Ivan Szabo · Founder
Ivan Szabo
Ivan Szabo is a program and P&L executive with over twenty years leading aerospace and defense programs across the full program lifecycle, from contract negotiation through delivery. Born in Leuven, Belgium, the son of Hungarian refugees who fled the 1956 revolution; dual US and Hungarian citizen, native in English, German and Hungarian, with a career built across Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. Trained as a mechanical engineer before completing an Executive MBA and PMP certification, a technical foundation that still shapes how every program gets diagnosed. Founder of Elevate AI Partners, and a subject-matter expert for institutional-investor research networks on defense and aerospace program topics.
Program Experience
A cold audit of past programs, aviation and defense, side by side. Every figure is a record, not a claim.
Aviation
Led the Boeing 777-300ER entry-into-service program at SWISS International Air Lines, delivered on schedule and 10% under budget on a USD 2B procurement scope, with 200 staff across six workstreams.
Negotiated aircraft purchase agreements directly with both Airbus and Boeing, worth a combined USD 5.5B, signing alongside the CEO.
Later restructured a stalled CHF 300M long-haul cabin program on direct CEO mandate. Introduced new Premium Economy into service across the 777 fleet at over 80% higher revenue per seat, and led development and vendor selection for new First and Business Class on the A330, installed after his departure. Renegotiated contracts and deferred spend through COVID-era supply chain disruption.
Defense
At Rheinmetall Hungary, built and led the program management organization for a new greenfield defense manufacturing facility from zero, reporting directly to the CEO.
Led offset and technology transfer execution on the Hungarian portion of the Lynx KF41 program, applying Earned Value Management across the localization program for schedule, cost, and progress control.
Led the negotiation that won the €30M Skyranger 30 contract with the Hungarian Defence Forces through competitive government procurement.