Tell us about yourself. 

So, I lead the marketing and business development team for DLA Piper Hungary, working in a highly complex, regulated professional services environment.

In Hungary, DLA Piper provides not only legal services, but also tax and financial advisory services – which further broadens the scope and strategic impact of the function.

I’ve spent most of my career in professional service firms, which has shaped how I think about brand – not as a communications exercise, but on a strategic level that aligns people, performance, priorities and so on.

Before joining DLA Piper, I spent 14 years in a Big Four company, where I held various mid-management roles within the marketing team.

How do you see your role as a marketer in driving broader industry or sector change within your space? 

I think our most important role is that we serve as a translation and information-sharing function. I think marketing is uniquely positioned to do that.

Our main job is to help advisers explain themselves more clearly. In a legal environment, that’s critical. They need to explain themselves to clients, to talent and sometimes to themselves as well.

In professional services especially, there’s a tendency to hide behind complexity and marketing can help shift that by reframing expertise around outcomes, decision-making and impact.

If we communicate from that point of view, it makes everything more understandable. And if we do that function well, I think we don’t just support the firm – we raise expectations across the sector around clarity, relevance and accountability as well.

We ask questions all the time. What is the relevance? Why are we doing this? What is the main point for the client? We ask questions to understand the business better, but also to shape the advice.

What's the most provocative idea or strategy you've implemented in your B2B marketing, and what was the response? 

At first, it may not sound provocative, but it was a significant shift for us: encouraging our lawyers to step in front of the camera and communicate their expertise directly.

This required many of them to develop new skills—becoming comfortable on camera and learning to present complex topics in a more accessible way. Initially, only a few volunteers were open to trying it. However, once the first pieces were published and they saw the positive response from both clients and colleagues, their confidence grew.

Over time, more and more colleagues joined, and the overall quality improved noticeably. It became a real success—not only from a marketing perspective, but also in helping our lawyers unlock a capability they already had, just in a different format.

It strengthened our brand and created a more engaging way to connect with the market. Today, we build on this through podcasts, internal events, and panel discussions. Many of our lawyers are highly articulate and structured in conversations, and this initiative has helped them bring that same strength into more visible, external formats—even if being in front of a camera or microphone can still feel like a new experience at times.

Can you share an example of how you've used storytelling to shift perceptions in your industry? 

We use storytelling to reframe the role of a law firm from a reactive adviser to a strategic partner.

This was important for us – as we wanted to position ourselves not just as a law firm, but as a strategic adviser providing complex, integrated services.

Instead of leading with technical capability, we focused on moments of client uncertainty—regulatory change, transformation periods and cross-border complexity. We showed how legal, tax and financial advisers can support better decision-making, manage risks and help clients achieve their business objectives.

We constantly challenge ourselves by asking: is this relevant for the client? That perspective helps us move beyond technical messaging and focus on what truly matters.

In your view, what do you think is the biggest change needed in B2B marketing right now? 

I think B2B marketing needs to move from activity to positioning.  There is too much content – way too much – and too little point of view.

In my work, I try to contribute by being more selective. Fewer messages, clearer positioning and stronger alignment between brand, leadership and client experience.

If something doesn’t help a client or stakeholder make a better decision, then we probably don’t need to do it.

The market is changing, people are changing and new generations are coming in who think in a totally different way. So we always need to rethink everything and evaluate the results. It’s very important to see the reaction to the move you just made, and then redo it or do it another way.

There is too much content – way too much – and too little point of view.

How do you encourage your team or organisation to think boldly and embrace change in their marketing approaches? 

Bold is one of DLA Piper’s four core values – alongside collaborative, exceptional and supportive – but how we apply it matters. For me, it starts with creating psychological safety—so people feel comfortable sharing ideas. 

This is closely linked to the team environment. It’s not just about expertise, but about mutual trust, shared direction and understanding where we want to go together.

We also challenge ideas by asking: is this useful and credible for our audience? 

If people know their ideas will be taken seriously and evaluated thoughtfully, bold thinking can thrive.

How do you bring sceptical stakeholders on board when they don’t yet see the value of marketing?

When I joined the company, one of my first priorities was to properly position the marketing function, because it is very difficult to deliver meaningful impact without internal buy-in from key stakeholders.

I approached it from two angles.

First, I identified a few stakeholders who were already open to marketing and started working closely with them – focusing on their business goals and understanding their thinking. This was the more straightforward part.

At the same time, I also met the most vocal sceptics – the people who were not fans of marketing at first – and engaged with them directly.

By building credibility from both sides, I was able to move towards the middle and, in the end, bring a wider group on board. This approach proved effective.

There were easier stakeholders and harder ones to convince, but successful project management and reporting helped a lot by themselves.

What do you think, in one word, makes B2B marketing changemaking?

Alignment.

Changemaking B2B marketing shifts how people think, not just what they notice. It can help organisations articulate what they stand for and help clients navigate complexity.

I think real change happens when marketing aligns belief, behaviour and business results. It doesn’t just generate attention – it aligns those very important factors.

I think real change happens when marketing aligns belief, behaviour and business results. It doesn’t just generate attention – it aligns those very important factors.

What is your one piece of advice to future Changemakers on how to be more effective in B2B marketing? 

Get closer to the business. Get as close as you can to the people who make decisions.

Understand their way of thinking, their goals and their KPIs. We should understand strategy, finance, leadership dynamics – everything – to be able to support them and come up with new ideas.

If you are close to them, you can have great ideas. And if you can connect those worlds, marketing stops being a support function and becomes a catalyst of change.

‍

Changemakers spotlight innovative B2B marketing leaders who are driving industry transformation, where we explore bold strategies, disruptive ideas and the power of marketing. Meet more Changemakers here. 

‍