2025 Harsányi Prize Laureate: Michael Simon
The Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association is proud to announce that the 2025 Harsányi Prize has been awarded to Michael Simon, visionary entrepreneur and investor whose career has significantly influenced the technology and investment landscape in Central and Eastern Europe.
Michael Simon brings over three decades of experience in building technology companies and driving investment innovation. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in the success of three Central and Eastern European technology ventures, all of which successfully went public and achieved remarkable global market valuations. As founder of Uproar Entertainment, Simon led the company to a successful public offering on NASDAQ, reaching a market capitalisation of over $500 million following its listing. Subsequently, as co-founder of Fathom Technology, he contributed to the company's merger with EPAM Systems. EPAM went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2012 and achieved a peak market valuation exceeding $38 billion by 2021. Simon also co-founded LogMeIn, where he served as CEO for 13 years. Under his leadership, the company went public in 2009 and became a global provider of cloud-based services used by millions, reaching a peak market cap of $7 billion.
As CEO of NDVR, Simon is focused on redefining wealth management by leveraging technology to deliver personalised, long-term investment strategies to clients. His business philosophy, combining technological innovation with investment strategy, aligns closely with HVCA’s mission to foster the growth of businesses in Hungary and across the region, while supporting the development of the private equity and venture capital ecosystem.
His unique blend of technological innovation and investment insight aligns perfectly with HVCA's mission to support the growth of businesses and the development of the private equity and venture capital ecosystem across Hungary and the region.
In his acceptance speech, Simon highlighted the pivotal role of Budapest in his career, stating:
"To the extent that I’ve had any success in my career, I owe it to the exceptional teams here in this city, who have never failed to deliver – whether in terms of technology, as colleagues, as friends, or simply as people I am proud to call my associates in life."
Michael Simon's achievements exemplify the spirit of the Harsányi Prize, celebrating those who drive innovation, foster entrepreneurship, and contribute to the advancement of economic development on a global scale.
The Harsányi János Award was established by HVCA in 2023 in honor of the Hungarian-born Nobel laureate economist. It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations that have made an outstanding impact on the advancement of entrepreneurial processes.