Stefan Kudelski (Warsaw on February 27, 1929) is a Polish audio engineer, famous for creating the Nagra series of professional audio recorders.
Kudelski was born in a family with engineering background. In 1939 the family fled Poland before German Nazi Invasion of Poland, moving to Hungary, France and later to Switzerland. He studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and constructed his first tape recorder there, as a student project. The recorder was supposed to drive a machine tool, but was good enough to record audio as well.
- 1951 - Kudelski builds his first Nagra tape recorder
- 1957 - The Nagra III, a transistorized tape recorder with electronic speed control, is launched
Stefan Kudelski received many awards during his career: Academy Awards (Oscars) in 1965, 1977, 1978 and 1990, two Emmy Awards and Gold Medals from L. Warner, AES (Audio Engineering Society), Lyra and Eurotechnica.
Stefan Kudelski retired in 1991 and was succeeded by his son, André Kudelski, as a Chairman and CEO of the Kudelski Group.