Prague Leaders Magazine Issue 04/2013 by Czech & Slovak Leaders

global perspectives now available in Brussels

4/2013 199 CZK

Tomáš Hudeček, Mayor of Prague

www.leadersmagazine.cz incl. electronic version Brno I Ostrava I Plzeň I Liberec I Olomouc I Ústí nad Labem I Hradec Králové I České Budějovice I Pardubice I Zlín I Jihlava I Turnov I Karlovy Vary I Mladá Boleslav

Elektronickou podobu ãasopisu najdete na www.parlamentnimagazin.cz

politika • ekonomika • byznys

UDĚLÁME vám v tom JASNO

P R ÁV Ě T E Ď Vrstva písku zahaluje horizont okolo Mao, města na západě Čadu, hluboko v oblasti afrického Sahelu. Nepršelo tady už několik let a poslední čtyři sklizně byly zničeny. Zvířata zde na následky sucha umírají už dlouho. Nyní umírají také děti.

J E N E J L E P Š Í Č A S N A Z ÁC H R A N U Ž I VO TA

„Awa byla velmi slabá, měla průjmy, horečku a doslova se ztrácela před očima,“ vysvětluje babička půlroční holčičky. Okolo zdejšího zdravotního střediska vyrostly během posledních týdnů bílé stany, aby pojmuly nápor dětí trpících akutní podvýživou. Ze stanů je slyšet dětský pláč, nejohroženější děti jsou však potichu – jsou příliš zesláblé na to, aby plakaly. Awa má štěstí: do výživového centra se dostala včas a již po týdnu intenzivní léčby v programu podporovaném UNICEF jsou na ní patrné známky zotavení. „V oblasti Sahelu je podvýživou právě teď ohrožen jeden milion dětí. Kdyby se Awě nedostalo pomoci, už by teď nebyla na světě,“ popsala své pocity z návštěvy výživového centra Mia Farrow, herečka a vyslankyně UNICEF. UNICEF v zemích Sahelu právě teď zajišťuje dodávky terapeutického mléka a speciální výživy Plumpy'Nut pro děti trpící podvýživou. Plumpy'Nut je směs arašídové pasty, rostlinného oleje, cukru a odtučněného mléčného prášku, obohacená o vitaminy a stopové prvky. Je připravena k okamžitému podávání, nemusí se upravovat, a tak nehrozí kontaminace závadnou vodou. Kromě toho UNICEF spolu s místními komunitami a partnerskými organizacemi rozvíjí programy zaměřené na omezení rozšiřování pouště a podporu drobného pěstování brambor, cibule a dalších plodin, které zajišťují potravinovou soběstačnost rodin do budoucna.

19 000 dětí umírá každý den zbytečně. My v UNICEF věříme v NULU!

Herečka Mia Farrow se zachráněnou holčičkou ve výživovém centru v čadském městě Mao.

365 Kč měsíčně zajistí za rok kompletní terapeutickou výživu pro 3 podvyživené děti.

Staňte se Přítelem dětí ještě dnes! Registrujte se na:

www.verimvnulu.cz

234x325 indd 1

30 07 13 10:38

ALCHYMIST PRAGUE CASTLE SUITES The Alchymist Prague Castle Suites symbolizes a truly unique and exclusive experience. Nestled within the Lesser Town, this sensational mansion has been restored to fit a novel style of luxury accommodation which received numerous awards. The enchanting historical building, “At the Turk‘s Head is full of architectural delights and interior features which will please the heart of any history buff or art enthusiast. This exclusive hotel spreads over three floors and offers eight individually decorated and equipped suites, a library and music room, a breakfast room, a fireplace room with a lavishly decorated ceiling and private spa.

All the rooms have been personalized, taking full advantage of their historical features and irregular shapes. Featuring splendid historical details such as the wooden painted ceilings, the rooms allow the guests to enjoy wonderful views of the green Petřín hills or Prague Castle while being served by one of our butlers. Even if your everyday life doesn‘t involve the services of a butler, your honeymoon or next romantic trip may. The Alchymist Prague Castle Suites hotel understands that honeymooners and other luxury guests appreciate some pampering. Our butlers are trained to anticipate the guests’ needs and comply with utmost speed and efﬁciency offering an exclusive and unique service in Prague.

Alchymist Prague Castle Suites Sněmovní 8, Prague 1 Tel.: +420 257 286 960 www.alchymisthotels.com

publisher’s note & contents

DEAR READERS, Autumn is coming slowly and we have to brace ourselves for winter, both for the weather and what will happen on the political side, which is rather turbulent now. The new and hastily arranged general election will be a test for the Czech people, as well as the newly formed parties that will fight and try to convince us that they are something different and can make a change. However, it is quite clear now that the social democratic party ČSSD will be the winner, but who will they cooperate with to run this great country? At the end of October we will see. Meanwhile Dear Readers, you have the chance to read an interview with Michal Hašek, the governor of the South Bohemia Region and Vice Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party. Also, an interview with Vratislav Mynář, Chancellor of the office of the President and running for PCR - ZP for the Zlín Region, to find out what they think must change for the better in the future. Other interesting interviews from the political sphere are included, with Mr Bursík and Mr Korytář. Living in the beautiful city of Prague, we are proud to have Mr Tomáš Hudeček, Lord Mayor of Prague on our front page, along with an interview. Mr Hudeček is a young, dynamic Mayor, open and outspoken, with a new clear vision for his city. He’s tackling and resolving costly mistakes inherited from the past, as well as implementing a new Metropolitan Plan, new Prague Construction Standards and a Public Space Manual, in order to create a city that is pleasant to live in. He has also launched a new campaign, “Tuning Prague”. From our photo reportage in this issue, I would like to mention a few: the Czech Ambassadors’ traditional meeting here in Prague at the Senate, Indonesian National Day and a Thai Cultural Heritage, held by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand, H.E. Vitavas Srivihok and Mrs Ratsamee Yaviseth – performance of KHON, a Thai Masked Dance, Drama and Folkdance on 5 September, 2013 at the Great Hall of the City Library, followed by a reception at the Residence of the Mayor of Prague. We include a farewell to H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia and his wife Andrea, at a reception for Slovakian National Day, Round Tables by Comenius, with former Ministers M. Kuba, P. Fiala and F. Koníček, as well as the BMW event from the International Music Festival at Krumlov and Sommerfest organised by Czech-German Chamber of Commerce. You’ll read about a CFO discussion and golf event, the UNIQA Insurance event, a panel discussion and Gala Dinner by the Prague Freedom Foundation, under the umbrella of the Czech 2000 Forum, an art exhibition by Miro Gallery, the AMO Conference and much more. We are also very pleased to see such a dramatic rise in online readers – we had 65,000 visitors and 480,000 page views in August on the electronic version. I am sure that my team and I must be doing something right. Dear friends, brace yourselves for the coming autumn and winter, keep warm and light your homes with candles and most of all, smile and hug each other – you’ll feel warmed inside and it will give you the spirit and energy to handle the dark rk months.

events 12 Visit from the President of the Nigerian Senate to the Czech Republic 13 Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, in the Senate 14

18th Leaders Magazine Advisory Board Dinner

18 Reception for all Czech Ambassadors at the Senate 34 Discussion Round Table with Professor Petr Fiala, former Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic 37 Discussion Round Table with Martin Kuba, former Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic 40 Discussion Round Table with František Koníček, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic in demission 48 Perfect Harmony – BMW Group Czech Republic and International Music Festival in Český Krumlov 50 Swedish Midsummer at the Swedish Embassy 52 Central European Debate about Transatlantic Free Trade Deal 56 The Highlands Region Now Holds Round Table Discussions 58 Czech-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Summer Party 62 Advantage Austria Summer Fest

gala event/Advantage Austria Summer Fest

From left: Jaroslav Pícha, Managing Director, Hirsch Praha with his wife on the left and Ivo Klimša, CEO, LENZING f page 62

68 Summer CFO Club Session With a Topic of Financing Culture 72 Rotary District Welcomes New Leader 74

The Free Swiss University of St. George‘s Organ Concert

FryDay at Bastion Restaurant

84 Natali Ruden’s Tribute to Karlovy Vary Film Festival 90 UNIQA Insurance Company Celebrates Its Anniversary 102 Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador 104 Strawberry Party 108 Bvlgari Diva Collection Launch in La Corte 112 Prague Freedom Foundation in Forum 2000

Benke Aikell ■ benke.aikell@leadersmagazine.cz www.leadersmagazine.cz

6 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

117 First Official Introduction of Oliver & Oliver Rums in the Czech Republic

contents interviews 10 The First Hundred Days An Interview with Tomáš Hudeček, Mayor of Prague

culture events 124 Eugéne Leroy Paintings and Drawings Opening Ceremony in the MIRO Gallery Prague

30 Business Based on Similar Values An Interview with H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Czech Republic

Paintings and Drawings 6. 9.–27. 10. 2013 Opening ceremony in the MIRO Gallery Prague

32 We Can Offer a Functioning State that Works for the Citizens An Interview with JUDr. Michal Hašek, the Governor of the South Bohemia Region and the Vice Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party 44 There Are Offers you Can’t Refuse An Interview with Vratislav Mynář, Chancellor of the Ofﬁce of the President

We have built one of the most important cultural events in the country

Church of St. Roch, Seat of MIRO Gallery Prague and Trebbia Foundation f page 124

diplomatic events 22 Slovakian National Day and Farewell to H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador

Judi Dench and Jiří Bartoška f page 78

of the Slovak Republic and his Wife Mrs. Andrea Brňová 25 ASEAN Flag Hoisting Ceremony At the Residence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand 27 Diplomatic Reception at the Occasion of Indonesian National Day 46 Thai Cultural Heritage

66 I’m Not Just an Ecologist, but Also a Liberal An Interview with Martin Bursík, Chairman of the LES Party 78 We have Built one the Most Important Cultural Events in the Country

ASEAN Flag Hoisting Ceremony

An Interview with Jiří Bartoška, President of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 94 Policemen Deserve the Respect and Esteem of the Public, and Must have the Necessary Support from the Law A Talk with Martin Hrinko, Director of the Public Order Police Directorate of the Police Presidium of the Czech Republic 96 Jana Adamcová/Linda Štucbartová 98 Jan Bubeník/Linda Štucbartová 100 Change as a Chance for a Modern Civic-ecological Politics An Interview with Jan Korytář, Chairman of the ZMĚNA (CHANGE) political party, former mayor and representative of the Statutory City of Liberec

sport events

H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand welcomes Karel Borůvka, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs… f page 25

80 Presidential CFO Golf Tournament Leaders Magazine IV/2013 7

contents & info contributors 43 Day x+1. Learn, learn, learn./Ivan Pilný 55 Dip Below the Waterline/Cristina Muntean 70 Global Entrepreneur Week/ELAI 83 Responsible Business Critical for the CR’s Reputation/Jonathan Wootliff 86 Understanding the Importance of Strategic Networking-Creating Complementary Working Environments/Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy 87 I Am the Master of My Fate/Karin Genton 88 Danube – Oder – Elbe Water Corridor/Jan Koukal 93 Companies Need Applied Research/Evžen Tošenovský 103 Confusing Gestures/Martin Opatrný 106 Our Thinking Creates our Lives and our Happiness /Sanjiv Suri 110 War, the Digital Transformation and Growth of Emerging Markets/Jan Mühlfeit 116 Transport at Point Zero/Emanuel Šíp 118 Chateau Cheval Blanc – Tradition and Future/Iva and Joseph Drebitko 122 Balance: The Business-Life Connection Part I: The Ultimate Question!/James A. Cusumano, PhD

Chateau Cheval Blanc – Tradition and Future/ Iva and Joseph Drebitko

New wine cellar f page 118

EU matters 126 Recognition of Skills and Qualifications Acquired Through Volunteering Can Increase the Chances of Young People to Get a Job An Interview with Pavel Trantina, President of the European Alliance for Volunteering 128 European Semester: Country Specific Recommendations for the Czech Republic 129 Consumer protection: Do we know what we eat? 130 Bussiness News

Leaders Magazine is a member of 8

Publisher: Benke Aikell Head of Editorial: Lenka Helena Koenigsmark Office Manager/Head of IT: Michael Serences Office Assistant: Tatiana Fominykh Webmaster: Václav Kocourek EU Matters: CEBRE Czech Business Representation, CESES, Europlatform Contributors: James A. Cusumano, Iva Drebitko, Joseph Drebitko, Elisabeth Rodrigues Dennehy, ELAI, Karin Genton – L’Epée, European Leadership and Academic Institute, Pavlína Holancová, Martina Hošková, Lenka Helena Koenigsmark, Jan Koukal, Jan Mühlfeit, Cristina Muntean, Martin Opatrný, Ivan Pilný, Sanjiv Suri, Emanuel Šíp, Linda Štucbartová, Evžen Tošenovský, Jonathan Wootliff, Photographers: Roland Hilmar, Anna Chlumská, Martin Janas, Jakub Joachim, Veronika Žabová, Vladimír Weiss Subscription service: Leaders Magazine, CEPONA, s.r.o. Lužická 32, 120 00 Praha 2 We appreciate your opinions of Leaders Magazine. Please send them to: Leaders Magazine Moravská 14, 120 00 Praha 2 tel.: 224 255 277 fax: 224 256 172 e-mail: info@leadersmagazine.cz www.leadersmagazine.cz Leaders Magazine comes out bi-monthly. Licence: MK ČR E 13147 No reproduction is permitted in whole or part without the express consent of Leaders Magazine. The advertiser is responsible for the advertising contents. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors or persons interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or Leaders Magazine. All editorial material and photos in Leaders Magazine is digitally stored and may be republished by Leaders Magazine either in printed form or in various digital media. All correspondence to Leaders Magazine may be published. Typos, tiskařské závody, s.r.o., závod Praha tel.: 266 021 230 techno@typos.cz www.typos.cz

Photos from the last Advisory Board Dinner

info ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS PhDr. Zdeněk Čáp, Managing Partner, Equity Solutions s. r. o. Josef Drebitko, CEO, D&COMM Prof. Ing. Jiří Fárek, CSc., Professor, Technická Univerzita Liberec and former First Deputy Mayor, City of Prague 6 Mgr. Marta Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ Michal Heřman, General Manager, Star Communications Plk. Mgr. Vladislav Husák JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Law Firm

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Ing. Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Česká pošta, JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, Aspira Invest, and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra & spol. Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., CNB Bank Board Member and Chief Executive Director Ing. Peter Jusko, MBA, Partner, London Market Ing. Petr Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of the CR and former Minister of Environment Ing. Josef Kreuter, CSc., former Czech Ambassador to the EU Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Partner, Law Firm Kříž a partneři s.r.o. Genmjr. JUDr. Lubomír Kvíčala, former Director of the Department of Protection of Constitutional Ofﬁcials, Police of the Czech Republic Ing. Vladimír Laštůvka, former M.P. Ing. Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation Ing. Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Česká pošta a. s. and former Czech Ambassador to OECD

From left: Doc. Ing. Václav Petříček, CSc., Chairman of the Board, Chamber of Trade and Industry for CIS Countries, and Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Attorney and Partner, Kříž and partners with his daughter

George Parobek, Managing Director, Iﬁeld Computer Consultancy Šárka Parobek, Director, Iﬁeld Computer Consultancy Doc. Ing. Václav Petříček, CSc., Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber SNS Ing. Jozef Piga, Member of the Supervisory Board, Omnipol a.s. Ing. Lucie Pilipová, Partner, Via Perfecta, s.r.o. Ing. Ivan Pilný, President, TUESDAY Business Network JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, former Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs MUDr. Richard Sequens, PhD., Head of Surgical Gastroenterology Center, Nemocnice Milosrdných sester sv. Karla Boromejského v Praze and former Senator PhDr. MgA. Miroslav Smolák, Owner, Galerie MIRO Mgr. Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises spol. s r. o.

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, former Ambassador to Austria and former Mayor of Prague and Dr. Hynek Kmoníček, Director, Foreign Affairs Department, Office of the President of the CR

PhDr. Jaroslav Šedivý CSc., former Ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs JUDr. Josef Šesták, Assistant Professor, Vysoká škola obchodní v Praze, o.p.s.

ADVISORY BOARD COMITTEE

Ing. Radomír Šimek, current member of numerous

Benke Aikell, Publisher, Leaders Magazine Ing. Petr Kubernát, Director, PEKOS s.r.o. and former Czech Ambassador to the Netherlands Ing. Karel Muzikář, CSc., President, COMENIUS

Jaromír Šlápota, President, Československý

HONORARY MEMBERS ABROAD AND GOODWILL AMBASSADORS

Ing. Pavel Štefka, MSc, 4-star General (ret.),

H.E. William J. Cabaniss, former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic Vincent J. Derudder, Secretary General, The European Federation of Financial Advisers and Financial Intermediaries Frank J. Devlyn, Rotary International President 2000–2001 and Rotary Foundation Chairman 2005–2006 H.E. Alexey L. Fedotov, former Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Czech Republic Ing. Peter P. Formanek, President Emeritus, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic H.E. Richard Graber, former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic H.E. Jan Cornelis Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Czech Republic Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards H.E. Athar Mahmood, former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Czech Republic H.E. Zdravko Popov, former Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Czech Republic H.E. Mati Vaarmann, former Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Czech Republic Ája Vrzáňová, Czech World Champion in Figure-skating, Sport Legend H.E. Huo Yuzhen, former Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Czech Republic

international boards ústav zahraniční Chief of Defence and Special Programs, Tatra Ing. Helena Švédová, HR Director, PSG International, a.s. Ing. Josef Tauber, Advisor to the President, Czech Banking Association Ing. Jiří Vávra, Vice Chairman, STROJEXPORT, a.s. JUDr. Petr Vyroubal, Partner, Law Firm Vyroubal Krajhanzl Školout

interview

An Interview with Tomáš Hudeček, Mayor of Prague

interview

The first hundred days has now passed since you took on the position of Mayor of Prague, which is the customary grace period for a function. Have you already prepared specific steps for the direction you want to take the city? I naturally already dealt with the question of which direction to take the city before the elections in 2010 – it would have been irresponsible to run at all without a clear vision. At that time I asked myself what would make Prague a successful city. The key to success has two levels. Successful cities prepare for the future – they plan and coordinate, they work conceptually. Successful cities also activate the interest of their inhabitants in the environment in which they live. Thanks to this I was able to begin implementing individual steps immediately after I took on the function of mayor without the need for any “grace period”, because my team and I were prepared. In fact I initiated a number of such steps even earlier – as a councillor. What specific steps or projects have you already launched then as mayor? Before I answer I’d like to say one thing – both you and I are speaking of the “function” of mayor. But I would prefer to say “service”, because in all seriousness that’s how I view it, even though it might sound like a cliché. But to answer your question – we’ve finally set a course for the 21st century. The thing is, most of the city’s key plans have been designed with the previous century in mind. New documents are now being drawn up by top teams. These include the new Metropolitan Plan, Strategic Plan, the new Prague Construction Standards and the Public Space Manual. All these fundamental documents for the functioning of the city will be interconnected for the first time and will have a single primary objective – to create

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

a city that is pleasant to live in, a compact city that is urban but also green. Aside from these conceptual steps we have also launched a great number of small projects with the same philosophy and from which, I trust, the inhabitants of our city will begin to profit very soon. These projects mostly concern improving the shared living environment – the public space. So you see the city’s greatest problem as the lack of a conceptual approach? That’s not a completely exact description, but in essence yes. We haven’t yet spoken about economic matters. As you certainly know, just a few short tunnels ago the City of Prague was an affluent city. All it took was a couple of bad contracts and in the short-term it is now teetering on the edge of an economic abyss. We are taking a number of steps to stabilise the economic situation, such as bringing key public companies back under the city, but overall the fight against debt, moreover completely unnecessary debt, is very tough and brings with it negative consequences that are unfortunately felt by every inhabitant of Prague. A loan can be the motor for developing a company, but only if the economy of the whole company ends up profiting from it and not just the CEO... It follows from your answer that one of Prague’s essential problems is non-conceptual investments and the resulting indebtedness … In an organism as complex as a metropolis, everything is related to everything. There is another thing inherited from the previous political establishment, perhaps even worse, and that’s the complete loss of trust – the loss of trust of citizens in the city’s leaders and the loss of trust of businesses in equal access. When I see today how the

city was being run, I have to say that this loss of trust was justified. It will be difficult to win back this trust, but we have to try. Without it the city cannot function. Prague is called the Mother of Cities, but regrettably I have to say that for much too long it has acted more like an evil stepmother. And it has acted like this towards its greatest assets – its inhabitants as well as the businesses that wish to operate here. However I fully believe that this trend will turn around and I will work toward this goal. Prague has the potential to be a confident Central European leader. Are you taking steps to renew this trust then? Yes – we have launched the campaign “Tuning Prague”, which is a platform for supporting civil society and active citizenship. During expert discussions on updating the Strategic Plan another quite fundamental topic came up. For a long time the city has essentially not been communicating with the academic institutions and important companies that are active in Prague. It has been overlooking the motors of its own economy, which is completely incomprehensible to me. It is with these partners that we should be searching for Prague’s position in Central Europe and the city must be a transparent partner for these institutions. Naturally we must set clear rules for private investments, but we must also take care of these investments within the bounds of these rules, making our interest clear and preparing programmes to support them. Prague cannot survive without stable, serious and long-term investors, and it must learn to declare that. Compiled by LM ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 11

senate Milan Štěch, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic with David Mark, the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Based on the invitation from Milan Štěch, the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, his counterpart from Nigeria, David Mark, visited the country. During their meeting, they agreed on the need to broaden the collaboration of both countries in the areas of economy, culture and, particularly, education. Alena Gajdůšková, the First Vice President of the Senate, also attended the meeting, as well as Josef Regec, the Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security, and Miroslav Krejča, the Chairman of the Committee for EU Affairs.

Press briefing after the meeting of both delegations

Alena Gajdůšková, the First Vice President of the Senate of the Czech Republic with David Mark, the President of the Senate of Nigeria

“It is our honor and our first significant visit from this continent in the last two years. We know that the Nigerian Federation is the leader of the region, not only in terms of population, but also with a certain political and social influence. We would therefore like to broaden our contacts at the parliamentary level and we agreed with David Mark, the President, on this,” said Milan Štěch, the President of the Senate, after meeting with his Nigerian counterpart.

David Mark, the President is greeted by Josef Regec, the Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs

senate

MILOŠ ZEMAN,

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

PRESIDENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, IN THE SENATE

On August 20, 2013, deputies approved the proposal for the disbanding of the Chamber of Deputies that will lead to early elections. Until then, the only functioning chamber of the Parliament is the Senate. A day later, on August 21, 2013, President Miloš Zeman visited the upper chamber.

President Miloš Zeman among the members of the Senate leadership. Left to right: Alena Gajdůšková, the First Vice President of the Senate, Milan Štěch, the President of the Senate; left: Miluše Horská the Vice President of the Senate.

The President attended the 12th meeting of the Senate, in order to support his proposal to name Jan Sváček (at the speaker’s lectern) a Judge of the Constitutional Court. In the end, the Senators voted down this proposal in a confidential vote Middle: Miroslav Antl, the Chairman of the Constitutional Law Committee of the Senate; on the right: Jiří Dienstbier, a Member of the Committee

President Miloš Zeman in the meeting hall of the Senate, greeted by Petr Vícha, the Chairman of the Senator Club of the Czech Social Democratic Party

networking / gourmet event

AT ALCHYMIST GRAND HOTEL & SPA

The positive reputation of Leaders Magazine continues to grow, however we realize that we must maintain to improve and learn, particularly during these times of dynamic change. That is why we have decided to set up an Advisory Board for the magazine. I am convinced that creating a platform of high profile individuals will be an excellent opportunity for the magazine to acquire new ideas and define new directions of future development. Benke Aikell, your Publisher

18 LEADERS MAGAZINE

Benke Aikell, your Publisher

ADVISORY BOARD DINNER

From left: JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Vladimír Laštůvka, former MP From left: Lubomír Kvíčala with his wife on the left and Marta Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE 14

From left: Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech – Kuwait Trading Ltd., Ing. Blanka Bukovská, Editor in Chief, B&S Communicat, Brand Stories with her daughter, and Petr Nosek, General Manager, Call Assistance 24 s.r.o.

From left: Ing. Jan Vácha, Vice Chairman of the Board, Blažek Praha and JUDr. Petr Vyroubal, Attorney, Partner, Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout

From left: H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia and JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, Aspira Invest

Jaroslava Musilová, PR Manager, Kofola and Martin Opatrný, Advisor on Media and Crisis Communication, Public Relations/Public Affairs

From left: H.E. Aitzaz Ahmed, Ambassador of Pakistan and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

From left: Jim Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation and Maureen Chang, Journalist ans Founder of Casa Serena

15 From left: Doc. Ing. Antonín Indruch, CSc., Ing. Zdeňka Indruchová, Executive Director, AČPM, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Ing. Radomír Šimek, former President, GermanCzech Chamber of Industry and Commerce and member of numerous international boards, Ing. Jana Šulcová, and Ing. Peter Jusko, MBA, Partner, LondonMarket and Member of Supervisory Board, Czech – China Chamber of Commerce

From left: Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., CNB Bank Board Member and Chief Executive Director, and Vladimír Laštůvka, fomer MP

Michaela Lejsková, Business and Editorial Director, Best, and Miroslav Hejhal, GANIMED

From left: Ing. Jiří Vávra, and Jan Michal, Head of Representation, European Commission, Representation in the CR From left: Marta Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ and Aleš Adam, Sales Director, Typos

Ira Saul Rubenstein, Partner, Traficon with his wife Lenka, Painter

From left: Michaela Lejsková, Business and Editorial Director, Best, Ing. Helena Leisztner, Artist and Fashion Designer with her husband Roland Leisztner

From left: H.E. Aitzaz Ahmed, Ambassador of Pakistan, Maureen Chang, Journalist and Founder, Casa Serena, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Zdeněk Čáp, Managing Partner, Equity Solutions and Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises, Real Estate Developing and Debt Collecting

Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and the Chief Waiter of Hotel Alchymist

From left: Ing. Petr Kubernát, Director General, Section of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ing. Jiří Vávra

Jadran Šetlík, renown Photographer, Galerie Milena Jadran

From left: Adéla Syberová, Assistant, Comenius and Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprise, Real Estate Developing and Debt Collecting

From left: Aleš Adam, Sales Director, Typos and Jaromír Šlápota, President, ČSÚZ

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Radek John, Head of Public Affairs Department, Empresa Media, Mgr. Kateřina Svobodová, and Fawad Nadri, President, Czech-Afghan Chamber of Commerce

diplomatic event From left: MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, PhDr. Jan Kohout, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CR

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

RECEPTION FOR ALL CZECH AMBASSADORS AT THE SENATE On August 28, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Milan Štěch hosted a traditional meeting of senators with the heads of representative offices of the CR abroad. The First Vice Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Přemysl Sobotka and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kohout spoke to the diplomatic corps on the ceremonial meeting, which was held in Wallenstein Garden.

From left: Miroslav Nenutil, Senator, H. E. Radek Matula, Ambassador of the CR in Azerbaijan, and H.E. Hynek Pejcha, Ambassador of the CR in Uzbekistan

From left: H.E. Pavel Kafka, Ambassador of the CR in Egypt and Josef Koutský, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Lybia

H.E. Jaroslav Horák, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in the Netherlands

From left: H.E. Michael Žantovský, Ambassador of the CR in United Kingdom, Petr Bratský, Senator, and H.E.Vladimír Eisenbruk, Ambassador of the CR in Peru

From left: H.E. Petr Kopřiva, Ambassador of the CR in Argentina and H.E. Martin Klepetko, Ambassador of the CR in Vietnam

From left: H.E. Ivana Grollová, Ambassador of the CR in Mongolia, Miloš Vystrčil, Senator, and Mgr. Jana Kružíková, Secretary of the Committee on Public Administration, Regional Development and the Environment of the Senate

From left: H.E. Michael Žantovský, Ambassador of the CR in United Kingdom and PhDr. Petr Fleischmann, Consultant, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security

PhDr. Jan Kohout , Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CR

From left: Lenka Helena Koenigsmark, Head of Editorial, Leaders Magazine, H.E.Marie Chatardová, Ambassador of the CR in France, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: H.E. Jiří Doležal, Ambassador of the CR in Kosovo and Mgr. František Bublan, Senator

MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, Vice President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

All Ambassador Meeting at the Senate

diplomatic event

From left: MgA. Martin Bačkovský, Secretary of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Lubomír Hladík, Ambassador of the CR in Saudi Arabia

From left: H.E. Vladimír Eisenbruk, Ambassador of the CR in Peru, Mgr. Miluše Horská, Vice President of the Senate, Ing. Dagmar Zvěřinová, Chairman of the Standing Senate Commission on Rural Development, and Jiří Uklein, Secretary General of the Senat

From left: H.E. Jaroslav Zajíc, Ambassador of the CR in Cuba and H.E. Dušan Štrauch, Ambassador of the CR in Northern Korea

From left: H.E. Tomáš Kafka, Ambassador of the CR in Ireland, Edita Hrdá, UNITED NATIONS – Mission of the Czech Republic in New York, and František Černý, Prager Literatur Haus

From left: H.E. Jaroslav Horák, Ambassador of the CR in the Netherlands, H.E. Rudolf Jindrák, Ambassador of the CR in Germany, and Vladimír Müller, Counseling Czech Republic – Europe

From left: H.E. Michaela Froňková, Ambassador of the CR in Morrocco and Tomáš Smetánka, Ambassador of the CR in Indonesia

From left: H.E. Martin Klučar, Ambassador of the CR in Russia, H.E. Bronislava Tomášová, Ambassador of the CR in Albania, and Jaroslav Rychtar, Ambassador of the CR in the Phillipines

From left: Jiří Koudelka, Representative, Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and Jaroslav Kantůrek, Consul General of the Czech Republic in Hong Kong

20 From left: H.E. Jiří Brodský, Ambassador of the CR in Denmark and H.E. Jaroslav Horák, Ambassador of the CR in the Netherlands

From left: H.E. Ladislav Škeřík, Ambassador of the CR in Cyprus, H.E. Martin Povejšil, Ambassador to the EU, and H.E. Martin Vítek, Ambassador of the CR in Kuwait

diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Jiří Brodský, Ambassador of the CR in Denmark, H.E. Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the CR in USA, and H.E. Martin Klučar, Ambassador of the CR in Russia

From left: H.E. Ivan Počuch, Ambassador of the CR in Ukraine, Kateřina Šarmanová, Secretary of Standing Senate Commission on Rural Development, and Miloš Vystrčil, Senator

From left: H.E. Jiří Havlík, Ambassador of the CR in Brazil, H.E. Ivan Jestřáb, Ambassador of the CR in Georgia, prof. MUDr. Eva Syková, DrSc. FCMA, Senator, Mgr. Jana Kružíková, Secretary of the Committee on Public Administration, Regional Development and the Environment of the Senate, and Ing. Ivo Bárek, Senator

From left: H.E. Jiří Havlík, Ambassador of the CR in Brazil and Ing. Ivo Bárek, Senator

From left: H.E. Ivo Šrámek, Ambassador of the CR in Belgium, Mgr. Jiří Dienstbier, Senator, and H.E. Karel Beran, Ambassador of the CR in Spain

František Černý, Prager Literatur Haus and Jaroslav Šonka, Journalist, Adviser Dominika Dražilová, Foreign Relations Department, EU Affairs Unit, The Senate Chancellery and H.E. Petr Štěpánek, Ambassador of the CR in Iran

H.E. Jiří Šitler, Ambassador of the CR in Romania and Valérie Ciprová, Head of the Independent Protocol Unit of the Senate

From left: Andrea Jůzová, Secretary of the Committee on National Economy, Agriculture and Transport Secretary of the Senat, Ing. Jan Hajda, Chairman of the Committee on National Economy, Agriculture and Transport, and H.E. Hana Hubáčková, Ambassador of the CR in Serbia

diplomatic event

From right: H. E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture in demission, Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister in demission, Milan Štěch, Chairman of the Senate of the CR, Mrs. Livia Klausová, former First Lady of the CR, Mr. Rusnok’s wife and behind General Vlastimil Picek, Minister of Defence in demission wife and daughter and behind and Jan Kohout, Minister of Foreign Affairs in demission

Special thanks to Servis Praha for making this reportage possible

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

SLOVAKIAN NATIONAL DAY AND FAREWELL TO H.E. PETER BRŇO, AMBASSADOR OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC AND HIS WIFE MRS. ANDREA BRŇOVÁ

From left: Yan Yuqing, Counsellor Embassy of China and H.E. Yu Qingtai, Ambassador of China in the CR

From left: H.E. Jens Eikaas, Ambassador of Norway is welcomed by H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic

Jan Kohout, Minister of Foreign Affairs in demission in his speech

From left: Mgr. Peter Duhan, General Director, Czech Radio, Marta Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ, and Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture in demission

From left: JUDr. Čestmír Sajda MBA, Aspira Invest, Mrs. Macešková, Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR, and Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Česká pošta

From left: H.E. Marita Landaveri Porturas, Ambassador of Peru, H.E. Frane Krnič, Ambassador of Croatia and H.E. Pascual Navarro, Ambassador of Spain

From left: Prof. JUDr. Zdeněk Jičínský, former Member of the Parliament of the CR and Vojtěch Filip, Chairman of KSČM

Miro Smolák, Owner, Gallery MIRO, PhDr. Jozef Gafrik CSc., Slovpress agency, and Doc.PhDr. Jaromír Slušný

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Lt.General Petr Pavel, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in the CR

H. E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in his welcoming speech

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the CR, Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech – Kuwait Trading Ltd., and Dr. Hynek Kmoníček, Director, Foreign Affairs Department, Office of the President of the CR

From left: H.E. Abdulrahman Al-Hamdi, Ambassador of Yemen, H.E. Catherine Okon, Ambassador of Nigeria and H.E. AymanAl Adsani, Ambassdor of Kuwait

23 From left: Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister in demission and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic

Milan Štěch, Chairman of the Senate of the CR his speech

From left: Ing. Valerie Ciprová, Head of the Office of Senate and Přemysl Sobotka, Vice Chairman of the Senate

diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Genc Pecani, Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Albania and H.E. Pasquale D’avino, Ambassador of Italy From left: H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA, Karel Schwarzenberg, Chairman, TOP 09, Jiří Čistecký, Director, Department for Central Europe

From left: H.E. Jan Thompson, Ambassador of the United Kingdom and Jiří Čistecký, Director, Department for Central Europe

From left: Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius and General Vlastimil Picek, Minister of Defence in demission

From left: Jiří Weigl, Executive Director, Institute of Václav Klaus and Mrs Livia Klausová, former First Lady of the CR

From left: Milan Štěch, Chairman of the Senate of the CR and Jiří Zimola, Governor of the Region of South Bohemia Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister in demission with his wife and daughter

From left: Prof. Ing. Jiří Fárek CSc. and Jozef Kollar, Bilateral Economic Relations and Export Promotion Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From left: H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic and Alena Gajdůšková, first Vice Chairwoman of the Senate of the CR

From left: Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia

From left: H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand and Chairman of ASEAN Committee in Prague welcomes Karel Borůvka, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, on his right Ratsamee Yaviseth, spouse of H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, followed by H.E. Do Xuan Dong, Ambassador of Vietnam, H.E. Emeria W. A. Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia, Nik Muhammad Nasyron Syah Nik Daud, Chargé d’ Affaires of Malaysia, and Dr. Juan E. Dayang, Jr., Chargé d’ Affaires of the Philippines

diplomatic event

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

ASEAN Flag Hoisting Ceremony AT THE RESIDENCE OF THE AMBASSADOR OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND

All ASEAN heads of missions are holding ASEAN flag before the beginning of the flag raising ceremony

All ASEAN heads of missions are observing ASEAN anthem during the ceremony

From left: Jim Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation and Benke Aikell, your Publisher, having a conversation with Jiří Škába, committee of the Czech-Thai Society and former President of the Czech – Thai Society

H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand with his spouse Ratsamee Yaviseth, and ASEAN heads of missions

O projektu ParlamentníListy.cz: Projekt ParlamentníListy.cz (www.parlamentnilisty.cz) přináší neomezený přístup pro více než 40 tisíc volených zastupitelů do části „Proﬁly“, kde mohou zcela bez zásahu redakce publikovat vlastní autorizovaný obsah. Cílem projektu je v tomto ohledu vytvořit samostatný systém pro oboustrannou komunikaci mezi jednotlivými volenými zastupiteli všech úrovní (institucemi, obcemi) a občany-voliči. Z tohoto pohledu je v zásadě doplňkem vlastní redakční část projektu. Ta přináší původní obsah v zásadnějších sděleních a článcích o politice v celostátním, regionálním, nebo městském měřítku včetně jejího zákulisí. Vlastní

obsahová část má za cíl přinést maximum různých názorů a pohledů (často konﬂiktních a logicky rozdílných) na tu samou věc s cílem vyvolat věcnou diskuzi. V tomto ohledu je strategie ParlamentníchListů.cz maximálně liberální vůči všem voleným zastupitelům a názorům občanů-voličů. Tyto dva hlavní prvky systému se maximálně prolínají a společně tvoří unikátní obsahový celek přinášející nejrozsáhlejší a nejaktuálnější obraz lokální politické scény. Zaregistrujte se zdarma na www.parlamentnilisty.cz. PUBLIKUJTE, HODNOŤTE, REAGUJTE, KOMUNIKUJTE.

Vývoj návštěvnosti serveru www.ParlamentníListy.cz

Proč se zaregistruji

zdroj: Google Analytics 01/2010 - 08/2013

Interní průzkum 01 - 06 / 2013

16 000 000

0% 18%

14 000 000 12 000 000 10 000 000

46% 8 000 000 6 000 000

24% 4 000 000 2 000 000

2012

Shlédnuté stránky

červenec

duben

červen

květen

únor

březen

leden

listopad

prosinec

září

říjen

srpen

červen

červenec

květen

únor

2011

duben

březen

leden

prosinec

září

říjen

listopad

srpen

červen

květen

červenec

únor

duben

leden

2010

břwzwn

prosinec

září

říjen

listopad

srpen

červenec

duben

červen

květen

únor

březen

leden

12%

Kvůli obsahu Kvůli hodnocení politiků Kvůli diskuzím Kvůli odpovědím politiků Nezaregistruji se

2013

Návštěvy

Zajímavá čísla: denní návštěvnost

měsíční zobrazené stránky

délka návštěvy

140 550 3,8

7,5

v tisících

v milionech

v minutách

v tisících

denní zobrazení stránek

měsíční návštěvnost

v milionech

délka návštěvy profilu

hlavní důvod k registraci

22 46% v minutách

kvůli odpovědím politiků

Redakce

Reklama

Business Development

Web: m.blaha@parlamentnilisty.cz redakce@parlamentnilisty.cz

Web: p.klapa@parlamentnilisty.cz obchod@parlamentnilisty.cz

j.tvrdon@parlamentnilisty.cz

Časopis: b.brejzek@parlamentnilisty.cz casopis@parlamentnilisty.cz

Časopis: v.poludvorny@parlamentnilisty.cz obchod@parlamentnilisty.cz

Proﬁly k.synkova@parlamentnilisty.cz superadmin@parlamentnilisty.cz

diplomatic event H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR in her welcoming speech

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Mrs. Anna E.Kiseleva, wife of the Russian Ambassador, H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR, and H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the CR

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Jaroslav Olša, Ambassador (retd.) with his wife

H.E. Victor Julián Hernandez Leon, Ambassador of Venezuela and Ing. Livia Klausová, CSc., former First Lady of the CR

From left: H.E. Yu Qingtai, Ambassador of China to the CR, Ing. Petr Kulovaný, Head of the Dept. of Africa, Asia and Australia, Ministry of Industry and Trade, H.E. Tsoggerel Suren, Ambassador of Mongolia to the CR,and Ing. Petr Talafús, Deputy Director, Czech Chamber of Commerce

H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR and Ing. Petr Kulovaný, Head of the Dept. of Africa, Asia and Australia, Ministry of Industry and Trade

diplomatic event

From left: Peter Formanek, Honorary Consul of Jamaica to the CR with his wife Susan, H.E: Marita Landaveri Porturas, Ambassador of Peru to the CR, H.E. Christian Hoppe, Ambassador of Denmark to the CR, H.E. Francoise Gustin, Ambassador of Belgium to the CR, and H.E. Jens Eikaas, Ambassador of Norway to the CR

Jiří Uklein, Secretary General of the Senat and H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR

From left: H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the CR, H.E. Hussain S. Mualla, Ambassador of Iraq to the CR, H.E. Paskal Stojcheski, Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the CR, H.E. Maja Mitrović, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the CR, H.E. Tibor Pető, Ambassador of Hungary to the CR, and H.E. V. Ashok, Ambassador of India to the CR

From left: H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the CR and Ing. Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the CR in demission

Indonesian dancing performance

From left: Dalibor Štys, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR in demission and Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czecho-Slovak Foreign Institute From left: Ing. Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the CR in demission with his family and H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR

From left: H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden to the CR and H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR

From left: Mr. Alwi Hamu and Petr Pelčík, Chairman, Czech-Indonesian Economic Committee

From left: H.E. Aurimas Taurantas, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania and H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia

diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Rola Hamdan, Chargé d’affaires a.i., Embassy of Lebanon, H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of Indonesia to the CR, and H.E. Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of Morocco with her husband

Ing. Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the CR in demission and Ing. Livia Klausová, CSc., former First Lady of the CR

From left: Petr Pelčík, Chairman, Czech-Indonesian Economic Committee, Hermawan Kartajaya, Founder & CEO, MarkPlus Inc., Honorary Consol of the CR in Surabaya, A. Guntur Setyawan, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, and Dian Ediono, General Manager for the Netherlands, Garuda Indonesia

From left: H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey to the CR and H.E. Christian Hoppe, Ambassador of Denmark to the CR with his wife

From left: A. Guntur Setyawan, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia and Ing. Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the CR in demission

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

29 Indonesian dancing performance

interview

BUSINESS BASED ON SIMILAR VALUES

“We have very good relations with your country, especially in people to people contact.” Indonesia is among the four most popular countries in the world visited annually by tourists. Mostly known because of the beautiful Bali beaches, the country has definitely much more to offer. McKinsey Global Institute wrote in its Report, September 2012, that Indonesia strives to be the 7th largest economy in the world by 2030, and an additional 90 million Indonesians could join the global consuming class. How is Czech-Indonesia business co-operation evolving at present? We talked to H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar about the developments particularly in trade, business and culture. Was the Czech Republic a rather remote and unknown place when you arrived here for the first time? No, not at all. Prior to my Czech mission, I lived in former Yugoslavia. Thus, I was already familiar with of the Czech country. In addition, in the beginning of the millennium I served as a diplomat, assigned in Bratislava, Slovakia. Therefore, I said to the former President V. Klaus that I’ve known the Czech Republic very well, as I had already visited about 10 cities at the time my mission started. I’ve had a really special relationship with the Czech Republic. It was in the spring of 2010, after the official meeting at the at the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, when I was sitting at Lávka restaurant, in Prague 1. It was one of my favourite places. I was looking at the river and at the flow of the water. It was very tranquil and peaceful. And then, not long afterwards, I was promoted as the Ambassador to the Czech Republic. I am happy I came here; I worked here, and lived here. Though I have to admit it was not always easy to promote the bi-lateral relationships, When were the bilateral ties established? The mutual co-operation dates back to 1956. However, the pinnacle of bilateral relations during these past three years was marked by the State visit by former Czech President Václav Klaus to Indonesia in July of 2012. I think Mr. President was fascinated by Indonesia because it was not for the first time that he visited Indonesia. Presidents from both countries pledged to increase co-operation in the field of economy, green technology, the defence industry, tourism and culture, in particular.

Photo: Archive

An Interview with H.E. Emeria Wilujeng Amir Siregar, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Czech Republic 30 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

Where do you see the biggest progress so far? I especially see an opportunity for progress within the ﬁeld of education. Both countries are actually committed to increasing people to people contact through education. Therefore, we’ve launched a special programme – the Darmasiswa scholarship for Czech students to study and live in Indonesia. Since 1995, the Indonesian Government has granted the Darmasiswa scholarship for 149 Czech students to study Indonesia’s language and culture. This year we have another 17 students going to our country. What can they learn in your country above all? They will live throughout the country, learning traditional habits, culture, language, among other

interview things. On top of that, these students can be perceived as ambassadors of their country. The Indonesian students are granted scholarships to Czech universities. We work closely especially with Charles University, CULS, VSE, CVUT, Metropolitan University and Tomas Bata University. It is much more efficient to learn a country’s business culture if you know the country prior to the actual start of business. And any other areas? Yes, we have made really good achievements within the trade and industrial field as well. In this respect, the Czech Republic is considered a nontraditional market for Indonesia’s products, and gives us access to the Central and Eastern European market. Thus, the Czech entrepreneurs tend to act as direct distributors for Indonesian products. Moreover, the Czech Republic is a good partner for Indonesia to obtain transfer of knowledge and technology. Did the global economic crisis slow down Indonesia’s economy in the same way we’ve experienced it in the Czech Republic? I am very happy to say that Indonesia’s economy continued to grow at a steady pace in the final quarter of 2012, taking the full-year GDP growth to 6.2 per cent, a resilient performance considering the weak global environment and unsettled financial market conditions which prevailed for much of the year. Our objective is to become one of the 10 largest economies in the world by 2025. Also, the population in Indonesia is very big. Yes, this is actually our big asset. Thus, even during the global economic crisis in 2009 we’ve survived, and our economic growth was actually above 6 per cent, mostly due to domestic consumption. This is one of the greatest advantages if you have a big population. In your experience, how do the Czech people perceive Indonesia? I suppose it is rather an exotic place for them. What surprises me is that more and more Czech people are visiting not only Bali but also Sumatra and the Sulawesi islands. From time to time I am very happy to meet Czech business people here, at the Indonesian Embassy, and talk some busi-

ness issues over. Among the Czech companies that have invested in Indonesia are Relax Bali Resort, Aqua Travel and PPF. On the other hand, what are the key barriers of the mutual trade co-operation at present? We still need to figure out how to obtain the visa in a safe and timely manner for our citizens in Jakarta. The upper and middle class in Indonesia has grown big and likes to travel. However, the visa obstacles seem to be rather overwhelming at the moment. What is the problem? It is not that easy in Jakarta to receive visas for the Czech Republic as it is here at our Embassy in Prague. Here, you can obtain it within two days or usually even within a couple of hours. It is totally different to how we obtain the visa in Jakarta. People have to wait outside the building under the sunshine and the Embassy opens only two days a week. In addition, all EU embassies in Jakarta, including the German embassy, launched a policy to get the visa within three or four days. If this were to happen at the Czech Embassy as well, there would be a much higher number of Indonesians coming to the Czech Republic. Of course, the ones who can afford to travel abroad are those who have money. In Indonesia we have 33 provinces, which means 3 time zones. Therefore the visa obstacles are very important to reduce. Can you be more specific? For people from the outer island, going to the visa office takes about eight hours by plane (e.g. from Papua to Jakarta). Thus, if we don’t get the proper policy for the business people to obtain the visa in a safe and timely manner, they will prefer other destinations to set up business communication and co-operation. Also, the business representatives are accompanied by high-official representatives, and for them we need a free visa regime. There are obviously many competitors on the global arena trying to set up co-operation with Indonesian businesses, how do the Czech entrepreneurs deal with that? The Czech businesses are very important for us. When we look back, we see there were many Czech

factories and industries involved in the Indonesian market in the past. Škoda factory, Zetor, Jawa motorcycles, to name just a few. However, I think there is no time for nostalgia. Now we’ve encouraged leaders and politicians of both countries to enhance the past co-operation once again. Of course, it is of great importance that Indonesia is considered one of the key markets within the Czech Export strategy. Additionally, it helps that the current President Miloš Zeman encouraged the Czech business community to do business with Indonesia among other countries, during the BRICS conference in Prague, June 6, 2013. This is your last year here in Prague, how did you enjoy it? Indeed, I am completing my mission in the Czech Republic this year. I will bring home beautiful memories of the country and my hard work. For me personally, I loved it here, especially in the winter time. My happiest time was last year in Špindlerův Mlýn. Sometimes, during summer when the hot weather arrived, I changed my blackberry status to: “Waiting for the winter”. Moreover, during my 3 year assignment, I’ve visited almost all regions, and thus we have established many important contacts and a lot of co-operation on the regional level. This is a key to success for my successors as well. By Pavlína Holancová ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 31

interview An Interview with JUDr. Michal Hašek, the Governor of the South Bohemia Region and the Vice Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party

32 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

interview Do you perceive early elections as the only democratic solution of the political stalemate in our country? It’s not the only democratic solution, but it’s one of the democratic solutions and, in my opinion, the only truly impartial one. The government coalition didn’t have a majority and staggered from one governmental crisis to another. The coalition parties expended all their energy on fighting amongst themselves. They only had one prescription for the citizens: increasing taxes on the poorest. Early elections will enable a catharsis of this whole process. The citizens will deal the cards again and it will be clear. What are the priorities with which the Czech Social Democtratic Party would enter the possible early elections? From a historic perspective, we now have the highest unemployment since 1933. Precisely that lack of work is the first thing the new government must deal with. We want to boost economic growth by supporting private and public investments in transportation infrastructure, house insulation, social housing and the development of social and healthcare services, as well as antiflood measures. The investments from the private and state sector are the basis for renewing economic prosperity. For a start, it will be necessary to ensure the functioning of the state as such. TOP 09 and the right-wing government managed to tear apart labor offices as well as the system for issuing social support and other key systems of our state. It will therefore be necessary to secure the elemental functions of the state. What is the direction of and what do you personally see as essential for CSDP? I consider it essential that we get rid of benefitbased socialism and, at the same time, see the economic laws we don’t want to refute, but actually use for a proper administration of the country. CSDP is and must remain a key political party that defends the interests of the majority of citizens and properly handles the administration of the country. Should there be a coalition and with which parties (even currently non-parliamentary) would you certainly refuse a coalition and which parties hold coalition potential for CSDP?

Photo:Archive

In no case would we enter a coalition with the Communist Party. This party refused to reﬂect on its past and take responsibility for it. On the other hand, I see a coalition potential with all smaller center and center-left parties, such as the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People‘s Party or Party of Civic Rights – Zeman’s People. We shouldn’t forget that the Social Democrats won in the last parliamentary elections, but had had zero coalition potential and ended up in opposition. The change of the electoral system – In your opinion, should there be a direct parliamentary democracy within the existing electoral system? I mean by that, the introduction of a direct vote for mayors as well as parliamentary deputies. In the past, the Social Democratic Party consistently supported a ratio-based electoral system that ensures a larger consensus within society. I’m not sure that our democracy is ready for a system where the winner takes all. As for the direct vote for mayors, that’s something to consider, but not too quickly. Over the last twenty years, our constitutional system mostly suffered from complicated compilations of majorities in

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

the parliament, frequent elections that prevented those governments from making unpopular decisions, etc. Something needs to be done with the political system, but rather in the direction of strengthening executive power. The citizens are dissatisﬁed with the fact that one government after another faisl to fulﬁll their election campaign promises. We need to strengthen the ability of governments to act. What can the current left-wing parties offer, or should offer, differently from the recent right-wing governments? A functioning state that works for the citizens and is not just a depository of stories for telenovellas on the evening news programs. We need a functioning government that will serve the needs of the citizens of the Czech Republic. And that’s exactly what we offer. What do you do in your free time? How do you relax? I like reading historic literature and to go to the theatre and cinema. By Pavlína Holancová ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 33

networking/discussion event

DISCUSSION ROUND TABLE WITH PROFESSOR PETR FIALA FORMER MINISTER OF EDUCATION, YOUTH AND SPORTS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Round Table Discussion by Comenius at Zoom Unique place

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

On June 25 Comenius Society held a discussion Round Table with the resigning Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR, Mr. Petr Fiala who opened the evening with his strong belief in the crucial role of the Ministry of Education, which has been disregarded for the past twenty years. The resigning Minister stated that the biggest challenges the Czech education system is facing are worsening student results in international rankings, increasing differences in education standards among regional schools which correlates with differences in regional financing and a decreasing interest among the young student body in pedagogical studies. Mr. Fiala has also briefly described the reforms that have been prepared for Universities, which will hopefully be taken up by the future governmental set-up. Some of the changes the resigning Minister has been suggesting are greater focus on teacher qualification and their financial rating, greater foreign involvement of teaching staff as well as of students at Czech Universities and also an important general change in student assessment. Throughout the evening Mr. Fiala has proved his sincere interest in the subject of educating the Czech society and remained very open in anticipation of the changing government.

From left: Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR, Josef Müller, Executive Director, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, and Filip Neterda, Senior Consultant, Deloitte Czech Republic

From left: Libor Manda, Manager for the Contact with Public Service, SEZNAM.CZ, Martin Kožíšek, Internet Security Specialist, SEZNAM. CZ, Ing. Martin Šámal, Senior Brand Manager, SEZNAM.CZ

34 Ivana Goossen, Director, EMBA Prague KATZ School of Business, University of Pittsburgh and David Vrba, Director General, 3M Česko

From left: Martin Šámal, Senior Brand Manager, SEZNAM.CZ, Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman of Europe, Microsoft, and Martin Kožíšek, Internet Security Specialist, SEZNAM.CZ

networking/discussion event

Petr Fiala, former Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR

Roman Cabálek, General Director of Strategy Equipment Sales and Services, CEE, Microsoft

Sergey Frolov, Analyst, Rusatom Overseas

Petra Fojtíková, Director of the Office of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR

From left: Zbyněk Eiselt, Managing Director, ABAS IPS Management, Jan Komárek, Commercial and Technical Director, OHL ŽS, and Jiří Zajíček, Chairman, Union of the School Asscociations

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR and Dr. Bohuslava Šenkýřová, Rector, Vysoká škola finanční a správní

From left: Sergey Frolov, Analyst, Rusatom Overseas, Adéla Syberová, Project Manager, Comenius, Ivana Goossen, Director, EMBA Prague KATZ School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Jiří Vacek, Co-owner, Avanti, and Miloslava Procházková, Owner, Avanti

David Vrba, General Director, 3M Česko with a question

From right: Martin Šámal, Senior Brand Manager, SEZNAM.CZ, Jiří Balík, Rector, Czech University of Life Sciences, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Petr Fiala, former Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR, Roman Cabálek, General Director, Microsoft, Tomáš Hruda, Deputy Minister for Education and Research, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR, and Libor Manda, Manager for the Contact with Public Service, SEZNAM.CZ

networking/discussion event

From left: Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR, Michal Hátle, General Director, T-Systems, Josef Müller, Executive Director, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, and Vlastimil Halla, Director, Advisory KPMG CR

Jiří Zajíček, Chairman, Union of the School Associations with a question

Štěpán Müller, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations, University of Economics with a question

From left: Libor Manda, Manager for the Contact with Public Service, SEZNAM.CZ and Tomáš Hruda, Deputy Minister for Education and Research, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR

From left: Petr Fiala, former Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR, Petra Fojtíková, Director of the Office of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR, and Vladimír Plašil, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ALTA

Zbyněk Eiselt, Managing Director, ABAS IPS Management

Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Tomáš Hruda, Deputy Minister for Education and Research, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR and Jiří Balík, Rector, Czech University of Life Sciences

From left: JUDr. Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR and Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR

networking/discussion event From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Martin Kuba, fomer Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

COMENIUS DISCUSSION DINNER WITH MARTIN KUBA, FORMER MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC On June 24 Comenius Society held a discussion Round Table with the resigning Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Dr. Martin Kuba. The Minister opened the evening with a sincere expression of honor for having had the opportunity to serve as a Minister of this country and thanked the participants for all their past remarks, support and also criticism. Regarding the most pressing issues of the Ministry Mr. Kuba then led in-depth discussions about options of energy resources for our country, export and import possibilities, and competitiveness of the Czech Republic, governmental debt and also cooperation among individual politicians. The evening concluded with a lively discussion about the current political crisis and visions for a new government and also for the future of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS).

From right: Vítězslav Vala, Strategy Director, SIKO Koupelny, Karel Feix, Managing Director, Kapsch, and Miloslava Nováková, Director of Communication and Marketing, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR

From left: Zbyněk Fibich, Head of Legal and Procurement Department, Air Navigation Services, Josef Rada, General Director, Civil Aviation Authority, and Miloslava Procházková, Owner, Avanti with her husband Jiří Vacek

From left: Martin Procházka, Managing Director, Oksystem and Petr Soukup, Managing Partner, Stance Communications

From left: Josef Veselka,Chief of Department of Cardiology, 2nd Medical School Charles University, FN Motol and Jan Tašek, Managing Director, ASE

networking/discussion event

From right: Robert Paskovský, General Director, WBI Systems, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Martin Kuba, former Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR

Martin Kuba, former Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR

Vladimír Vaněk, Partner, Deloitte Advisory

From left: Jiří Kysela, General Director, DELL Computer, Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR, and Heinz Knotzer, Member of the Board and Deputy General Director, Česká spořitelna

From left: Miloslava Nováková, Director of Communication and Marketing, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR, Karel Feix, Managing Director, Kapsch, Vítězslav Vala, Strategy Director, SIKO Koupelny, Martin Kuba, former Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Robert Paskovský, General Director, WBI Systems, Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR, Tomáš Sýkora, Chief Strategy Officer, WBI Systems, Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, TOP HOTELS GROUP, and Eva Frindtová, Publisher, C.O.T. media

From left: Josef Veselka, Chief of Department of Cardiology, 2nd Medical School Charles University, FN Motol, Tomáš Březina, Chairman of the Board of Directors, BEST, and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

From left: Václav Lerch, Authorized Representative and Director of Purchase, Logistics and Gas Storage, Vemex and Heinz Knotzer, Member of the Board and Deputy General Director, Česká spořitelna

From left: Július Kudla, General Director, Euler Hermes Europe SA, Martin Jaroš, Project Manager, CME Services, and Zbyněk Fibich, Head of Legal and Procurement Department, Air Navigation Services

networking/discussion event

From right: Ing. Eva Frindtová, Publisher, C.O.T. media and Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, TOP HOTELS GROUP

Tomáš Březina, Chairman of the Board of Directors, BEST with a question

From left: Adéla Syberová, Project Manager, Comenius, James Wu, Director, CHINA MART GROUP LIMITED, and Mojmír Čapka, Chairman of the Board, General Director, Brisk Tábor

From left: Jiří Uklein, Secretary General of the Senate of the CR, and Roman Cabálek, Director of Strategy Equipment Sales and Services, CEE, Microsoft

Jakub Joska, Partner, Law Office KF Legal

Michal Donath, General Director, Donath Business & Media with a question

From left: Vladimír Vaněk, Partner, Deloitte Advisory, Leo Jakimič, General Director, LASVIT, and Vladimír Plašil, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ALTA

Leo Jakimič, General Director, LASVIT

Martin Jaroš, Project Manager, CME Services

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

Congress hall at Top Hotel Praha

networking/discussion event

DISCUSSION ROUND TABLE OF COMENIUS WITH FRANTIŠEK KONÍČEK, MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN DEMISSION Round table at Zoom Unique Place

On August 22nd Comenius Society held a discussion Round Table with the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR in demission, Mr. František Koníček. The spirit of the discussion reflected the provisional character of the Czech government and also the overall anticipation of early elections. Minister Koníček opened the discussion with a general description of the budget for social affairs and briefly described its resources, balance sheet and annually growing loss. The evening continued with thorough discussions about the limitations and possible development in fields such as employment of physically disabled citizens, current state of orphanages and foster care. Minister Koníček has concluded the evening with indicating that one of the priorities of the future government and his own will be to balance the financing of social services, benefits and allowances across regions of the Czech Republic, to simplify bureaucracy of the Ministry and to improve communication with employers.

From left: Vladimír Měkota, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Vítkovice, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Board, Vítkovice, and Lukáš Ryška, Ecoengineering, Sales Department, Vítkovice

From left: Martin Procházka, Managing Director, OKsystem, Jana Benáková, Sales Director, OKsystem, and Jan Bartošek, Vice Chairman, KDU-ČSL

From left: Vítězslav Ciml, Business Development Director, Oksystem and Juraj Žoldák, Head of Management Consulting Department, Vítkovice

From left: Tomáš Novák, DACH Sales Director, AMI Praha, Ivana Šindelářová, Business Development Manager, Neternity Group, and Eduard Hlava, Executive Director, Neternity Group

networking/discussion event

From left: Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Ing. Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Board, Vítkovice, Oleg Blaško, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Vladimír Měkota, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Vítkovice, and Romana Gysin, Chief of Staff, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

From left: Martina Kirchrathová, Manager Top Corporate Retail, Telefónica CR, Radek Sazama, Director General, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, and Lucie Orgoníková, Executive Director, Orgmedia

From left: Vlastimil Halla, Director, Management Consulting, KPMG, Vilém Kahoun, Managing Director, The Czech Social Security Administration, Petr Kužel, President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, and Robert Paskovský, Director General, WBI Systems

Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR

From right: Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, František Koníček, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR in demission, Richard Nonfried, Busimess Director, Gordic, Martin Procházka, Managing Director, Oksystem, and Pavel Čáslava, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Václav Krása, Chairman of the Czech National Disability Council

Vilém Kahoun, Managing Director, The Czech Social Security Administration with a question

Jaroslav Ungerman, Adviser to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR Ing. Jana Benáková, Sales Director, OKsystem

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia, Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Board, Vítkovice, Mrs. Naďa Štysová, František Koníček, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR in demission, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

networking/discussion event

Martin Jaroš, Project Manager, CME Services

Ivo Popardowski, Director General, ABAS IPS Management

From left: Václav Krása, Chairman of the Czech National Disability Council, Jan Chudý, Assistant to Chairman of the Czech National Disability Council, and Vlastimil Halla, Director, Management Consulting, KPMG

From right: Petr Svoboda, CEO, Expharma, Štěpánka Filipová, Spokesperson, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the CR, and Jiří Horecký, President, Association of Social Services

H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

From left: Jiří Maceška, Chairman, Supervisory Board, Czech post and Zdeněk Šíma, Regional Vice President for Central Europe, Rusatom Overseas

Libor Vykopal, Vice Chairman, Cech Mobility with a question

From left: Jaroslav Šafránek, Key Account Manager, S&T CZ and Jan Zinek, Sales Director, Anect

From left: Martin Procházka, Managing Director, OKsystem, František Koniček, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of CR in demission, and Karel Muzikař, President, Comenius

From left: Jaroslav Šafránek, Key Account Manager, S&T CZ, Libor Vykopal, Vice Chairman, Cech Mobility and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

analysis

Day x+1. Learn, learn, learn.

Tonight I downloaded a new book about braintraining to my Kindle. I expected a lot from it, from renowned authors and the reviews were great. What a disappointment! The text resembled a bachelor thesis – now ideas, show us what we taught you! It was pretty good as a compilation of known facts, which was also reflected in the long list of ‘used’ resources. However, nothing new under the sun. IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

This disappointment wasn’t unusual. I began to wonder whether the internet can actually be used or abused for the purposes of education. The path to abuse is easy – the strategy of copy/ paste seems to have been created just for this. All you have to do is change the word-order, add a few general sentences and wisdom is born. Perhaps, or even for sure, someplace in the Czech Republic this is enough to defend a bachelor or even masters theses or other works, but that’s not really the point, particularly if one intends to actually learn something. However, plagiarism exists abroad as well and more than one politician had to step down when exposed. Where are the blessed times when teachers forbade my daughters to use a computer? I’m not surprised. The very essence of bulimic education (select from a menu, eat it, get it out quickly during a test and forget about it) was threatened. Educators now seldom forbid computers, but the educational model remains. The development of the internet brought about new opportunities, but also new problems. Imagine that there are those who want to be paid for what they write! Sometimes this can be bypassed by allowing yourself to be annoyed by advertising. Yet, it’s still true that no discount comes free of charge. Some educational programs stubbornly request that they be operated on an absolutely speciﬁc device with absolutely speciﬁc parameters. It really gets me when I can’t run something on my application miracle. Occasionally, you discover something that looks like it was created in a shamanic workshop. The use mostly assumes a limitless trust in the author’s charisma, aura and special abilities that he author intends to transfer to you, should you follow their religion. On the internet, transforming the available terabytes into useful information tends to be a problem. Search engines won’t help you much with it, because they don’t pay attention to quality. For them, the criteria are number of links, keywords and optimization. Trusting the contributions of reviewers can also be deceptive. These can easily be generated and occasionally written by exhibitionists and narcissists attempting to ‚sell‘ their own irresistibility. Nonetheless, just so I don’t keep only shooting at generalization, if you try to learn something about which you know very little, you can wander over to, for example, Wikipedia or other relatively

well veriﬁed and edited sources. I, like most men, occasionally become a hypochondriac and search for what that ‚cold‘ I caught can cause and how it can be treated. Naturally, I prefer realistic rather than optimistic contributions. Wikipedia is an example of a relatively good consolidation of facts that may serve as a starting point to a detailed view of the subject. Discovering a similar aggregation server in a specialized ﬁeld is like hitting a jackpot.

There is a bit of investment needed before we go online. At least one language besides the mother tongue becomes handy. It’s also good to create a specific drawer in our mind to store information, or else it simply flies through our head. Naturally, we must also use that knowledge somehow, otherwise it fizzes out of our mind and brings us and others nothing except intellectual exercise. By Ivan Pilný ■ President of Tuesday Business Network Former Chairman of Czech Telecom český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 43

interview

An Interview with Vratislav Mynรกล , Chancellor of the Office of the President

Photo: Archive

interview When and how did you learn about the offer to become President Miloš Zeman’s chancellor? It was in the period after Miloš Zeman was elected the President of the country. Given that the time was very hectic for me, I don’t remember the exact date. About two weeks after his election, the President personally approached me and offered a job in his office in the position of a chancellor. Were you surprised by the offer? Of course, I was surprised and also pleased. There are offers you can’t refuse and this is certainly one of them. I also perceive this opportunity as the President’s thanks for the work I did in and outside the presidential campaign. A glance out of the window of my office each morning confirms to me that I made the right decision when I accepted the President’s offer. What has changed for you since? Prior to that you worked only as chairman of the Party of Civic Rights – Zeman’s People… Almost everything changed. But I must admit, I’m used to such changes. When my business partners and I sold our company ten years ago, I jumped into building a ski resort, without knowing anything about this segment. Four years ago, I switched from business to politics and that was another 180 degree change. And now, after a successful career as the PCR-ZP chairman and chairman of the election committee for Miloš Zeman in the presidential campaign, I became a state employee. Not long ago, I couldn’t even imagine such a thing. It’s a paradox, because I always swore against the state office clerks. Here, the saying „Never say never“ is confirmed once again.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Why did you join PCR-ZP and what do you think is its major strength? It was thanks to the personality of Miloš Zeman, who is in my view, one of the major leaders in the post-revolution history of our country. I’m not among those who sit over a beer and criticize. I try to contribute to the change, primarily through my work. PCR-ZP has huge potential, precisely thanks to following the thinking and experience of Zeman as a politician, a pragmatic, a prime minister and president, which is something another political party cannot offer its voters. PCR-ZP is not a marketing product or a randomly collected group of individuals, as in parties such as ANO (YES) or Úsvit (Sunrise). Zeman’s people have a base of several thousand who can address people and generate strong personalities. We do everything personally, while in the case of, for example, the ANO movement, it’s a matter of money and paid services. And, in my view, that can never work. It’s visible, when you put a piece of yourself into it. Will you run in the early elections for PCR-ZP? Yes, I will be the leader of the PCR-ZP list of candidates for the Zlín region, my home area. Do you intend to get personally involved in fundraising for PCR-ZP for the early elections? No. That question should be directed toward the First Vice Chairman of PCR-ZP, because fundraising is a part of his competency. Who would you personally like to see among the PCR-ZP list of candidates?

Certainly strong personalities and experts, because our country has already had more than enough of the good-for-nothing types in the Chamber of Deputies. We need people who achieved something in their respective ﬁelds and in life and the results of their work are visible behind them. With the right people in the right places, there is no chance of creating bad caricatures such as the Church restitutions, sCards, pension reforms or the current tax ranges. Which coalition partners are most acceptable to you at the moment? We have the most common points with the Social Democrats, although there are many areas in which we cannot agree with them. In case of success in the elections, we certainly won’t try to force ourselves into the government. As they say „Count your hares after the hunt.“ We need to wait for the election results. How do you relax to get away from the world of high politics? Do you have hobbies? I can relax best at home in Osvětimany, with my parents and sister or with friends over a beer. I also like sports, although recently I have no time for sports activities. Whenever possible, I try to help with local soccer. Unfortunately, there’s less and less time, but I still believe that just making the effort is appreciated. By Pavlína Holancová ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 45

diplomatic event

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

THAI CULTURAL HERITAGE

Ing. Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the CR in demission and H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador of Thailand

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Czech Republic, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand H.E. Mr Vitavas Srivihok and Mrs Ratsamee Yaviseth held a performance of KHON, a Thai Masked Dance, Drama and Folkdance on 5 September 2013 at the Great Hall of the City Library followed by a reception at the Residence of the Mayor of Prague.

H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador of Thailand From left: Prof. Jiří Drahoš, Professor of Chemical Engineering, President, The Academy of Sciences of the CR with his wife and Michal Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

46 Performance

From left: H.E. Detlef Lingemann, Ambassador of Germany and H.E. Rodrigo Gaete, Ambassador of Chile

diplomatic event

Performance

Performance Jiří Škába, Honorary Chairman, Czech-Thai Society Prague with his wife and her sisters

Ing. Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the CR in demission

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

Ing. Livia Klausová, former First Lady of the CR and H.E. Vitavas Srivihok, Ambassador of Thailand enjoying the performance

international music festival

VIP guests including Miroslava Němcová, Chairwoman of the Parliament of the CR and Vladimír Špidla, former Member of the European Parliament and Director of Masaryk’s Democratic Academy

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

PERFECT HARMONY BMW Group Czech Republic is the main partner of the 22nd International Music Festival in Český Krumlov. BMW Group Czech Republic has been the main partner of the International Music Festival in Český Krumlov for two years. At the 22nd year of this globally recognized music event, BMW was providing transport for the artists, VIP guests and other celebrities. As a major partner of the festival, BMW Group Czech Republic welcomed important and well-known personalities at the opening concert. Among others, the invitation has been accepted by Dagmar Havlová who drives BMW 5 Series and Vojta Kotek, renowned artist, who has opted for BMW 3 Series as his ride of choice. Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director of BMW Group Czech Republic, remarked about the partnership with the International Music Festival in Český Krumlov: “Globally, we have been supporting various cultural and social events for more than 40 years. In the Czech Republic, we are partners of the Summer Shakespeare Festival, for example. However, we were looking for more events to connect our name with and we have chosen the International Music Festival in Český Krumlov. It fully corresponds with the global activities of the BMW Group.”

Miroslava Němcová, Chairwoman of the Parliament of the CR at her speech, on her right Jiří Vejvoda, Spokesperson, IMF, Český Krumlov Václav Klaus, former President of the CR

From left: Günter Schuster, CFO, BMW Group CS, Dagmar Havlová, Astrid Schuster, Birgit Reiter, and Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director, BMW Group CZ

Jaromír Boháč, President, IMF Český Krumlov and Miroslava Němcová, Chairwoman of the Parliament of the CR

international music festival

From left: Elina Garanča, Mezzosopran, Karel Mark Chichon, Conductor, and Jiří Vejvoda, Spokesperson, IMF Český Krumlov

From left: Vojta Kotek, Actor, Dagmar Havlová, Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director, BMW Group CZ, and Günter Schuster, CFO, BMW Group CS

Elina Garanča, Mezzosopran

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Jaromír Boháč, President, International Music Festival Český Krumlov, Zuzana Lufinková, Business Director, AUVIEX, and Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director, BMW Group CZ

A special thanks to SAAB for making this reportage possible From left: Robert Bjorklund, Campaign Director, Gripen Export, SAAB, Brigadier General Bohuslav Dvořák, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the CR, and LtCol. Per Råstedt, Defence Attaché of Sweden in the CR

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

SWEDISH MIDSUMMER AT THE SWEDISH EMBASSY

From left: Rolf Ericsson, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden, Barbora Margoldová, Ministry of Defence of the CR, and Mats Braun, PhD. Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations

From left: JUDr. Jaroslav Knot, Ph.D., Department of Northern and Eastern Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR, H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden, and Jan Kára, Director, European Affairs Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR

Marika Přinosilová, Director Marketing Communication, SAAB AB, and Aleš Výborný, Director – CR, BAE SYSTEMS

From left: Rolf Ericsson, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden and H.E. Pascual Navarro Rios, Ambassador of Spain

From left: Milan Kropáč, Solution and Sales Manager Public Security, SAAB Czech, Robert Bjorklund, Campaign Director, Gripen Export, SAAB, and Vladimír Ficenec, SAAB Czech

diplomatic event

From left: Colonel Gerardo López-Mayoral H., Spanish Defence, Military and Air Attaché, Ing. Ladislav Kele, Foreign Liaison Section, Ministry of Defence of the CR, and Colonel Oleg Smirnov, Deputy Military and Air Attaché to the Embassy of Russia in the CR

From left: H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the CR, Alice Undusová, Chief Executive Officer, SAAB Czech, and H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden

Martin Lennartsson, Swedish Air Force Support Group CZ with his son From left: Thomas Ljungqvist, 1st Lieutenant, Logistic Engineer, Swedish Air Force Support Group CZ and Martin Lennartsson , Swedish Air Force Support Group CZ

Colonel Gerardo López-Mayoral H., Spanish Defence, Military and Air Attaché with his wife Maria Luisa

Michael Mustillo, PAMM Management and Ing. Martina Fialková, Czech Dialogue

From left: Colonel Oleg Smirnov, Deputy Military and Air Attaché to the Embassy of Russia in the CR and LtCol. Per Råstedt, Defence Attaché of Sweden in the CR

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Hannu Kassi, President and Country Manager, ABB, Miloš Janů, PROMEXIM, Rezidence Zvonařka, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Serhii Moskaliuk, Defence, Military & Air Attaché, Embassy of Ukraine in the CR with his wife Tatiana and Brigadier General Hesham Youssef, Egyptian Defence Attaché with his wife

international conference

Premises of the Hotel Ambassador – Zlatá Husa, Prague

Central European Debate IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

ABOUT TRANSATLANTIC FREE TRADE DEAL STARTED IN PRAGUE

International conference “Renewing Euro-Atlantic Economic Ties: Towards the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)” was organized by the Association for International Affairs – AMO in Prague on June 24–25, 2013. The conference, held under the auspices of then PM Petr Nečas and Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Kuba brought together the leading political and business representatives from both sides of the Atlantic. AMO was the first foreign policy think tank in the Czech Republic to deal with this crucial aspect of future transatlantic relations.

From left: Tamás Egressy, Economic and Trade Section, Embassy of Hungary in the Czech Republic and Antonín Berdych, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Association for International Affairs – AMO, Prague

52 H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA to the Czech Republic

From left: Lukáš Kovanda, Journalist and Economist, Prague, Garrett Workman, Associate Director, Global Business and Economics program at Atlantic Council, Washington, and Josef Braml, Resident Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations, Berlin

international conference

Jan Michal, Head of the Representation of the European Commission to the Czech Republic

Antonín Berdych, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Association for International Affairs – AMO, Prague

Martin Tlapa, Deputy State Secretary for European Affairs at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic

Nick Lewis, Vice President, Corporate Public Affairs, UPS From left: Lukáš Kovanda, Journalist and Economist, Prague; Garrett Workman, Associate Director of Global Business and Economics program at Atlantic Council, Washington

Karel Havlíček, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts of the Czech Republic

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Vlaďka Votavová, Program Director, Association for International Affairs – AMO, Prague and Elena Bryan, Senior Trade Representative, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Brussels

international conference

From left: Marc Vanheukelen, Head of the Cabinet of Karel de Gucht, Member of the European Commission for Trade and Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic

Martin Kuba, former Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic

From left: Václav Nekvapil, Managing Partner, CEC Government Relations Prague, Member of the Supervisory Board, Association for International Affairs – AMO, Prague and Simon Hampton, Director, European Public Policy and Government Relations, Google

Martin Kalovec, Partner and Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

Michal Mejstřík, Member of National Economic Council (NERV) of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, Professor at the Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University in Prague

From left: Tomáš Karásek, Director of the Research Center, Association for International Affairs – AMO, Prague and Zdeněk Čech, Economic Advisor, Representation of the European Commission to the Czech Republic, Prague

media power

DIP BELOW THE WATERLINE INTEGRATING MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR GENUINE LEADERSHIP Sometimes polishing the tip of the iceberg is simply not enough. I have written several times in the past that there is no leadership without communication. Communication that backs leadership is so much more than learning to smile in front of a TV camera. In my media training and coaching practice I am usually hired to do just that: show people how to avoid basic mistakes when talking to reporters, how to put their message across and get out of a media encounter without too many bruises. It didn’t take long till I realized that no training technique was good enough to turn a human being into an authentic communicator and a genuine leader. No technique that sticks to the slippery surface of image management was able to help me help my clients bring more of who they truly were into communication. So, I started to search. My quest for more than techniques led me soon toward something that, in time, proved to be the second most important discovery of my professional life after journalism. That something is called the enneagram. Self-awareness for healthy people As my teacher, Eva Velechovská, the founder of VEVA CZ and the ﬁrst to have brought this system to the Czech Republic more than 20 years ago, puts it: the enneagram is psychology for healthy people. A simply looking, yet tremendously complex system combining ancient personal development traditions with modern psychology and emotional intelligence, the enneagram is a tireless source of self-awareness. In short, the system describes nine types of personalities or, better said, nine sets of tactics that Cristina Muntean is a professional communications adviser, media trainer and coach. She has more than 12 years’ experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media. In August 2010 Cristina founded Media Education CEE, a Praguebased premium PR advisory and training agency. Her clients are top managers, diplomats and public ofﬁcials who aim to make their voice heard in their community. In June 2011 Cristina was elected president of the Czech PR Klub; in January 2012 she was elected chairwoman of the Marketing Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Prague. Cristina speaks Romanian, French, English and Czech and can be reached at cm@mediaed.cz.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

we, humans, use in order to get what we want from life. Sounds oversimplified? Far from that. The enneagram is an intertwined network of causalities that influence one’s personality type. With each layer one unwraps, it becomes almost scary to what extent the system can contain and integrate something as complex and fascinating as human lives. Yet, what is most amazing about the enneagram is that it doesn’t stick to only describing a personality type and its features; it goes beyond and portraits specific strategies of maturing and personal growth for each personality. Thus, the enneagram transforms itself into a guide through crisis, development and personal change. How does this fit with communication? Each personality type has its specific strategy to deal with the world in order to get what they want. Backed by most recent academic research, one can state that certain patterns of verbal and nonverbal communication and certain blind spots can be assigned to each personality type. For example, if your personality type is the Perfectionist, your main motivation to go out and seek communication opportunities is because you want to share your principles and what you believe to be the truth with the world. You might have accumulated lots of physical tension in your body, which is visible in your nonverbal reaction – rejection, criticism and ignorance can easily set you off. You might easily switch off from listening and integrating what your counterpart has to say just to look for more arguments for your already firm opinion. You might overlook what selling your opinion as the generally valid truth does to your environment and to your relationships. As your quest for perfection and higher standards of excellence prevent you from sharing all your emotions, more tension accumulates in your body and anger erupts from time to time under different forms such as irritability, impatience and destructive criticism. As you spiral down, awareness is needed for you to stop disintegrating, start to relax, express your emotions naturally and go back to standards of efficiency that are healthy for you and your environment. All this behavior, all these processes that are taking place often in the background, unseen yet felt, do sooner or later pop up into human interactions and communication. And this is exactly the moment when no media training technique

Photo: Jakub Stadler

becomes sufficient. This is the point where selfawareness and full responsibility for one’s quality of life comes into place. This is the below-thewaterline level, as another inspiring professor of mine John Scherer of The Scherer Leadership International Centrum puts it. This is where genuine change occurs and personal growth takes off. “Wherever your attention goes, there goes your energy and there is where real change is taking place,” as Eva Velechovská notes. As I slowly integrate the majestic complexity of this psychological system into my media advisory, training, coaching and mentoring practice, I am deeply humbled and grateful by the change I have personally experienced for the last five years, from business reporter into media trainer and coach, and where the enneagram has been holding me like a firm anchor even in my darkest moments. Being able to share this option of personal growth with other fellow humans is overwhelming to contemplate. As each change brings pain and rewards, and as change is such an inner part of our lives, new paths open constantly in front of each of us. May this autumn bring numerous and rewarding moments of self-awareness, meaning and growth for all of us. By Cristina Muntean ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 55

discussion event

From left: Pavel Hájek, Owner, pHmedia Czech Republic, Marie Rubišarová Medová, CEO, Authoria, Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Region Vysočina, Jiří Běhounek, Governor, Region Vysočina, František Vaculík, General Director, PSJ, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Mr. František Vostál, CEO, Rádio Vysočina

THE HIGHLANDS REGION NOW HOLDS ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS! The Highlands Round Tables is a new project that began inviting interesting guest speakers this spring from the Highlands Region and elsewhere. The Authoria Company is the organizer of the new discussion format, under the auspices of Jiří Běhounek, the Governor of the Highlands Region. He was also the first guest at the first meeting, along with Karel Muzikář, the President of the pan-European company, Comenius. The Round Tables organized by Comenius were the inspiration for the organizers from the Highlands. Among the guests who met in the debates held in Jihlava, were Petr Rafaj, the Chairman of the Office for the Protection of Competition, Pavel Šolc, Deputy of the Minister of Industry and Trade and Petr Fiala, former Minister of Education, accompanied by Jana Fialová, the Council for the area of education of the Highlands Region. Round Tables in the Highlands will continue in the fall of 2013.

KULATÉ STOLY MÁ JIŽ TAKÉ VYSOČINA! Kulaté stoly Vysočiny je nový projekt, který do regionu Kraje Vysočina od jara letošního roku začal zvát zajímavé osobnosti nejen z Vysočiny. Organizátorem nového diskusního formátu na Vysočině je společnost AUTHORIA a záštitu nad Kulatými stoly Vysočiny převzal hejtman Jiří Běhounek. Ten byl také hostem prvního setkání spolu s prezidentem pan-evropské společnosti Comenius Karlem Muzikářem. Právě kulaté stoly Comenia se staly inspirací pro organizátory z Vysočiny. Hosty, kteří již v jihlavských debatách odpovídali na dotazy, byli šéf Úřadu pro hospodářskou soutěž Petr Rafaj, náměstek ministra průmyslu a obchodu Pavel Šolc a bývalý ministr školství Petr Fiala, kterého doplnila radní pro oblast školství Kraje Vysočina Jana Fialová. Kulaté stoly Vysočiny budou pokračovat i na podzim 2013.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

56 Vysočina Round Tables at Hotel Gustav Mahler v Jihlavě

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: David Lesch, Chairman of the Board, AV Media, Marie Rubišarová Medová, CEO, Authoria, Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Region Vysočina, and Petr Fiala, former Minister of Education

Jana Fialová, Councillor for Education, Region Vysočina and Jindřich Fryč, Deputy Minister of Education

From left: Marie Rubišarová Medová, CEO, Authoria, Pavel Hájek, Owner, pHmedia Czech Republic, and František Vaculík, General Director, PSJ

From left: Jan Blecha, Deputy Manager, Section for the Implementation of Resource SFDI, SŽDC, Marie Rubišarová Medová, CEO, Authoria, and Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Region Vysočina

From left: Jiří Běhounek, Governor, Region Vysočina and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius From left: Vlastimil Hladík, Head of Commercial and Technical Department, Chládek a Tintěra Havlíčkův Brod and Albín Sybera, SFŽP

From left: Jiří Běhounek, Governor, Region Vysočina, Jana Fialová, Councillor for Education, Region Vysočina, and Pavel Hájek, Owner, pHmedia Czech Republic

From left: Tomáš Rubišar, CEO, Authoria, Aleš Růžička, Director, ČSOB Jihlava, and Ludvík Kuřátko, CEO Agrocentrum ZS From left: Petr Suchý, Chairman of the Board, Chládek a Tintěra Havlíčkův Brod and Petr Neuvirt, Sales Director, TOKOZ

From left: Marie Rubišarová Medová, CEO, Authoria, Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Region Vysočina, and Pavel Šolc, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

From left: Petr Rafaj, Chairman, ÚOHS, Kristýna Vostálová, CEO, Rádio Vysočina, and Filip Potůček, Director of Central Purchasing and Logistics Department, České dráhy

summer party Photo: Dean Batak, Francesco Castelli

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

CZECH-GERMAN CHAMBER

OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE SUMMER PARTY On June 20th, the annual Czech-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DTIHK) summer party took place at the historical site of the German embassy in Prague. The garden party celebrated the Chamber’s 20th anniversary this year. Among over 850 guests were high-ranking members of Czech-German business, politics and society. Next to David Černý’s “Quo Vadis” Trabant installation were vintage and current Škoda models. The Chamber’s guests enjoyed an exceptionally warm June summer night with cool cocktails, delicious food and vibrant music.

From left: Bernard Bauer, Executive Director, DTIHK, Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK and CFO, Siemens, and Klaus Huttelmaier, Representative of Bosch Group in the Czech Republic, Responsible for Central and Eastern Europe

Dr. Günter Bruntsch, President, IHK Dresden

58 From left: Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK and CFO, Siemens and Ernst Giese, Attorney at law, Giese & Partner

summer party

Havelka Sisters From left: Dr. Borek Severa, Director, MediaTrust Communications, Alice Schmiedbergerová, Project Manager Film/TV/Event, MediaTrust Communications, and Petr Žwak, Head of Service Center Event Management and Member Services, DTIHK

Josef Kolář, Managing Director, SEW-EURODRIVE with his wife From left: Prof. Dr. H.C. Winfried Vahland, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ŠKODA AUTO with his wife, and H.E. Detlef Lingemann, German Ambassador in Prague

From left: Dipl.-Ing. Horst Blom, former Managing Director, Hettich ČR with his wife, Dipl.-Ing. Sascha Gross, Managing Director, Hettich ČR, and Mgr. Oldřich Pól, Procurist, Hettich ČR with his wife

From left: Christian Miller, Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy, Georg Stöger, CEO, Auditor, Margund Schuh, Director, UBM, Mrs. Veronika Stöger, Pia Gludovacz, Counselor, Austrian Embassy, and Martin Meischl, Commercial Attaché, Austrian Embassy

From left: Hermann Butz, Economic Director, Bosch Diesel Jihlava with his wife, Pavel Roman, Director, Corporate Communications for Bosch Group in CR and Vice President, DTIHK, Jens Hildebrandt, Deputy Managing Director, DTIHK with his wife and Mrs. Ingrid Brandau

summer party

Jana Ďurechová, Siemens and Lothar Wild, Siemens

From left: Vilém Veverka, Oboist, Evžen Stein, Board Member, NH Hotel Prague, Hana Pavlištová, Managing Director, Česká informační agentura, and Karl Glatzel, Board Chairman, NH Hotel Prague

Prof. Dr. H.C. Winfried Vahland, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ŠKODA AUTO with his wife

From left: Gernot Daumann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, LBBW Bank CZ with his wife, Jürgen Zahl, Commercial Director, Brose CZ with his partner, Michael Werner Daniel, Managing Director, Brose CZ with his wife, and Wolfram Motz, CEO, MBtech Bohemia with his wife

From left: Zdeněk Kohák, Showroom Manager, Alukov HZ, Monika Uhlíková, Real-estate Agent, Professionals, Jan Zitko, General Director, Alukov HZ, Eva Myšíková, PR Manager, Alukov HZ, Ctibor Juchelka, Sales Manager Austrian Market, Alukov HZ, Zdeněk Novák, Sales Manager German Market, Alukov HZ

From left: Dr. Petra Budíková, Attorney at law and Associate Partner, Rödl & Partner, Lenka Chuchlíková, Consultant, SCHULMEISTER Management Consulting Praha, Miroslav Kocman, Tax Advisor, Jaroslav Dubský, Auditor, both Rödl & Partner, and Dita Chrastilová, Managing Partner, SCHULMEISTER Management Consulting Praha

Česká informační agentura – Sponsor Table. From left: Team CIANEWS.CZ with friends, Vlastimil Harapes, Dancer, Martina Středová, Czech Special Olympics, and Vilém Veverka, Oboist

summer party

HSBC Bank – Sponsor Table. From left: Mark Winterflood, CEO, HSBC Bank with his wife Francesca Winterflood, Henry Bremridge, Business Manager, HSBC Bank, Jana Mikulcová, Relationship Manager, HSBC Bank, and Josef Vítovec, Relationship Manager, HSBC Bank

From left: Kateřina Šimková, Siemens, Radomír Šimek, former President, DTIHK, and Jana Ďurechová, Siemens

Knorr Bremse – Sponsor Table. From left: Zdeněk Štrupl, Production Manager, Růžena Kašparová, Finance and Controlling Manager, Rudolf Kubín, Supply Chain Manager, Lukáš Vokurka, KPS Manager, Petr Zima, Sales and Marketing Manager, Matthias Sander, Managing Director, Tomáš Jirouš, KB Technical Manager, Tobias Lienhard, Senior U2 Consultant, and Christoph Biechele, U2 Senior Consultant

Siemens – Sponsor Table. From left: Jiří Jirkovský, Andreas Denninger, Jiří Krátký, Rudolf Fischer, Armin Grozinger, Jana Ďurechová, Lothar Wild, Roland Müller, Eduard Tannhäuser

From left: Dr. Wolf Wassermeyer, Partner, Flick Gocke Schaumburg, Lucie Vorlíčková, Partner and General Manager, VORLÍČKOVÁ PARTNERS, Jens Hildebrandt, Deputy Managing Director, DTIHK, and Dr. Marek Görges, Partner, GÖRGES & PARTNERS

From left: Jana Duchoňová, Lawyer, Havel Holásek & Partners, Jörgen J. J. Sassen, Director, TSR Czech Republic, and Michaela Handrejchová, Lawyer, Havel Holásek & Partners

From left: Gabriela Porupková, Attorney at Law, Schönherr Attorneys at Law, David Vosol, Partner, bpv Braun Partners, Veronika Vincíková, Office Manager, Schönherr Attorneys at Law, and Hedvika Hartmanová, Attorney at Law, bpv Braun Partners

gala event

From left: Dkfm. Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald, departing Commercial Councellor, Austrian Embassy, H.E. Ferdinand Trautmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria, Mag. Dr. Walter Koren, Director General, Advantage Austria, and Mag. Christian Miller, new Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Advantage Austria Summer Fest Welcome of the new Austrian Commercial Counsellor Mag. Christian Miller and farewell to the departing Counsellor Dkfm. Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald.

From left: Mag. Christian Miller, new Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy with his wife on the left and Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald, departing Commercial Councellor, Austrian Embassy with his wife on the left

Michael Steiner, Managing Director, COPS with his wife

Mrs. Formanek and her sister

62 Hana Flatscherová, Director, Euro Top Contacts with her husband

From left: Jaroslav Pícha, Managing Director, Hirsch Praha with his wife on the left and Ivo Klimša, CEO, LENZING

gala event

From left: Alexander Turov, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the CR, Dmitry Moskovkin, Advisor, Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the CR, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Naďa Mihalovičová, Journalist, SNČR with her husband From left: Helmut Burger, Managing Director, AVE and Bernd Schützeneder, Press Speaker, AVE

Mgr. Karel Janouškovec, TIČR with his wife

From left: Radim Duchek, Product and Marketing Director, ČIS, Hana Pavlištová, Managing Director, ČIS, and Ing. Martin Žák, Advantage Austria

From left: Ing. František Lusk, Regional Manager, CEE North, Swarco, and Bernard Bauer, Executive Member of the Board, DTIHK – ČNOPK

From left: Milan Rzepecki, Head of Branch, Meinl Bank, MUDr. Golková, A2C Clinic, and Dr. Christian Kaltenbrunner, Senior Advisor, Meinl Bank

Thilo Hoffmann, Attorney, Weinhold Legal with his wife

63 Dr. Čeněk Kubelka, Director, COMPRESS and PhDr. Magdalena Kordová, Press Referent, COMPRESS

From left: Alexander Waidmann, Waidmann Daunen Handelsges with his wife and Gernot Daumann, LBBW

gala event

From left: Petra Fischer, CEO Richter and Frenzel s.r.o., Prof. Ing. Michal Mejstřík, CSc. with his wife on the far left

Petr Šimr, Managing Director, Media Market with his wife From left: Franz Graf, General Manager, Hotel Loipersdorf and Wolfgang Teufl, General Manager, Jurys Inn

From left: Lenka Tvrdiková, Commercial Section, Austrian Embassy and Mag. Martin Hojni, Minister Counsellor, Austrian Embassy, Prague with his wife

From left: Boris Grbeša, Managing Director, Fronius CR and members of the company

From left: Mag. Harald Grossbauer, Managing Director, AVE and Helmut Hetlinger, Managing Partner, IB Grant Thornton Audit s.r.o.

From left: Dr. Ing. Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board, General Director, Uniqa and Ing. Marek Venuta, Director, Uniqa

From left: Mr. Hannes Brauner and Mgr. Rudolf Mazač, President, Int. Jazz Festival with his wife in the middle From left: Thilo Hoffmann, Attorney, Weinhold Legal, and Jochen Modl, CEO, MAN Truck and Bus CR

64 From left: Dkfm. Diana Püribauer and Alexander Waidmann, Waidmann Daunen Handelsges with his wife in the middle

From left: Andreas Höfinghoff, Partner, Vorlíčková Partners, Rudolf Fischer, President DTIHK/ ČNOPK and CFO, Siemens, Bernard Bauer, Executive Member of the Board, DTIHK – ČNOPK, and Martin Meischl, Commercial Attaché, Commercial Section, Austrian Embassy

gala event

From left: Radoslav Klepac, Director, External Relations and International Business Development, Veletrhy Brno and Ing. Petr Bajer, CSc., Chief Executive, Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce

From left: Ing. Jozef Piga, Managing Director, Servis Praha and Mag. Dr. Phil. Petra Vlčková Wörndl, Translator

From left: Alejandro Huerta, Economic Counsellor, Embassy of Spain, Yelena Lukicheva, C&E Executive, Hilton, and Thierry Caner, RESCO

Dkfm. Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald, departing Commercial Councellor, Austrian Embassy

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Ing. René Koucourek, Director, Wolf System, Mr. Kocourek and Mrs. Kocourek in the middle

Mag. Christian Miller, new Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy

Mag. Dr. Walter Koren, WKO Austria

From left: Jozef Kollár, Billateral Economic Relations and Export Promotion Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR, Mr. Elbs, and Dr. Josef Reiter, General Manager, BMW Group

interview I don’t envision the result of the elections very optimistically. Perhaps we will be able to offer liberally-oriented and ecologically-sensitive people hope and an option to identify themselves with us.

Martin Bursík – After completing the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Charles University in Prague, he worked as a hydrologist between 1984–1991 in the state company Stavební geologie (Construction Geology). Between 1990-1992 he was the deputy of the Czech National Council. In 1994 he was elected representative of the City of Prague. In 1998 he became Minister of Environment in Tošovský’s government. In the 1990’s, Martin Bursík attained the leadership of several political parties (OH, SD-LSNS, KDU-ČSL). In 2005 he was elected chairman of the Green Party. In June 2006 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. In 2007–2009 he was Vice Prime Minister and the Minister of Environment in Mirek Topolánek’s government. In 2009 he resigned from the function of the chairman of the Green Party. In 2013 he co-founded LES, Liberálně ekologická strana (the Liberally Ecological Party) and became its chairman.

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

interview Why did you leave the Green Party? The decision to leave ripened when my family and I stayed in the Indian Himalayas. We went there as volunteers for a school supported by the Brontosaurus Movement. Suddenly I found myself away from the Internet, cell phone and facing problems people deal with in the poor Ladakh. I began to think about my values and what remains important to do in life. But also about which people I’d like to spend my time with and with whom less. I felt that for those eight years that I worked with the Green Party were too many and that I lacked the necessary distance to evaluate the situation objectively and realistically. I realized that the party had changed. In what way? The fundamentalist wing took over, pushing for a move toward the left. We repeatedly failed to come to a clear conclusion that would forbid collaboration with the communists. And this was an essential problem for me. Similarly, I didn’t understand why the Green Party suppressed an ecological program and attempted to address voters with social subjects, which are the priorities of other left wing parties. When the early elections were announced, I realized I disagreed with the direction of the party and could not be a candidate for it. It wouldn’t be honorable and I would have to lie to the voters. Is this why you co-founded LES (Liberally Ecological Party)? I came to the conclusion that the greens wouldn’t effectively defend the ecological agenda for long. And then there is nobody else. Why the word „liberal“ in the name? I’m not just an ecologist, I’m also a liberal and I know very well that, in the long run, liberals have nobody to vote for. The center-right voter is confused. There is a party missing here that would support entrepreneurship, create a friendly environment for active citizens, allowing a Havel-style, responsible, sustainable policy. What is the essential theme of the party? My goal is to connect the liberally-economic model with the protection of the environment. Some people believe that the ecological subject belongs to the left, but I don’t think so. To the contrary, more and more thinking people need to escape corporate structures and began believing in other values and other criteria beside performance and seeing the world in a wider context. And among those is the ecological dimension of our existence. Back as a Minister, when I was negotiating for the EU in Washington, I met Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize laureate for technology and an advisor to President Obama. And he told me „Nobody understands, that in the next less than forty years, we must change the way we make and ineffectively use energy. The same is true of transportation, we must signiﬁcantly change our transportation habits, otherwise there will be a climate catastrophy.“ He was talking about the fourth revolution and I had to agree with him.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

This year, President Obama presented a very inspirational plan (The President‘s Climate Action Plan). The best ways to motivate entrepreneurs to use modern effective technologies are economic methods. It’s more sensible than various restrictions, orders and fines. And then there is one more subject I would call the „Havelian“ theme. Can you specify? We are a very small country that went through the sad experience of a totalitarian regime. And precisely because of this, we should understand all those in the world, whose civic and human rights are being crushed. We have an obligation to them, but also to the legacy of Václav Havel, to whom we owe for the fact that people around the world know where Czech Republic is. The question of what kind of a role we want to play in the EU is related to this as well. Instead of constant blocking and vetoing, through which we mostly harm ourselves, we should be a constructive member of the EU and accept an appropriate part of the responsibility for the global state of the world. Which environmental issues do your try to primarily push? Four years ago, I pushed through the Green Light program to the Saving, which brought 21 billion CZK into home insulation and the ecological heating of houses with renewable resources. Its benefit to the local construction companies that renewed the economy was huge. It helped improve the condition of the air and decrease energy costs. The program was so successful that even my successors continued it. I’d like to prepare and promote similar programs that improve the quality of life, both in the cities and villages. In many ways, we should return to the experiences of our ancestors and support local production of food and energy. I’d stick with the motto „small is beautiful.“ This way I’m also expressing my opinion of the various megalomaniac plans that are again becoming the subject of debates. Which are they, for example? We’re again confronted with plans to build a canal between the Danube-Oder-Elbe rivers . The mining companies are still trying to get permits for the devastating mining of gold. Other plans count on underground mining of shale gas, during which the supplies of underground water would be damaged. I don’t understand those who, in the century of modern technology, producing energy from renewable resources, talk about further coal burning. I’m calling it the Jurrasic Park. We have a Minister of Environment who promotes a cableway in the the most precious Zone 1 of the Šumava National Park and is also the promoter of economically senseless plans to build more nuclear reactors in Temelín and Dukovany. We have a lot to catch up on. In many aspects, we’re still behind the advanced European countries. For as long as various mafia types continue to have more say than experts, nothing will change. The Ministry of the Environment has nearly no authority and, after the activity of Ministers who do not understand the subject, it’s in shambles. I’m concerned about all this.

Why doesn’t LES run a candidate in the early election? We want to build a liberally stable and ecologically oriented party. And because, in these “too early” elections, there is a threat that we would merely become one of those contributing to the disintegration of the right-center votes, we decided not to run. We want to build the party on a solid basis and participate in European, Senatorial and other elections. How do you perceive the current political situation and the state of democracy in the Czech Republic? My colleagues from universities abroad often ask me why doesn’t the Czech Republic go forward more quickly? Why don’t we use the negative experience of advanced countries and skip their developmental stages? Why don’t we just go ahead and reach for the best there is in the world? I thought about it a lot and came to one conclusion – our problem is strong interest groups that don’t want change. They’re afraid of competition. And so these old dogs created suspicious ties with politicians. Politicians who should inspire and motivate entrepreneurs to use the most effective technologies, play the cards of the solidiﬁed business and the business happily supports their political campaigns. It’s very simple, but fatally damaging to the country. So what are the current politics like? What’s missing? For my taste, politics are too pragmatic and cynical, there are no ideals. Political parties plan from day to day and their most distant horizons are the next elections. Those who control the technology of power win, not those who are the best. Nobody is even trying to formulate an image of how the Czech Republic should look in the future. We don’t know which values we want to stand for in this complicated world. We don’t know by what we could and should become interesting to Europe and the world. We don’t even know where to look for future competitiveness. We’re only learning to be active as citizens. I don’t envision the result of the elections very optimistically. Perhaps we will be able to offer the liberally-oriented and ecologicallysensitive people hope and an option to identify themselves with us. By Pavlína Holancová ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 67

discussion event IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture in demission, Dana Syrová, Executive Director of Music Festivals Dvořák Prague and Strings of Autum, and Jan Vinter, Chairman of the Editorial Board CFO World, Financial Consultant and Film Producer, outlined the specifics of their field. They agreed that beside the resources, a clear system of priorities as well as expectations set down by the state are essential for the efficient functioning of the whole system.

From left: Jan Vinter, Chairman of the Editorial Board, CFO World, Financial Consultant and Film Producer, Dana Syrová, Executive Director, Music Festivals Dvořák Prague and Strings of Autumn, Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture (in demission), and Dean Brabec, President of the CFO Club, Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little

FINANCING OF THE CZECH CULTURE WAS THE TOPIC OF THE SUMMER CFO CLUB SESSION HELD ON AUGUST 21ST IN AUREOLE FUSION RESTAURANT & LOUNGE IN PRAGUE

From left: Jana Böhmová, Honeywell, Jiří Strnad, GE Money Bank, and Jakub Matýs, Azelis Czech Republic

From left: Irena Prášilová, Senior Manager, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO, RWE Česká republika

Dean Brabec, President of the CFO Club, and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little and Alice Maar, Executive Director and CFO, WINE4YOU

From left: Daniel Ryšávka, Senior Advisor, Advisory, KPMG Česká republika and Michal Sládek, Manager FSG, Arthur D. Little

discussion event Performance of female acrobat on aerial ring

Dean Brabec, President of the CFO Club, Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little Dana Syrová, Executive Director, Music Festivals Dvořák Prague and Strings of Autumn and Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture (in demission)

From left: Jan Vinter, Chairman of the Editorial Board, CFO World, Financial Consultant and Film Producer, Dana Syrová, Executive Director, Music Festivals Dvořák Prague and Strings of Autumn, and Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture (in demission)

Linda Karpašová, IFC FOOD and Josef Fiřt, CEO, Euroenergy From left: Zbyněk Hutar, Editor in Chief, CFO World, Jan Vinter, Chairman of the Editorial Board CFO World, Financial Consultant and Film Producer, and Zdeněk Sirůček, CFO, Credium

From left: Jiří Balvín, Minister of Culture (in demission), Dana Syrová, Executive Director, Music Festivals Dvořák Prague and Strings of Autumn, Hana Pavlištová, Managing Director, Czech Informational Agency, and Pavla Zdráhalová, Director of Cabinet of the Minister, Ministry of Culture

Dušan Kučera, Manager of Executive Education, VŠE Prague

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

analysis

Photos by Veronika Žabová (Photo de Véronique)

GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK for the ﬁrst time in the Czech Republic!

ELAI team – from left: Martina Vošahlíková, Kateřina Coops, Lukáš Sedláček

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the largest worldwide event promoting innovative entrepreneurship and startups which will, for the ﬁrst time in history, include also the Czech Republic. GEW offers number of activities supporting the whole ecosystem of startups as well as individual new enterprises, providing space for well-established businesses to share their personal experience and insight with those who are seeking to bring new ideas to life. During one week each November, millions of people participate in local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as innovators and self-starters to launch startups, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. These activities, from large scale compe-

titions and events to small networking gatherings, connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and investors-introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities. The initiative was launched in 2008 and has since grown to 131 countries with an impressive amount of support from celebrity entrepreneurs, presidents, prime ministers and other leaders around the world. These include, for example, Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Charles, Prince of Wales, Richard Branson, Blake Mycoskie, Bono or Snoop Dogg. Furthermore, 20 Presidents and 93 Ministers from 54 countries from all around the world proclaimed support for the Global Entrepreneurship Week or directly participated in its activities. In 2012, 131 countries took part with 7906

partners offering 19,649 activities, engaging all together 7,491,695 participants and even more are expected to participate in 2013.1) This year’s GEW will take place from November 18th to November 24th. In the Czech Republic, its key activities will be organized by the European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI), which became the Host organization of the GEW activities for 2013 and will also coordinate all of the activities organized by other partner institutions and associations supporting startups and entrepreneurship. Activities are planned in Prague and other cities around the country, helping to build an ecosystem of support for startups and generally entrepreneurship. In Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc, Plzeň and Liberec, regional seminars will serve to create a network of support for the representatives of regional startup associations, providing contact with established entrepreneurs to enable the sharing of services, products, experience and ideas, addressing such topics as low budget marketing, content marketing, best practices for financial management, reporting for startups, early stage market research or intellectual property consulting. In Prague, the GEW events will include a workshop for higher education students on launching their own startups or businesses, financing and developing them further, led by top entrepreneurs in the country, a ‘Design meets business’ event, enabling students of product design to meet with representatives of business in order to promote their cooperation and export of Czech product design abroad, and a discussion dinner with Czech business leaders and representatives of highgrowth and successful startups. The GEW activities in the Czech Republic will be concluded by a highprofile conference with the participation of the representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The goal of the conference is to increase the support of startups and entrepreneurship by the state, discuss an improvement of conditions for entrepreneurs and to promote mutual dialogue between startups and representatives of the state. By Martina Vošahlíková, Project Manager, European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) ■

If you would like to take part in the GEW activities or ﬁnd out more information, please contact Martina Vošahlíková, Project Manager, European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) vosahlikova@elai.cz

From left: Martina Vošahlíková, Martin Červený, Kateřina Coops, Lukáš Sedláček

70 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

rotary meeting

Irena Brichta, new District Governor with her husband Stuart Amesbury

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

ROTARY DISTRICT WELCOMES NEW LEADER At one of the most important Rotary meetings in the year the baton of District Governor for all Czech and Slovak Rotary clubs, was handed over by past District Governor Alexander Turkovič to Irena Brichta a founding member of Rotary Club Prague International. Irena will be the representative of Rotary International in the Czech and Slovak republics for the next year and one of her duties will be to visit all 70 clubs in the district. At the same meeting, George Csaszar was honoured with the award of the Paul Harris Fellowship for demonstrating his commitment to Rotary by completing his second term as President of Prague International.

From left: Mrs. Martina Jankovská, Gerry Tipple, President and TRF Chair, RC Prague International, and Tomáš Lang, past District Governor, RC Nové Zámky, Slovakia with his wife Agneska

From left: Chester Reid, guest and prospective Candidate Rotarian, Marc Aaron, visiting Rotarian from London City, New Hampshire, USA, and Keith Jenkins, Investment Adviser

From left: Marc Aaron, visiting Rotarian from London City, New Hampshire, USA, Ulf Landerberg, General Manager, Linder Hotel Prague, and Petr Bareš, Managing Director, Iguassu Software Systems

From left: Ota Kovář, District Secretary, RC Jihlava, Vladimír Adámek, Assistant DG for Northern Moravia and DG Nominee, RC Ostrava, Petr Ferenc, DG-Elect, RC Spišská Nová Ves, and Dr. Jan Malát, M.D., Secretary 2012–2013, NASA Miri – Neuroradiology, Rotary Club Prague International

rotary meeting

From left: Dr. Jan Malát, M.D., Secretary 2012–2013, NASA Miri – Neuroradiology, Rotary Club Prague International, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and George Csaszar, past President, RC Prague International

From left: Karel Čejka, President, RC Beroun and Casey Holt, Writer

From left: Thomas Tietjen, Medical Instrument Sales, Blanka Francová, guest and prospective candidate Rotarian, Vlasta Krahulcová, RC Prague International, and Karin Genton L’Epee, Business Coach

From left Alexander Turkovič, past District Governor and Juraj Píš, District Webmaster, RC Staré Město

From left: Juraj Píš, District Webmaster, RC Staré Město, George Podzimek, District Spokesman, Chairperson, Rotary Good News editorial board, member of the District PR committee and a member of RC Staré Město, and Zuzana Potencová, President, RC Prag Ekumena Irena Brichta, new District Governor and Alexander Turkovič, past District Governor

Linda Štucbartová, Learning and Development Specialist, Škoda Auto and Staffan Erenmalm, ABB

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

George Csaszar being presented with the Paul Harris Fellowship by Alexander Turkovič, past District Governor

gala concert

The Free Swiss University of St.George’s organized Academic Celebration on the occasion of the Birthday of the Rector at Saint Giles Church and Dominican Monastery, Prague 1

From left: MUDr. Radomír Pacík, Practicing Vascular Surgeon, Dr. Ing. Henriette Wurm von Sterndorff, Ph.D., Rector, TFSUSG, Prof. JUDr. Zbyněk Kiesewetter, DrSc., Dean, Faculty of International Law, TFSUSG, and Svatopluk, Prince of Haugwitz

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

THE FREE SWISS UNIVERSITY

OF ST. GEORGE‘S ORGAN CONCERT

Kateřina Strožíková, Director, ČSOB Prague 5 and Radek Řehořek, IT Specialist, Tipsport Prague Padre Antonín Krasucki, OP, Prior of the Dominican Convent in Prague

74 Invited guests in the church of St. Giles

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

gala concert

From left: Dr.Ing. Henriette Wurm von Sterndorff, Ph.D., Rector, TFSUSG, Dr. Gottlob Alex Wurm von Sterndorff, Ph.D., Director, TFSUSG & Director PDG Treuhand (Trust) GmbH, Switzerland, and Dr.iur. Daniel Urban, Manager Legal and Compliance Departement, HSBC Bank Zürich, Switzerland From left: Ludmila Koublová, Lipová Development a.s., Member of the Supervisory Board, Bc. Simona Koublová, Lipová Development a.s., Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, Johanna Wurm von Sterndorff, Ing. Eva Patočková, Authorized Representative, PDG Management s.r.o. Prague, Ing. Jana Veberová, Councilor, Spa Poděbrady, Dr. Ing. Henriette Wurm von Sternodrff, Ph.D., Rector, TFSUSG, and MUDr. Radomír Pacík, Practicing Vascular Surgeon

From left: Ing. Petra Stachovcová, Head of the Tax Office Prague 3, Ing. Michaela Jindrová, Head of the Department for Payment Convenience, ČSOB, Prague 1, Miroslava Vítková, Accountant Manager, PORR a.s., Svatopluk, Prince of Haugwitz, and Dana Edlová, Real Estate Broker From left: Dr. Gottlob Alex Wurm von Sterndorff, Ph.D. with his son Maximilian Wurm von Sterndorff, and Dr. iur. Daniel Urban, Manager Legal and Compliance Department, HSBC Bank Zürich, Switzerland

Rubin Quartet Prague, from left: Helena Gerlichová, Eva Petrů, Milada Procházková, and Jiří Ton

Invited guests in the church of St. Giles

From left: Ing. Petr Chaloupský, OP, Organist and Mrs. Marta Filová, Soprano

From left: Prof. Ing. Jaromír Veber, CSc., Dean, Faculty of Business Administration (VŠE), Ludmila Koublová, Lipová Development a.s., Member of the Supervisory Board, and Bc. Simona Koublová, Lipová Development a.s., Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board

From left: Bc. Simona Koublová, Lipová Development a.s., Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, Ludmila Koublová, Lipová Development a.s., Member of the Supervisory Board, Bc. Johanna Wurm von Sterndorff, Authorized Representative, PDG Management s.r.o Prague, and MUDr. Radomír Pacík, Practicing Vascular Surgeon

From left: Dr. Gottlob Alex Wurm von Sterndorff, Ph.D., Director, TFSUSG Management & PDG Treuhand (Trust) GmbH Switzerland and Svatopluk, Prince of Haugwitz

Photo de Véronique – Veronika Žabová

summer party

Owners of Torino Prague Estate Michael Cukier and Nino Altomonte with Mrs. Nicoleta Pavlova and a friend

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Fryday at

Bastion Restaurant Fryday is one of the largest networking clubs for professionals organising series of social and business networking events across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Fryday community is composed of cosmopolitan professional crowd, business owners, government officials and media representatives. Using both, offline and online platforms, the Fryday network works to bring people together so that they can make new contacts as well as sustain those already existing. Since May 2013 FRYDAY exists in Prague and recently around 200 guests are attending the events happening every two weeks on Friday in various hotels, restaurants and bars in Prague.

From left: Jan Bublík, Owner, Bastion Restaurant, Mrs. Nicoleta Pavlova, and Hans Weber, Organizer, FRYDAY Event Prague

76 Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Mrs. Nicoleta Pavlova

Milena Koptová, Analyst of Foreign Exchange Markets, Citfin

summer party

Hans Weber, Organizer, FRYDAY Event Prague and Lenka Procházková, Office Solution Manager, Kinnarps Ing. Lenka Štipčáková, Marketing Manager, Ueltzhöffer Klett Jakubec & Partneři and in the background Daniel Slobodskoy, CEO, IMARTO – Internetová Marketingová Agentura

From left: Tim Addison, Httpool Online Advertising and Hans Weber, Organizer, FRYDAY Event Prague Mrs. Nicoleta Pavlova and Jan Bublík, Owner, Bastion Restaurant

Samir Akoury, Kline & Company

Milena Koptová, Analyst of Foreign Exchange Markets, Citfin and Hans Weber, Organizer, FRYDAY Event Prague

Mr. Peter Koritschan

77 From left: Mrs. Daniela Kořenská and Magdalena Kopecká, General Manager, Pivovar Marina

Vanessa Welsby, Ze-Brand in the middle

interview An Interview with Jiří Bartoška, President of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

interview How does it happen that one of the most popular actors in the country becomes a director of an International Film Festival? Were you not afraid of that rather managerial role? Twenty years ago I was approached by Igor Ševčík from the Ministry of Culture, along with a couple of other people who had hoped to reestablish the credit and status of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which was, at that time, in a hopeless situation and close to extinction. The State decided to no longer support the festival, due to the fact that it was perceived as non-promising. And so we took festival’s rescue as a real-life challenge. Here was a film event, the second oldest in Europe, with a huge tradition on which we could build. Although, maybe if we had really known what it meant in reality to organize such a festival, we would not have undertaken that challenge… But because we also had a bit of a beginner’s luck, we can now, after twenty years of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, say that we have built one the most important cultural events in the country. And we were able to prove that not all decisions made by the State must be correct! What was the biggest challenge for you so far, the most difficult and the happiest moment? We had to face our biggest challenge right at the very beginning, when survival was our main and only target goal. Other challenges then came a few years later, when a competitive project, the Golden Golem was launched in Prague, obtaining a prestigious category A from FIAPF. We managed to rally very cohesive group of people around us – filmmakers, journalists, cultural workers and a public who supported us and believed that our way was the right one. Thanks to that we coped with all obstacles and the Golden Golem disappeared after a couple of years. And as for the happy moments, I actually experience those every time when I stand on the podium during the closing ceremony at the Thermal and say goodbye to our audience and our guests. At that moment, I know that everything went as it should and that the year was successful.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

You mention quite often in media that many movie stars have scheduled programs for many years to come. Is it possible that you are already approaching some of them now for let’s say the 2020 Film festival? Can you tell us how you invite world-renowned artists to the Czech Republic? A visit by any important guest is a long term procedure. World movie stars are very busy, their calendar is full for several years ahead, plus the Karlovy Vary festival takes place at an ideal time for shooting both in Europe and America. We are very well aware of the fact that we will never be in the position of Cannes or the Berlinale, where blockbusters are presented and stars are committed to participate as agreed in their contracts. From the beginning, we have been clear in our decision not to – so called – buy stars, to pay them for coming to Karlovy Vary. Celebrities we host and we have hosted come because they really want to come, because they find festival interesting. During the two decades of our existence, we built not only a network of foreign associates working for us, but gained a number of supporters and friends among the big movie stars. Big stars often have the same agent, so if one recommends Karlovy Vary…. And this recommendation is very often decisive – when Antonio Banderas and John Malkovich say that they liked Festival in Karlovy Vary and that it makes sense to go there, it has its weight. The actual invitation process and the journey – is an extensive agenda, within its framework our guest service team honors the needs and wishes of particular guests. How does the whole enormous organization of the festival work? To describe the whole organization in detail would require a separate article, so I’ll try to briefly describe the basics. Year-round we have a core team working, usually up to twenty people. As the festival approaches, the team expands and gradually we have a few hundred people working for us during the festival itself – including temporary workers, technical professionals, construction workers, operational executives etc. As a famous saying goes: The king is dead, long live the king! Preparation for each year actually begins at the time a previous year successfully ends. The team around our CEO, Kryštof Mucha, begins negotiating with partners, solves production issues and the program department, under the leadership of Artistic Director Karel Och, begins to create a specific program. Based on a long-term strategy and the current situation in the world of film, we finalize the program and send invitations to guests. It is a systematic work that actually never begins or ends. How do you see the development of the Czech film industry being still one of the most popular actors in the country? Not only as an actor but also as President of the Festival ... Every year, when we choose the Czech film that will represent us in the competition, we are forced to think about the state of Czech cinematography. We are a small country and our potential audience is not very big. Czech film is facing long-term problems of financing. This is one

of the reasons that only “half“ movies are created here instead of real movies – movies as a spectacle, a block buster, an experience that will make you feel moved emotionally. Is there any role that you would assess as key, or any you personally think was particularly important for you? I don’t know whether it would be fair to mark any role as a key one, but there is one that accompanied me throughout my life and that is the character of Jakub, in Milan Kundera’s theatre play of Jakub and His Master. I think that Karel Heřmánek and I are world record holders – I do not know about any other performance that would play almost forty years with the same cast of main characters. The show is popular after all those years, although it changes as we and our audience change as well. This role has returned to me several times, so I think we were really meant for each other. You are known as a devoted golfer. When did you discover the magic of this sport and do you play often? Golf is a perfect sport for me. I walk several miles in beautiful scenery and I can smoke there. Because I do not actively do any other sport, I try to give golf the maximum time that I can. Today, fortunately, one may find a number of beautiful golf courses around Prague, so you don’t need to travel far. And besides that, I was lucky that I had the opportunity to play at various places in the world – in Shanghai, in South Africa. An amateur might find all of them looking alike, but that would be a big mistake. Only when you play these golf courses, do you appreciate how difficult and beautiful they are. If you allow us a question “to the body“ – you look fantastic, you have a huge charisma, and you are happily married for many years. Is there any recipe for a happy life that you could share with us? If I only knew that, I might be a Nobel Prize winner…. Thank you for the interview. By Lenka Koenigsmark ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 79

sport event

From left: Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little, Petr Orálek, Deputy Chief Editor, Economia, Jiří Bavor, Country Operation Officer, IBM Česká republika, and Alexander Cetl, Bank Representative in the CR, Privatbanka

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

THE OVERALL WINNER OF THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CFO GOLF TOURNAMENT WAS TOMÁŠ OČENÁŠEK The Presidential CFO Golf Tournament took place 11th September 2013 in the Golf Park resort in Pilsen for the fourth year running. The tournament began at 10am by cannon salute in the presence of VIP guests of the Club of the Financial Directors. The accompanying programme included a fashion show of dress and lingerie brands IMTIMIS, organised by Máša agency. Tomáš Očenášek, Broker, CYRRUS, became the overall winner of the tournament.

Leoš Kopecký, Managing Director, Artis 3000

Winners in category HCP 20-35,9 men/women: Jan Turek, Finance Director, JRD, and Jiří Bavor, Country Operation Officer, IBM Česká republika

80 Pavel Doležal, Director, pdMEDIA

Vratislav Moša, Senior Manager, Deloitte Advisory, and Helena Leisztner, Artist and Fashion Designer with her husband Roland Leisztner

sport event

Pavel Kočka, Director, Department of Corporate Governance, ČEZ Customer Services

Iva Kaláčová, Financial Manager, MEMOS Software From left: Július Kudla, Branch Manager, Euler Hermes Europe SA, Iva Kaláčová, Financial Manager, MEMOS Software, Martin Jeřábek, CFO, Havel, Holásek & Partners Law Office, and Petr Vaculík, Head of Clinical Operations, PSI CRO Czech Republic

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Pavel Kočka, Director, Department of Corporate Governance, ČEZ Customer Services, Karel Šimůnek, Managing Director, AvantGarde Restaurant & Café, Mrs. Iva Brabcová, and Mr. Juraj Podkonický

sport event

Martin Grof, Senior Presales Consultant, Oracle Czech and winner of Longest Drive Men category, Iva Brabcová, winner of Longest Drive Women category, and Zdeněk Jaroš, Head of Marketing, GRADA Publishing and winner of Nearest to the Pin competition

Tomáš Očenášek, Broker, CYRRUS and winner of the golf tournament

Mr. Steve Myhill enjoying the game

82 Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little and Tomáš Očenášek, Broker, CYRRUS and winner of the golf tournament

Winners in category HCP 36-54 men/women: Renata Dvořáková, Oracle Czech , Mr. Milan Šperl, and Jiří Horník, Advocate, Kocián Šolc Balaštík Law Office

sustainable development

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CRITICAL FOR THE CR’s REPUTATION Prague is globally celebrated for its magnificent architecture, medieval palaces and impressive bridges, and enjoys a reputation for being one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But the capital’s newest tourism initiative sadly focuses on a disturbingly darker side of Czech life, for which this country is attracting a growing negative reputation. CorruptTour, the brainchild of Petr Sourek, 38, a philosopher and performance artist turned entrepreneur, taps into the widespread disillusionment with lawlessness and corruption which has undermined this country since the Velvet Revolution overthrew Communism is 1989. “The Best of Prague’s Worst” walking tours showing the locations of institutions, corporate offices and homes of those associated with infamous scandals have been selling out, particularly since the latest bombshells emerged from the very heart of government. Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perception Index, which ranks countries according to how corrupt their institutions are perceived to be, concluded that the Czech Republic’s score indicated a “serious corruption problem.” Among the 27 members of the European Union at the time, only Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Bulgaria and Greece fared worse. These days, there is more than enough nefarious activity afoot in the Czech capital to fill a three-hour excursion, which costs CZK 800. The first stop on the tour takes people to a run-down apartment building in a poor neighbourhood where a wealthy lobbyist with a private jet and a home in Monaco, had once registered the address as his main residence. In spite of the recent focus on a scandal at the heart of government, corruption has infected all areas of life and is disturbingly prevalent in the Czech business sector. The recently published Edelman Trust Survey shows that people in this country have little confidence in business leaders as well public servants. Chief executive officers and government Jonathan Wootliff A former director of Greenpeace International, Jonathan Wootliff lives in Prague and works throughout the world as a sustainability consultant to business. He is a special advisor to the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development. He has consulted many large corporations including BP, Colgate-Palmolive, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and Whirlpool, and providing counsel to companies on the development of sustainability strategies that benefit the environment, society and business. Among his many activities, he helps companies to resolve disputes and forge productive relationships with non-governmental organizations. A qualified journalist with a subsequent background in public relations, Jonathan commonly assists companies with their sustainability communications. He can be contacted at jonathan@wootliff.com.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

officials share the same dishonourable place at the bottom of the table, with an average of 65 percent of respondents distrusting both. Economic growth and the success of Czech business is inextricably linked to reputation. Questions about the integrity of the private sector in this country are damaging its status on the world stage. There is an urgent need for serious efforts to encourage good corporate citizenship. Today’s successful companies must have robust sustainable development strategies which are underpinned by the principle of balancing the three imperatives of People, Planet and Profit. For a business to survive in the long-term, they absolutely depend on a “license to operate” which is informally awarded by society as a whole. Unethical practices for short-term gain, whether it’s in the form of questionable governance, environmental damage or disrespect for the rights of people, are surely unsustainable. Smart enterprises understand the clear business benefits of contributing to the societies in which they operate, and not sponging. It’s therefore unsurprising that one of the Czech Republic’s most admired companies is the renowned shoe retailer and manufacturer, Bata. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a central philosophy of the company ever since its creation by Tomas Bata in 1894. Bata is a real corporate treasure of which this nation can be proud, and provides an impressive standard for other companies to follow. It was established with strongly held belief that business is a public trust that should contribute to the wellbeing of the communities in which it operates. This tenet still stands at the heart of the company’s business strategy and has earned it an exemplary world-class reputation. It can accurately be stated that Czechoslovakia was a leader in CSR, thanks to the brilliance of Bata. Far from fleecing, Bata has been giving ever since its inception. In contrast to the shame of so much bad business practice, Bata should serve as an inspiration for today’s managers, entrepreneurs and the general public. In spite of so much bad news, Bata provides a beacon of hope for this country. In the late 1800s, Bata was a company that was well ahead of its time. Customer care and the professional development and wellbeing of employees was a key management priority right from the start. The company established medical facilities, provided educational opportunities, and contributed social and cultural advancement of the Moravian city of Zlin, where it was founded. Due to Bata’s unprecedented innovative approach, Zlín became famous for the company’s extraordinary social scheme developed after the First World War and its modernist urbanism. So impressive it was that Bata’s contribution to the life of Zlín is referenced in business text books throughout the world.

Former Greenpeace International director, Jonathan Wootliff, is now a sustainability consultant living in Prague. Photo: Archive of Author

One of its many legacies is the Thomas J. Bata Lecture Series on Responsible Capitalism, established in the memory of the founder’s son, who ensured that his father’s sustainable business principles lived on. Affectionately known as “Shoemaker to the World”, Tom Bata died at the age of 93 in 2008. Earlier this year, the Chief Executive of the global consumer goods company, Unilever, Paul Polman, delivered the series’ third keynote address. Widely recognised as one of the most inspiring business executives, Mr. Polman devotes a considerable amount of time in telling the corporate world that the future of capitalism requires responsible leaders that manage with a view to long-term sustainability, not just short-term proﬁts. “The only way to guarantee long-term prosperity is to grow businesses in line with the needs and aspirations of the communities they serve”, said Mr. Polman in his lecture held in Toronto this past February. “For too long we lost sight of what the Thomas Bata taught us about the right way to approach business and our responsibilities. Their form of capitalism lifted many out of poverty, gave access to education and health care and improved the state of the world,” he added. Last year’s creation of the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development is a positive sign that there are corporate leaders in this country that want to promote responsible business practices. Already, some of the nation’s most enlightened businesses have joined the Council. It’s time to dispel the Czech reputation for corruption and replace it with a strong commitment to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. Maybe we can then look forward to a new tour of Prague’s best businesses, which could be aptly named the No Corruption Tour! By Jonathan Wootliff ■ Leaders Magazine IV/2013 83

gala fashion show

Natali Ruden is among the top Czzech fashion designers, well known for her original and impressive designns. During her career, she achieved many m successes and prizes, representingg our country abroad for example, her h collections were shown in London,, New York and Toronto. She took part in prestigious fashion weeks in Moscow and Kiyev and, in the Czech Republic, epublic, organized over thhirty i dividual fashion shows. in

Natali preparedd a special summer collectiion for the 48th annual Karrlovy Vary International Fiilm Festival, aptly called Film m, Film, Film. This collecction was presented for thee occasion of the Tennis Cup, traditionally organized by thee Euronova Group at the Paark Hotel Richmond. The theme of thee collection reflected the upbbeat rhythms of film music, sttarring Czech models, led by thhe current Miss Czech Reppublic, Gabriela Kratocchvílová and Miss Earth,, Tereza reza Faiksová. This yeaars special guest of the shoow wass A drea Verešováá. An

gala fashion show

It is typical of Natali Ruden’s work for her pieces to be weara rablle, emphasizing both femininity and individuality. A whole spectr trum m of clothes can be found in her boutique – from grand evening gowns owns to cocktail dresses, two-piece suits of high-quality wool to the cashme hm mere coats and overcoats that make up her fall collection. Ruden doesn’t des design in exclusively typical small sizes, as seems mss too be standard for manyy designers, but offers a wide range of styles in size zes f om 36 to 46. Heer designs are aimed at the most demanding clliientts, fr who appreciate thhe quality and execution of materials, as well as timeless design. She S also devotes an increased focus on custom woorkk for men, who aren’t satisfied s with ordinary off-the-rack clothes. Nataali‘s unmistakable designer touch may be tried-on and purchassed d recctly at the NATALI RUDEN boutique in Dlouhá ulice 3, Praggue 1. di

@ WWW.NATALIRUDEN.CZ

analysis

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE

OF STRATEGIC NETWORKING-CREATING

COMPLEMENTARY WORKING ENVIRONMENTS As a leader, you need to pay attention to multiple demands and roles. Yet I would like to suggest that one of the most important areas leaders need to keep their eyes on is how knowledge and “cultural information” is being transferred. As we all know we have a series of “tensions” interplaying in this very fast paced economic world. People retiring, moving to another city, deployed to a special project, and so on. As a consequence many organizations are ﬁnding themselves quite vulnerable when it comes to who holds knowledge and experience on how things get done. Leaders and managers need to pay attention to three important functions of strategic networking, and get past any misunderstandings or obstacles preventing an individual from tapping into these functions. First, and most obviously, networking creates pathways for a talented professional to get to know people throughout the organization — and be known. When I coach women we talk about building a personal brand — and using networking

to get the brand out there. Whether direct reports, upper management, key customers or partners, the goal is to have a “name” and a presence. You are no longer just another employee, you are “Jana”, who is known for certain unique strengths and qualities. The second function of networking is equally important: to hear feedback from others, and gain a better perspective of your value to the organization. This is especially important for women, who tend to thrive on outside recognition, particularly from people who are role models or in positions of power. This is an area where managers should be proactive. Don’t wait for “Jana” to reach out to you — if you noticed that she did a great job on a project, or have heard good things about her from others, take the time to network with her and tell her. Knowing that others think highly of her will boost self-conﬁdence, deepen engagement, improve productivity, and encourage her to challenge herself to reach new heights.

The third important function involves knowledge transfer. In many organizations, workers who have been in the forefront of developing key products or services are hitting retirement age. Others may be reassigned or relocated for long periods. It is critical to have new workers connect with these people and absorb their knowledge so they can step in when someone moves on. Strategic networking is one of the best ways that a promising professional can learn about the roles and work of people throughout the organization, tap into valuable knowledge, and be prepared to move into other positions when the opportunity arises. Women in general have a tendency to pay a high degree of attention to the day to day work and details, eager to demonstrate their competency and commitment. Yet, this behavior tends to prevent them from understanding the strategic need to carve time to network within the organization. As a manager, there are many simple ways to promote strategic networking — for those on your team, and cross-functionally as well. With regard to women specifically, a good starting point is to reach out to talented females and make sure they understand the value and even “necessity” of strategic networking. Emphasize to “Jana” that people need to know her to better understand her abilities and potential and give her deserved recognition and constructive feedback on areas for improvement. Unless she has a critical mass of people throughout the organization who know her, the possibilities for self-promoting and career advancement will be compromised. On a practical level, women may also need guidance in how to network. One approach I use is to ask the woman I’m coaching to make a list of all the people who in any way can impact her present or future professional development. Once the list is done, we then develop a strategy on when and how to approach each person. This simplifies and demystifies the process, reducing the nebulous and perhaps intimidating concept of “networking” to a series of very do-able tasks. Having a tangible, self-created list of people who will influence her career path also gives the woman more of a sense of direction and inner control. During my last trip to Prague I dedicated a session of my workshop to talk about this specific issue in a room with both men and women. At the end of the session, one of the male attendees came over to me and said, “I wish I would had heard this years ago”. One of the female attendees, a high level executive thanked me for helping “open her eyes” to a new way of providing value to her organization. By Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy, President Rodriguez and Associates LLC ■

86 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

the coach’s corner

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE Have you ever witnessed the metamorphosis of a Monarch butterfly from its chrysalis? Before emerging from its cocoon, the young butterfly has a fat body with folded, limp wings. It is hardly an image of strength and beauty. In order to free itself from the chrysalis, it has to embark on a long struggle. As it stretches, pulls, and tremors, liquid from its body is pushed into the veins of its wings. Slowly the wings extend and grow, until finally a beautiful Monarch breaks free and flies away. A life without difficulties is a classroom without lessons. None the less, very few of us undertake lifechanging journeys without being forced to do so. Like the Monarch, our chrysalis is our comfort zone. Unless we accept the struggle that will allow us to break free from the security of our cocoons, we can never fly and become the master of our fate. “People need adversity, setbacks, and perhaps even trauma to reach the highest levels of strength, fulfillment, and personal development,” explains Jonathan Haidt in his book The Happiness Hypothesis. Adversity builds character and the challenges we face teach us resourcefulness, self-reliance and courage. “In rising to the challenge, we reveal our hidden capabilities. This, in turn, changes our selfconcept: we realize we are much stronger than we once thought,” writes Haidt. As uncomfortable as today’s economic situation is for many people, it is a great opportunity to break free from our routine habits and discover resources and abilities within ourselves that we didn’t know existed. Indeed, most of us have potentialities that have never been developed, simply because of the circumstances of ours lives never called them forth. In my own opinion, no one embodies this idea better than Nelson Mandela, the anti-Apartheid activist and the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. In 1964 Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment at Robben Island. The 27 years that followed were characterized by physical, spiritual and emotional challenges. “Ultimately, the key to understanding Mandela is those 27 years in prison. The man who walked onto Robben Island in 1964 was emotional, headstrong, easily stung. The man who emerged was balanced and disciplined,” writes Richard Stengel in Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership. Karin Genton-L’Epée is a business coach with 31 years of extensive professional experience in the United States, France and the Czech Republic. Based in Prague since 1995, for the past 15 years she has developed a range of coaching and training programs for mid- and top-level managers, focusing on leadership development, cross-cultural understanding and effective communication in a global environment. By providing a structured environment that supports people in clarifying who they are and what they want, Karin enables her clients to devise more effective strategies to achieve their personal and professional goals. Thanks to her knowledge, skills and range of international experience, Karin is in demand as a speaker at business conferences and educational institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. She is also a regular contributor to business journals and magazines. She works in English and French and can be reached at karin@coaching.cz.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

It is our attitude that determines whether we beneﬁt from misfortune or not. Mandela could have fallen into depression and despair; instead he chose to rely on his strengths and spent 27 years preparing himself for his life’s purpose, which was to put an end to Apartheid and to create a non-racial democratic South Africa. “Respect, ordinary respect” One of the ways Mandela worked toward this goal while in prison was to make a connection with the prison guards by showing them “respect, ordinary respect,” says Walter Sisulu, an African National Congress (ANC) activist, who was interviewed for John Carlin’s book Playing the Enemy. While imprisoned, Mandela refused to defer to the guards by calling them baas, meaning boss or master. Instead, he was determined to persuade them to treat him with respect and understood that the best way to earn respect is to give respect. This strategy contradicts our natural tendency to respect others on a conditional basis, when they meet our expectations and behave according to our own values and belief system. In a most brutal and hellish place, and while confronting and standing up to his oppressors, Mandela always kept his cool and polite demeanor, despite the poor treatment he received on a daily basis. Of course, that didn’t mean that he failed to stand up assertively for his rights when the situation required it. However, he didn’t want to crush nor humiliate his enemies; he simply wanted them to treat him with dignity and respect. He also knew that the best way to achieve that goal was to behave in a respectful manner himself. That key strength, respecting his opponents, taught Mandela to wield power without humiliating his enemies and would serve him well in the years to come. “Don’t address their brains, address their hearts” Mandela’s focus on respect and the right to be treated with dignity, compelled him to learn and understand the Afrikaner mentality, their history and their language, despite it being seen as the “the oppressor’s tongue” by many black South Africans. He greeted the prison guards in Afrikaans and took every opportunity to speak with them in their own language. The fact that he went out of his way to study and understand their culture won over many white Africans. While in prison, Mandela also learned that one of the shortest ways to the white South African’s heart was through their beloved game of rugby. Though the game was seen as the representation of white culture, Mandela believed that rugby could play an important role in bridging the great divide between white and black South Africans. “Don’t address their brains. Address their hearts,” was Mandela’s answer to the challenge of reconciling white fears with black aspirations, and central to this strategy was the use of rugby as an instrument of reconciliation as well as an instrument of political persuasion. A single rugby game to heal three centuries of racial division During Apartheid, the ANC had encouraged an international boycott of South African rugby. “Preventing us from playing rugby with the rest of the world

turned out to be a hugely successful lever of political influence,” says South African ex-security chief Niel Barnard in Carlin’s book. But at a time when many blacks dismissed rugby as “the brutish, alien pastime of a brutish, alien people,” Nelson Mandela saw it as the perfect opportunity to unite a racially divided country through sport. With this purpose in mind, Mandela agreed to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup in Johannesburg, and then undertook to transform black South Africans into fans of Springboks, the South African rugby team. Thanks to his personal charisma and innovative approach, the Springboks enjoyed an unprecedented level of popular support among black South Africans. Indeed, the home team defeated New Zealand’s All Blacks in the World Cup final, one of the greatest moments in South Africa’s sporting history, and a watershed moment in the post-Apartheid nation-building process. «Up to now,» Mandela said, «rugby has been the application of Apartheid in the sports field. But now things are changing, we must use sport for the purpose of nation-building and promoting all the ideas we think will lead to peace and stability in the country.» Faith can move mountains; Life is really what you make of it. “The world is an incomparable classroom, and life is a memorable teacher for those who are not afraid of her,” writes John Gardner in his book Self Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society. When Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, he could have complained about losing his freedom or simply given up on life. Instead, he focused on his strengths and on what could be learned from each incident and situation. He overcame the challenge of a 27-year imprisonment and then went on to change the world using what he had learned during that time. While Mandela’s recent hospitalization has sparked many discussions about his legacy, I personally look at this dramatic life story as an inspiration and an amazing embodiment of what we can do when we rely on our strengths. Despite the adversity that life might throw our way, we can all become “the master of our life, the captain of our soul”. ■

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 87

analysis

Danube – Oder – Elbe Water Corridor The subject of the Danube – Oder – Elbe Water Corridor (D-O-E) has recently started to make its way to the forefront again, this being in part thanks to its media coverage via President Zeman and members of the current government as well as certain public officials. Obviously, it also appears in some of the electoral programmes of the running parties. Not everyone will have the same motivation and this is why I would like to say a little about the whole story. It really does have a beautiful and long-standing history. If work on its completion is begun, it will rank among the mega projects of pan-European dimensions and will be a project with an impact in our country too. Please notice that I use the word completion. This is because a lot of this corridor has actually already been built. From the point of view of topicality, we must not forget one, let us say universal, fact. With a view to the fairly bad economic situation, or if you like crisis, ideas quite naturally resurge about building so-called hunger walls. It is relatively difficult to determine when it all began. Targeted development of the waterways in Central Europe, or the attempt to connect three seas started as far back as the Early Middle Ages if we take into account noticeable considerations, but also recorded decisions. In the Czech Republic, we like to start with the “Father of the Nation” Charles IV and we really can afford to do so again. In 1365, the emperor recommended a new trade route along the Danube-Vltava-Labe waterways. The Lothar Vogemont treatise dating back to 1700 must be regarded as the first project, even in today’s sense of this word. It was supposed to have been created at the behest of the Count of Kounice. The name was: Treatise on the usefulness, possibility and method of linking the Danube with the Oder, the Vistula and the Elbe with a navigation canal. The aim is not to run through individual historical milestones here. For those who are interested, I would like to draw attention to the supplement to the magazine Vodní cesty a plavba (Waterways

H.E Jan Koukal, former Czech Ambassador to Austria and former Lord Mayour of Prague. Photo: Archive

88 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

analysis n n

Trasování průplavem Mohan–Dunaj Route using the Main–Danube canal

n n n n

n n

E60

Perm

2 E60-

E5 0-0 1

E50

E60-11

E50-02 E50-02

E50

n n

n n nn n n n n n n

E90-02

E90

n n n

Teheran

Ankara

n n

nn n n n

E90

n n n

E80-09

E90

E80

E80-05

0-0

1-0

0-0

E80

E40

E40-02

E90 -05 n

n n n

E70

E40

E20

E10-07

E10

E60-11

n n n n

nnnn nnnn nn

nn n nnnnn

E60-09 E31

4 E20-0

E10

E01

11-0

n n n n n n

E21

E13

E60-07

n n n n n n n n n n

n n n

E60-05 n

E10-

E9104

n n

E80

E01 E02

E05

E04

n n n n n n

n n n n n

n n n

c c c

n nn

E10

E05

E1006

E80-02

E60-01

Batumi Yerevan

n n n n

n n

E90 n

then national level in our country. The European Commission above all has the programme Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) which our D-O-E Water Corridor belongs to. There are several decisions of the European Council ordering the affected member states to perform certain tasks within the meaning of preparation of the corridor. But surprisingly a request also exists from our Ministry of Transport dating back to 2011 for the corridor to be excluded from TEN-T. There are however European initiatives which run parallel to the steps taken by the European Commission. For example the Strategy for the Danube Region, launch of which we pushed through on the basis of request to do so by certain countries in terms of our presidency of the EU. The original aim was to clean the Danube delta and support its navigability. It would seem that the D-O-E Water Corridor is a natural continuation of this. Although this initiative is not brimming over with real results, the D-O-E Water Corridor ﬁnds no support here. For example Austria, in a political environment full of activists, is no longer certain today even what the route of the corridor is. The problem of activists is of course also one of the neuralgic points in our country. Although we could ask whether this is not merely a problem we are resolving to avoid the deeper-reaching root cause in both cases. What does the Transport White Paper which the European Commission issued, where it instructs member states to transfer 50% of transportation in excess of 300 km from the roads to rail and water by 2050, look like? Let me remind you that the above-mentioned act dating back to 1901 anticipated 20 years of construction. Will we issue another act on the occasion of the 113th anniversary? Will we in doing so clarify our stance internally and externally? Or

Tunis

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n

E90

n n n

E60-

E60

n n

Palermo

El-Djaza’ir

Kaspické moře n

Baku Tbilisi

Tirane

Istanbul

Skopje

Středozemní moře

STŘEDOMOŘÍ BLÍZKÝ A DÁLNÝ VÝCHOD n

E80

-01

Černé moře

n n n

E90 n

n n n n nn

E90

E80-1 6 E80-14-01 E80-14

Sofija

Rostov

RUSKO, STÁTY PŘI KASPICKÉM MOŘI

E80-

E90

E50

n n n n n n n n n

Sarajevo Beograd

n n

03 E80-

E80-

E80-12 n

Bucuresti

8 E80-1 0

Zagreb

E91-03 E91-01 E91

E91

n n

E80-0

n n

n n n n n

n n

n n n

n n

Budapest

n n n n n n

Venice 1

E91

E91-02

E50 E90

Chisinau

Bratislava

Wien

n n

06 E60n

Volgograd

Minsk

E30

E80

n 08 06 E91- E91-

nn nn

Madrid

E60-0

Vilnius

E20

Ljubljana

Bordeaux 04

E41

E40

Lyon

Moskva

Warszawa

Praha

Bern

Sevilia n

E70

Basel

E10-

Lisboa

n n n

E60

E50-02-02

Riga

E40

E10-

Nantes

Tallinn

E30

E80-04

E60-

E50

St. Petersburg

E40

E71

E80

E60

E01

Baltské moře

E60

POBALTSKÉ STÁTY

E80-

E01

Liege

E70-02 E10-01 E13

Paris

n n

E05

E01

03 E10-

n n n n n n n

E80

E01

E06

Helsinki

Gdansk

Berlin

E20-02

E70

8 0-0 E7 0-06 4 E7 0-0 E7

FRANCIE IRSKO

London E60

E20

E15

14 E60E61

Trasování koridorem D-O-L (labskou větví) Route using the D-O-E corridor (Elbe branch)

E60

ŠVÉDSKO

0 E6

Atlantský oceán

NORSKO n n n n n

Manchester n n E60-0

Stockholm

Oslo n n

E50-01

Archangelsk

Trasování koridorem D-O-L (oderskou větví) Route using the D-O-E corridor (Oder branch)

n n nn

n n

Murmansk

E60-

E60

n E60-10

n n

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

VELKÁ BRITÁNIE

Goole

Ing. Josef Podzimek: This is truly only a matter of common sense, not burdened by frequently needless political, departmental or lobbyist knowledge, which often prevents a decision being made and thus again and again postpones completion of the D-O-E Water Corridor, this being across the political parties, regimes and wars.

Severní moře

nn n n nn

and Navigation) no. 1–2/2004 1), or the book written by Kubec and Podzimek: Křižovatka tří moří (Crossroads of Three Seas) 2). Seeing as I have already cited the above-mentioned book, I cannot resist also mentioning at least the title of the foreword by Jiří Stránský: Horší než pláč ženy je pláč rozumu (The cries of reason (brain) are worse than the cries of a woman). In mentioning this, I do not wish the same as the author to predict the fate of the project or the conclusions of this article. My intention is to help the project. But this title is incredibly attractive nowadays. Because after the elections, we may find ourselves in a situation where completion will be resolved by the law, I would still like to mention a few dates. In 1872, a draft bill on construction of the Danube-Oder canal was presented to parliament by the Austrian government. It was however short-lived. Despite the fact that a charter was issued on its basis, this was subsequently purchased by the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway. This in fact led to the project being discarded. Obviously so that there would be no competition between waterway transportation and the railway. In 1901, after a stormy debate in parliament, the Act on construction of waterways and on modification of rivers was passed. From that moment in time there was basically no head of our state, including Emperor Franz Josef I, who did not support the D-O-E water corridor. A detailed act was then adopted in 1931. The corridor is even part of the Czech Republic’s treaty of accession to the EU. In the period after the Velvet Revolution, our government almost always endorsed the project, albeit in various ways. What will the Danube-Oder-Elbe (D-O-E) Water Corridor bring us? Why at precisely this time is debate again opening about something which it seems there has been consensus about, exaggeratedly speaking, for several centuries? It must be specifically said that the debate, or if you like battle, is playing out on a European and

E90

n n n

Schéma nejdůležitějších tras vodní dopravy, které by mohly procházet vodním koridorem D-O-L.

A chart of the most important navigation routes to pass through the D-O-E water corridor.

will this be merely another proclamation? The D-O-E Water Corridor performs several functions which it would be difficult to replace with another waterway project. It is by far not merely a strategic transport route. It also provides antiflood measures, resolution of a lack of water in areas of Moravia with a deficit. It contributes towards energy security, helps the economic growth of the regions involved, helps to protect the environment and creates jobs. What to add? Will we really stir after 300 years, not in merely in tiny steps or declarative standpoints? Let’s do it. We will build the Danube-Oder-Elbe Water Corridor. By Jan Koukal ■

Ing. Jan Skalický, commissioned with management of the Czech Directorate of Waterways, says: “We regard waterways and waterway transportation as an essential part of correctly set modern multimodal transportation of goods, raw materials and passengers. Our ancestors left us waterworks necessary for navigation, the value of which is nowadays estimated at CZK 160–200 billion.

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 89

gala event From left: Mrs. Lucie Urválková, CFO and Member of the Board, UNIQA, Mr. Marek Venuta, Consultant, UNIQA, and Mr. Martin Žáček, CEO, UNIQA pojišťovna

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

UNIQA POJIŠŤOVNA CELEBRATES ITS ANNIVERSARY This summer it has been twenty years since UNIQA pojišťovna (UNIQA Insurance Company) was founded as a green field, at that time under its original name, the Česko-rakouská pojišťovna (Czech-Austrian Insurance Company). As the name suggests, there was an investment by our southern neighbor – the Austrian insurance company Bundesländer. And it was a successful and prospective investment. During its entire existence, the Česko-rakouská pojišťovna (just as the other sister companies gathered currently in the European UNIQA Insurance Group), rebranded to UNIQA, has maintained its position among the strongest players on the Czech insurance market. It currently holds 8th position, annually turning over around six billion Czech crowns in the written premium. It currently serves over a half a million clients in both retail and commercial segments. Over its lifespan, UNIQA always believed in building and strengthening correct and long-term relations with its customers and business partners. It’s little wonder it decided to celebrate its birthday among those without whom it couldn’t have built its success. In September, UNIQA invited its most important representatives of their clients and key partners, as well as other insurance companies, to a garden party in the beautiful grounds of the Troya Chateau in Prague. Wolfgang Kindl (Austria), the CEO of the concern UNIQA International, and Martin Žáček, the CEO of the UNIQA pojišťovna, welcomed their guests and thanked them for their long-term loyalty.

From left: Mr. Hannes Kuschnig, UNIQA Austria, Mr. Hans Uwe Müller, UNIQA Re AG and Mr. Peter Eichler, Member of the Board, UNIQA Austria

From left: Mr. Wolfgang Kindl, CEO, UNIQA International, Mr. Herbert Schimetschek, former General Director, UNIQA concern, and Mr. Martin Žáček, CEO, UNIQA pojišťovna Mr. Martin Valach, CEO, SwissLife and Mrs. Eva Stehlíková, Style Coach

90 From left: Mr. Nikolai Genchev, CEO, UNIQA Bulgaria and Mr. Martin Žáček, CEO, UNIQA pojišťovna

From left: Mr. Lubomír Sýkora, Regional Director, Raiffeisenbank, Mrs. Olivera Böhm, Managing Director, UNIQA Austria, and Zbyněk Veselý, CSO and Vice Chairman of the of the Board, UNIQA pojišťovna

gala event

Mr. Thomas Horvath, AXA and Mrs. Olivera Böhm, Managing Director, UNIQA Austria

From left: Mr. Thomas Münkel, Member of the Board, UNIQA Insurance Group and Mrs. Lucie Urválková, CFO and Member of the Board, UNIQA pojišťovna

Mr. Rostislav Žoudlík, Chairman of the Board, FANS, a.s. with his wife

From left: Mr. Michal Šlambera and Mr. Jiří Bureš, Managing Director, JB Group

From left: Mr. Jan Zitko, President, Alukov, H.E. Ferdinand Trautmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria, and Mr. Martin Žáček, CEO, UNIQA pojišťovna

Mr. Martin Žáček, CEO, UNIQA pojišťovna

Mr. Josef Svoboda, General Director, Aramark with his wife

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

Mr. Wolfgang Kindl, CEO, UNIQA International

gala event

From left: Mr. Johannes Porak, UNIQA International and Mr. Mario Drosc, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Raiffeisenbank

Petra Ernyei Quartet

From left: Mr. Jaromír Šlápota, President, ČSÚZ, Mrs. Marta Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ, and Mr. Marek Venuta, Consultant, UNIQA From left: Mrs. Řeřichová and Mrs. Ivana Merkelová, RPM Mrs. Eva Zamrazilová, Chief Executive Director and Member of the Bank Board, ČNB and Mr. Václav Zamrazil, Student Brand Manager – Praha, Red Bull ČR, s.r.o.

From left: Mr. Peter Doleschalek and Mr. Ing. Vladimír Fuchs, General Director, Europ Assistance

From left: Mr. Marek Venuta, Consultant, UNIQA, Mrs. Jitka Chizzola, CEO, Pojišťovna D.A.S. and Mr. Zbyněk Veselý, CSO and Vice Chairman of the Board, UNIQA pojišťovna

Mr. Pavel Bartoň, Head of Global Market Sales, Sberbank and Mrs. Marina Markvartová, sinne.cz

92 Mr. Pavel Hendrych, Aon Risk Solutions and Mrs. Pavla Vypiorová, Respect, a.s.

From left: Mr. Jindřich Nevrla, former Managing Director, Auto Palace Group and Mr. Martin Žáček, CEO, UNIQA pojišťovna

energy analysis

COMPANIES NEED APPLIED RESEARCH!

TODAY, WE SHOULD ALREADY THINK WHAT WE WILL DO WHEN THE CRISIS IS OVER I would not like to enter the discussion, whether the economic crisis will end by itself or we will stop it by not believing in it or the end of the crisis will be an outcome of clever political interventions. On the other hand, I would like to point out, that one day the crisis will end and it is important to prepare for it. I will begin with the view of the politician, who is for several years active in academia. I regularly give lectures to students and researchers throughout the Czech Republic and also for example in the national centre of research excellence focused on information technologies – project IT4Innovations – which is based in Ostrava. In this context, I would like to point out that the Czech Republic is prepared quite well. Researchers are very keen to work, they come up with non-traditional ideas and solutions for various different problems. However, the bureaucracy connected with many of the calls for not clearly defined European projects complicates their lives. The EU is realising that research and development conducted in universities is absolutely crucial for each country. Only qualified experts can motivate students and spread the new scientific and technological know-how and by that improving the competiveness of the EU as a whole. These factors substantially influence the economic and innovative progress of the society. We have to focus on the whole process – from the basic research to the applied research and development – latter being demanded by businesses. The cooperation between the state and companies is absolutely necessary for each developed society. I have experience with companies from the Moravian-Silesian region, which went through complicated restructurings during the 90’s. This period has brought much destruction, nevertheless it also brought necessary modernization and new technologies. If the crisis does not last too long, the modern technologies of our companies will be an important competition advantage for them. We have to also ask ourselves, why we are not very effective in gaining financial resources from the 7th Framework Programme, which runs until 2013 and has more than 50 billion Euros to allocate. Our 23rd place from 27 member states should be an alarming signal for us. This experience can motivate us to be more effective in the newly prepared 8th Framework Programme, which is named Horizon 2020. This programme is for the period 2014–2020 and there will be almost 81 billion Euros. The intensive efforts to cut red-tape and simplify procedures for funding, removing fragmentation and duplication of programmes led to the merger of three main research and

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

development funding programmes (Framework Programme, Competiveness and Innovation Framework, European Institute of Innovation and Technology) into the single strategic programme Horizon 2020. I hope this will at least partly support investments. However this is not enough – that is why I look at the problem from the view of the ODS politician. This party knows well, that the economy needs to grow in order to allocate something. Therefore we support efforts that will give financial resources to scientific research activities of universities and applied research. Companies have capacity and they are technologically prepared, however without the cooperation with universities and the faster application of basic research into practice the readiness will not be much of use. After the crisis, old products will not be sold-everybody will strive to grow again, they will need modern products with a higher level of automation. Companies will not cope by themselves. If fourth fifths of the VaVpI 60 billion Czech crown budget will go to the Czech Academy of Sciences, this will be counterproductive. Basic research, pure science is of course an important area and it has brought many interesting discoveries. On the other hand the missing applied research means that companies, which are not able to conduct it, need to acquire costly licences of modern technologies abroad in order to remain competitive. For example in the Moravian-Silesian region, which is the natural industrial centre in our country, there are many companies that have the

potential to innovate in practically all industrial areas. I would like to also mention that the innovation cycle, not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the whole Europe is four to six years. In comparison, the cycle in the US and Japan is two times faster. Japanese and Americans are therefore quicker in applying also research that has been done in Europe and of course they benefit from it financially. The European innovation cycle is slowed down by various administrative barriers, verifications and certifications. This can be improved by supporting applied research, such projects can also stimulate students entering technical universities. The lack of experts in the technical fields is for many years an issue, this problem is likely to worsen due to missing intergenerational sharing of experience. In conclusion, the view of the Member of the European parliament on the same topic. As mentioned above research and innovation have been my political priorities for many years and I also focus on them in the European Parliament. Recently we have been discussing that it is necessary for the EU to evaluate and promote access to venture capital. There are great opportunities in using this type of financing. Investments with certain results are not possible, more risk-taking is necessary. By Evžen Tošenovský ■ Member of the European Parliament český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 93

interview A talk with Martin Hrinko, Director of the Public Order Police Directorate of the Police Presidium of the Czech Republic

interview What attracted you to this profession mostly? I think most guys want to be, generally speaking, paramedics, policemen, firemen, doctors or soldiers. I was not an exception to this. I realized what my future employment would be while in the military service. It was the similarities with the military service system that deepened my interest in joining the police. Also, I realized my great need for a sense of duty, responsibility for my work, the desire to protect the interests of the state, uniformity, subordination, teamwork and weapons. Where did you start? I began with the former border guard troops of the Interior Ministry at Suchdol nad Lužnicí, in Slavonice and Znojmo. I joined the police in 1993 at the North Region and began basic training. I graduated with honors in Holešov. I started as an ordinary policeman in Ostrava Hrabůvka. Gradually, with regard to my important posts during my 20 year professional path, I worked as the head of the OPP Ostrava – Poruba, deputy director of the Municipal Directorate of Ostrava, Director of the District Directorate of Karviná, Deputy Regional Director in the North Moravian region, and at my current position of Director of the Public Order of Police Presidium of the Czech Republic. My whole career path is then associated with the police service. The riot police service is one of the main pillars of the Police of the Czech Republic. How many policemen do you have at your disposal at the moment? That‘s right, riot police service is one of the main pillars of the police, and also the largest. At the moment, there are nearly 17,000 cops. To make it clearer for your readers, cops include all uniformed officers who wear the blue cap on the streets, operating for example against hooligans and extremists at the stadiums and demonstrations – they detain armed offenders, search for persons and objects, solve offenses and help with criminal proceedings. This includes the riot and crowd control units, and local police departments. Moreover, they perform diving activities, business trials and hipology, and we have riverine departments and others. Is the number of policemen sufficient? A lot has already been said about the sufficiency of riot policemen. Also, there are various views on it. In my view, I suppose the number of officers is at its lowest at the moment, despite the fact that the number of unlawful acts asymmetrically decreases with an increase in the number of police officers. Thus, the lower number of police officers could have a negative impact on crime in our country. Many opinions and the overall comparative analysis across Europe say that the ratio of police officers in the Czech population is high. I disagree with that opinion, as the analysis compares the so-called state police. However, e.g. Poland has police which ensure order in the streets, in transport etc. Yet, the public order in the trains ensures protection of the tracks paid for

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

by the state. In comparison, we could talk about Italy or France. To sum it up, the police actions in question, which are in these countries distributed among other security services, are performed only by one police force in the Czech Republic, i.e. the police of the Czech Republic. According to you, is the Act on Police of the Czech Republic sufficient or would you like to see some amendments in the near future? And in what way, eventually? The current law is in my opinion the best law that the police have ever had. Therefore, I would not recommend major amendments at the moment. In my opinion, it would be advisable to return to the Act a Criminal Law Section, indicating verbal assault on a public official (police officer – a public official) as a criminal offense. Since the verbal assault on a police officer qualifies as a misdemeanor, the public often does not hold back in communication with officers. Since the policeman is a state officer, such behavior only mirrors the citizen’s attitude to policemen, much like the disrespect against the state and the state apparatus. That’s obviously not good. Policemen deserve the respect and esteem of the public, and must have the necessary support in the law. Have the budget cuts significantly touched the riot police? In this respect, what would you like the new government to do for the Police of the Czech Republic? Any cuts in corporate finance are significant and translate into the daily activities of employees and the company. So it is, of course, with police. I have to admit that most of the Ministers of Interior, which I’ve had the chance to know during my career at the police, have tried really hard to get the necessary finances for the police department. I firmly believe the same applies for the new government as well. It seems that the work of some police units and fire brigades have been financially underestimated in the long run. These people often risk their lives, have special training, etc. Is it anyhow possible to change it? I am sure that those who choose to work as policemen, and continue to do so for several years, or even for their entire active life, know that this work is not about wealth, capital gain, holidays in exotic destinations, or lunches and dinners at exclusive restaurants. Policemen do their work as their police mission for a salary that will pay for their necessary things. Many policemen are leaving the service precisely because of the unsatisfactory wages. Moreover, graduates come to the police for many reasons, but unfortunately not all of them follow their heart with this work. When they find out that their starting salary is around CZK 15,000 and after a few years only a few thousand more, they leave the job knowing that they can get considerably more in the private sector – a company car, mobile phone, laptop, etc. Not least interesting seems to be the view of the wages of top officials within the police compared with the private

sector. I can assure you that most managers of companies in the private sector, from 3,000 to 39,000 employees, would not be willing to work for such a salary, effort, risk and responsibility. The Police of the Czech Republic do not have a very good reputation in the public eye. How do you explain that above all? Do you think it is possible at all to get the confidence of the public back? I believe it is possible to earn a greater degree of confidence from the public, and we at the police work hard to get there. Our management is consistently looking for ways to do so. The reputation of our police has been spoiled by individuals who act unlawfully. Moreover the media can interpret the misconduct of individuals in an organization with 39 thousand employees in such a way that for months afterward the police are forced to hear from citizens on the other side of the Republic, who say that the police are all corrupt, thieves or fraudsters, because it has been said so on TV. These negative informations unfortunately affect all honest members of the corps who have to face a direct impact at their daily work. Can you say what you have received several awards for? I am very happy to have received several awards, especially for work, loyalty, merit of security, for winning nationwide competitions, and last but not least for exemplary performance of official duties. What are your hobbies? How do you like spend your free time? My biggest hobby is my work, though my family doesn’t like to hear it, yet all people around me know that work comes first. I also like studying, as I am kind of a “study type”, and I’ve spent 16 years at University. At present, I publish in the world’s scientific publications, write scripts, participate in research projects, and teach at the Technical University in Ostrava. Also, I am a member of research boards consulting the PhD. studies at the FBI VŠB-TU Ostrava and PA ČR Prague. Perhaps my biggest achievement is a fifth-place in the World Championship in the Czech Republic in shooting on the target. There is unfortunately not enough time. Yet, I am very happy for my work achievements, much like my Prague projects, both of which are fully completed. By Pavlína Holancová ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 95

ambassadors without diplomatic passport

Jana Adamcová I first met Jana Adamcová when we were both working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I remember that this young, energetic woman brought a significant amount of energy and invention into those routine structures. Since 2002 she was the head of the Department of Communication Strategy and some of her tasks were not easy – informing the public about the issue of the European Union, campaign for the referendum concerning the entry of the Czech Republic into the EU and the consequential building of a unified promotion of the Czech Republic abroad, including the so called unified visual style. Its authors received the Czech Grand Design Award in 2006. The success of her projects can be expressed as follows: the information portal about the EU www.euroskop.cz became the most successful web server of the state administration. Introducing a free hotline service providing information about the EU was a unique act even within the EU itself. The selection process for a new logo of the Czech Republic was a significant public tender, with many international experts acting as judges. The design of Side2 studio for a colourful logo in the form of bubbles, in the end, won the competition. Another challenge was to unify the official presentation of individual state administration bodies. In the past it had been no exception that each ministry created its own rules for using the national emblem or other symbols and the Czech state administration lacked a unifying element. Jana Adamcová even managed to find and suggest a solution for this problem. During her work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jana pointed out the fact that the image of a given country is also achieved by behaviour and therefore she started a “greet your colleague” campaign within the buildings of the ministry. During 2003–2004, when she was working at the ministry, she submitted an extensive public opinion poll concerning the Czech Republic, taken not only in the key EU countries but also overseas. The results were surprising. The image of the Czech Republic was out-dated; the reminders of Czechoslovakia prevailed. The colourful and superficially appealing materials, with sunflower design and the pervasive Old Town astronomical clock gave the impression of country producing oil and tower clocks. In 2007 Adamcová went over to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, where she was the head of the Export Promotion Department. In this position she was responsible for the agenda of development aid in the industrial sector, economic diplomacy, the promotion of Czech companies at international trade fairs and exhibitions and representation of the ministry in the supervisory boards of Czech Export Bank and Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation. The Czech Republic depends on export and it is important that the state supports exporters and prepares favourable conditions for their development. Since 2011, Jana Adamcová has been working in the private sector.

96 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

ambassadors without diplomatic passport What is the current image of the Czech Republic abroad? The image of the Czech Republic has slightly improved. Unfortunately, this did not happen thanks to activities of the state administration, but due to the fact that the Czech Republic, after joining NATO and the EU, became one of the advanced countries, which helps its image. Otherwise, not much has changed. It is necessary that we work consistently on the image of the Czech Republic over the years to come. The image of the country is the result of the everyday and painstaking work of all the state administration bodies. Unfortunately, we have failed to reach a state where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs becomes a leading and integrating element, having the competence to control other bureaus in terms of this issue. The agenda of country promotion is still scattered and each ministry has its own rules. The promotion of the country is also influenced by the fact that the Czech Republic does not know where it is going and therefore does not know how to present itself. What should be the ideal image of the Czech Republic abroad? It should be exactly as we want it to be. The problem is that its image is created spontaneously and everything spontaneous has a hint of amateurism and lack of professionalism in it. What exactly do I mean by spontaneity? No one is planning, nor caring about a strict application of a unified visual style, coordinating the activities of individual subjects involved, such as Czech centres, embassies, companies and even individuals, who often prepare projects interesting in terms of promotion. All these activities are carried out ad hoc, without a unified concept. Lack of coordination and unprofessional behaviour are the biggest promotional problems along with the management of the country. The political elite should agree on whether we are primarily a country of advanced technology, successful scientists or a nation of subcontractors. Until they discuss which areas of the Czech Republic are important, neither the state administration, nor other public or private entities will know where to center their efforts, finances and strategies to gain the desired synergy on a state level. For example, scientific laboratories will spontaneously continue their research (however beneficial it might be), instead of someone telling them where to go in the future, as in what the industry is going to need from them. A similar situation exists in higher education – no one in the country strategically plans and coordinates, therefore universities cannot know which fields of study they should open and which they should cancel. It is well known which industrial areas are in need of new students and which areas need support in terms of research and development. The country lacks a constructive debate about priorities and the direction of long-term development. Current spontaneity is very resource-intensive, using up both material and human resources. A country can, of course, exist without unified promotion, but it will waste its resources and efforts without reaching the desired long-term effect.

Which country would make a good role model in terms of representation for us? I always felt inspired by the Netherlands, which has a very sophisticated system of communication, as well as working with human resources in the state administration. They know exactly what and how to present. The Netherlands is easily recognized in its promotion. The uniqueness of the Czech project of promotion – when I was working on it – was that, unlike most other states that created promotion and visual styles for tourism, commercial opportunities or science separately, our concept of the country promotion was complex. Can you compare your work in varied environments, such as the communications agency and two key resorts of the state administration? Ironically, I think that if you are lucky and have good superiors in the state administration, then the clichés about a slow giant seem untrue. If you want, it is possible to enforce many interesting things, which I myself experienced. In my opinion it is meaningless to compare private and state companies. It is only worthwhile to compare big companies, because their methods of operation differ substantially from smaller ones. Companies like Seznam or ČEZ are basically the same giants as the ministries – and it is not possible to change everything overnight in either of them. Therefore, I do not see any substantial difference between working at a big private company and working at a big state institution, apart from that, in state administration, it is harder to measure results – there is no simple profit model in state administration. I personally do not like the trend of classifying state officials into a few simple performance charts. I found it very humiliating to define, for example, our performance criteria to business diplomats as a mere number of presentation events or number of reports written per month. But until our political elite gives clear instructions to officials in terms of what results they expect, what areas of business promotion etc., they will build Potemkin villages in the form of charts showing the number of business

cards distributed. In my opinion this is beneath the dignity of all educated and sophisticated professionals. Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers? Do things your way, don’t let others classify you. In every company or organization there is a huge space for creative thinking and searching for new ways of work. For me, the authenticity of the individual is the most important thing. During our professional careers, we go through many courses including managerial, presentation or communication skills, but we should never allow anyone to steal our personality or our ways of working and thinking. The second suggestion is related to the notion that professional life does not end at the age of thirty; on the contrary it begins there. The media reality deceives, when it tends to depict young, rich, successful people in their thirties. We used to have a prime minister, who was only 35. This media picture of successful people should never discourage anyone. People don’t merely need professional maturity and contacts, but especially the time for personality maturing, setting a value system and strengthening their character. The older I get, the more I choose people according to their character, not their CV or media image. The third recommendation is a general appeal for a decent and relevant discussion concerning our country’s future. We need a calm and competent discussion between the private and public sectors, to erase the mutual distrust caused by the last few decades and a clear vision for the future, a vision that current politics fails to provide. I believe that, in this country, most people are good and competent. They only have to learn to discuss and organize themselves, so that they are not overwhelmed by the worse elements who, unfortunately, have stronger conﬁdence and are far more aggressive. I believe in this country and, in my professional and private life, will continue to enforce values based on that belief in the good in us. I hope that there will be an increase in people who share those beliefs. český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Linda Štucbartová graduated from the Institute of International Territorial Studies. After a one year scholarship at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, she obtained a Diplome d’études supérieures from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Between the years 2002 and 2006, she worked in senior positions at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2006 she has functioned in the private sphere, and lectures at the Anglo-American University, where she was named the Chair of the Department of Diplomacy. In addition to training in negotiation and communication of clients from the private, public and non-proﬁt sector, she regularly collaborates with Photo: Archive NGOs in the projects of the International Global Young Leaders Conference and the Women and Leadership Programme. Linda Štucbartová is a member of the Rotary Club Prague International. She currently works for ŠKODA AUTO a.s. as a Learning and Development Specialist. Articles are extracts from her book Velvyslanci i bez diplomatického pasu (Eng. “Ambassadors without a Diplomatic Passport”).

TO BE CONTINUED WITH OTHER AMBASSADORS WITHOUT DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 97

ambassadors without diplomatic passport

Jan Bubeník Bubenik Partners

Photo: Archive

98 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

Jan Bubeník is an important representative of the student generation of 1989. As a medical student, he was actively involved in the revolutionary happenings of November, 1989 and was co-opted on behalf of the students into the Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialistic Republic – the youngest Member of Parliament. Consequently, he was elected but he resigned his mandate immediately. He left to the USA where he studied economics. There he gained his first business experience by selling Czech glass in the USA. After his return to the Czech Republic, he worked at McKinsey & Co consulting. He coincidently gained the position of “headhunter”. At first he was a candidate for a certain position himself, but his behavior impressed the hunters of manager talent to the point that he was offered a completely different position and so began his career in the sphere of executive search. Nowadays he is executive director in a firm he founded in 2001, Bubenik Partners. Jan says politics both interests and irritates him (he maintains a passive role) but he is actively involved in human rights and sports. He did not remain in high politics, but is engaged in civic society. In 2001 he was imprisoned in Cuba for three weeks, along with Ivan Pilip, for contact with opponents of the Castro regime. This operation was his most famous in the media, but it was not the only one. His other activities in support of human rights took place in Africa, especially Zimbabwe. He did not fully resign from medicine either; during the economic crisis, he worked on a project that provided therapies for managers hit by the crisis. Bubeník is both a founder and member of the Prague Leadership Institute – an organization whose goal is to educate future generations of leaders and he is also a member of the corporate council of Forum 2000.

ambassadors without diplomatic passport First traditional question – how do you perceive today’s world? I perceive it positively; I appreciate its colorfulness and I feel that everything is within reach. If young people want to achieve something, it has never been easier to do it. Your current profession is in executive search. How are Czech managers perceived in the world? Generally speaking, they are thought of very positively, although in this case the ranking has to be individual. Many managers represented our nation well, especially in Russia. Their achievements in such a huge and globally essential market now brings more opportunities from new markets in China, India and South America. From this perspective, this group of experienced Czech managers succeeded by world measure. On the other hand, many might refuse a career in a global company, which requires change of location. They may prefer less responsibility by staying in the Czech Republic, perhaps to raise a family. The decision is individual and depends on the evaluation of a preferred lifestyle and life priorities. If I were to point out certain weaknesses, there is still limited mobility; the willingness to move where opportunities are the highest. I was surprised by how many people do not care to be sent abroad and rather decide to stay in the Czech Republic for an easier and worse paid job. It occurred to me that there is a resemblance between working in top management positions and diplomacy. Definitely. Top managers, similarly to diplomats, change their country and function every five years. Those who want to succeed in a global company must be ready to go where the company needs them not where they want to go. As with diplomacy, more difficult countries alternate with more pleasant ones. The advantage for Czechs is the fact that we are perceived as those who have experience with emerging markets and the management of important corporations currently requires people in top positions to have experience with emerging regions. Other countries where Czech managers are often sent and where they come in useful are the so called BRIC countries. That was once an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China – today, however, it is a label for a group of countries that are on the same level of economic development and where high economic growth is expected. You yourself got onto the position of executive search by coincidence. Is it still possible today to rely on career coincidences that were so common in the 90’s? The term serendipity itself suggests a kind of lucky coincidence. If you look at significant personalities, their lives might seem to be a chain of lucky coincidences. If you look closely though, you will find that successful people actively look for, create and are able to recognize and consequently seize the opportunities that might first seem random, but are not. It is important not to be afraid to look for these moments, create, then take a deep breath, jump in and try to swim. To finish this parallel, it is

good to go where the stream takes you and be a bit faster at certain moments to navigate where you want to go. A common career goal is connection to significant personalities. How do you think people should proceed while making contacts and creating their network? It is interesting that the question of networking is often asked by the top managers themselves. The main advice I give is to maintain authenticity. Only when people act naturally can they make longlasting and honest connections. Few people know what to imagine specifically when you say networking. In general, it is your basic behavior, i.e. what impression you have on people and how proactive you are in showing interest in them. It is a natural interest about the problems and lives of the others and your ability to help them with those situations. If you are useful and take an interest in others, you can, for example, throw a birthday party for a friend. This is a natural act of networking, because you meet other people there who will suddenly see that you are the organizer and, for the guests, you are something of a boss, your role is more important than the role of the others. And if the party is successful, you arranged good drinks, food and entertainment, then you excel. Essentially, young people can naturally connect and show what they can do and be beneficial to their environment in a broader sense. The following activities are important: tutoring a friend, volunteering in retirement homes or hospices, assistance in the research, study and subsequent publication in a student magazine or active involvement in professional organizations. I would stress the fact that people do a lot of, but forget to sell them. They forget to boast a bona fide, for example at a conference and thus to show that they know something. The follow up conversation after a professional presentation is one of the most common methods of establishing human relationships. Which professions are going to be in demand and which are going to fall from grace? Different technologies will play increasing roles. All professions that can be replaced by automation will cease to exist. Where there is no need for

human instinct and the human factor, machines will be used because, despite all the advanced devices, the human brain is still the most powerful computer. On the contrary, providing of “interface”, i.e. the way of enabling people to make broad exploitations of knowledge resulting from powerful technologies will be a profession that is soughtafter and well appreciated. Another growth area will be services related to ageing of the population, while at the same time an increase of the amount of free time. This is mostly about healthy lifestyle services, but also education between healthcare and “leisure”, i.e. programs for active and quality leisure time associated with physical regeneration. What abilities of yours do you value the most? I would name my ambitiousness and optimism. Even when something goes wrong or I am disappointed, this feeling doesn’t last long. It is not an ability in the true sense, but more like a gift and personal “setting”. I perceive the world as a nice place to live, with many stimuli where I would like to live or know more about. My positive perspective of the world is enriched by people I like to meet. I especially like meeting with those who are positively tuned and from whom I can learn something interesting. Translated by Markéta Horázná ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

TO BE CONTINUED WITH OTHER AMBASSADORS WITHOUT DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 99

interview

An Interview with Jan Korytář, Chairman of the ZMĚNA (CHANGE) political party, former mayor and representative of the Statutory City of Liberec „The Czech political system is not badly setup, however it suffered from the fact it was taken over to a certain degree by not quite psychologically mature alphamales, who compensate their own problems through political power. That’s one of the reasons why Change has 50% women on their list of candidates.“

100

Photo: Archive

interview The upcoming early elections bring into the game political entities that are a bit fastcooked from the communal level, or even brand new. What chance of success do they have? What are their goals and strategies? And how can they even address voters disappointed by the current political chaos in the country? We spoke to Jan Korytář, who stood behind the birth of a new initiative carrying the self-evident name „Change“. Why did you co-founded a new political party after you left the Green Party in 2012? After eight years in the Green Party, when there were three times I was unsuccessfully proposed for expulsion, I went through several functions in the party. I was a member of the board, member of the republic council and a regional chairman. And that was perhaps the main reason I decided to quit. Could you be more specific? I no longer want to invest 90% of my energy into dealing with party function nonsense and worrying before elections whether I will even be able to become a Green Party candidate. I also perceived that, in the Czech Republic, just as in Germany, the modern civic-green initiative has the potential of 10 – 20% of votes. Unfortunately, the Green Party, for various reasons, cannot manage to use this potential. In any case, I didn’t go into politics to sit in meetings, but because of a need to change things and do them differently then partylike. That’s how Change was born. „We are the change we’re waiting for“ – what exactly is the vote supposed to imagine under this motto? It’s the understanding behind our current and, I believe, future successes. It’s totally logical. I realized that waiting for other politicians to change what I want changed is not a good strategy. It was the reason that lead me to become a politician. And ever since, I’m convincing others, who promote a long-term public interest, to go into it as well. Surprisingly, there are more and more of us. That’s the key change from expecting that „someone will change it“ to „we will change it.“ In what in Change was truly new? In Many things. First, we are a financially independent project, in which we initially financed ourselves.. We don’t intend to become indebted to anyone for funds. We were founded bottom up, not like some business oriented projects, where money is the main factor. We select the individuals who become our candidates very well and put aa key emphasis on the selection of people. And, last but not least, for example we learned that instead of presenting personal opinions on various issues, we prefer to look for solutions. I’m convinced that, in politics, it’s entirely possible to avoid partisanism and, instead, come to a consensus. Can you extrapolate on how you managed to succeed in communal politics, meaning pri-

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

marily as the Change movement for the Liberec region? We’re a young movement and politics is a longdistance run. In Liberec, it’s awe already successfully overcame the power of the local ODS (Civic Democratic Party) that left behind 2 billion in debts. We managed to terminate some unbeneficial contracts. On the regional level, there is a quite an unusual situation where the coalition is created by the Mayors and Change, while the Civic Democrats, Social Democrats, as well as the Communists are in opposition. And finally, we were able to push through a large number of specific changes. Can you specify? We managed to make certain orders cheaper, provide leadership of regional hospitals with apolitical managers, push subsidies for mothers‘ centers and many other individual issues. The key thing is that we showed people that it’s possible to overcome the power of those who created a corrupt octopus. Unfortunately, as yet, we haven’t been able to get rid of them entirely. What kind of a program does Change bring to the early elections? We will be creating the program, but given the early election, it’s all really fast. However, the main thing we offer people is not a program. How do you intend to convince voters, then? Thanks to the communal experience, we have a candidate list of notable individuals. The voters in the regions know them and know that these are people who defended and promoted public interests over the long-term. Instead of an ideologically conceived program, we bet on the knowledge of the methods through which it’s possible to find the best solutions. In such a changing world, each problem is influenced by many variants. It seems to me that it’s better to know the way to find the best answers to various questions, than have them answered ahead, prepared in an election program. Will you also strive to promote the direct vote of mayors and parliamentary deputies? In your opinion, what are the chances for such a change to be pushed through within the current electoral system? And do you think it’s the correct solution? I personally promote it, but we haven’t had the discussion within Change yet. To be honest, this will be in the course of action after the 2017 elections, unless there will be some early elections prior to that. How do you view the current political system? Where do you see its main weaknesses? Do you think that it’s enough to push for the change of the Election Act and the State Service Act, or is it necessary to do a radical revolution within the entire system? The Czech political system is not badly set up, however it suffered from the fact it was taken over to a certain degree by not quite psychologically

mature alpha-males, who compensate for their own problems through political power. That’s one of the reasons why Change has 50% women on their lists of candidates. Each organization needs two things, each of which can’t function on its own. First, it’s a sort of a management system, but it just as much depends on the people who sustain and develop the system. And I think that’s the main problem of Czech politics. For this reason, I try to get truly quality people for Change; able, daring and balanced individuals who can be the hope for more than just a cosmetic change. Green politics are rather unpopular in our country, how do you explain this? Where do you think the Green Party made its critical mistake in promoting green issues? In this regard, does Change bring some green themes? I’m a „green“ politician. I studied the protection and creation of the environment, spent 18 years running an environmental non-proﬁt organization, so Change always has plenty of green content. But it’s not so much about who is promoting them and whether they are only green issues or the scope is wider. The Green Party has many problems – I think that one of them is that, in the beginning, it was founded on a not entirely sound basis. Additionally, it doesn’t lack for people who don’t entirely understand the art of politics and became entirely discredited in Mirek Topolánek’s government. With all this, it’s really difﬁcult to promote green issues. That was another reason why Change was born, as a chance for a modern civicgreen politics. By Pavlína Holancová ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 101

networking/charity

Charity-social evening in Kaiserstein palace

From left: Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Secretary, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic and PhDr. Martin Komárek, Writer and Editor

From left: Petr Laštovka, Entrepreneur and Ing. Ladislav Bouček, CSc., Entrepreneur, former Governor, LCI D 122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Ing. Radim Dvořák – former Governor, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

PhDr. Martin Komárek, Writer and Editor with his partner

From left: JUDr. Christian Choděra, Lawyer, Member of LC Praha Energetic and Ing. Jiří Málek, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

102

From left: Prof. MUDr. Václav Mandys, CSc., Head of the Institute of Pathology, Doc. Eva Mandysová, Member of LC Praha Ladies, and Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Secretary, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

Mgr. Jaroslav Drápal, Analysis, ČSOB with his wife

Kaiserstein Palace

From left: Ing. Jiří Málek, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and Ing. Vladimír Páral, Writer

Radka Eisenreichová, LC Karlovy Vary and JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

Members of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador with guests at the charity social evening at Kaiserstein Palace

analysis

CONFUSING GESTURES Martin Opatrný is a Communication expert and advisor on Media and Crisis Communication. He gained his present experience both in the private sector and in civil service. Before his previous engagement as spokesperson and advisor for the Prague City Hall Opencard project, Martin worked in Interel – the European strategic communications group that offers an integrated approach to top level public relations and affairs. He also worked as press secretary and spokesperson for the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. He obtained most of his professional experience and skills in the Public Relations Department of the Ministry for Regional Development, where he served as acting departmental head, spokesperson and Editor-in-Chief of their official website. Martin also acquired his practical work skills as a journalist for Czech Television, a PR agent at a private PR agency and a professional freelance writer. He now teaches Media and Crisis Communication at Charles University in Prague, conducts courses and trainings on communication and gives freelance advice across his field of expertise. Martin graduated from the Philosophical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, where he obtained his PhDr. degree in cultural studies, with a specialization in mass communication and psychology. He also studied management and marketing. You can find more on: http://cz.linkedin.com/in/martinopatrny and reach him at: martin.op@centrum.cz. Despite the fact everyone understands nonverbal communication, a lot of nonverbal gestures can be very confusing within intercultural communications.

For instance, a smile is the universal sign of friendliness and sympathy, but many gestures have different meanings in varied cultures or countries. Turning the head from side to side

expresses disagreement, almost worldwide, while up and down means agreement. The exceptions are Greece and Bulgaria, where it means the exact opposite. In Greece, the upright thumb and clenched fist means “fuck you”, while in other countries people use this gesture during hitch-hiking. Also confusing is the “OK” gesture – a ring formed by the thumb and index finger. Scuba divers and many other use this signal to say “everything is okay, but in France it means “zero”, in Japan “money”, in some Mediterranean or Arabic countries “to be gay” and in Middle America, “chatty woman”. The European gesture of victory, the V of forefinger and middle finger, used for the first time Winston Churchill, is forever linked with Václav Havel. What is for Europeans a sign of victory, for Australians the same gesture means “fuck you”, in Balkan countries victory is expressed by a clenched fist. The gesture of “cuckold” (upright forefinger and pinky) is used in Brazil or Venezuela as a sign against misfortune and in Malta against the evil eye. Not only fingers have important meanings. In Buddhist Thailand, to touch a head or slap is strictly condemned and a pat on the shoulder or back is considered a slander. People in Southwest Asia and Islamic countries understand feet to be a filthy part of the body and so to cross a leg comfortably and show someone the soles of the feet is considered an insult. Few gestures are as universal as crossed arms. Despite the meaning being different in several countries, practically all over the world the meaning is negative. In most countries this is a symbol of self-protection or barrier. In Fiji it shows disrespect, in the Philippines or Indonesia it express slander, in Finland and many others it is a manifestation of arrogance. Although gestures can be confusing, the defense against a possible faux pas is quite simple – it mostly suffices to perceive and respect foreign culture and observe other people… By Martin Opatrný ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 103

gala evening

From left: H.E. Jensk Eikaas, Ambassador of Norway and Stefan Lager, President, Nordic Chamber and CEO Sweden Telecom

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

STRAWBERRY PARTY

THIS YEAR IN ABBA AND 80’ STYLE

The Chamber’s traditional Strawberry Party took place during a spell of tropical weather in late June, so no wonder it turned into one of the hottest event this season. More than 100 people enjoyed large doses of good food and wine, socializing and the friendly atmosphere in Hergetova Cihelna restaurant until almost midnight.A very warm thanks to our partners Škoda Transportation, DSVAir&Sea and SK F Ložiska.

Ivana Goossen, Director, University of Pittsburgh and Hannu Kasi, CEO, ABB

From left: Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber and Jiří Pech, Board Member/Treasurer, Nordic Chamber with his wife

104 From left: Nils Jebens, Owner, Kampa Group and H.E. Jens Eikaas, Ambassador of Norway

H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassadors of Sweden with a guest

gala evening

Martina and Robert Mulcahy, Vice President, AVG Technologies

Dance floor

From left: Lenka Matějková, Sales Manager, Det Norske Veritas, Mrs. Simona Kalvoda, and Alice Undusová, Director, Offset CR, SAAB

Michaela Lager, HR Director, Schindler výtahy and Stefan Lager, CEO, Sweden Telecom and President of the Nordic Chamber

Radka Lukášková, Sales Manager, DET NORSKE VERITAS CZ and Jon Woodhead, Divisional Sustainability Manager, DNV Business Assurance

From left: Petr Šmejcký, Independent Consultant, Birger Husted, Partner at Uniqueconsult and Vice President of the Nordic Chamber with JUDr. David Falada, Lawyer, AK bnt attorneys-at-law, and Kamila Stloukalová, AK SMED JORGENSEN

105 Petr Hašpl, Marketing, Škoda Transportation with other dancing guests

ABBA REVIVAL band

thoughts about alternative ways...

Our Thinking Creates our Lives and our Happiness

Sanjiv Suri Photo: Archive of Author

106 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

thoughts about alternative ways... This is the ﬁrst time I am sharing my personal life which till now was shared only with a few close friends. What are the events in the past 9 years that have shaped me to become the man I am today? I can think of four, three in the past and the fourth one that is unfolding now. The ﬁrst was my separation in January 2005 from my ex-wife Ellen, after which I did not see my older children Virat and Jacqueline for nearly 7 months. I thought at that time that she was the worst thing that happened to me but what I learnt in those 7 months I could not have learnt otherwise so now i look at it differently because it completely changed my outlook on family and children. The second took place in 2007 when my wife Markéta fell seriously ill and had to undergo a long and complicated surgery leading to some severe consequences. This was when my younger daughter Jasmine was 6 months old and younger son Shaan was 2 years old. Markéta is a strong woman. She was able to overcome her health problems and is today back leading a normal life. This completely changed my outlook on living for the future. The third was in June 2012 when I fainted in the south of France and had a severe case of 3 slip discs and was supposed to undergo a surgery to put 2 titanium nails in my back bone to protect the functioning of my legs or other parts of the lower body. I refused to undergo surgery and resorted to Meditation and Yoga & that put me on a course of spirituality that has completely changed my outlook on life itself in the past 14 months. I did not think any of these events was a good thing happening when they actually occurred. Today, I know that they were probably the best things that happened to me and my family because every time it took us out of our comfort zone. I have now realized that real growth takes place only when you are out of your comfort zone. Life always brings us what we need, not necessarily what we want. Let me share with you a story about an Indian trader (that I have borrowed from Dr. Wayne Dyer) that signifies to me my path of spirituality today & some of the things I have learnt and that I feel make the basis of the life I live.

Once upon a time there was an Indian trader who went to Africa to acquire some local products and animals. In the jungle, he saw many colorful talking parrots. He decided to capture a talking parrot and take him back as a pet. At home in India, he kept his parrot in a cage, he fed him honey and seeds and treated him very well. When it was time for the man to return to Africa two years later, he asked his parrot if there was any message he could deliver to his friends in the jungle. The parrot told

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

him to convey to his friends that he was very happy in his cage and that he was enjoying every day, and asked him to pass on his love. When he arrived back in Africa, he delivered the message to the other parrots in the jungle. Just as he finished his story, a parrot with tears welling in his eyes fell over dead. The man was very alarmed but he thought the parrot must have been very close to the parrot in the cage and this was probably the reason for his sadness and his death. When the traveler reached home, back in India, he told his pet parrot what happened. As he finished his story, the pet parrot’s eyes welled up with tears and he kneeled over dead in his cage. The man was astounded but he figured that his pet died from the grief of hearing the death of his close friend in the jungle. The trader opened up the cage and tossed the dead bird onto the trash heap. Immediately, the pet parrot flew up to a branch on the tree outside. The trader said to him: “So you are not dead after all, why did you do that? You tricked me.“ And the parrot responded: “The bird back in Africa sent me a very important message.“ “What was the message,“ the trader wanted to know. He told me that “IF YOU WANT TO ESCAPE FROM YOUR CAGE, YOU MUST DIE WHILE YOU ARE STILL ALIVE“ We must indeed die while we are alive in order to look back at our waking consciousness and see ourselves trapped in our cage (in our case that of our EGO). So I am sharing with you the lessons that I have been fortunate enough to have learnt over the past few years and you are, of course, fully entitled to discard them. 1. HUMILITY: I have learnt that if one is to lead a life of Humility and without entitlement, it is sheer joy and peace. Going from a state of “Notice me“ to a state of living humbly in obscurity. The sun never says to the earth “You owe me“. Imagine what happens with a love like that – it lights up the whole sky. I have also learnt that the most important trait of a leader is when everyone else says “we did it ourselves.“ 2. TRUST: I have learnt that to let go and give up control just like we did when we were still in the womb and wonder through life with Curiosity instead of a fear for tomorrow & without any attachment to the result, is sheer fun. 3. KINDNESS: I have learnt (very, very recently) that whenever there is a choice

between being Kind and being right, I get more happiness out of choosing “Kind”. (Earlier I was obsessed with being right). 4. MORE IS LESS: I have learnt that I don’t need anything to be happy (it is my true nature as I am anchored in the source) but I need something to be sad. I feel today that till I realized I had enough, I always needed more and felt really poor but now that I have realized I have enough, I feel really rich. 5. FLEXIBLE: I have learnt that water is always stronger than the rocks as it wears them down. It is soft and ﬂexible but very powerful. Life is change, Flexibility is life and rigidity is death. 6. I DON’T KNOW: The thing that my four children as well as the Dalai Lama have taught me are the three most powerful words in the world “I don’t know“. It was nearly impossible for me to say these words a couple of years ago. 7. THIS TOO WILL PASS: Life is about change. Storms never last forever and hidden behind every storm is peace and tranquility. People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. They are not there to make us happy, nor are they there to give us what we want, but to give us what we need. Earlier, I never realized this fact but now I am glad to see people moving into my life and out of my life and I know it is all for the best. So, the last major event is unfolding in my life now as I write this. We have agreed to separate with my wife Markéta & to stay close by and bring up our two younger children Shaan (8) and Jasmine (7) as responsible parents, even if we don’t live together. She is a very intelligent and mature woman and I am fortunate to have spent 9 wonderful years with her. I am grateful for everything that life is unfolding around me and I am convinced it is in everyone’s best interest as we are all anchored in the source and have the source ﬂowing inside us. Life is change and that is a rule of nature – sometimes, we want it to be constant and create expectations that lead to disappointment. I say I am grateful for the change and live and enjoy every moment of the present as Master Oogway (the turtle) rightly said in the movie Kung Fu Panda, and I quote: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a Gift, that is why it is called the ‘PRESENT‘.“ Just Love, no attachment, no expectations (this is the toughest one but Meditation helps a lot). I wish you enjoy your life in the present moment, every single day and have lots of fun this autumn. ☺ Sanjiv Suri, President & CEO, Zátiší Group ■ sanjiv@zatisigroup.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 107

gala evening

Ballet performance by Benjamin Husson and partner

NEW BVLGARI DIVA COLLECTION WAS LAUNCHED IN LUXURIOUS RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX LACORTE IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Luxurious residential project LA CORTE in Petrská street was a venue of a special event – launch of the new Bvlgari Diva Collection. La Corte is a unique project of 25 luxury apartments and themed around the Italian touch – style, design and architecture. The long-awaited collection Diva, whose face became a charismatic Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, had its Czech premiere at the beginning of a new fashion season. Following prominent locations like Abbey LaCervara palace in the Italian Portofino, and the Parisian Hôtel Potocki Jewels Diva were for the first time shown in the private luxury residences La Corte in the heart of Prague 1. The spirit of the famous Dolce Vita era, which was the dominant inspiration of Diva collection, was present in several elements at the event. Models were styled to resemble icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Filled La Corte’s patio was entertained by a pop up performances of an opera diva, ballet duo and Italian musical singer followed by the larger than life projection of the Dolce Vita movie. Luxury La Corte Residence apartments turned during the evening into a two-storey BVLGARI showroom, which served as an inspiration for the new fashion season. The dominant element of Diva collection salon were “living mannequins”, who presented the jewelry during the gala evening. This unique event was hosted by Manghi Czech Republic (La Corte sales and management) and famous luxury brand Bvlgari. Opening speach was delivered by H.E. Pasquale D’Avino, Ambassador of Italy followed by Diva collection presentation by Silvia Patrová, store manager Bvlgari Prague and La Corte welcome by Mikuláš Ordnung, Sales Director Manghi Czech Republic. The event was supported by the Italian Embassy and CAMIC (Italian-Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

From left: Gianfranco Pinciroli, TraÀl Czech, Livia Romani, General Manager, Italian – Czech Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Maurizio Bergonzoni, Viroplastic CZ

From left: Ing. Alois Míka, General Director and Chairman of the Board, EPIC, Mgr. Alice Kruppová, Advocate with her mother and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

NadĚžda a Robert Daduljakovi

108

From left: JiŐina Paserinová, ZP Electrolux and Anna Berdychová, Contax

Patricie Ausch, Managing Director, Ausch Real Estate and Tomáš Zapletal, Art China

From left: Martin Štybnar, Director, RKK, Judita Štybnarová, Store Manager, Loro Piana Czech Republic, and Mikuláš Ordnung, Sales Director, Manghi Czech Republic

gala evening

Alessando Pasquale, CEO, Karlovarské minerální vody and his sister Elena Pasquale, Investor, La Corte

Marco Belgrado, Switzerland & Eastern Europe Wholesale & Franchisee Director BVLGARI with models BVLGARI jewelery collection

From left: Danilo Manghi, Owner, Manghi Czech and La Corte investor, Elena Pasquale, Investor, La Corte , H.E. Pasquale D’Avino, Ambassador of Italy, and Silvia Patrová, Store Manager, Bvlgari Prague

Mikuláš Ordnung, Sales Director, Manghi Czech Republic

Pietro Croce, Pria s.p.a, La Corte investor, and Rossana Manghi

From left: Ing. Evžen Balko, Moravia Steel and TŐinecké železárny, Silvia Patrová, Store Manager, Bvlgari Prague, and Miroslav Voštiar, Owner, MIROFILM

Danilo Manghi, Owner, Manghi Czech Republic with his wife Lucia Pini, Owner, Domus

H.E. Pasquale D’Avino, Ambassador of Italy and Silvia Patrová, Store Manager, Bvlgari Prague

La Corte is a unique project of 25 luxury apartments and 500 sqm of office space on Petrská Street in the heart of Prague 1. La Corte is themed around the Italian touch – with style, design and architecture expressed in a partnership of the Architects Studio Pession Associato – the studio that created the ice-rink and the Olympic village at the 20th winter Olympics. The apartments are newly built but nestled within a complex of 4 historical buildings, the origins of which date back to the second half of the 18th century, and set in a beautiful central courtyard. The development features unique architectural elements such as the integration of the external access corridors (pavlač) into the apartments, and offers the highest standards of finishings including floor heating, central air conditioning, and marble bathrooms. Apartment layouts range from one to three bedrooms, and sizes from 37 sqm to 150 sqm. Services offered to future La Corte clients will include among other 24hr reception with security. Project has been completed in Q1 2013 and first clients will start moving in shortly.

109

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

La Corte

global perspectives

110

Jan M端hlfeit, Chairman, Europe Microsoft Corporation Photo: Paul Pacey

global perspectives Technology and economic growth are inextricably linked. Emerging markets like South Korea, China, or India are increasing their demand for technology to fuel growth, and Western markets are seeking new ways to optimize processes digitally and drive innovation. The economic conditions have hastened the adoption of key technologies–mobility, cloud computing, business intelligence and use of Big Data, and even social media. These are transforming businesses and industries, driving education and training, efﬁcient use of capital and resources, as well as consumer income and demand, sparking a new wave of wealth creation, particularly in the emerging world. Ancient and digital: from Estonia to E-stonia Estonia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and now it’s one of the most digital and internet connected countries in the world. Due to Estonia’s investment in digital technology, citizens vote online, pay taxes online, access their health records online which are stored on the cloud, and pay public parking with their mobile – allowing the country with a population of only about 1.3 million to massively increase its efﬁciency and functional size. The investment in technology that has made Estonia into E-stonia – as the country’s President Toomas Hendrik Ilves often jokes – has given way to many technology start-ups. These tech startups have not only made Estonia’s economy competitive but have also been getting a lot of attention from the global scene. One example is Skype, which has long been taken from an Estonian start-up to a global company and bought by Microsoft in 2011. We at Microsoft have been impressed with the tech start-ups in Estonia for many years and we welcomed Skype into the Microsoft family. Since 2011, Skype has evolved and expanded to launching programmes such as one dear to my heart – Skype in the Classroom. Speaking of the classroom, behind the digital services offered to Estonian citizens, and behind companies like Skype and the tech start-ups, is the source that fuels the country with digital capabilities – the education system. Firstly, Estonian schools have been online since the late ‘90s. Secondly, programming has been taught in secondary schools for some time, and is now being introduced to children earlier, when they enter school at the age of seven. Teaching young students basic computer science not only helps them develop their creativity and logical thinking, but it also gives them the skills and expertise to later innovate and accelerate their country’s economy. Education in emerging markets has shifted into hyperdrive Education in South Korea for example, is viewed as being crucial for success and competitiveness. Mathematics and the sciences including computer science are considered very

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

important, as well as languages like English. In addition to an emphasis on science and technology in the classrooms, South Korea was the first country in the world to provide highspeed internet access to all primary, junior, and secondary schools. The result has been remarkable. In the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, South Korea ranked second in reading, fourth in mathematics and sixth in science – way above United States scores and the OECD countries average. Digital technology was an enabler of these academic achievements, and of much more – a way to rise from poverty. Students in South Korea are very motivated to achieve their results and their parents are supportive of this drive, perhaps in an unparalleled way. According to OECD, the number of hours spent by students studying every day and every week is longer in South Korea than in any other OECD country. Furthermore, not only do students study longer than anywhere else, but parents are also willing to pay more for the education of their children than parents anywhere else. Though the South Korean government’s subsidy for education is about average or even lower, parents choose to pay a lot in school fees and private tutoring. According to an OECD report from 2011, between 2000 and 2008, private expenditure per student in primary and secondary education increased by 75% in South Korea – significantly more than the OECD average increase of 34% over the same period. Education and technology have enabled families to rise to the middle or upper-middle income class in South Korea, and I believe that this commitment to education, technology and digital skills – commitment that can be observed in other emerging economies such as China and India – has been key to making South Korea one of the world’s fastest growing economies. The digital divide reverses: from developed to emerging markets Economic power has been shifting from the developed to the emerging world, where companies have been investing heavily in technology, often outpacing those in the Western markets. Indeed, this is becoming a new competitive challenge for Western companies as they will have to deal with technology-charged firms from emerging countries with their sights set on advanced economies. Today’s trade and economic marketplace is set on a digital playing field, which allows firms to quickly become global competitors. Through technology, companies in developing economies now have easier access to capital, intellectual property and new markets that were less available to them in the past. Technology has created a more levelled playing field between companies despite their size and geographic location. For example, the benefits of cloud computing are significant. Cloud computing, which provides the infrastructure for the digital

economy, enable governments and companies to have all the digital access and storage they require on a pay per use basis. At Microsoft, we have different types of cloud services based on our customers’ needs, but in short the beneﬁts of cloud are clear: cost effective and scalable so even small entities can afford to think and strategize big, secure and reliable so data is always protected, easy to implement, and interoperable. I sometimes hear from business leaders that the thing that will make or break an emerging market is infrastructure, including IT infrastructure. However, going back to a previous example, unlike countries in Western Europe and North America, Estonia started its IT investment and development on a clean sheet. The country did not have to accommodate any legacy IT infrastructure and could immediately jump to the leading edge in IT systems. This leapfrogging of technologies in the emerging world, where countries and companies can bypass the normal technological development, is a great advantage. From a business perspective we used to think of emerging markets in terms of a labour pool, a new customer base, and a potential source of new competition. And while we thought these would be cycles in a process, one phase happening after the other, these have been and are happening today all at the same time. However, these emerging markets have been experiencing explosive economic growth due in great part to technological momentum and maximum effort in skill training. So, the labour pool is becoming a skilled talent pool. The new customer base is actually a complex and diverse market where the customer is savvy and takes centre stage. And, the source of new competition is a significant competitive challenge especially in these companies’ own markets. Not to mention that today any company can be a digital competitor. There is a lot of excitement around emerging markets, and how technology has impacted the global marketplace and transformed it into a more levelled playing ﬁeld for any company wishing to scale globally. I am also excited to see how these emerging markets will continue to embrace cloud and mobile technologies, probably to such an extent that it will affect any established global company’s business model or IT capabilities. We need to keep in mind that the combination of large, rapidly developing populations in the emerging world and today’s digital technologies are changing how societies develop and acquire wealth. They are also changing how global companies continue to grow and to serve these new customers – I would suggest that we all think about emerging markets with a cloud and mobile strategy in mind. By Jan Mühlfeit Chairman Microsoft Europe ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 111

opening ceremony

IN COOPERATION WITH LLEADERS EADERS S MA MAGAZINE AGAZINE

From left: Maureen Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation, Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation, Jasim Husain, former Member of Parliament, Bahrain, Nada Dhaif, Chairman, Bahrain RehabilitaAnti-Violence Organization, Bahrain, Jakub Klepal, tionn aand tio nd Ant Anti-V i Viol iolenc encee O Orga rganiz nizati ation on, Ba Bahra hrain in, an andd JJaku akubb K Klep lepal al, Fo Forum rum 20 2000 00

PRAGUE FREEDOM FOUNDATION IN FORUM 2000 OPENING CEREMONY OF FORUM 2000

From left: Constantin N. Spitzy, Prague Freedom Foundation, Mrs. Marina Spitzy, John Gibson, Prague Freedom Foundation, Maureen Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation, Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation, and Mrs. Trauttmansdorff, wife of Austrian ambassador

112

From left: Karel Schwarzenberg, Leader, TOP 09 and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CR, Liu Chao-shiuan, Senior Advisor to the President, former Prime Minister of Taiwan, and Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation

From left: Aung San Suu Kyi, Political Leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Member of the Forum 2000 International Advisory Board and Dan Mica, former US Congressman From left: Andrej Madliak, Prague Freedom Foundation and Constantin N. Spitzy, Prague Freedom Foundation

From left: Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation, Maureen Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation, and Aung San Suu Kyi, Political Leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Member of the Forum 2000 International Advisory Board

gala event

From left: Constantin N. Spitzy, Prague Freedom Foundation, Mrs. Marina Spitzy, and H.E. Cem Duna, former Ambassador of Turkey

GALA DINNER SPONSORED BY PRAGUE FREEDOM FOUNDATION

From left: Viphandh Roengpithya, Asian University, Thailand, H.E. Norman L. Eisen, Ambassador of the USA, Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation, and Maureen Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation From left: H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia and John Gibson, Prague Freedom Foundation

Karel Schwarzenberg, Leader, TOP 09 and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CR and Seda Stepanyan, Prague Freedom Foundation and former Vรกclav Havel Fellow

From left: Dan Mica, former US Congressman, Veronika Rozmahelovรก, Prague Freedom Foundation, and Nada Dhaif, Chairman, Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization

113

gala event

Kevin Klose, RFE/RL and Seda Stepanyan, Prague Freedom Foundation and former Vรกclav Havel Fellow

From left: Dan Mica, former US Congressman, Irina Lagunina RFE/RL, Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation, and Maureen Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation

From left: H. E. Franki Verwey, Ambassador of South Africa and Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation

From left: Alan Krautstengl , Anglo-American University, Maureen Chang, Prague Freedom Foundation, and Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation

Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation and Christine Hsueh, Representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office

114 From left: John Gibson, Prague Freedom Foundation and William Key, RFE/RL

Dan Mica, former US Congressman

His Holiness The Dalai Lama

panel discussions

FORUM 2000 BREAKFAST AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS

From left: Kevin Klose, RFE/RL, Miroslav Krupička, Director, Český rozhlas 7 – Radio Praha, Dan Mica, former Congressman, Carlos García Peréz, Director, Radio and TV Martí, USA/Cuba, and Mr. Yang Jlanli

From left: Jim Chang, Member of the Board of Directors, Prague Freedom Foundation, Constantin N. Spitzy, Prague Freedom Foundation and Munib Masri Chairman, Munib R. Masri Development Foundation

115 From left: John Todoroki, Prague Freedom Foundation and Karel Janeček, Businessman, Philanthropist and Anti-Corruption Activist

From left: Dan Mica, former US Congressman and Liu Chao-shiuan, Senior Advisor to the President, former Prime Minister of Taiwan

infrastructure analysis

TRANSPORT AT POINT ZERO

Turbulent political events in the Czech Republic after the fall of an unstable right-wing coalition government brought about a presidential caretaker government which, however, failed to gain a vote of confidence. Now the way is open to early legislative elections at the break of October and November with the hope that a new political government may be established before the end of 2013. This may be also a relief for the transport industry that suffered even more from instability than the rest of the economy in the last years due to frequent changes in the post of the Minister of Transport: during 2009–2013, it was represented by ministers Bendl, Slamečka, Bárta, Šmerda, Dobeš, Stanjura and the incumbent Minister Žák. This exchange of transport ministers could not create conditions for stable conceptual and strategic work of the Ministry and led to unexpected changes and losses of attitudes and strategies. The Ministry finds itself in fact at point zero now, and therefore one of the most important tasks of a future minister is to grasp the lost decisive and unifying role in transport strategy as well as in specific executive steps. The new minister can lean on the proposed Transport Sector Strate-

116 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

gies 2 (Dopravní sektorové strategie 2) that may become the first step in the right direction. The Ministry is to cope primarily with the main sectoral impact of the economic crisis, which is a considerable slump in transport infrastructure investment after the last governments’ rather one-sided austerity policy affecting just the investment side of budgets (documented e.g. by about 30% decrease in the expense of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure against the pre-crisis level of 2009). The slump conserved and even extended the gap between the quality of the Czech transport infrastructure and that of the old-EU countries and heavily hit the Czech construction industry and design companies. A huge question mark still hangs over the disbursement of EU funds assigned for transport infrastructure by the Operational Programme Transport (Operační program Doprava) for the 2007–2013 programming period. The causes are both the lack of national co-financing funds and the laggingbehind preparation of construction projects. Due to the latter, priority in European financing is often devoted to “substitute” projects that are just prepared to build, irrespectively of their real importance for the Czech transport system. So as to speed up the preparation of projects, it will be necessary to realign the entire investment process which was frequently affected by vested interests, inefficiency and overpricing. A must is to introduce independent expertise of transport projects during all stages from design to the evaluation of cumulative maintenance cost of operated sections. It also depends on mastering of methods of life-cycle costs and value-of-money while assessing different alternatives of projects. Another justified requirement is the introduction of efficient quality and price standards into infrastructure construction and maintenance. The legislation of burdensome and tricky building permit procedure is also to be addressed, and not only in transport, as it often leads to disputed outcomes resulting in delays and growing expensiveness of investment. A specific challenge is mastering of hitherto unlucky attempts of public-private partnership (PPP) financing in the transport industry, in particular for projects where timeliness and quality is important, or implementation of new technologies in construction and operation of transport infrastructure may be vital. The precondition for it

is to introduce good practice in PPPs on the basis of the best international experience. Another task to be solved is the future of the dominant state rail operator České dráhy, as the Government will not probably be able to invest sufficiently to stop obsolescence of its rolling stock in the foreseeable future. This is especially painful in the case of the cargo subsidiary, ČD Cargo, where the Government as the present owner cannot duly invest because of the prohibition of state aid in force. The new Government is also to decide, upon recommendation of the Ministry, whether to join the European high-speed rail network transport in the near future or not. The existing rail corridors in Czechia are more or less of a low standard, allowing in their – not just numerous – fastest sections the highest speed of only 160 kmph. A negative decision may cause that the country will be in the future relegated to the position of a periphery instead of a crossroads of a broader region. The fate of the Czech inland waterway transport is also at stake. The former governments could not efficiently negotiate with ecologic activists paradoxically opposing this most ecologic mode of freight, in the effect of which the improvement of the Elbe waterway navigation project has not been initiated yet. In the sphere of public passenger transport under public service obligation, a growing state of misconnection exists between rail and bus lines, caused chiefly by austerity measures especially in the budgets of regions (kraje). What is more, some unpleasant transport seams originate even at the regional borders. The Ministry will be required to execute some legislative and mediating role in curing such discrepancies. It is far from exhaustion to enumerate all remaining pressing problems to meet the new Minister. As one of those, it is the concept of the future extension of the toll system. The existing microwave principle is hard to apply to minor 1st class roads. And the next Government will probably not evade the solution of the end of the contract with the present operator of the toll system, ending at 31 December 2016. So the new political government established after the 2013 elections will have to deal with many “pieces of heavy baggage” left over by the former governments in the transport sector. It is to be wished that the Czech transport system will have been substantially improved with major problems being solved during its term. Emanuel Šíp ■ Partner, Allied Progress Consultants Association český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

gourmet event

FIRST OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION

OF OLIVER & OLIVER RUMS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC From left: Zdeněk Hartman, Brand Ambassador, Oliver & Oliver, Ramon Carreño, General Consul of Dominican Republic, and Martin Vambera, Executive Director, Rumako s.r.o.

Tuesday, June 11 2013 at Golden Tulip Savoy Prague Hotel Zdeněk Hartman, the Brand Ambassador of Oliver & Oliver, presented at the first official degustation event to selected media representatives the product portfolio. The guests had the opportunity to taste first class rums like Cubaney Exquisito 21 A~ nos, Cubaney Elixir / Cubaney Miel, Quorhum 23 A~ nos, Puntacana Club Tesoro, Unhiq XO and Cubaney Centenario, rum which has been recently awarded the “Best Rum in 2012” at the International Rum Conference in Madrid, June 4–7 2013. The event was organized under the auspices and support of the General Consulate of the Dominican Republic in the Czech Republic.

Kateřina Daňková, Chief Editor, Luxury Guide

Milan Kapec, Editor, Playboy magazine

Veronika Sychrová, Sales Executive and Event Coordinator, Golden Tulip Savoy Prague

117 Zdeněk Hartman, Brand Ambassador, Oliver & Oliver

Cubaney rums

the good things in life

Chateau Cheval Blanc – TRADITION AND FUTURE One of the greatest wines in Bordeaux, Chateau Cheval Blanc is unique and one-of-akind, still an example of perfection for other worldwide vineyards. It’s not only an example of a tradition holder of one of the oldest vineyards in the world, but thanks to its ecologically sound approach to grape cultivation, it also walks hand in hand with the times and sets the tone in terms of elegance, modernization, and effective management. The charismatic and friendly management of the chateau welcomes us to a tasting and lunch in the warm May sun, adding to the festive mood. Modern tasting rooms are luxuriously equipped, while remaining elegant and far from ostentatious. To the contrary, the historic rooms of the chateau, intended for private meetings and feasts, are designed in the spirit of 18th and 19th century, although they’ve been recently remodeled. The story of this currently world-renowned winery begins way back in the second century. In those times it became popular and legend says that even king Henry IV stopped in the pub that was once part of chateau and the owner had renamed ﬁrst the pub and then the entire chateau Cheval Blanc in his honor. 160 years ago, the chateau was already part of the Figeac domain of 150 hectares that was the single winery able to compete with large vineyards of the Médoc area.

In 1832, Ducasse, the owner of the neighboring chateau L’Evangile, obtained 15 hectares of Cheval Blanc from Figeac and, five years later, another 15 hectares. His daughter received these 30 hectares as a dowry and her husband, Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, extended the vineyards in 1868 by that acquisition to 40 hectares. Thus, thanks to the Figeac vineyards, Chateau Cheval Blanc was established. The talent and efforts of the new owners significantly contributed to its fame. Jean Laussac-Fourcaud created a unique wine because, after an extensive study of the soil, he chose to also plant the Cabernet Franc variety, which is rather unusual in the Saint Emilion area, where the Merlot variety dominates. He thus also ensured the future successes of his wines. The vineyard additionally benefited from the technological improvements of the time and its newly built irrigation network, preventing flooding of the harvest was, at the time, perhaps the greatest innovation a winery could afford. In 1935, during the deep financial crisis, the worldwide fame of the vineyard became a center of attention for foreign experts. There is the story of Clarence Dillon (a great New York financier), who visited Bordeaux in February of 1935 with the specific goal of purchasing Chateau Cheval Blanc. However, on that particularly foggy day, the driver could not find his way to Chateau Cheval Blanc, located approximately 50 kilometers out-

side the city of Bordeaux. During his return, the grandiose building of Chateau Haut Brion, in the suburbs of Bordeaux, caught his attention and he immediately visited. Recalling the words of former American President, Thomas Jefferson, who visited Haut Brion in 1787 when he was the US Ambassador to France and named it one of the four best local vineyards, Dillon decided to buy the now no-less-famous Chateau Haut Brion. Compared with other vineyards in Bordeaux, it is highly unusual that since its establishment, until the end of the 20th century, Chateau Cheval Blanc remained within the ownership of a single family. This significantly contributed to its excellent development and continuous production of high-quality wines. The 1893,1899 and 1900 vintages, along with younger years 1921,1947and 1982 remain reference points for wine connoisseurs and experts. Chateau Cheval Blanc is unique and resembles none of its neighbors in Saint Emilion or Pomerol. Mild, but dazzling, with deep flavor and fullness, it’s silky as well as spicy, intense and refined, with a slight exotic overtone. Pierre Lurton defined it as a wine with “a charming structure of cashmere and long blooming elegance.” It’s one of the few with great potential for aging and possible to store and taste it over several generations. It’s one of the few that can be enjoyed young, thanks to a specific structure that is not „tannique“(meaning tannin-like and earthy, a characteristic of the long-aging wines of

1947 l Blanc Cheva

Pierre-Olivier Clouet, Marie-France Manoncourt and Joseph Drebitko

118 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

Cheval Blanc historical chateau

the good things in life

Cheval Blanc new vats

the Médoc left bank area), maintaining its qualities, such as power, opulence, richness of ﬂavor and harmony. Even today, many experts consider the 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc to be one of the greatest wines ever from the Bordeaux area. Many connoisseurs and critics rate it the overall best wine of the past century from the area. Even today, after more than 60 years, it sustains its power, rich concentrations and aroma of wild berries, with a sip of mild tobacco and exotic ﬂavor. It’s opulent, complex, balanced and highly elegant, having all the attributes expected of the greatest wine. It is unconditionally a tasting pinnacle for connoisseurs. In the Cheval Blanc Hotel restaurant, in the luxurious Courchevel French ski resort, a bottle of 1947 is offered for 80,000 Euro, “to make sure it doesn’t sell,” admits the maitre d’hotel. “It’s our family silver, something that cannot be replaced. It’s more than a wine, it’s a unique object, ‘un chef d’oeuvre‘ and we are properly proud of it.” Prior to our lunch, Pierre-Olivier Clouet, the technical director, took us on a tour of the ultramodern vineyard building. The facility is in the immediate vicinity of the historic chateau, creating a delightfully harmonious complex. The genius structure was designed by an important French architect, Christian de Portzamparc. The building cost 13 million Euro and exceeded all expectation. It’s a perfect example of the clean and elegant lines of modern architecture. Most notable among the materials are white concrete, glass and exotic

Cheval Blanc, interior of the historical chateau

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

New wine cellar

woods. The entire roof can be walked on, as it’s covered by grass, trees and shrubs. If you stand on this green crown of the winery building, you feel yourself aboard a ship. This reflects the elliptical footprint of the building and its slanted plane. Moving into the interior, you can’t help but feel you are entering a cathedral, which was the architect’s aim. It feels peaceful and majestic. Besides its ecological technologies (full-surface regulation of floor heating, energy regulation, insulating materials reflecting sun rays, visual and pigmented autoclaved aerated concrete, a system of natural ventilation and the heat-stability of exotic woods) you notice the revolutionary and elegant design of concrete containers intended for the fermentation and assemblage of wine. ‘Le chai,’ the cellars designed for the aging-kegs, are directly below, underground. In 1998, the domain was bought by important French businessmen, Bernard Arnault and the Belgian Baron, Albert Frére. This change in no way disturbed the continuity, as the famous Pierre Lurton is both former and current director, as well as director of the renowned Chateau d’Yquem. Also maintaining good relations with neighbors and friendship with the Manoncourt family, owners of Chateau Figeac since 1892, is part of the tradition here. Our menu was dominated by ‘magret de canard et purée aux truffes’ – duck breast with truffle purée. The new chef, Jean Baptiste Depons, is another bull’s-eye choice for Cheval Blanc. His culinary art perfectly reflects the experience of our

Legendary Christian Moueix, long-time director and co-owner of Chateau Petrus, with Mr. Drebitko

visit. We remain quiet and humble, tasting the Petit Cheval 2001, Chateau Cheval Blanc 2000 and Chateau d’Yquem 1995 vintages. These precious moments permanently imprint our souls. By Josef and Iva Drebitko Photos: Iva Drebitko ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Mme Manoncourt, owner of Chateau Figeac celebrating the birthday of Mr. Drebitko at Ch. Cheval Blanc

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 119

ČSÚZ

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

120 Discussion at Discussion Club

View of the hall

ČSÚZ

From left: Ing. Ivo Vaněk, Entrepreneur, Ivan Souček, IMG, Ing. Michal Morawski, Economic and Finance Advisor, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ing. Jiří Musil, Member of the Management Committee of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, and Governor of the Czech National Bank, Ing. Miroslav Singer, Ph.D.

Is it today more profitable to save or to spend money? What are our outlooks for next five years? When do we accept euro? These are some of the questions given to the governor of the Czech National Bank Ing. Miroslav Singer, Ph.D. during the meeting with diplomats in the seat of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute. The Czech Republic, now for more than ten years ranked among developed economies, has somewhat unique position in that category. It has not experienced the crisis of its financial system and its economy grows relatively little and slowly in comparison with others. Pronouncing such characteristic the governor of CNB opened his speech in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute. He emphasized that the Czech crown has not had any significant fluctuations and that Czech monetary system is drawn by domestic savers and is not dependent on the money income from abroad to such a degree as many of other economies. Entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic have reacted to the current crisis quickly enough, in his view and

already since 2007 they have reduced their expenses. Therefore the crisis does not affect them so dramatically. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are the only countries in Europe where the share of industry on the gross domestic product is growing. They are extremely open economies. He characterized the situation, when in the time of economic drop the budget deﬁcit of the Czech Republic is being lowered to 3% of the GDP, as rare in Europe. He said that it slows down the economic development considerably and he summed up that the Czech economy has been growing in last ten years relatively slowly for the reasons mentioned above regardless the fact that it did not go through the crisis of ﬁnancial system. “Are we to save or to spend money in that situation?” Ing. Singer started his answer by pointing out that perhaps there were never before so many savings in the Czech Republic. “Maybe there were as many in the year 1995,” he admitted. But then he explained that nowadays conditions to spend and especially to invest are not bad providing that

The Governor of the Czech National Bank Ing. Miroslav Singer, Ph.D. was awarded an emblem of Silver Lion to remember the meeting in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

From left: Mgr. Marta Gellová, Chairwoman of the Control and Revision Committee of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ing. Michal Morawski, Economy and Finance Advisor, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ing. Miroslav Singer, Ph.D., Governor, Czech National Bank, and Ing. Marek Venuta, Director, Insurance Department for Industry UNIQA Insurance and Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

it is possible to get a credit for less than threepercent interest. “We would not like to see another drop of consumption,” he said and he recalled stagnation in purchases of ﬂats or cars. He pointed out that objectively it is not possible to expect further reducing of their prices. Personally, he considers further negative surprise on the economic level improbable and according to him, it is worth making use of present opportunities to invest. When does the Czech Republic accept euro? The CNB governor recalled that the admittance process should be respected, that the majority of voters across the political spectrum does not support euro and that we will have elections in a year and that therefore many politicians do not consider it necessary to open the process of accepting euro at the moment. Then he informed about the admittance procedure, testing regime etc. and he stated that the country would have to be accepted to the testing regime in the election year 2014 so that euro could be accepted on 1 January 2018. Everybody has to answer the question of probability himself.

Inga Piklenovskaya, Secretary of the RussianCzech Joined Chamber of Commerce and Sergej Khoshenko, Member of the Supervisory Board of the Russian-Czech Joined Chamber of Commerce

From left: Lubomír Chalupa, Entrepreneur, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute with the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy, S. Smirnov

121

personal enlightenment James A. Cusumano, PhD

BALANCE: THE BUSINESS-LIFE CONNECTION A,B

PART I: THE ULTIMATE QUESTION!

“It’s all about quality of life and ﬁnding a happy balance between work, friends and family.” Philip Green—CEO Arcadia Group, UK

KEY CONCEPTS: ■ We all must answer the Ultimate Question to live a life of fulfillment. ■ Long-term fulfillment can be achieved by following your Life Purpose. ■ Most of us have an inkling of our Life Purpose at a young age; however, if our inclinations do not point in the direction of what Western Society considers a “successful career,” we are often advised away from that direction toward a career that likely will not bring long-term fulfillment. ■ People in jobs they dislike make up a major segment of Western Society which is one reason that the level of employee engagement, i.e., “employee enjoyment” is so low. ■ There is a way out of this problem by re-discovering your Life Purpose and pursuing it with Balance through the power of a Values-Based Life Plan.

It is often called the Ultimate Question. We all seek long-term personal fulﬁllment in both our personal and professional lives. And in doing so, we come face-to-face with this question, a question that has confronted humanity since the dawn of time, a question each and every one us must answer. But ﬁrst, a very telling story.

122 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

A bright, young Prague executive had made it to a top position at a leading multinational technology company. Shortly before his 35th birthday, he found himself suffering from overwork, stress and exhaustion, so he decided to take a holiday in a remote seaside village on the island of Sicily. One afternoon as he basked in the warmth of the Sicilian sun and gazed out over the tranquil turquoise Mediterranean, he suddenly found himself in casual conversation with a fisherman. He asked the fisherman about his life in this remote village. “Well,” said the fisherman in broken English and Sicilian dialect, “I sleep late; take my boat out just after lunch and catch enough fish to feed my family and a bit more to sell in the marketplace so that I have money to buy a few bottles of wine, bread and some vegetables. Just before sunset, I join my friends at the local café and we drink, laugh and talk until the early morning hours. Then I go home, sleep late the next morning and start all over again. The recovering executive was intrigued. “Why don’t you get up earlier, take your boat out before dawn, and catch even more fish to sell?” “Why would I want to do that?” was the fisherman’s response. “Because with all that extra money you could save up and buy another boat, hire another fisherman and catch even more fish!” “So, then what would I do?” “Well,” said the executive as he became increasingly animated, “with all that extra money you could continue to buy more boats, recruit more helpers, and before long you would have your own fishing fleet!” “What then?” responded the puzzled Sicilian. “Then you would have a nice balance sheet that you could take to an investment group, and you could finance the purchase of other fleets here in the Mediterranean. Why, you could even take your company public on the New York Stock Exchange. You could build a global fishing empire and then diversify into related business sectors.” And finally, with intense crescendo, the executive exclaimed, “You could become a Fortune 500 company, and even have your picture on the cover of Forbes Magazine!” Now, thoroughly puzzled, the fisherman queried, “What then?” “What then? I’ll tell you what then—you would be very wealthy. You could then live the life of your dreams, with no more stress and worry. You could settle in a little village, sleep late in the

morning, maybe take your boat out to do some fishing and spend evenings with your friends at the local café—that’s what!” I first heard this story years ago from an executive coach, and recently saw it again in a book by physicist and philosopher, Jim Baggott.1 Baggott suggests, “This story highlights the absurdity of some aspects of our modern consumer culture. We struggle to make our way through the reality of our complex social existence, striving to earn enough money to buy things we don’t need, pay off the mortgage, pay bills, the school fees, the expensive holidays, and so achieve our world of imagination, our dream of a simpler existence. In our complex lives, simplicity is bought only at a high price, it seems.” Personally, I see no problem with pursuing the “good life” as long as it is done with BALANCE and with an accurate answer to the Ultimate Question. Your answer to the Ultimate Question (Figure 1) is critical to your well-being, but it also has practical implications. So, here’s the question, “What do I do with my life?” For most of us, the objective of our answer is long-term personal fulfillment. I have found in my life and in my study of the lives of other executives, both successful and not, that the key to long-term fulfillment is balance between your personal and professional lives. Both spheres are important. By fulfillment I mean a state of mind characterized by feelings of contentment, joy, and satisfaction. It certainly is not a state that you can sustain without occasional interruptions and spikes of uncertainty and disappointment. Challenges happen. But as you look back over weeks, months and certainly over the years, you want to be able to say as Mr. Sinatra sang, “I did it my way,” and in doing so, it made an important difference in your life and in the lives of others. Eleanor Roosevelt often advised that “Happiness [fulfillment] is not a goal; it’s a byprod-

EDITOR’S COMMENT—This is the ﬁrst article in a new series derived from the author’s latest book, “BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection, SelectBooks, New York, 2013.” The book is based on three decades of personal experience on how to achieve success and long-term fulﬁllment in both your personal and professional lives. Details concerning the book and points of purchase can be found at www.BalanceTheBusinessLifeConnection.Com or at www.JamesCusumano.Com. B The author may be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

personal enlightenment FIGURE 1: Your answer to the Ultimate Question has profound implications for the quality of the rest of your life.

uct.”2 You must do something to achieve fulfillment, and that “something” is finding and following your Life Purpose. Anything else is a waste of a good life and talent. Unfortunately, the numbers don’t suggest that most of us find long-term fulfillment. Leading corporate strategist, Gary Hamel and the results of several Gallop polls show that only 20 percent of people in the developed world are engaged and fulfilled in their jobs.3 People in the other 80 percent, fall in a range between just collecting a paycheck, to outright distaste for their job and their employer. It’s not that they are not talented; they almost inevitably are, but not at the job they are currently doing. Most of us have an inkling of our Life Purpose. As the King of Salem counseled young Santiago in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, “You have succeeded in discovering your Personal Legend [Life Purpose] … It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish … Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is (Figure 2).” Perhaps misguided early in life by well-intentioned counsel, people in that 80 percent category were dissuaded from engaging FIGURE 2: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, although written as a fable, is one of the best texts for insight on finding your Life Purpose.

TO BE CONTINUED...

with their true Life Purpose, and encouraged to pursue a profession or skill that their advisors considered a “successful career.” Successful here means a career that would result in high salary and a position of prestige. And now they find themselves stuck in a job they just don’t like. It is never too late to change careers and find, pursue and nourish your Life Purpose, no matter how frightened you are of doing so. Consider just one commercial sector—restaurants. The late multibillionaire Ray Kroc, son of modest Czech immigrants, grew up in Chicago and tried all kinds of jobs, including jazz band pianist, waiter, and traveling salesman. He was fifty-two years old when he finally discovered his Life Purpose and founded the global McDonald’s franchise. Harland “Colonel” Sanders lived a very modest life for more than six decades. A citizen of the south, his life-long passion was developing the most delicious fried chicken recipe. He was sixty-five years old when he launched the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain. The message here is don’t waste your time trying to live another person’s dream—no matter whose dream it is—it can’t be done. That course almost always leads to disappointment and an also-ran life. In my book, BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection I provide an entire chapter on how determine or rediscover what your true Life Purpose is and how to reconnect with, nourish and follow it. But even this cannot lead to long-lasting fulfillment without BALANCE. What do I mean by BALANCE? It is the ability to readily exercise optimal effort in both your personal and professional lives to achieve a desirable return in both spheres. Optimal means being efficient, i.e., doing things right, and being effective, i.e., doing the right things. Desirable return is achieving those goals that you set for yourself in both spheres of your life. For this to work, you must create a Values-Based Life Plan. In this busy world, it is next to impossible for you to achieve BALANCE without such a plan (Figure 3). The reason that many people do not believe balance is possible in their life is because they have never experienced the power of a Values-Based Life Plan. In “BALANCE” I describe in detail how to create your plan. To demonstrate its effectiveness, I disclose my personal Life Plan for the year 2005 and the results and outcomes that occurred over the subsequent five years. To create your plan you first identify your fundamental values in each of six areas of your life. These values must be what you truly hold sacred in each area, not what someone else or even you think they should be, but what you actually feel deep down in your very soul. Coming to grips with this process is a challenging and interesting undertaking in its own right. The six areas are profession, finance, relationships, spiritual, health and knowledge. Using these values, I show you how to create goals and actions that are meaningful as well as a time-management tool to be sure that your goals are achievable in the time period you set for yourself. The final product is a threeyear rolling plan, and it does take some time to

FIGURE 3: It is nearly impossible to BALANCE your personal and professional lives without having prepared a Values-Based Life Plan.

develop this plan the first time around. However, updating it annually is relatively straight forward. This process is not only a means to a fulfilled personal life, but also it enables you to acquire Inspired Leadership skills that can help you play an important role in building a successful enterprise. I have been following this route for over 40 years, and I can assure you that it works! It sure beats finding yourself in that 80 percent segment of the unhappily employed! And as for the required effort, as a great philosopher once noted, “It takes more work to live an unhappy life than it does a happy one, so why not choose a happy life?” Enjoy the journey! James A. Cusumano, PhD ■ 1

Jim Baggott, A Beginner’s Guide to Reality, Penguin Books, New York, 2005, Kindle version, location 359. 2 Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulﬁlling Life Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 1960, p.95. 3 Gary Hamel, Gary Hamel’s Management 2.0, “Management’s Dirty Little Secret,” Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2009. Also see http://www.gallup.com/ poll/150383/majority-american-workers-not-engagedjobs.aspx. James A. Cusumano is Chairman and Owner of Chateau Mcely (www.ChateauMcely.Com), chosen in 2007 by the European Union as the only “Green” 5-star luxury hotel in Central and Eastern Europe and in 2008 by the World Travel Awards as the Leading Green Hotel in the World. It is also home to Chateau Mcely Forum (www.ChateauMcelyForum.Com) which offers programs for building Inspired Leaders. He is a former Research Director for Exxon, and subsequently founded two public companies in Silicon Valley, one in clean power generation, the other in pharmaceuticals manufacture via environmentally-benign, low-cost, catalytic technologies. While he was Chairman and CEO, the latter – Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – grew in less than 5 years, to a $1 billion enterprise with 2,000 employees. He is coauthor of Freedom from Mid-East Oil, released in 2007 by World Business Academy Press (www.WorldBusiness. Org) and the author of Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey to Well-being, Happiness and Success, published in English and Czech by Fortuna Libri, 2011. His new book, BALANCE: The Business—Life Connection was published in April 2013 by SelectBooks in New York City.

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 123

culture events

Church of St. Roch, Seat of MIRO Gallery Prague and Trebbia Foundation

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE NE

EDUGÉNE6. 9.–27. LEROY10. 2013 (1910–2000)

PAINTINGS AND RAWINGS OPENING CEREMONY IN THE MIRO GALLERY PRAGUE

From left: Michael Haas, Owner, Michael Haas Gallery Berlin – Zurich, Main Partner of MIRO Gallery Prague, Halina Nowak, Art Consultant, Berlin, and Stanislav Vaněk, TV Director, Czech Television

124

From left: Prof. JUDr. Zdeněk Jičínský, DrSc., Lawyer and Politician and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Milan Kuzica, Sculptor and Painter, Ing. arch. Tomáš Velehradský, Ateliér Velehradský, s.r.o. Brno, and Ivan Smetáček, Traditional Jazz Studio

From left: Ing. Pavel Škrák, Town Councillor for Culture, Prague 1 Municipal District and Miro Smolák, Owner and Director, MIRO Gallery Prague

From left: Miloš Jaro, former Director, Czech House in Moscow, Ing. Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board, Top Hotel Prague with his wife Milada, Miroslav Krupička, Czech Radio Praha, Karol Srp, Jazz Section Prague, and JUDr. Jan Kozubek, Lawyer, Law Office Becker & Poliakoff, s.r.o.

From left: JUDr. Jan Černý, Law Office Černý – Raupachová, Milada Dohnalová, Top Hotel Prague, JUDr. Dagmar Raupachová, Law Office Černý – Raupachová, and Ing. Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board, Top Hotel Prague

From left: MUDr. Ján Lešták, Owner, Eye Clinic Ján Lešták with his son Tomáš, Pavel Číčel, Evangelical Church Czech Republic, Prof. Pavel Marinič, ŠKODA Auto University, Mladá Boleslav, and MUDr. Martin Papáč, Military University Hospital

From left: Angel Gustavo Suarez Cordero, Third Secretary of the Embassy of Cuba in Prague, and Juan Braun, Writer, President of the Journalists with no Borders

From left: Karel Kovařík, Painter and Art Collector, Michal Bouzek, Sculptor and Painter, Jiří Šálek, Art Collector, and Ing. Tibor Altrichter, Art Collector

Mathilda Nostitz, Patron of the MATHILDA Association and Jaroslav Holoubek, Writer, Poet and Journalist

From left: Prof. Ludvík Feller, Artist, Berlin – Prague and František Řezník, Art Manager Alena Miro, Soprano, Soloist of the Prague National Theatre and Andy Hryc, Actor, Producer, Director and Honorary Consul

From left: Luděk Lukeš, REMAX Reality, Miroslav Krupička, Czech Radio Praha, Ing. Petr Polák, B. Braun Avitum s.r.o., and Miro Smolák, Owner and Director, MIRO Gallery Prague

Varhan Orchestrovič Bauer, Conductor and Composer with his wife and son

Karin Polyanina, Business Woman and Lobbyist and Michal Donath, Donath Business & Media

From left: Alejandro Miguel Ziegler González, Second Secretary, Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Mileyka Moreno, Artist Costa Rica

From left: Oldřich Pavlovský, Commercial Department Advisor, Tatra Trucks a.s., and Ing. arch. Tomáš Velehradský, Ateliér Velehradský, s.r.o. Brno

125

EU matters interview

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

An Interview with Pavel Trantina, President of the European Alliance for Volunteering

RECOGNITION OF SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS ACQUIRED THROUGH VOLUNTEERING CAN INCREASE THE CHANCES OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO GET A JOB

Photo: Archive

126

Amsterdam Athinai Berlin Bratislava Bruxelles Bucureşti Budapest Dublin Helsingfors København Lefkosia Lisboa Ljubljana London Luxembourg Madrid Paris Praha Rïga Roma Soﬁa Stockholm Tallinn Valletta Vilnius Warszawa Wien

EU matters interview Dear Mr. Trantina, you have recently been elected the first President of the European Alliance for Volunteering (EAV). Could you please introduce the Alliance, what are its aims and goals? The European Alliance for Volunteering was established in February 2013 as a follow-up of informal EYV 2011 Alliance of more than 40 European organisations and networks dealing with volunteering, which was the driving force of the European Year of Volunteering 2011. These organisations were lobbying for having the European year 2011 and ensured that the year was a success, involving as many stakeholders from the volunteering sector as possible. After 2011 we believed that there is a need to ensure the proper implementation of its legacy, mainly the Policy Agenda for Volunteering in Europe (P.A.V.E.). And so we started to work on establishment of something permanent. This has become the reality in early 2013, when six big European organisations and networks established the EAV. These are Eurodiaconia, European Youth Forum, European Volunteer Centre, Scouts (WOSM) and Guides (WAGGGS), and Volonteurope. EAV acts independently as a collaborative and supportive hub for European, national and regional organisations involving volunteers or who support or promote volunteering to advocate for positive change in the volunteering sector. Our objectives are to actively coordinate and develop efforts aimed at appropriate follow-up by targeted stakeholders of the policy recommendations contained in P.A.V.E. and pursue other policy developments; to monitor and communicate developments in the European environment for volunteering and related policies, acting as a knowledge hub for volunteering; and to coordinate and develop initiatives that respond to European policies impacting on volunteers and the volunteering sector. At the same time we want to be an inclusive platform representing the diverse nature of volunteering, whose members work in partnership to do together what we can do better together. You will act as the EAV President for two years. How do you see the Alliance at the end of your mandate? What would you like to achieve? I see the Alliance in 2015 as a well-established, fully functional platform with a membership reaching 20-30 pan-European networks dealing with volunteering. It should be led by an efficient Board, building consensus and mutual trust between its members and member organisations. At the same time it should be a securely funded organization, which is not dependent only in membership fees or donors, but is able to apply for and receive grants. Last but not least we should become a reliable partner of the EU institutions, pushing forward P.A.V.E. and making the work of our member organisations visible, EAV should be considered as the main resource of expertise in the field, able to recommend specialists from its member organisations. This is why I invest a lot of time and also money in order to achieve this. We are still in the beginning, but I firmly believe in this cause and I made it my personal volunteering priority for the next two years.

Year 2011 was designated as the European Year of Volunteering. One of its objectives was to raise awareness of the value and importance of volunteering; did this EU-wide initiative succeed in doing that? Are there any follow-up initiatives? The year managed to raise awareness of volunteering among EU citizens. However, improving conditions for volunteering, especially at the EU level, is a long-term run. This is why we consider as the main outcome, developed in 2011 by volunteering organisations themselves, the P.A.V.E. It provides a number of recommendations for a more efficient and effective European policy framework to support and promote volunteers, volunteering, volunteer-involving organisations and their partners. It targets four groups of stakeholders: EU institutions, member states, social partners and civil society. I myself was very much involved in developing P.A.V.E., but also in preparation of the Opinion on EU Policies and Volunteering, adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee in early 2012. In both documents we call on stakeholders to improve the conditions for volunteering (and bring many specific examples how) and to make volunteering a real policy field at the EU level – for that we need a focal point in the EU institutions, as today there is no single contact point to deal with this area. We want to recognize its economic and social value, therefore we are developing the ways, how to measure it. The whole area of infrastructure is important – legal frameworks, funding including new EU programmes etc. How do companies perceive volunteering? I have noticed some companies that have introduced initiatives to dedicate for example 1 day in a month to volunteering. Is this becoming a common practice or is it rather an exemption? Do, for example, companies implement volunteering initiatives in their CSR policies? We can see that many companies across Europe are increasingly developing CSR policies and recognising the benefits of volunteering for their employees. They already know that the benefits of employee involvement in volunteering include improved performance, attitude and morale; increased job satisfaction; and more opportunities to develop teamwork and leadership skills. And there are many ways in which employees can engage with their communities through volunteering. As WAGGGS, our member organization, pointed out, these can take different forms such as team projects (employees get involved in specific projects as part of a volunteering action day), employee fundraising (raising funds for volunteering organizations that employers then support through matched funding or lending employee time), leadership and governance (supporting volunteering organizations by helping them to develop or review their governance processes or support their long-term strategic development), mentoring (providing support to individuals in a volunteering organization to help them develop

their skills), secondment (an employer ‘lends’ an employee to a volunteering organization to carry out a specific task), skills-based volunteering (an employee acts as an expert resource to a volunteer organization, sharing skills and experience without charge) or personal volunteering (any activity done on a personal basis that is supported by the employer). It is important to highlight that mainly those employee volunteering schemes, which are developed together with volunteering organizations, can have a positive impact on the community. It is also important that employers recognise the contributions their employees make through volunteer work done outside their employee volunteer schemes, for example, in Scouting. This can help volunteers to get time off for their volunteering activities or have the skills and experience they gain acknowledged when their career development is discussed. You have also been very active in various youth organizations. Due to the economic crisis, young people in Europe face difficult conditions on labour market. Policymakers sometimes even talk about a ‘lost generation’. Is there any link with volunteering that could help to ameliorate the situation? One in five Europeans does some sort of voluntary work. These people engaged in volunteering, for instance youth leaders, give their time, talent and heart for free, but not for nothing. They are active citizens developing our society and our children in the same way. And they constantly develop their skills and qualifications, transferable to other spheres of life. This so called „non-formal learning“is a good qualification matching with the needs of employers, bringing the practical experience which is often required when one applies for a job right after finishing studies. Through a series of round tables that I have organized in the past three years in the Czech Republic, we started a discussion with business representatives and academia about how to validate these skills. We realized that employers are very reluctant to look for real competences that job seekers have. Instead, they look at the CV, require university or other degree and underestimate, or don’t know much about the non-formal learning, which volunteers get through their out-of-school activities. On the other hand, when you explain the concept and talk to the employers, they seem to be really interested and “enlightened”. Therefore, the issue of recognition of skills and qualifications acquired through volunteering is becoming more and more acknowledged by the national governments as well as by the EU institutions. National systems of qualifications are being put in place helping not only young people to get validated what they learned outside of school. Through this, we can increase the chances of young people to get a job. Thank you for the interview! Tomáš Hartman, Deputy Director of CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU ■

127

EU matters debates

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: David Marek, Chief Economist, Patria Finance, Radek Špicar, Vice President of the Confederation of Industry CR responsible for economic policy and competitiveness, Jan Král, Director of the EU Policies Coordination Dept., Government’s Office, and Elena Reitano, European Comission

EUROPEAN SEMESTER: COUNTRY SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CZECH REPUBLIC EU Member States have committed themselves to meet ambitious Europe 2020 objectives and adhere to the enhanced rules reinforced by the Stability and Growth Pact. In July 2013, the Council adopted a new set of recommendations for each EU Member State based on the evaluation of the National Reform programmes, proposed recommendations of the European Commission and upon the endorsement of the June European Council. Country Specific Recommendations for the Czech Republic and its potential to significantly contribute to the restoration of economic growth of the Czech economy was one of the topics that were discussed at the European House in Prague on June 25th 2013 among the representatives of the European Commission, Czech government, private sector and general public.

128 Jan Michal, Head of the Representation of the European Commission to the Czech Republic

Participants of the debate

EU matters debates

CONSUMER PROTECTION:

From left: Petr Baudyš, Director, QSL – Quality, Safety, Legality, Klára Trněná, Legal Adviser, Consumer Protection Association, Jindřich Fialka, Director, Food Production and Legislation Department, Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Ladislav Miko, Deputy Director General, DG SANCO, European Commission, and Alena Vlačihová, Director, CEBRE

DO WE KNOW WHAT WE EAT?

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

The food market in the European Union represents an annual turnover of 500 billion euros, which is approximately one tenth of all traded goods. The Irish food inspection revelations of the presence of horse and pig DNA in beef burgers and other similar cases disclosed in many Member States showed the need to ensure a coordinated action at European level. The current regulatory framework is based on the principle of traceability of a product which requires all food businesses to provide a product identification, differentiation, and historical monitoring in all stages of the supply chain. In order to prevent frauds, the EU seeks to implement stronger measures that go beyond the current voluntary system of origin labelling. Consumer protection in the food sector was discussed by large public with experts in the European House in Prague on May 15th 2013. The debate was organised by the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic and European Parliaments’ Information Office in the Czech Republic together with the Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the CR and CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU.

From left: Jindřich Fialka, Director, Food Production and Legislation Department, Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Ladislav Miko, Deputy Director General, DG SANCO, European Commission, and Alena Vlačihová, Director, CEBRE

129 Petr Baudyš, Director, QSL – Quality, Safety, Legality

EU matters business

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

BUSINESS NEWS JULY–AUGUST 2013

DID YOU KNOW THAT…? … you can have your say about modernized business insolvency? Any interested party can contribute to the public consultation of the European Commission on the modernized rules for business insolvency. The focus of modernization is on helping sound businesses to survive temporary crisis while protecting creditors’ rights. National insolvency rules largely differ, creating undesirable discrepancies among ‘times to discharge’ (time to close down a failed business) or gaps for moving failed business abroad. This consultation is open until 11 October 2013 and accessible Commission´s on website. … new cars will be equipped with „eCall“ by 2015? Proposed draft legislation of the European Commission suggests that new passenger cars and light duty vehicles will be equipped with mandatory eCall system by 2015. The system automatically dials 112 (European single emergency number) in case of serious accident. Estimated number of lives saved could rise by 2 500 people, reducing the count of 28 000 killed on European roads last year. Once the proposals (two legislative pieces) are approved by the Council and Parliament, the Commission plans to deploy a fully functional eCall service in the EU (together with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) by 2015. …better exchange of tax information was under preparation? Tax evasion has become a burning issue that affects proper businesses as well as governments of Member states. New proposal by the Commission from June is suggesting an extension of categories of information that will be subject to the automatic exchange of information between EU tax administration units. According to the proposal, dividends, capital gains, all other forms of financial income and account balances will be covered in the system. This new extension would establish the most comprehensive tax information exchange system in the world. …vocational training and apprenticeships were in current EU’s spotlight? The 2nd of July marks the day when the Alliance for Apprenticeships was launched, establishing new platform for cooperation and better coordination between the needs of businesses and training schemes of EU vocational education system. The Alliance will support national reforms in order to improve apprenticeships with the help of signatories of the accompanying Joint Declaration. They have committed to spread experience and good practice, cooperate with schools and employers or increase the supply and quality of apprenticeships. The Commission will in return support the policy reforms, ensure better use of EU funds and explore inclusion of apprenticeships in the EURES network. …the Czechs were above average in pursuing the single market? Czech performance in implementation of single market rules, based on The Single Market Scoreboard for 2012–2013, is improving and generally above EU average. The Czech Republic has fulfilled limits requested by the EU in all aspects apart from handling cases in SOLVIT. Transposition deficit of the directives has been reduced significantly in the last few years and the Internal Market Information System, EURES or Single Europe have been complying with the directive. Regarding SOLVIT, the Commission recommends improving the response time to clients and the resolution rate. LET S TALK NUMBERS… Internet in the EU 5000 times faster In the beginning of July, EU has launched together with Japan six research projects aiming at increasing the efficiency of carrying data in networks. EU’s average broadband speed shall be increased by the STRAUSS project, which will be developing networks 5000 times faster than the current speed (100Gbps instead of 19.7Mbps). The other projects are concerning smart city operations, use of energy in IT in post-disaster situations, personal data security etc.

130

80% of Europeans willing to pay for eco-friendly products Recently released survey indicates that four out of five Europeans would consider changing their purchasing habits and buy more environmentally-friendly products, however, most of them are not confident in manufacturers‘ claims and feel lack of information. Manufacturers of environmentally-friendly products would profit from gaining the trust of 77% of reluctant EU citizens or providing more information to the 55% of consumers that lack them. Moreover, two thirds of people would be willing to pay more if product‘s guarantee of reliability was extended to five years. Research and innovation boosted by EUR22 billion The Commission has joined forces with member states and European industry to invest ERU22 billion in the next seven years in sectors delivering high quality jobs. Five public-private partnership research projects, called ‘Joint Technology Initiatives’ (JTIs), are to receive most of the investment. They address areas such as innovative medicine, efficient technologies, cleaner transport, electronics manufacturing and ecologically sustainable products. The total investment of 8 billion EUR under new research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 will secure 10 billion EUR from the industry and 4 billion EUR from member states. One step closer to the EU budget 2014–2020 On 18th and 19th June 2013, representatives of the Irish Presidency, the European Parliament and the European Commission have concluded the negotiations on the 2014–2020 financial period. Total commitment appropriations, as proposed by the European Council in February, amount to EUR959.988 million for the seven years period – an 8% decrease of EUR85.294 million compared to MFF 2009–2013. Proposal includes a binding revision clause in 2016. It is now up to the Parliament and the Council to conclude negotiations and formally adopt their approval for 2014–2020 budget and related legislative package. Data roaming 36% cheaper EU citizens have enjoyed cheaper roaming on their holiday in other member states this summer. Starting from 1st July 2013, the European Union’s Roaming Regulation has lowered the data price caps by 36%, which is a 91% reduction compared to 2007. Especially visitors to the new member state Croatia have been pleased with their savings, because data roaming has become almost 15 times cheaper and sending a SMS or making a phone call 10 times cheaper. Roaming services in the entire EU are capped by 45 cents/MB for data download, 24 cents/ minute of making a call, 7 cents/minute of receiving a call and 8 cents/SMS (VAT not included, caps refer to the retail price). Operators are invited to offer cheaper rates and some have even begun to remove extra charges for roaming altogether or establish a roaming-free area. The most expensive are Denmark and Ireland Buying a food and non-alcoholic beverage basket in Denmark costs more than double compared to buying the same basket in Poland. In 2012, price level in Denmark reached 143% of the EU27 average, followed by Sweden (124%) and Austria (120%). The lowest price levels were observed in Poland (61%), Romania (67%) and Bulgaria (68%) as the statistical office of the EU Eurostat stated in its latest report. For tobacco products, however, the prices were almost four times higher in Ireland (199% of the EU27 average) or United Kingdom (194%) with highest price levels than in Hungary (52%) or Lithuania (55%) with the lowest level. The price level in the Czech Republic is below average, tobacco being the cheapest commodity in this comparison (69%) and alcoholic beverages the most expensive (96%). IN THE WORLD Businesses in Eastern Partnership countries to receive new funding Small- and medium-sized enterprises in EaP countries will profit from a new programme to support trade opportunities in the region. Total contribution of the EU will

be 10 million EUR and will be invested in three flagship initiatives: Supporting policy and legislative institutional reforms, as assessed in the 2012 report “Progress in the implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe in the EaP countries”; Extending the East-Invest project in cooperation with Eurochambers, BusinessEurope and UEAPME; Strengthening auditing and reporting capacity of SMEs. The European Commission adopted the programme on 1st of July and it is expected to start in the second half of this year. First round of EU-US negotiations concluded Only several days after launching official talks on Trade and Investment Partnership between EU and US the first round of negotiations took place in Washington. Groups of negotiators have set out their approaches towards as much as twenty various areas covered by TTIP. These include among others market access, government procurement, investment, energy and raw materials, services, intellectual property rights, SMEs, competition or trade facilitation. The groups identified certain areas where their intentions are converging and begun to explore possibilities to bridge the gaps where they diverge. Further negotiations on the biggest bilateral trade and investment agreement will take place during the week of 7 October in Brussels. Direct gas highway from the Caspian sea The Consortium of the Shah Deniz II gas field, licenceholder for exploiting the gas reserves, has chosen the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) as a new connection delivering gas from the Turkish border via Greece and Albania to Italy. Another new pipeline TANAP is currently under construction in Turkey, which means that the gas infrastructure will connect EU directly to the Caspian Sea. The EU continues to hold negotiations with potential gas suppliers in the bigger region in view of additional gas volumes. With the forecast of the International Energy Agency stating that EU gas demand will increase up to 622 billion cubic meters by 2030 (from current 526 billion cubic meters) and due to expected decline in home production, additional gas suppliers are indispensable. EU pursuing free trade with Canada Negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between EU and Canada are now in their final phase. Agreement will establish a free trade area that will upgrade current mutual trade and investment relationship. Negotiations, launched in 2009, are covering market access for goods, services, investment and for public procurement contracts, technical standards and regulations, investment protection, intellectual property rights and sustainable development. Business missions planned to South-East and Far-East Asia Businesses have an opportunity to join Vice-President Antonio Tajani on his missions for growth to Vietnam and Thailand in 12–16 November 2013 that will take place at the occasion of organising the EU-Myanmar Task Force on 13–14 November. The missions help EU companies to operate in designated countries and promote growth of industry and innovation. Furthermore, the EU Gateway programme plans three business missions to Japan and South Korea in 2014 for European companies. It is intended for solid EU enterprises experienced in extra-EU exports to help them grow their business. There will be 2 missions concerning the environment and energy market, one in each country and additional mission in the area of medical devices to Japan. Programme is funded by the EU. Myanmar: Program for the mission + website Japan + SK: http://www.eu-gateway.eu/environmentand-energy Japan medical devices: http://www.eu-gateway.eu/ news/new-apply-now-healthcare-medical-mission-japan Brought by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU (kindly supported by Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR), www.cebre.cz

Zapadlik_234_325_AJ.indd 1

30.10.2012 16:32:14

Spa & Wellness

Konopiště

NEW OPENED

more information available at www.laznekonopiste.cz

616014-Golf-Inzerat-Image[234x325]_S&W.indd 2

8.2.13 8:28