Attain Research Welcomes Istvan Fekete to Drive Innovation and Growth
We welcomed Istvan Fekete to the Attain Research practice in January, and he has hit the ground running working to serve our clients in the fast-evolving field of research. Under the leadership of Managing Partner Mark Davis, Attain Research unites the firm’s core research enterprise services to enhance market focus, elevate delivery excellence, and address diverse client needs. The practice provides enterprise-wide strategy and technology transformation expertise at scale. Istvan rounds out our esteemed team of industry experts, including Partner Wally Davis, as well as Bob Cohen, Shacey Temperly, Nadia Kikilo, Courtney Swaney, Stephen Fratantaro, Gil Tran, and Hilary Craiglow.
Istvan further strengthens an already formidable leadership team, and I couldn’t be more excited for what comes next for the Attain Research practice. His leadership in clinical research and managed services will open new opportunities to support our existing clients. I’m excited to see the positive impact he will make for our clients and our practice.
Mark davis
Managing Partner and Attain Research Lead, Attain Partners
Istvan joins Attain Partners as a Principal, focusing on the expansion of our research managed services offerings and driving business development in contracting and clinical research. With nearly 15 years of expertise serving higher education institutions, academic medical centers, hospital systems, and other nonprofits, Istvan is a recognized expert in research administration.
Attain Partners (AP): How did you become passionate about research administration?
Istvan Fekete (IF): Prior to entering research administration, I negotiated tax debt settlements for clients with the IRS and state taxing bodies. I loved the negotiation aspect of the work, and that is what drove me to transition to research contract negotiations. In becoming involved in the contracts that facilitate research around the country, I realized how much administrative support was needed to make that research happen. More importantly, the folks who did that work were unsung heroes and brought great value to our society, yet most people don’t know they exist. This is what got me hooked, I wanted to be one of those unsung heroes that makes the research that changes our world possible.
AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners, and what brings you to this role now?
IF: After negotiating tax debt, I worked in research contracting. I then pivoted to another consulting company to build solutions in the research administration managed services space. When I ran my team at University of Chicago, they wanted that service, and so I figured I might as well try to build it.
I came to Attain Partners because, for me, it’s not just about helping our clients; it’s about helping them with a laser focus on the value. I believe Attain Partners provides the best opportunity for me to drive the most value to my clients. This is a time of uncertainty for those that are engaged in research and a value-driven approach will only increase in importance and be a key mechanism by which institutions adapt.
AP: How do you want to leverage your new role with Attain Partners to create an impact?
IF: There is a lot the research industry can gain through standardization, including decreasing study activation timelines, reducing costs, and eliminating training burden. Then, our clients’ ever-valuable resources can be used in a way that most aligns with their mission.
My goal in this job is to change the research administration industry in a permanent way to allow institutions to focus on producing breakthroughs for the betterment of humanity.
IF: Inventing the Future is a primary focus of mine and one of Attain Partners’ core values. There is ever-increasing technical expertise needed in the research administration space, coupled with constant pressures for growth/cost reduction. It is only through inventing a future that we can realize these competing priorities.
AP: What do you like most about the work you do?
IF: I am a people person and getting to interact with our clients is something that I very much enjoy. Learning about them personally, their struggles at work, and how I can add value to their goals in those areas is what drives me. My goal is always to problem solve to leave things better off than when I started.
AP: What are the biggest ways you’ve seen research administration initiatives impact organizations?
IF: Our clients are nonprofit entities, and as such, there is constant financial pressure. I have seen helping organizations run research administration properly, resulting in reduced staffing costs, greater staffing retention, redirection of space to more high-value functions, better relationships with external funders, and the ability to conduct more research at a faster speed.
That’s the exciting part—if you do this right, you can really see the impact of the amazing science coming to life.
AP: What do you enjoy outside of work?
IF: I spend a lot of time taking care of my parents as well as the 14-year-old rabbit my wife and I have. I am also a big sports fan, and you will find me attending games, watching games, talking about/reading about games, or playing fantasy sports. If you want to talk local Chicago politics, I’m your guy. I also love the outdoors and being physically active. My favorite thing to do is go camping for sure!
Learn more – Istvan Fekete
Istvan Feketehas been working in or servicing higher education, academic medical centers, hospital systems, and other nonprofits for almost 15 years. Istvan began his career running the research contracts team at the University of Chicago where he gained expertise in research contract negotiations, assessing institutional risk, developing business processes, training, and creating campus-wide data security infrastructure.
Istvan then worked at Huron Consulting developing a virtual solution for managed services in the research administration space. Such services included regulatory, grants (pre-post), clinical invoicing/charge segregation, budget negotiations, clinical trial management system builds, Medicare coverage analysis, and contract negotiations. Istvan has had the pleasure of working with over 50 organizations. Istvan’s work has included training clients’ staff, developing training programs for clients, re-designing business processes, and piloting artificial intelligence solutions in addition to managed services.
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