The academic community at the University of Manchester is in mourning following the sudden death of László Czabán, a respected senior lecturer at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS). He was 62 years old.
An Intellectual Journey from Budapest to Manchester
Born in Budapest to working-class parents, Ilona and László Czabán, he studied economics and finance at what was then the Karl Marx University of Economics, now Corvinus University. After teaching at the Budapest University of Technology, his career took a pivotal turn following the end of state socialism in 1989, when he worked as an economic adviser for the EU delegation to Hungary.
His move to the UK came in 1993, when he was recruited by colleagues to join the then Manchester Business School. He worked on a significant research project analysing economic transformation in post-socialist Hungary, where his broad knowledge across the social sciences and humanities proved invaluable.
A Scholarly Legacy and Dedicated Educator
Czabán’s academic contributions were profound. His 2008 book, Recurring Crises: Macroeconomic Transformation in Hungary, is considered by many to be the definitive analysis of Hungarian economic change in the 1990s. After a two-year period teaching and researching at Leeds University Business School, he returned to Manchester in 1998 to take a permanent lectureship, later being promoted to senior lecturer in organisational analysis and international management.
His most notable institutional impact came from 2007 to 2023, during which he developed and directed AMBS’s flagship MSc in Business Analysis and Strategic Management. The intellectual rigour of this programme, which he inspired, has benefited thousands of international students.
A Life in Liverpool and Lasting Legacy
Throughout his life in Britain, László Czabán made his home in Liverpool. He met his wife, Dolores James, on an EU-funded visit to Liverpool Polytechnic in 1990, and they married in 1994. Described as a warm and generous person, he was devoted to his family, including his stepdaughter, Natalie, and her sons, Aidan and Elliot. He is also survived by his brother, Attila.
Colleagues remember him not as a 'mere' economist, but as a true intellectual whose work was essential to the success of major research projects. His sudden passing leaves a significant void in the fields of economic sociology and international management at one of the UK's leading universities.
