Chris Murphy
An economist and research analyst by training, Chris has a strong interest in entrepreneurship and economic development. He currently works as a consultant to the financial industry, having previously spent 14 years working at a major NYC hedge fund. He also has experience working in small businesses, including a couple years as manager of the country's leading performance sailing retailer, as well as five years at his family's printing company.
While his primary residence is in Essex County (Maplewood), Chris has spent a big part of his life in western Morris County. Both of his parents started spending summers on Lake Hopatcong when they were kids in the early 1940s. He met his own wife there, and they hope that their four children will be enjoying Lake Hopatcong far into the future.
Chris has his bachelor's degree in economics, with honors, from Williams College, and he earned his MBA at Duke University, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class.
Béla Szigethy
People familiar with Lake Hopatcong may know him as the guy whose family owns the Windlass, Miss Lotta, and other lake businesses, but Béla's real job for the past three decades has been Co‑CEO of a global private equity firm focused on small-company investments. Over that time, his firm has invested in more than 650 companies across more than 25 countries, with the goal of making each of those companies bigger, better and more valuable.
Béla's parents immigrated from Hungary following World War II and eventually settled in western Morris County. The son of a minister, he grew up in Wharton and Flanders. For the past few decades, Béla, along with his wife and children, have been summer residents and prolific business-builders on Lake Hopatcong.
In creating and funding West Morris Capital - named after his high school alma mater - Béla's goal is to help sustainably grow the economy of western Morris County for generations to come.
