Staff
JÓZSEF PÉTER MARTIN – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
József has been executive director of Transparency International (TI) Hungary since 2013. With reporting duties to the Board, he is responsible for activities of TI Hungary. He represents the organization with other stakeholders and, in the media.
He is an economist and sociologist by trainee holding a PhD-degree from Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB). He also studied in Belgium and, in the Netherlands. Currently, József is senior lecturer at Department of Public Policy of CUB delivering courses on corruption analysis, institutional economics, and political economy.
He started his career as a journalist at various economic newspapers. József was editor-in-chief of Figyelő, a former Hungarian economic and business weekly between 2003 and 2009, and won the Pulitzer Memorial Prize with his team. After years devoted to journalism, he worked as consultant and analyst commissioned by several domestic and international institutions between 2010 and 2013. In 2019, he was seconded by Transparency International UK as director of research.
For two decades he has been a regular contributor to the Hungarian and international media. He is author of two dozen academic publications and co-authored one book. His main research interest is the interplay among corruption, institutions and economic performance.
He is native Hungarian, and speaks English, French and Russian.
LIGETI MIKLÓS – LEGAL DIRECTOR
Miklós has been head of legal affairs at Transparency International (TI) Hungary since 2012.
A lawyer by education, he graduated in 2002 at Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE), Budapest and completed his bar exam in 2006.
Prior to joining Transparency International Hungary, Miklós worked for ten years at various state institutions (National Institute of Criminology, Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement, Interior Ministry).
KRISZTINA PAPP – CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
She joint TI in 2010 and was responsible for business integrity projects and researches until 2016. Since 2017, she has been working as chief operating officer and responsible for the financial operations, sustainability, fundraising and HR tasks of the organization.
She is an economist, graduated at the Corvinus University of Budapest.
Prior to working for TI, she worked in corporate finance and investment banking at various national and international financial institutions. She was responsible for organising public and private placements, M&A transactions and privatisations. As an investment associate at Prudential Investment Corporation in the US she was reponsible for private debt issues and prepared a credit scoring system for Prudential. Since the 2000s she worked for Budapest Bank at project finance which she headed in the last 4 years.
Apart form her native language, Hungarian, she speaks English.
JUDIT ZEISLER – SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
She has been a member of the TI Hungary team since 2021. Among other things, she is involved in programmes related to integrity, public grants, public procurement, whistleblower protection and citizen participation. She authored and co-authored several TI publications, such as a report on tourism subsidies. She is also responsible for the Tender Champions platform.
She graduated in economics from the Budapest University of Economics and Business, and continued her studies at the University of Pécs. For several years she worked as a journalist for the weekly Figyelő and a French-language newspaper published in Hungary. Prior to Ti Hungary, she worked at the Hungarian Central Statistical Office from 2013, first as an analyst and then as head of the Deputy Head of the Coordination Unit in cooperation with several international organisations. She is native Hungarian, she speaks English and French.
MARCELL DÉNES JÁVOR – COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
He joined the teom of TI Hungary in mid-2021. As a communications manager, he is responsible for the public appearence of the organization. He also organizes as a project manager the mentor-mentee program for investigative journailsm and the annual giving away of TI-SOMA Prize, awarding the pest piece of investigative journalism in Hungary.
He is a sociologist, he graduated from the ELTE (Eötvös Lóránd University of Sciences) Faculty of Social Sciences. Before joining the team of TI Hungary, he was an editor and reporter at Klubrádió for almost seven years. He is also the member of the community of the Budapest-based radio channel Tilos Radio. He is native Hungarian, he also speaks English and French.
ZSÓFIA TESNER – OFFICE MANAGER, PROJECT ASSISTANT
As an Office Manager and Project Management Assistant, she has been working at TI Hungary since July 2022. She also supervises interns and volunteers.
Zsófia graduated as a sports manager and received his Master’s degree in 2023 at the Hungarian University of Sports Science.
Her native language is Hungarian, and she also speaks English.
ADÉL TILISTYÁK – JUNIOR PROJECT MANAGER
TI Hungary’s junior project manager starting in September 2023. Assistant Editor and Project Manager of TI Hungary’s White Book.
She graduated from the National University of Public Service in 2023 with a degree in International Security and Defence Policy and is currently studying law at ELTE.
TI Hungary hired her as an intern in 2020 and she worked as an assistant project manager until 2023.
Her native language is Hungarian, and she also speaks English.
JUDIT ZEGNÁL – SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
She has been a member of the TI Hungary team since September 2023. Among other things, she represents TI Hungary in the monitoring committees overseeing the spending of European Union (EU) funding through the KÖFOP and IKOP+ operative programmes. She also follows the development of EU anti-corruption legislation and the adoption of new reporting standards for the disclosure of companies’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) related strategies and actions under the EU’s sustainable finance regulations.
She graduated from Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences (ELTE), in English language and literature. For several years she worked as a Brussels-based correspondent for the English-language new agency Europolitics and a Hungarian news portal, Bruxinfo, covering the evolution of EU sectoral policies. Prior to Ti Hungary, she worked at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) from 2015, as a communications officer responsible for political and science communication. She is native Hungarian, she speaks English and French.