The appointment of Dr Miklos Kopp from Hungary as the new UIC Freight Department Director and successor of Oliver Sellnick – who held this position for six years and returned to Deutsche Bahn (DB Netz) in September – was confirmed at the last UIC General Assembly held on 8 December in Paris. Dr Miklos Kopp took up his new post at UIC Paris headquarters on 2 January.
Miklos Kopp, a Hungarian citizen, was born in 1953 in Budapest. He studied successively at the University of Railway Transport in Moscow (specialising in the organisation of transport and economics), where he became a transport engineer-economist, and at the University of Economics (specialising in International Economical Relations), before achieving a doctorate in transport issues of Hungarian-Soviet foreign trade. He joined Hungarian State Railways (MAV) in 1976 (Technical Development and Planning Department) and held successive positions of responsibility in the railway company. In 1982, Miklos Kopp worked for the Hungarian Central Planning Board (specialising in international issues of transport planning, energy consumption, etc.), and from 1986-1990 in the Ministry for Foreign Trade (Chief of Section in the Forwarding Department). He then joined the Mavtranssped Kft. Export-Import and Inland Goods Transportation Company (1990-1995), became Managing Director of PANCIS Ltd, international forwarding company (1995-2000), before being appointed Deputy Director-General of the Mavstranssped International Forwarding Company – a subsidiary of MAV – from 2001-2006. Having been Commercial Director of the Dunaferr International Forwarding Company (2006-2007), Miklos Kopp became CEO of the new Zahony-Port Company established in 2007 by MAV for goods transhipment and logistical services at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, before taking up the position of Managing Director of HUNGRAIL, the Hungarian railway association, in 2011.
The UIC Freight Department works in close cooperation with the UIC Freight Forum, which brings together CEOs and Directors of rail freight companies, and is currently chaired by Ferdinand Schmidt from ÖBB/Rail Cargo Austria.
