Tamás Lajos Szalay worked as a journalist for more than fifteen years, among others as parliamentary correspondent for the then leading Hungarian political daily Népszabadság. He was also a member of the founding team of NOLTv, a pioneering group in producing online news video content for the newspaper’s digital platform, which received several professional awards.
His professional path has been shaped by a continuous commitment to learning and by the ability to connect different fields: journalism, public affairs, visual communication, brand thinking and digital storytelling. In addition to his university degree in ‘Library Science’ from Eötvös Loránd University, he holds postgraduate degrees in ‘Election Analysis’, ‘New Media Graphic Design’ and, most recently, ‘Artificial Intelligence in Marketing’ from the University of Pécs, Faculty of Business and Economics. He is also a qualified graphologist and has completed short studies – among others – in ‘Brand Management’ and the ‘Future of Marketing’ at the University of the Arts London and the University of Edinburgh Business School. Tamás is an accomplished copywriter and an experienced communications, marketing and brand management professional, his work can be described as that of an “architect of brands and ideas”.
He is the author of several investigative and documentary reportage books, as well as a political novel. He has also worked extensively in visual communication, including typography, publication design, corporate identity and creative graphic design. His design works have been selected several times for display at the ARC outdoor exhibition in Budapest, a prominent platform of the Hungarian creative scene. In 2024, the visual identity and logo he designed for BudaPanda received recognition at the Best Brands Award, based on the decision of an international jury.
After his years in journalism, Tamás spent a decade in Brussels as Chief of Cabinet and political adviser to MEP István Ujhelyi in the European Parliament. He currently works as a Senior Creative Consultant at the Brussels-based consultancy group Capital European Affairs.