Board of directors

Ernő Duda - Founder and CEO, SOLVO Biotechnology

Also Founder and President of the Hungarian Biotechnology Association, a representative organization active in lobbying for the interests of its member companies and the biotechnology sector in Hungary. As a genuine entrepreneur, he has founded or co-founded 13 companies over the past 15 years, including Copy General, a corporate finance consulting company focused on high-tech Hungarian start-ups, and Hungary's largest online second-hand book store. He was Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary for 2 years, and President of the Junior Achievement Foundation Hungary from 1997 until 2006. Mr. Duda is a member of the Research and Technology Innovation Council of the National Office for Research and Technology, the Board of Trustees of the Bay Zoltán Foundation for Applied Research, and the Board of the Hungarian Association for Innovation. His course 'Biotechnology from a Business Perspective' has been running at the University of Szeged since 2004. He has been awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary for his distinguished contribution to the development of the Hungarian biotechnology industry.

Zsolt Holló, M.D., Ph.D. - Founder, Chief Operations Officer

Previously the founder and Managing Director of Genodia Molecular Diagnostic Ltd. from 2001 till 2003, a major Hungarian molecular diagnostic laboratory company, specialized in human diagnostics and biotechnology services. He was the Head of Genetic Division at H-Med Diagnostic Ltd., Budapest between 1999-2001. Dr. Holló has more than 5 years of experience in basic and applied research of multidrug resistance proteins. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Division of Molecular Biology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam between 1997 and 1999, supported by an EMBO Long Term Fellowship. Dr. Holló defended his Ph.D. thesis (related to biochemical characterization of multidrug resistance proteins) in Molecular and Cellular Physiology in 1999. Before 1997, he worked as a research fellow at the Department of Cell Metabolism, National Institute of Hematology and Immunology, Budapest. He obtained his Medical Degree from the Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest in 1990. He is an active member of Solvo's Board of Directors since 1999. He has published 15 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and he is the owner of 2 patent applications.

Péter Kardos - Founder, Attorney

After graduating from the Faculty of Law of the University of Szeged in 1989, Dr. Kardos started his career at the Hungarian National Bank. Later he became managing director of an investment consulting and auditor company. He co-founded a law firm in 1992, where he is still active in practicing law. He is specialized in corporate law, real estate law, and legal issues related to gambling and sports. He contributed to the establishment of the First Lions Club of Szeged. Dr. Kardos is also the president of the Basketball Association of Szeged.

Attila Reisz - Private Investor / Entrepreneur

Currently a management and marketing strategies consultant for technology related start-up companies; also active in HOPP Kft. (Internet publishing) and 10Charge Kft. (ultrafast battery charging technologies). Mr. Reisz was CEO of Index.hu Rt. from 1999 until 2000, where his primary responsibility was to develop the corporation's targetability for outside investors. Prior to this he worked from 1993 until 1999 at Microsoft Hungary. Between 1996 and 1999 Mr. Reisz served as Microsoft Hungary's General Manager, during which time the corporation's revenues nearly doubled to 31million USD (Fiscal Year 1998). He has worked in the technologies and communications sector since 1986, both in the USA and Hungary. Mr. Reisz earned his Master's Degree in Microelectronics and Technology from the Technical University of Budapest in 1993. Since then he has served on the Advisory Board of The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience. He is also a Board member of The Junior Achievement Foundation Hungary since 1997.

Gergely Szakács, M.D. Ph.D - Researcher

Gergely Szakacs obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at the Semmelweis University in Budapest. He started his scientific career in the laboratory of Balazs Sarkadi, where, as a SOROS predoctoral fellow, he was involved in projects aiming at the elucidation of the clinical role and mechanism of action of the ABC transporters. He completed his postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Michael Gottesman at the National Cancer Institute. Currently he is a senior investigator at the Institute of Enzymology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Szakacs is a Bolyai fellow and the recipient of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Special Scholar Fellowship. Dr. Szakacs has published several papers in international scientific journals, receiving close to a thousand citations. He and his colleagues obtained international patents on methods and compounds related to cancer multidrug resistance.

Rui Paiva - CEO and Founder of WeDo Consulting (now WeDo Tehnologies)

Prior to founding WeDo Consulting in 2001, Mr. Paiva spent three years at Optimus serving as executive commission assistant from 2000 until 2001 and information systems director from 1998 until 2000. Before joining Optimus, he served as a professional services director at Hewlett Packard for several years. He started his career in telecommunications and IT in 1989 at Portugal Telecom and then moved to Telecel/Vodafone. In addition to serving as CEO of WeDo Consulting, Mr. Paiva sits on the boards of Mainroad, Bizdirect, and Solvo. He has a degree in applied mathematics from UNL, Lisbon, and completed post-graduate courses in business administration and computer management at IST/ADIST and a business management course at UNL.