Mr. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky started his career at a Big4 consultancy, then spent years working for a French commercial bank. In the early 2000s, when the liberalization of the Hungarian telecom market was under way, he worked for several years in the telecom-internet sector in marketing, sales, and chief executive positions, and also gained experience in the media as the publisher and editor-in-chief of a political weekly news magazine. 

As an investor, he was involved in private equity where he served in various board level positions of investment funds active in the Central European property and corporate segments. In 2011, he became executive vice-chairman of the largest and oldest conservative think tank of Hungary. In this role, he advised consecutive governments on various political and policy matters. His investments up until his appointment as minister of defence involved assets in the train and aircraft manufacturing industries, as well as media and entertainment businesses.

Mr. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky was appointed as ambassador of Hungary to the United Kingdom in 2016 and served in London until 2020. He was appointed as minister of defence of the 5th Orbán government in May 2022.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky is a reserve captain and served in various positions with the Hungarian Defence Forces over several years.

He was elected executive chairman of the Association of Hungarian Reservists in 2014, of which he became honorary chairman after his appointment to London. For these services, he received the Certificate of Merit for Defence Class I in 2016. 

He speaks English, German and French.

He has a university degree in agricultural engineering and completed his postgraduate business studies in Paris, France. 

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky is a father of three and an enthusiast of horse riding, tennis and sailing.