A new chapter is beginning in Lakógép’s history: after more than a decade, founder and owner Patrik Palai is handing over the reins to György Péter, the new CEO. This handover is not just a change of personnel, but a conscious organizational transformation — the next milestone in the company’s development.
Lakógép was launched in 2011 when engineer Patrik Palai started his business. This was not based on an idea or a business plan, but rather the result of a series of professional enquiries. The company then developed organically, learning step by step, gaining new challenges and experiences day by day.
Patrik Palai, the founder of Lakógép
Thanks to its continuous growth, Lakógép has appeared on several domestic and international top lists in recent years. In 2022, Concorde MB Partners ranked it among the 100 most valuable privately owned companies in Hungary. In 2023, the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry ranked it first on its Budapest TOP 100 list of small and medium-sized companies.
Lakógép first appeared on the Financial Times 1000 – Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies list in 2022 and has remained on it for the past four consecutive years. Companies are eligible for inclusion based on their three-year revenue growth in a field mainly dominated by Western European technology and energy companies. Even more remarkably, in 2025 the company ranked fourth on the Financial Times’ Europe’s Long-Term Growth Champions list, which is based on a company’s performance over ten years.
Growth was evident not only through awards but also in Lakógép’s evolution into an organization capable of functioning independently of its founder’s daily presence. As is common in the lifecycle of growing enterprises, the company reached a stage where not all processes were tied to Patrik.
This realization led Patrik to acknowledge that the management was now capable of standing independently, enabling the company to operate autonomously. This was the moment he had to step back. Although stepping back was challenging for him – so as not to stand in the way of the further development of the organization he had personally nurtured – it also filled him with great pride that the company had come this far. The internal operations had matured into a transferable and adoptable corporate system poised for further development.
While generational shifts are typical in many Hungarian businesses, Lakógép’s case is more about a structural change. Instead of delegating leadership to a family member, Patrik deliberately sought – with external expert advice and meticulous planning – an experienced professional whose values aligned with the company’s ethos.
“When I arrived, Patrik’s team had prepared everything; I literally only had to take the helm. It was clear this was the result of extensive planning, not an impulsive decision,” said the new CEO, György Péter, who previously held senior positions at several industrial companies, bringing significant experience in engineering management and organizational development.
György Péter, the new CEO of Lakógép
With this transition, Patrik Palai does not distance himself from Lakógép. As a strategic advisor – or as he calls it, a ‘guardian of values’ – he will continue supporting the management, ensuring continuity. The objective remains clear: the principles that have guided Lakógép since its foundation will continue to underpin its operations.
“At our first meeting, I immediately felt an alignment in values,” recalled Patrik about his initial conversation with György, which played a decisive role in the selection process. A critical aspect of the handover was jointly reviewing and documenting the core values recognizable by both employees and clients as uniquely Lakógép’s – to ensure they remain intact in the future.
Thus, while the handover signals the beginning of a new era, Lakógép continues to uphold its foundational values – reliability, uniqueness, speed, and solution-oriented approach – now with new, professional management, aiming even higher. Financially stable, the intentionally planned loss in the previous year reflects strategic investments essential for transformation, providing the management with a genuinely fresh start.
