Szabi Szekely (Halcyon Mobile) is the Romanian juror in Mobile at Cannes Lions 2016
Szabi Szekely, co-founder Halcyon Mobile, one of the most awarded agencies of mobile apps design and development, will represent Romania in the Mobile jury at Cannes Lions 2016.
Szekely’s nomination represents a double first: in the 11th years since Cannes Lion’s Romanian office exists, it is the first time when a Romanian is selected to evaluate in such a futurist category such is mobile and it is the first time when the selected juror is from Cluj, which confirms the reputation of this cosmopolitan university center as international center of digital creativity.
Szabi Szekely made his first app when he was 13, much before the app store concept appeared. In his youth, he also lived the hacker experience which, converted, served to him afterwards in the soft creation and specialized consultant work. Together with Levente Szabo, he founded, 11 years ago, Halcyon Mobile, company that now services an impressive gallery of international clients, among which companies like SmartUp.io / Founders Forum, Red Bull Media House, Smith Hotels (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Ryalto or Edge Ski.
Szekely’s company also has its own products (Dollarbird, MimeChat, Tweet7), which were deeply appreciated by international specialized press.
Halcyon Mobile’s portfolio of international accolades includes 3 FWA Mobile of the Day, won in 2015 for MimeChat app, in 2014 for Tweet7, and in 2013 for Dollarbird. 2013 was a good year, with nomination to The Appsters Awards 2013 (Most Innovative App category), honorable presence in Top Mobile Developers Worldwide by Clutch, an instance who included the company also on the list of the top 100 most influential apps creators at European scale. Red Herring also mentions Halcyon Mobile in Top 100 Europe, just a year later.
The creativity in tech spirit and UX from Halcyon Mobile was applauded by specialized international publications (Techcrunch, Mashable, TheNextWeb, Re/code, Lifehacker, iMore sau Android Central), but also by business, lifestyle or design press (The Guardian, The Huffington Post, BranD Hong Kong or Forbes USA).
Szabi Szekely (30) and Levi Szabo (32), the 2 founders of Halcyon Mobile, attended the Informatic High-school in Sighisoara and graduated the same profile faculty from UBB Cluj.
Cannes Lions Romania is active for over 11 years within Romanian advertising industry and, together with The Alternative School, represents the most efficient lobby structure for the creative culture in the Romanian space, with results celebrated every year, at global scale.
Trainer with international experience, awards and projects, Teo Migdalovici, the ambassador of the festival in Romania, created, during the last 17 years, platforms dedicated to the study and development of the creative thinking for the young within the industry, for seniors and clients, raising the their performance level to the Occidental standards. Promoting the local talents on the scenes of the most influential festivals, as jurors or speakers, represented a constant priority, part of an articulated strategy to change Romania’s reputation abroad.
The awards from the portfolios of those formed at Teo’s school, Romanians or foreigners, include all Cannes metals, from Gold until Bronze.
Starting 2015, Teo Migdalovici traveled over 100.000 km and delivered presentations and intensive trainings in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, for elite agencies and clients, transforming Romania into an exporter of creative competencies.