Change of CEO: Balázs Sipos takes over at Béres
In September 2024, Béres Pharmaceuticals, Hungary’s leading family-owned pharmaceutical company, will have a new CEO: retiring Ferenc Major will be succeeded as CEO by Balázs Sipos.
With the appointment of the new CEO, the company aims to ensure continuity of operational management, to further strengthen its market position and to achieve further success in the field of health care through continuous innovation, both at home and abroad.
Ferenc Major: under whose leadership, Béres has become a leading player in the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry.
Ferenc Major started his career at Béres in 1995 as Commercial and Marketing Director and has been responsible for the operational management of the company as CEO since 2000. Under his leadership, the company has developed into a stable, long-term sustainable large-company, a dominant player in the domestic health care market, currently with a 37% market share, while also gaining a foothold in international markets.
Ferenc Major is credited with introducing a marketing approach to the company, based on the conscious building of the Béres product portfolio, including the successful launch of the Actival multivitamins range and the entry into the calcium market. Under his leadership, Béres has been active in building up its foreign markets, establishing representative offices in Romania and Ukraine. Today, Béres products are sold in 19 countries. Under his leadership, the Szolnok manufacturing base has undergone a HUF 25 billion development, resulting in a significant increase in production capacity, technology development, and the establishment of modern warehousing, R&D and quality control units.
In 2002, the company acquired an equity stake in Hungaropharma Zrt, Hungary’s leading pharmaceuticals trading company, where Ferenc Major is Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In addition, he is a member of the board of the National Association of Hungarian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, vice-president and chairman of the OTC Committee, and a member of the board of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Board.
To ensure a successful transition, Ferenc Major will temporarily support the new CEO as a member of the Board of Directors and as an advisor to the CEO.
Balázs Sipos: bringing years of pharmaceutical experience for Béres’ future success
Balázs Sipos, the new CEO of Béres, has a long and successful career as a pharmaceutical executive and senior manager, having built brands and businesses of domestic and international companies in a sustainable manner, and has gained extensive professional and managerial experience in marketing, commercial and business development over the past decades.
The new head of Béres comes from the French pharmaceutical company Boiron, where he was Managing Director of the Hungarian subsidiary from 2018 and since 2020, he has been Director of the company’s Central and Eastern Europe region. Previously, for a total of 17 years, he was Head of Domestic Consumer Health Care, and Head of Marketing and Sales at German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim, where he managed the launch and development of leading brands such as Rhinospray Plus, Dulcolax, Guttalax and Pharmaton Vital. Prior to that, he led the over the counter (OTC) marketing area at EGIS.
The new CEO has also been a regular lecturer at SEED business school for the past 7 years, working on continuing education of executives.
He studied at the Corvinus University and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and is also a certified executive coach.
Balázs Sipos said of his mission: „My goal is to build on the values and achievements of Béres to further develop the company to meet new challenges in the future, supporting the health of an ever-wider range of people with Béres’ effective and high-quality products, both in Hungary and beyond our borders. Another of my objectives is to make the younger generation more aware of the values and products of Béres, thus contributing to a healthier and more health-conscious lifestyle.”
A generational change in the presidency as well
The appointment of the new CEO coincides with a change in the chairmanship of the Béres Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors. Dr. József Béres, who succeeded his father as Chairman of the company for nearly 25 years, has handed over the position to his son Marcell Béres. This is the second generation change in the history of Béres Pharmaceuticals.