Zsuzsa Hordai

Zsuzsa Hordai, Head of Strategic Projects at SPAR International B.V., began her career in retail in 2012, after finishing her Masters in International Business, when she joined Austria SPAR Group as a trainee in their international management programme. Building on the foundations from that programme, she worked in SPAR Hungary in both commercial and operations functions, continuing her growth until 2017, at which point she joined SPAR International. Her first position in format development required her to be based in southern China for one year, gaining valuable insights into this fast-paced market, especially in technology adoption.

From 2018, Zsuzsa has been part of the retail development team, supporting expansion into new markets and SPAR country organisations with their business operations. In October 2021, her focus shifted to overseeing strategic projects across the international SPAR network, a position she holds today.

In addition to specific projects, she continues to work on business development within the GCC and some European markets, several of which have convenience retail at their core. One of her favourite projects was supporting SPAR Kosovo in its initiative to re-integrate women wishing to return to work, through a partnership with UN Women Kosovo. Within the industry, she represents the SPAR network on the Consumer Goods Forum, collaborating with its Future Leaders Programme and, more recently, its work stream on the ethical use of AI, a topic she is particularly passionate about. She has also been representing the SPAR network on the European Committee of NACS since June 2024.