telegram delivery person at Magyar Posta, of which he eventually became the general director. Today, he is the head of a company with annual sales of HUF 42 billion.
I encountered a lot of innovative opportunities at Magyar Posta, and these experiences encouraged me to create something new myself. At a young age, I became the number one professional manager of the post office, which gave me an impetus for development, but the army also made me realize that discipline helps to create innovation. I worked at the post office until 2002, and then I decided to start my life again
– emphasized the president and CEO of ITK Holding.
Speaking about organizational development, he emphasized that innovation does not mean that everything has to be reinvented and old values have to be eliminated, it is more about building on good foundations, but at the same time, great care must also be taken in risk management. György Kossa said that when building a business, you must always think in a system and find connections, without which it is not worth starting a company or starting to implement an idea.
You will never be innovative if you do not see through the levels that are built on each other. It is very easy for an innovator eager to develop to be discouraged if his good intentions are questioned, but it also does not help if he struggles every day without results or feedback. You can’t chase success forever, after a while you have to pay attention to the quality of life because life runs past you
– he added.
According to György Kossa, humanity is driven forward by sustainability, and he first found his calculations in this area in the capital’s public transport. In 2002, he turned to electric drive and with his newly established company undertook to reform the world of mobility. At the podium discussion, he said that they managed to implement financial, economic, and IT innovation included in a unified system, for the first time abroad.
The competition is fierce and unfortunately the biggest battle has to be fought with the banks. In Hungary, the financial conditions necessary for development can only be created at the cost of great risk, so the given company must operate according to a transparent and well-organized system from the very beginning. All this is necessary in order to increase the capital necessary for development. A successful entrepreneur must draw the line between over-motivation and successful operation and together, with a completely equal partner, recognize the greatest risks, and the latter is already a matter of principle. As a result of all this, the most valuable brand in the world, Mercedes Benz, was put into our hands. In return, we gave an ecosystem. A company culture where dialogue is real since all operations depend on people, not machines or artificial intelligence. Following this path, we have reached the point where we are now seen as a partner
– concluded the president and CEO.
As he said, the company is also the country’s largest dual training facility, hundreds of professionals are trained every year, including automotive electrical mechanics, body fitters, certified welders, and industrial mechanics. In addition, the company was rated by one of the world’s largest credit rating agencies.
György Kossa added that the red mud disaster in Ajka in 2010 led to the adoption of a law regarding industrial safety, at that time he also worked as a chief inspector (general) of industrial safety. A few years later, in 2014, he returned to the company. The president and CEO said that after a while, there may come a moment in a person’s life when the level of development exceeds personal interest and the level of responsibility, in which case you have to step back a little. He also noted that the level must be reached so that the largest companies in Hungary recognize the potential of small and medium-sized enterprises and learn to cooperate with each other.
When asked what he would most like to do if he were to start over now, he said that mobility is the most dynamically developing field these days, it cannot be replaced by anything, but he also sees opportunities for development in agriculture and healthcare.
– It is worth starting small, but the goal should be bigger, unique, and timeless. If someone is satisfied with mediocrity and a stable income, they will never reach innovation, added György Kossa.
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