Éva Hegedüs

EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025 finalist, Hungary
Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Gránit Bank Nyrt.

Éva Hegedüs pushes boundaries to position Gránit Bank as an industry pioneer.

Éva Hegedüs grew up in a small Hungarian town behind the Iron Curtain and realized how much financial illiteracy contributed to the cycle of poverty. Driven by a passion for revolutionizing the banking experience, Éva has put digital at the forefront of Gránit Bank’s business model since its launch in 2010, ensuring that it offers modern, accessible and customer-centric services without the need for a network of physical branches. 

Éva introduced Gránit Bank to the Budapest Stock Exchange in December 2024. The bank’s recent IPO was the decade’s largest new public offering of shares in domestic banks and the Budapest Stock Exchange. Enabling retail customers to subscribe to Gránit Bank's shares through a mobile app was so successful that valid bids were more than three times the minimum total issue amount.

With innovative solutions such as video banking, the Eco Calculator — which estimates the carbon footprint of each card transaction from actual emissions data — and a generative and agentic AI-based (Artificial Intelligence) chatbot, the bank has set new global standards in the financial industry. Éva's commitment to pushing boundaries has provided customers with tools that make banking more efficient, transparent and sustainable. 

Éva’s goal to create long-term value for the bank applies to the community as well. The Gránit Bank Family app, for example, teaches children the basics of financial literacy, using a virtual piggy bank and playful tasks. By embracing technology and sustainability, Éva has positioned Gránit Bank at the forefront of the digital economy as she reshapes the banking sector and drives positive change across the financial services industry.