Zoltán Werle was the purchasing manager at Magyar Telekom (a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG ) between 1996 and 2008, during which period he was an important member of my leadership team, the Global Procurement Team. He built up a strategic procurement organization, developed and optimized local procurement processes, as well as introduced e-procurement solutions and best practices. He also played a leading part in numerous international projects (e.g., in a common European procurement project with other subsidiaries, as well as a procurement transformation project, among many others) .We achieved significant cost reductions thanks to the effective team built and led by Zoltán. His achievements have been acknowledged through a number of awards, such as the European Supply Chain Excellence Award and an award in the 2005 competition by the Logistic Europe Magazine (UK) in the Electronic Purchasing & Procurement category.

We have known each other with Zoltán Werle for over twenty years. Throughout my career, I have met very few professionals and senior executives with the level of commitment and integrity that is exhibited by him. Working with him is an experience.

I have worked together with Zoltán Werle for ten years (1996-2006). Our common goal was to design a modern, efficient and transparent procurement system following the privatization of Magyar Telekom. As the Head of the company I provided the necessary framework, while Zoltán Werle successfully built and redeveloped the entire procurement process. The design of the procurement process involved every detail: from setting up the procurement team and keeping them constantly trained and motivated, to creating the operating rules of and procedures, and even fully computerizing the procurement activities. He was at the forefront of assessing and accurately measuring our progress in creating a closed, end-to-end process and the effectiveness of our procurement activities. Perhaps the reports I found most exciting were those that regularly presented the reductions in purchase price and savings that we were able to achieve through a competitive procurement process, supplier evaluation and the appropriate design of contract agreements. The results appeared gradually, first in the Telekom’s landline business units, followed by the mobile business; finally, they became apparent at the group's international subsidiaries as well. Zoltán’s personal achievement, the high quality procurement system at Magyar Telekom, was acknowledged by numerous domestic and international awards. The person of Zoltán Werle is a guarantee that the experience, knowledge is successfully passed on to effectively support businesses that face a big challenge: to renew their procurement process.

I have known Zoltán since the beginning of my professional career. I was fortunate enough to have him as my first manager, someone who is committed to the purchasing profession and to instilling the desire for continuous development and improvement in his colleagues and demanding them to live up to those virtues. He is constantly looking for the best available option to deliver the greatest benefits in the long run and then tries to convince all the stakeholders about this. Although he possesses unquestionable knowledge and experience, this has never prevented him from hearing out good ideas and supporting them, whomever they may come from.

While I was the CFO of Magyar Telekom, Zoltán Werle was the Head of Procurement. I had come to know him as an exceptionally competent, committed leader who is able to realize his goal. Zoltán was constantly introducing modern and innovative procurement solutions as well as created the baseline in electronic procurement (e-auctioning). Furthermore, he emphasized the development of the procurement team, which made procurement a significant player in the sustainable success of the company. Based on his in-depth market knowledge and extensive international experience, I have come to know Zoltán Werle not only an excellent manager and adviser on issues relating to procurement, but also as a valued leader in other areas of the company.

I have been in regular contact with Zoltán Werle these past eight years since his recognition as ‘Logistics Manager of the Year‘ by the Hungarian Logistics, Procurement, and Inventory Management Association. During this time I have had numerous opportunities to, was to make an outstanding professional readiness, commitment to the successful work for many applications. I experienced initiative, affection for the new course of our work in the context of the Company. The Purchasing Managers' Club as one of the leading personalities constantly excellent leadership and negotiation skills. Zoltan my opinion, the domestic procurement profession prominent personalities include activities obtained an honor, and I am convinced that the knowledge, skills and experience in any related field can utilize high efficiency.

Zoltán Werle is a master of procurement. He is a "first generation" procurement specialist. We, the "second generation" of procurement specialists have learned a great deal from him when nearly twenty years he established one of the first professional procurement teams and purchasing processes in the country and continue to learn about adapting to the continuous changing environment faced by our profession today. I respect him for the pioneering attitude with which he lead the path to change, and his capacity to constantly develop and reinvent the profession that served as example for the whole procurement society. I also respect the selflessness with which he was willing to share his vast knowledge and experience. That we are able to talk about a procurement community in Hungary, to a large extent, has been due to him. I personally thank him for the knowledge and experience gained as a supplier to his company in ‘early days’ of professional procurement. I have used and capitalized on the experience of creating a model procurement process and effective procurement team at all the large corporations, multinationals, and the international environment I have worked in since.

I met Zoltán Werle met in January 2013 as a new colleague at IFUA Horváth & Partners Ltd. We worked together for two intense months as a team. Zoltan possesses unique experience and knowledge in both the fields of procurement and management and is familiar with numerous domestic and international methodologies and best practices, which greatly benefited the project. I came to know him as a real team player, who is willing to learn and eager to expand his existing wealth of knowledge. He always works in close partnerships with his colleagues and easily finds the common ground in any situation. It is a great experience to work with a very creative and knowledgeable professional that I could learn a lot from. His personality and firm, yet restrained, and his professional expertise is outstanding.