American Investor Fall 2016 by AmChamPoland

American

FALL 2016

Vol. XXVI, No. 4 • ISSN 1506-3240

Investor amcham.pl

The quarterly of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland

Setting the standard AmCham extends its footprint at the Krynica Economic Forum INSIDE: PICTURES FROM AMCHAM EVENTS IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

In this issue FALL 2016 Vol. XXVI No. 4 Cover Story Section No easy way out It’ll be tough for Poland to benefit from Brexit, p. 8 Disruptive times In search of the best business ecosystem, p. 9

COVER STORY Setting the standard

AmCham extends its footprint at the Krynica Economic Forum, pp. 8-15 From ideas to products of the future Andrzej Połojko, GM of Flex Poland, a provider of integrated solutions for industry, talks about its transformation over the last 16 years, p. 26

California here I come! US-EU trade relations are poised for growth, p. 11 Rekindling romance The government must continue to woo existing foreign investors, p. 12

Powering forward Wojciech Orzech, president of PKP Energetyka, the power company for the Polish railroad system, talks about market drivers of today and tomorrow, p. 27

Here to stay A business-government dialogue is essential to plan for the future, p. 14 A cure for healthcare Innovative business models in healthcare may cut the cost of the system, p. 14 An eye-opener While rating is still underestimated rating agencies hope to see business grow fast soon, p. 15 A 21 -century race No matter who the next President is, the US will remain the best foreign market for Polish exporters, p. 15 st

Monthly Meeting September Yes we can, can’t we? Despite heavy social spending the government plans no major tax hikes in 2017, p. 16 October Chaos and creation Poland steps up efforts to build a single-platform government Internet service and safeguard its security, p. 18

Focus A force for good American FDI plays a vital role in the Polish economy, p. 20 Obituary David Mitzner (1915–2016) The American business community in Poland has lost a remarkable individual, p. 22 Company Profile Team up, dream big Rafał Stepnowski, president of Jeppesen Poland, a Boeing affiliate, talks about IT solutions for the aviation industry, p. 24 Talent, not location Per Markus Tornberg, country manager for Poland of Crossover, which specializes in linking companies with remote workers, talks about paradigm shift in employment, p. 25

A creative ambience Philippe Godard, the new GM of the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria and Sofitel VP for Operation of Luxury Hotels and Upscale Brands in Eastern Europe, talks about the ingredients of a successful hostelry, p. 28 Farming for the 21st century Joanna Byczyńska, member of the management board of Cargill Poland, talks about business challenges and CSR in Poland, p. 30 Expert With a little help from the state The pitfalls of state aid in the EU, p. 32 Sue me, sue you Enforcing competition law infringement claims will soon get easier, p. 34 No laughing matter Cyber attacks shake up the US election, p. 36 Not the trip we planned The EU struggles with delayed flights, p. 38

Departments: Letter from the Chairman, p. 3, Newsline, p. 4, Agenda, p. 6, AmCham Committee Guide, p. 7, Photo Coverage of AmCham Events, pp. 40-56. FA L L 2 0 1 6 A M E R I C A N I N V E S T O R

Your American

YOUR AMCHAM

On-line resources to AmCham

BoArd oF dirEctors Tony HousH – APCO Worldwide Chairman

Joanna Bensz – CH2M Polska Vice Chair

JudiTH Gliniecki – Individual Member Vice Chair

Paul FoGo – JF Legal Treasurer

Rick lada – Individual Member Secretary

MEMBERS Robert Bednarski

Roman Rewald

Magdalena BurnatMikosz

Sławomir Sikora

Facebook

Deloitte

Jolanta Jaworska

Weil Gotshal & Manges

Citi Handlowy

Joseph Wancer BGŻ BNP Paribas

IBM Poland & Baltics

John Lynch Lynka

Advisory council

Check out our revamped website, with enhanced functionality including intuitive grouping of topic threads and multimedia coverage of our events! MEMBERS This link includes access to AmCham community news, the member directory, information on how to become a member, and a list of companies and individuals who have received AmCham awards. EVENTS The link Upcoming Events will take you to announcements of our future events. Past Events will take you to our events archive, which includes photo and multimedia coverage of selected events. COMMITTEES AmCham’s 13 committees are the heart of the organization, providing a forum for business leaders with similar interests to network, share best practices, and discuss relevant topics and issues. This enables active participation and input on matters of vital importance to members. The link will take you to a pop-up menu to choose the committee of interest to you. MEDIA This link will take you to ﬁve databases: AmCham in the Press is a database of press clippings about AmCham in Poland. American Investor will take you to a .pdf version of our print quarterly, American Investor, including the most recent edi-

tion as well as archives of past issues. Video Clips will take you to multimedia coverage of selected AmCham events. AmCham Media Contacts provides contact information for members of the media. Galleries will take you directly to the vast archive of photo coverage of our events. ADVOCACY This link will take you to the archive of our position papers, policy statements, official letters to government ministers, and research papers—all produced in our effort to build a more open and business-friendly economic environment. REGIONS AmCham may be closer than you think. Apart from Warsaw, AmCham has three regional branches, which are active all year long and offer many exciting opportunities to interface with regional business leaders and politicians. Use the Regions menu to find out more about our services in Gdańsk and northern Poland, Kraków & Katowice and southern Poland, and Wrocław and Lower Silesia. USEFUL LINKS This section provides links to other important US business organizations, such as the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, and other organizations working for the benefit of transatlantic trade and investment relations.

What’s on

amcham.pl

Your online guide to AmCham activities

AmchAm Auditor

A M E R I C A N I N V E S T O R FA L L 2 0 1 6

Investor Letter from the Chairman

Dear Members and Friends of AmCham

he election is over in the United States. As this edition of American Investor is released, the voting is over and we can begin to look forward to a new Administration in Washington. It is our sincere hope that the new President, Cabinet and Congress taking office in 2017 will govern wisely and focus on what matters to us: security and prosperity for our country and indeed the world. Much like 2015, our activities after the summer have played out in a robust election campaign environment. The US campaign and the initiatives of the Polish government have meant that there has never been a dull moment as far as AmCham and our investor community is concerned. Our AmCham Diner pavilion at the Krynica Economic Forum drew large crowds and allowed for a great many conversations and meetings and even a few good-natured arguments. We had the pleasure of welcoming Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Konrad Szymański, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Europe, for a substantive discussion at the Diner. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin was our guest, as were a great range of Polish government and political figures. Our thanks to our sponsors for another high-impact event. The busy times continued with a monthly meeting featuring then-Minister of Finance Paweł Szałamacha, who has now gone on to join the management board at the National Bank of Poland. September also saw AmCham host its first event at the European Forum for New Ideas in Sopot and an AmCham Council meeting in Gdynia. October opened with an excellent set of meetings with Minister of Digital Affairs Anna Streżyńska and also saw AmCham events Tony Housh in Wrocław and Kraków. AmCham also opened a new area of cooperation with AMCHAM CHAIRMAN our participation in the Łódź—City To Explore events, bringing over thirty US investors to see the city and meet with officials. Of course, we also held our election-watching party with the Embassy and a discussion of what the US elections mean for Poland and transatlantic relations. Significant investment continues to come onto the market among our member companies. This investment trend may be further driven by Poland’s rating in the World Bank’s Doing Business tables, climbing one notch in 2016. As AmCham, we will continue to work closely with the government to share our thoughts and issues that affect our companies and employees. We are also engaging in a range of meetings with leaders of the current opposition parties and key opinion leaders to ensure that our messages are reaching all stakeholders in civil and political society. I would like to offer AmCham’s best wishes and congratulations to Ambassador Piotr Wilczek, Poland’s new chief of mission in Washington. We had the opportunity to meet with him several times before his departure and look forward to excellent cooperation with the Polish Embassy in Washington and the trade and investment team. As AmCham prepares to begin a new Board term in 2017, I encourage you and your colleagues all to fully participate in the range of meetings and discussions the Chamber is facilitating. There is a great deal of value to be had with membership. A Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season to you all as we close out 2016 and prepare for 2017 just around the corner. Best regards,

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Newsline YOUR AMCHAM AMCHAM STAFF

Dorota Dabrowski

Managing Director director@amcham.pl

Marzena Drela

Deputy Director marzena.drela@amcham.pl

Anita Kowalska

Events & Media Manager anita.kowalska@amcham.pl

Robert Kruszyna

Office Manager robert.kruszyna@amcham.pl

Barbara Pocialik-Malinowska

Membership and Committees Coordinator barbara.pocialik@amcham.pl

Marta Pawlak

Policy Counsel marta.pawlak@amcham.pl

Dorota Serafin

Project Manager dorota.serafin@amcham.pl

AmCham in Gdańsk

Alina Gronek

gdansk@amcham.pl

AmCham in Kraków & Katowice

Joanna Bensz

News from AmCham and its members Amazon Europe Amazon Polska, part of online retailer Amazon Europe, has been named Top North American Investor of the Year in the FDI Investor Awards, an annual recognition of the most interesting foreign investment projects launched in Poland, by a panel comprising commercial counselors from foreign embassies in Warsaw and the heads of chambers of commerce in Poland. Amazon came to Poland in 2014 and since then has opened three logistics centers totaling 300,000 m2. The two centers in Wrocław and one in Poznań are part of the company’s European logistics network of 31 centers. In Gdańsk, Amazon established a tech center focused on developing artificial intelligence solutions such as Amazon Echo, and other Amazon flagship products such as Kindle, FireTV and the Fire range of tablets. There is a web service support office in Warsaw. So far the company has invested about USD 1 billion in Poland and created 5,700 jobs.

krakow@amcham.pl

AmCham in Wrocław

Monika Ciesielska-Mróz

amcham.wroclaw@pmg.pl

place finish in the 8th Carpathian Bike Marathon. Dominik (pictured with the new bike in a box) signed up for the race by chance. Determined to take part in the next race, he began regular practice, but had to share a bike that was old and worn-out. In response to a request to help Dominik, AmCham member company Avis sponsored the purchase of a quality new bike, which Universal Express delivered to Dominik. AmCham has been helping the Bochnia Orphanage for years though the Charity Drive program. Both Avis and Universal Express are long-term generous supporters of the program.

Cushman & Wakefield EDITOR

Tom Ćwiok tomasz.cwiok@amcham.pl

ENGLISH EDITOR

cHRisToPHeR smiTH christopher.smith@neostrada.pl

Printing

Q Invest Ltd +48 22 424 6600 To contact AmCham please write or call: Spektrum Tower, 16th Floor ul. Twarda 18 00-105 Warsaw tel: +48 22 520 5999 fax: +48 22 520 5998 e-mail: office@amcham.pl www.amcham.pl © American Chamber of Commerce in Poland 2016. All rights reserved.

American Investor is the official publication of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland. It is a voice for foreign investors and the business community in Poland. The magazine strives to keep our members and other readers up to date by following chamber news and reporting on the leading trends in business and policy. Unless otherwise indicated, all articles authored by Tomasz Ćwiok. letters to the editor should be e-mailed to tomasz.cwiok@amcham.pl Cover Art: Drawing by Magda Aranży. Used with permission of MillionYou

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Meanwhile, Amazon Europe has announced a new project—the PLN 410 million construction of a warehouse of 161,500 m2 in Kołbaskowo, near Szczecin. Scheduled for completion in September 2017, it will support 3,000 jobs within the next three years. The developer, Panattoni Europe, will also build 7,800 m2 of road infrastructure linking to the Kołbaskowo exit from the A6 highway. Amazon’s decision to build another order fulfillment center is dictated by the growing demand for its services among customers from Poland and all of Europe. Amazon has opened a Polish-language trading platform at its German trading site Amazon.de to enable Polish customers to purchase goods offered in the German market. The Polish site is supported by Polish-speaking customer service. Goods can reach Poland in 1–2 days, with free shipping for orders over EUR 39.

AmCham AmCham assisted the Bochnia Orphanage in acquiring a brand-new mountain bike for one of the residents following his surprise 3rd-

Commercial real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield was responsible for commercialization of the Galeria Metropolia mall, which opened in October in the Wrzeszcz section of Gdańsk. The four-story building offers 34,000 m2 of retail space for 100 stores, a 7-screen cinema, a playground, and a large fitness center. The Cushman & Wakefield-managed office building Crown Square (pictured on the next page) in the center of Warsaw has been certified in an independent audit for BREEAM sus-

related to work in Poland. It is free of charge and includes an English-language database of the most important public tenders in fields including infrastructure, energy, rail and transportation. The service is available at www.publiccontractsinpoland.com Dentons was named “Super Law Firm of the Year” in Poland in the Ranking of Rankings published by legal portal Rynek Prawniczy in August 2016. The ranking, covering 12 legal areas, was based on the directories Legal 500 and Chambers Europe and the national ranking by Rzeczpospolita daily.

ManpowerGroup

tainability standards in two categories: building management and asset performance. The 13-storey, 16,000-m2, class A+ building is owned by Invesco Real Estate.

Dentons Law firm Dentons has launched Public Contracts in Poland, an online service for companies seeking business opportunities in public procurement. The service is a one-stop shop for information on selected public tenders announced by Polish and European institutions

HR service provider ManpowerGroup has added another brand to its portfolio: Proservia Polska, specializing in providing IT infrastructure management and end-user support. The new unit serves the high demand for IT specialists, which according to Manpower has outstripped the supply in Poland. Along with a service center in Poland, Proservia has service centers in France and the UK employing 5,000 people. In the UK Proservia has been part of the Manpower lineup since 2011.

Lufthansa Group Austrian Airlines, a member of the Lufthansa Group, will serve the new route of Vienna–Los Angeles from April 2017, with six weekly flights on Boeing 777s. It will be the fourth regular service by Austrian linking Vienna with the US, after Chicago, New York and Miami. In its summer 2017 schedule, Austrian will offer five flights a week to Miami, up to six weekly flights to Los Angeles and Toronto, and up to one flight each day to Washington and Chicago, while continuing its 13 weekly flights to New York.

Prologis

Commercial logistics and storage space developer Prologis has started construction of a 9,200 m2 facility at Prologis Park Szczecin (pictured). It is 60% pre-let to an international furniture company and is scheduled for completion in 1Q 2017.

UPC Poland UPC Poland, the Polish subsidiary of Liberty Global, provider of cable television and communications services, has acquired the cable business of Multimedia Polska, the thirdlargest cable TV operator in Poland, in an allcash transaction valuing Multimedia at about USD 760 million, with potential adjustments for Multimedia’s post-closing performance. UPC Poland was represented in the acquisition by law firm Dentons, another AmCham member.

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New members Companies recently joining AmCham include: Hotel company DoubleTree by Hilton. Contact: Matthias Herd, general manager. GTR Holding, sales rep for Segway products in Poland. Contact: Ewa Plewińska, CEO. HR Solutions. Contact: Joanna Bojarska-Buchcic, managing director. Software developer Jadin Tech. Contact: Jadin Allmen, president. Commercial real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle. Contact: Tomasz Trzósło, managing director. Project design, management and construction company M+W Central Europe. Contact: Tomasz Feret, branch director in Poland. Defense and security company Northrop Grumman. Contact: Don Mesner. Defense consultancy Poland-US Operations. Contact: Ronald Farkas, president.

Members on the move

Automotive reﬁnish company PPG Industries Poland. Contact: Marcin Rusinak, management board member.

Travelport

Finance and wealth management company Reilly Financial Advisors. Contact: Jason Watters, vice president for Europe.

Katarzyna Fabiańska is the new Poland Country Manager of Travelport, a commercial platform enabling access to customized travel services. She will be responsible for driving adoption of Travelport’s solutions for travel agencies and promotion of Travelport products.

Spirits producer United Beverages. Contact: Bill Carey, president. Management administration provider Vistra Corporate Services. Contact: Alwyn Jacobus de Lange, managing director.

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Agenda Intelligence from AmCham Committees Business Technology & Services Francesco Chiarini, responsible for information security, threat and response at PepsiCo International, met with the AmCham Business Technology & Services Committee in October to talk about the basics of cybersecurity, including what cybersecurity incidents look like and the battlefield tactics cyber attackers use. Chiarini admitted that the money invested in cybersecurity does not amount to an investment that delivers perceptible results, because cyber attacks are not spectacular, especially when their fail. But this investment pays off considering what is at stake: the safety of highly sensitive data, such as transaction information, security information for financial transactions used for SWIFT code theft, payment card details and more. He talked about a range of security breaches and said many new types of attacks are made possible by applying sociology instead of any specific technology. In other words, attackers trick users into careless behavior with their computer or smartphone. One of the most common assumptions computer users make is that their computers are not likely to be attacked, with the attitude “Why would someone want to do that to me?” To answer that question, Chiarini presented the reasons attackers use computers of people they don’t know, explaining that for them, they are randomly picked pieces of network infrastructure they need to take control of in order to prepare other types of attacks and incidents, often designed to take place in the “dark web.” But the main focus was what Internet users must do to mitigate the negative results of computer attacks or entirely avoid them. He pointed out that data protection will become a hot issue in the EU from 2018, when the General Data Protection Regulation enters into force, imposing stiff penalties on companies that lose the personal data of their customers through security breaches. The meeting ended with a quiz on how cybersecurity incidents should be dealt with during a security breach—to equip participants with key takeaways they could turn into concrete actions. AmCham members were joined at the meeting by the Warsaw chapter of the Overseas Security Advisory Council, whose goal is to promote security cooperation between American private-sector interests worldwide and the US Department of State.

Defense & Security In August, the AmCham Defense & Security Committee held a meeting with Sławomir Dębski, the new head of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), a government-affiliated study center specializing in foreign policy and security issues in Central & Eastern Europe. Dębski talked about security challenges for Poland following the NATO summit in Warsaw in July 2016. Following an in-depth presentation of PISM

A M E R I C A N I N V E S T O R FA L L 2 0 1 6

and its organizational structure and mission under the Law & Justice (PiS) government, Dębski went on to an academic discussion of how the perception of military force in moving national borders in Europe has evolved since 1939.

Energy & Environment John Anderson, director of the Office of Regulation and International Engagement at the US Department of Energy, and Przemysław Bielecki, an official at the Oil and Gas Department of the Polish Ministry of Energy, met with the AmCham Energy & Environment Committee in October to discuss issues of natural gas exports from the US, the global outlook for cutting CO2 emissions, and business opportunities that may arise in the energy sector as it faces new challenges and regulations.

European Union Affairs The impact of Brexit on the EU was the focus of an EU Affairs Committee meeting in September with guest speaker Howard Miller, director of the Global Government Affairs Department at Citi EMEA. Miller gave an overview of the political situation in the UK which led to the referendum on whether or not the UK should leave the EU. He offered some characteristics of British society split over the question. He also explained why the British do not view the EU as a political framework for peace and stability and gave hints what can be expected of new British Prime Minister Theresa May, who took the helm of the UK government following the resignation of David Cameron. In October, the EU Affairs Committee hosted Stefan Kawalec and Ernest Pytlarczyk, co-authors of The Euro Paradox: How to Break Out of the Trap of the Common Currency, a study of the European single market from the perspective of monetary integration. The speakers said that from the flotation of the euro in a number of EU countries, the business community in Poland thought that adopting the currency would be beneficial to the Polish economy. But the economic crisis of 2008 cast that assumption in a new light. Although the European common market and the union itself are both engines for the members states’ economic growth, the idea of a common currency for the union was a mistake, they argued. Instead of strengthening the EU as one economic block, the euro spurred a number of negative economic effects that are breaking the EU single market apart. The speakers presented a range of economic reports and analysis showing the different ways they claim the euro has a negative impact on the European economy.

Human Resources Management In September the AmCham Human Resources Committee held a workshop entitled “GameBased Learning for Skills Development,” led by Dan Berteanu, managing partner at Equa-

torial, a games-based learning company, and Zbigniew Łobocki, product director at United Business Development, a firm that implements game-based learning in Poland. The speakers presented the pros of gamebased learning for adults. They said that corporations around the world are implementing such systems to hone the skills of their employees and educate their customers. Unlike traditional learning, game-based learning systems stimulate and engage learners around fun activities that require the players to take actions and then face the consequences of those actions almost instantly. As a result, individuals learn more about themselves and their peers and are eager to participate and learn using this method. Their presentation covered examples of specific business cases for using game-based learning and the critical elements needed for successful implementation of these learning initiatives.

Tax & Financial Services The rules for state aid in the European Union were discussed by Marcin Matyka, partner and head of tax, and Piotr Milczarek, of counsel and head of competition at the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, at a meeting with the AmCham Tax & Financial Services Committee in September. The speakers outlined the EU state aid rules and commented on the decision of the European Commission finding that the Irish government breached EU law when it granted tax breaks to the US computer giant Apple more than a decade ago. As a result of this decision, Apple is required to return to the Irish government EUR 13 billion it allegedly made because of the Irish government’s disregard of EU state aid principles.

Simply Business Zsolt Fehér, CEO of Assessment Systems International, a provider of leadership advisory and support services, was the speaker at a breakfast held as part of the Simply Business series, entitled “A CEO’s Guide to HR Management.” Fehér’s presentation included an analysis of how CEOs should deal with HR issues to drive organizational excellence, but also touched on some IT aspects of HR, such as the use of big and small data. “Simply Business” is an AmCham series of business meetings for people on the run, organized by companies with a topic, product or service they would like to present to AmCham members.

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For the most recent information about the AmCham Committees and upcoming events visit amcham.pl Agri, Food & FMCG

Mission: To provide a platform for discussing and overcoming issues and identifying opportunities related to operational activity for companies in the agricultural and food sectors in Poland by creating a basis for dialogue and expertise leveraged among producers, sector professionals, experts and decision-makers in the Polish government. Co-Chairs: Piotr Bonisławski, Eli Lilly Polska; Andrzej Pawelczak, Animex.

Business Technology & Services

Mission: To provide a platform for discussing, identifying and addressing common SSC/BPO issues related to hightech operations; to maintain contact with local authorities, educational and governmental institutions to present a unified business perspective and options for cooperation. Co-Chairs: Jacek Stryczyński, Lionbridge; Angelo Pressello, Direct Communication.

Defense & Security

Mission: To discuss issues regarding the defense industry and exchange information, to create a networking forum for members, and to lobby and encourage decision-makers in government. Co-Chairs: Stan Prusiński, Boeing Europe; Marta Frąckowiak, DLA Piper.

Digital Economy

Mission: To provide a forum for innovative companies to support the digital economy in Poland as a key driver of sustainable growth. It aims to raise awareness about the importance of balanced investments in digital infrastructure, fully exploiting digital potential, and increasing competitiveness in the global environment. Co-Chairs: Patrycja Gołos, UPC; Igor Ostrowski, Dentons.

Energy & Environment

Mission: To help members develop their energy and environmental business in Poland. By helping members work collectively to overcome any systemic difficulties encountered in their business the committee aims to increase the level and quality of investment and activity in these sectors. Co-Chairs: Michał Koczalski, CEC Government Relations; Mariusz Mielczarek, GE Central and Eastern Europe.

European Union Affairs

Mission: To provide a platform for discussing business-related issues coming out of the EU, including EU funds; to work with AmCham EU on mutual lobbying initiatives; and to represent member companies before the European Commission and the government of Poland. Co-Chairs: Magdalena Burnat-Mikosz, Deloitte; Jerzy Thieme.

Health & Pharma

Sustainable Real Estate

Mission: To discuss issues regarding the complexities of the real estate market in Poland, and exchange information. To be an educational and networking forum for members and to lobby and influence legislative departments of the Polish government. Co-Chairs: Halina Więckowska, K&L Gates; Magdalena Pavlak-Chiaradia, ERM Polska.

Tax & Financial Services

Mission: To represent the voice and opinions on various issues of the health sector, to discuss conditions, news and challenges of the sector; to provide expertise. Co-Chairs: Ernest Bartosik, Unipharm; Aldona Zygmunt, Pfizer.

Mission: To provide a platform for identifying tax and financial issues and create an educational forum to keep AmCham members informed on current and upcoming legislation. Co-Chairs: Adam Soska, GE International; Marcin Matyka, Norton Rose Fulbright.

Human Resources Management

Travel & Tourism

Mission: To create an information exchange forum of HR professionals to share, discuss and learn about the latest trends in HR management and influence local policy and decision-makers. Co-Chairs: Jolanta Jaworska, IBM Poland; Agata Dulnik, Accenture.

Mission: To provide a platform for discussing issues and problems related to travel, leisure and the hospitality industry and to provide networking opportunities and to discuss trends and standards in the industry that will allow members to fully benefit from AmCham. Chair: Tim Hyland, FCM Travel Solutions.

Manufacturing

Mission: To provide a platform for discussing issues and problems related to the manufacturing sector in Poland and to provide networking opportunities; to discuss conditions, news and challenges in the manufacturing sector across Poland; to coordinate with AmCham’s annual Manufacturers’ Forum. Co-Chairs: Joanna Bensz, CH2M Polska; Przemysław Paździorek, 3M Poland.

Marketing & Communications

Mission: To provide a forum for member firms to share knowledge and exchange experiences in marketing, communications and PR, provide educational and networking opportunities for member firms interested in these areas, and serve as an advisory body for AmCham. Chair: Anya Ogorkiewicz.

THOUGHT LEADERS

Individuals who are point people and experts for specific areas of interest for AmCham that do not require a formal committee structure or activity level. SME & Entrepreneurship Alain Bobet

Innovation Bogusława Skowroński

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Cover story AmCham at Krynica Economic Forum

Setting the standard AmCham extends its footprint at the Krynica Economic Forum, Poland’s largest gathering of business, politics, central and local government, NGOs and other stakeholders in the economy

he 26th edition of the Krynica Economic Forum may be best remembered by many for the tight security at the forum grounds and around town. The omnipresence of agents could feel ominous but could also signal to the participants that they should feel safe and secure. Another outstanding fact about the forum was the bulked-up presence of government ministers and other top officials in Poland’s central administration. That could signal that the Law & Justice (PiS) government is willing to enter into a dialogue with the business community. If that is the case, it is good news, especially in light of the avalanche of economic and tax reforms announced earlier by Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki—Minister of Development and now also Minister of Finance. This year’s forum had yet another historic significance for AmCham. It was the first time a sitting Prime Minister had paid a visit to the AmCham Diner. On the second day of the forum, Prime Minister Beata Szydło met with the AmCham Board of Directors for a 30-

minute conversation (pictured). Other ministers were frequent visitors to the Diner, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin and deputy ministers Jerzy Kwieciński, Jadwiga Emilewicz and Tadeusz Kościński (development) and Witold Kołodziejski (digital affairs).

Finally, it is fair to say that the diner concept AmCham pioneered ﬁve years ago has taken ﬁrm hold across the forum. Many participating companies welcomed their guests to diner-like open pavilions for food, drink and entertainment. Historically speaking, the AmCham Diner may serve as a case study of how American business impacts best business practices in Poland. AmCham also extended its presence in the program portion of the forum. Distinguished speakers from AmCham member companies appeared on three discussion panels, on each day of the event, on such groundbreaking issues for business today as the digital economy and how technological innovations impact the way business is done, transatlantic relations in commerce and how they may evolve if the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the US and the EU does not become a reality anytime soon, and the impact of US investors on the Polish economy and the lessons it holds for the authors of new economic reforms.

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Krzysztof Bolesta, Polityka Insight; Eligiusz Krześniak, Squire Patton Boggs; Penny Naas, UPS International; Roman Rewald, Weil Gotshal; Stuart D. Gibson, Tax Notes International

No easy way out

It’ll be tough for Poland to beneﬁt from Brexit

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n September, the UK government was ﬁxing its position on a “hard Brexit,” where it hopes to secede from the European Union while negotiating to retain access to the EU’s common market and at the same time restrict the mobility of EU citizens seeking to work in the UK. Meanwhile, in Krynica, an AmCham panel of experts discussed if there are any bright sides to Brexit—business and economic opportunities that Poland could tap into when Britain leaves. The panel consisted of Squire Patton Boggs lawyer Eligiusz Krześniak, UPS VP Penny Naas, Weil Gotshal lawyer and AmCham Board Member Roman Rewald, and Stuart Gibson, editor of Tax Notes International. All speakers agreed that for a hard Brexit deal, the EU would have to compromise on some of its fundamental freedoms—the freedom of movement of capital and the freedom of movement of people—which are inseparable in the union. According to Stuart Gibson, “The British people did not understand that they could not have what they wanted and

give up what they did not want. The EU is not going to give them that. They want closed borders but they want open trade. You cannot have both.” Penny Naas noted that before Brexit, public opinion across the EU did not realize the importance of the EU single market. “While the single market was under constant critique by the British media, now everybody wants to retain it,” she said. “That’s the upshot of Brexit. It is a reminder of what a great accomplishment the single market has been. This is what we believe in at UPS.” Naas stressed that the importance of the EU market for the UK service sector can hardly be overestimated. “The UK enjoys a service surplus with the rest of the world, but they have a service deﬁcit with the rest of Europe,” she said. “Leaving the EU is not a very smart thing for them.” When Brexit becomes reality, the law of the land in the UK, which was EU law for business, will cease to exist. That will create a legal hassle and have a negative impact on the economy. As Gibson said, “A lot of the legal system will have to be redesigned. This is not going to jump-start anybody’s economy.” According to Roman Rewald, it is not clear where the Brexit negotiations will go. “If the UK does not get free-movement beneﬁts, it will be a big difference.” He added that the UK was always a hub for international arbitration. “Naturally, people

would pick London as a place for arbitration,” he explained. “The issue now in Europe is whether the English language will be the language in which contracts will be written in the EU, and whether or not there will be any legal cases because of the changing circumstances, when EU law can no longer be enforced in the UK.” Anticipating issues with Brexit, many foreign companies in the UK are looking at what they need to do to mitigate the potential negative fallout. This notion was signaled by Naas: “UPS is starting to ﬁgure out how and where this could land, but at this point we don’t know where we want to be vis-à-vis Brexit. Financial services has worked on it a lot, but I think a few other companies will wait to see how it is going to shape up.” According to Krześniak, with no free access to the EU market the UK “will no longer be as attractive a location for US investors.” If the UK fails to negotiate free access, “it will be a big difference and a complicated issue for British investors and for American investors.” He added that the private equity market may develop in two ways: “Nothing will happen, and after Brexit things will be business as usual. Or there will be no particular place to replace London as the ﬁnancial hub, and what will happen in private equity will be a trend to push more responsibilities toward the local markets.” All panelists agreed that some EU coun-

tries may benefit. According to Rewald, “If there is business leaving London because of Brexit, Poland will have to compete for it. It is worth going after that business which will be relocating to Continental Europe.” Gibson said that with Brexit, “there are more opportunities on this side of the Channel than on the other side of the Channel for Europe to drive a hard bargain.” Naas said Brexit is a great opportunity for Poland to reform, considering “what it is and what it wants to be going forward.” According to Gibson, “The question is whether the political leadership in the EU is going to take advantage of the vacuum that is going to be created when the UK leaves. Some perhaps know the things that they have to do to attract businesses and employees.” Krześniak said the potential gains for Poland from Brexit are illusive: “When you look at where the money goes, the investors who targeted the UK will not look at Poland as an alternative, because the markets are different, in different leagues.” He labeled the idea of making Warsaw the financial hub for the region of Central & Eastern Europe as a joke. To achieve that, Poland first “needs some 50 years of stable regulations and laws.” But according to Krześniak, Poland cannot watch Brexit from the sideline. “There should be a discussion on what role Poland should play in it, not only on the economic level but also on the political level.”

Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman; Rafał Bator, Enterprise Investors; Bartosz Dobrzyński, Play; Teresa Czerwińska, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education; Mateusz Litewski, Uber; Bartosz Ciołkowski, MasterCard; Michał Duszczyk, Rzeczpospolita

Disruptive times

In search of the best business ecosystem

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he ways new technology and innovation bend reality in business were discussed by a panel under the title “The New Face of Business,” comprising Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman; Rafał Bator, a partner at Enterprise Investors; Bartosz Dobrzyński, chief marketing officer at mobile phone operator Play; Teresa Czerwińska, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education; Mateusz Litewski, Uber’s public policy officer for CEE; and Bartosz Ciołkowski, general manager for Poland at MasterCard Europe. The panel was moderated by Rzeczpospolita journalist Michał Duszczyk. The panelists agreed that new technologies and innovations create new opportunities for business as they result in the creation of new products and business models. Uber’s Mateusz Litewski gave an example of how a change in the company’s business model, made possible with technology, elevated the startup to become one of the hottest brands in the transportation industry: “One of our mottos is ‘Disrupt yourself,’ and we did just that. Our business model began with a limo service in Los Angeles, and then it sprang to other cities. Then we embraced ordinary vehicles so we

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Cover story AmCham at Krynica Economic Forum could help people commute to work without having to use their own cars. Today we have launched another service—Uber Pool— which lets one driver drive several people and drop them off in several different places. So the fact that we were able to change our business model was what made us expand to 70 countries the world over.” MasterCard’s Bartosz Ciołkowski observed that Polish entrepreneurs are eager to embrace the opportunities that technology and innovation offer for business. He said that in the financial services industry, Polish programmers are world-class and successfully create software integrating the newest mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. He added that MasterCard is eyeing the startup market in Poland with interest following its acquisition of a startup that “originated 7 years ago in a Warsaw garage” and now delivers software supporting financial transactions across Europe. He said that because of the talent available in the IT sector, Poland is now the third-largest world market for transactions made with proximity cards, in the number of transactions. original innovations But things do not look so good in innovations developed for non-financial sectors, according to Rafał Bator of Enterprise Investors. In his view, startups providing innovative solutions to the financial sector can count on being acquired by banks that want to use that technology and develop it to support their financial platforms. So banks act like venture capitalists. “Poland has good software developers, and there are many systems made in Poland for big companies in such areas as e-commerce, mobile communications and others, but it is all about services,” Bator said. But startups with other original and innovative products, such as Uber and others, do not find the money they need in Poland to develop their innovations further. “It is a question of the right ecosystem for startups,” Bator said. “It is about having investors, innovators, entrepreneurs and science meet in one place. So it is a systemic solution, and there is none such in Poland.” Bator said that instead, regulators come up with ad hoc solutions that may cover one segment of the ecosystem but wreck another segment. “There are no legal frames for venture investors who would like to put money into ideas on the early level of development,” he continued. “Investors can choose the legal concept of a limited-liability company, but that means they pay taxes right from the start. And when they pay themselves a dividend, they are taxed on it instead of being free to invest the money further.” According to Tony Housh, it is the role of

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government to have a policy supporting innovative small companies. “Framework mechanisms should be developed instead of specific regulations governing each and every aspect of the process of innovation,” he stated. “Small and medium-sized companies need framework solutions instead of control.” Litewski pointed out that the EU has good framework regulations for maintaining the single market principle in all EU member states and creating a pathway for development of the single digital market. But the problem is how those framework regulations are implemented by individual member states. For Litewski, the logical conclusion for the Polish government should be to aim at creating as business-friendly regulations as possible, because the way the economy is evolving globally, known as Industry 4.0, offers “a huge opportunity for Polish companies to take part in such a revolution for the first time on an equal footing with other countries.” education for the nation Talking about the development of original, innovative concepts that then are developed into business models with huge commercial potential, Bartosz Ciołkowski pointed to the role of the national education system. In his view a system that breeds entrepreneurial attitudes and risk-taking is a must for the country if it aspires to play a part in the Industry 4.0 revolution. According to Teresa Czerwińska, the government has a full understanding of the importance of education. This is why the Ministry of Science and Higher Education has readied a set of reforms aimed at deregulating universities and research centers and freeing them from bureaucratic constraints. When this is done, universities will be free to shape their educational programs the way they see fit. They will also be under much freer regulations governing hiring and promotion of science workers, so “young scientists stay with academia and develop their research,” the deputy minister said. She also noted that the government is working on a systemic solution for the right ecosystem for development of innovation in Poland. This solution, which she called the “small” innovations bill, will include tax relief for innovative companies, fast-track solutions for patent registration, and incentives for financing patent development and launching innovative spinoffs at universities. She explained that the “small” bill is a provisional solution the government needs to buy time to develop a full-scale act governing innovation policies in Poland, scheduled to see daylight by the end of 2018. Czerwińska said that her ministry is working on systemic solutions that will be

part of the sustainable economic development plan devised by Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (Minister of Development and now also Minister of Finance). She also said that time will show if all elements of the plan can deliver as envisioned by the authors. “It is our goal to stimulate innovativeness but also entrepreneurship,” she said. “Poland suffers from brain drain— scientists, IT specialists go work abroad. This is also what we need to change, so entrepreneurial people stay in the country.” This view was contested by Rafał Bator, who said that while worker rotation in Poland is about 20% a year, people change jobs in the local market and only a miniscule portion go abroad. “In the companies that I supervise, the percentage of people who quit jobs to go abroad has dropped below 1% of all who quit,” he said. This is because living standards in Poland have increased in recent years, and aboveaverage wage earners—and software developers are in that number—can afford high living standards here. Where the real problem lies with IT specialists and software developers, he argued, is that there are not enough university graduates in informatics. “In 2001 Poland produced 14,000 graduates in IT,” he explained. “Today the number is the same. Romania, a country with an economy half the size of the Polish economy, produces two times more IT graduates.” He added that the government should have a policy stipulating that universities should produce professionals for the sectors of business that have the highest economic potential. Czerwińska said that part of the problem may be that universities are free to choose what programs they offer regardless of the situation on the labor market. Addressing the issue of brain drain, Mateusz Litewski of Uber said that part of the problem is that Poland’s technology schools should specialize in certain areas of innovation and science, like Carnegie Mellon and MIT in the US. He said that such universities attract the best talent. “There is no brain drain for companies to tap into that talent through cooperating with the school, so there is no need for the scientists to go anywhere,” he explained. incoming products It may be hard for even the best reform aimed at improving the level of innovation in the Polish economy to succeed if there is no consumer demand for new products and services, Play’s Bartosz Dobrzyński argued. He said that 80% of the software used on mobile phones in Poland is developed in the US. To prove his point he revealed that on his smartphone he uses only two apps made in Poland. “Unfortunately it shows the innovativeness on the consumer market in

Poland,” he said. “Most of the apps that consumers install on their smartphones are Google-related apps made in the US, and their services.” He explained that in global terms the US market is the most attractive for entrepre-

neurs. “Some of those in Poland who plan to start innovative businesses do not even think of the Polish market,” he claimed. “It is great thinking, because in the US they have an opportunity to grow their business big. In turn, if a company develops an app

Leszek Ladowski, Polish-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida and the Americas; Erik Plas, MSD Polska; Patrycja Gołos, CEE Liberty Global (UPC Polska); Sławomir Sikora, Citi Handlowy; Charles Ranado, US Commercial Counselor; Bartłomiej Pawlak, Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency; Michał Kobosko, moderator

California here we come! US-EU trade relations are poised to grow regardless of TTIP

nother AmCham-branded discussion panel held as part of the program portion of the Krynica Economic Forum focused on the potential of transatlantic trade and investment. Entitled “Transatlantic Business Bridges,” it featured Leszek Ladowski, president of the Polish-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida and the Americas; Erik Plas, managing director of MSD Polska; Patrycja Gołos, VP for corporate affairs at CEE Liberty Global (UPC Polska); Sławomir Sikora, CEO of Citi Handlowy; Charles Ranado, US Commercial Counselor; and Bartłomiej Pawlak, president of the Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ). The moderator was Michał Kobosko, director of the Polish chapter of the Atlantic Council. The panelists underlined the importance of US-Poland trade and investment, arguing that while Poland continues to be an interesting market for US investors, who keep reinvesting their proceeds earned here, it is high time Polish investors discov-

ered the US, the most competitive yet most attractive market in the world. Soon, according to Bartłomiej Pawlak, those interested in the US market will find help from PAIiIZ. The agency is in the process of reforming its structures and the way it serves clients. When it’s done, Polish entrepreneurs interested in doing business with the US will be able to resort to professional analysts who will deliver quality service to them, including market intelligence and matchmaking with potential business partners in the US. While the agency plans to open new trade offices around the world, one of the first openings is scheduled to take place in San Francisco. Pawlak added that PAIiIZ sees the US market as strategic because young Polish companies eye it with interest. He said that the decision to open an office in California comes from the agency’s understanding of the significance of Silicon Valley to young Polish entrepreneurs. “Young Polish innovators dream of establishing a business in Silicon Valley,” he explained. “We will work

for the Polish market exclusively, it will have to lose in the end, for a similar application developed in California will take over the market in Poland. Consumers do not think about the country of origin but whether they like the app or not.”

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to facilitate their movement in that direction and help support them there. What we don’t want to happen is that the process will turn into a brain drain of Polish talent, but an opportunity for Polish entrepreneurs. We will have support instruments for them so that they will look at the US market as an area for commercial expansion instead of a place where they can sell their ideas on the early level of development, which means relatively cheaply.” A strong case for investing in the US was made by Leszek Ladowski, a Polish entrepreneur who after years of doing business in South America relocated to Miami, where he pursues business interests and is a pro-trade activist. He said that many Polish entrepreneurs he meets in the US have little understanding of the benefits they can gain from tapping into the US market. For instance, companies that obtain a license for a foreign direct investment project in the US have a much easier time obtaining a license for an FDI project in Mexico, because of US-Mexico bilateral agreements regulating the inbound flow of FDI. He also said that 70% of trade between the US and South America and the Caribbean comes through Miami. The city is a trading hub for the region and thus offers a strategic location to companies interested in expanding their trade relations in the US and its southern neighbors. Ladowski urged everyone interested in the region to come to Florida to meet with the business community there, including the many bilateral chambers of commerce with offices in the city: “If you’re not networking you’re not working,” Ladowski quipped. “That’s what we say in Miami.” Talk to the pros Charles Ranado echoed some of the ideas presented by Ladowski, saying that much of the US’s commercial potential has yet to be discovered by foreign companies. For instance, big states do not make the best pitches for FDI in general, while some states that are not viewed as primary markets have excellent offerings. “Idaho is probably one of the best places to invest for IT investors,” he said, adding that the best way to look for business opportunities in the US is through the government agency called Select USA, which specializes in servicing foreign investors. Ranado also said that the US has never been a better place for investors than today:

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Cover story AmCham at Krynica Economic Forum “Last year the USA was the largest FDI market in the world, with over USD 384 billion in FDI in 2015. It is obvious—we have done a very good job creating new jobs in recent years.” But the trend to invest in the US may already have begun. According to Citi Handlowy’s Sławomir Sikora, the bank has several clients—Polish companies—who decided not only to establish trade relations with US companies, “but also decided to make an effort and establish a physical presence there.” Sikora admitted that to many businesspeople from developed economies investing in the US is a commonplace activity, but for most Polish entrepreneurs the decision amounts to “crossing the Rubicon.” He said that a bank like Citi can facilitate business activities of Polish companies in the US, especially if they are located on the East Coast. a case for Poland As they highlighted the growing importance of the US market for the Polish economy, the speakers agreed that Poland continues to be an attractive market for US companies and FDI. Patrycja Gołos said American investors are happy to play an important role in Poland’s economy, and many of them look to tap into more opportunities by adjusting to the sustainable economic development strategy announced by the government a few months back. “We have invested a lot in Poland,” she said, “and at present

look for opportunities to invest more. Our ambitious plans call for investing USD 4 billion in the next 5 years.” Erik Plas, GM in Poland for MDS, part of Merck & Co., expressed a similar opinion. The company has recently built a data management center in Poland, one of three it maintains worldwide. “We employ top-class professionals there and contribute directly to the Polish economy,” Plas said. “We are interested in the Ministry of Development’s proposition. We want to see how the conversation will develop over time.” Charles Ranado spoke in a similar vein in connection with Polish government plans to purchase new defense equipment and the choice of Raytheon to provide it. “Raytheon has worked very hard in this market for a number of years to see that through,” he said, “and that is exciting for a number of reasons. The first is that our companies support the modernization plan here in Poland and support Poland’s efforts to become a more secure country. The deal will help give Poles the opportunity to downstream sales for Raytheon and will give the Poles an opportunity to participate in the whole production operation.” Ranado also said that a growing number of US companies are looking at Poland today, including small and medium-sized firms. “That’s very significant because SMEs contribute a significant amount to our economy,” he said. “They are the major exporting base of the US economy, and to see them here is fantastic.”

TTiP postmortem The panelists agreed that the growth of US-Poland business activities would get a significant boost if the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the free-trade agreement being negotiated between the EU and the US, ever falls into place. However, it seems that the negotiations have gotten stuck in the deal’s complexity, exacerbated by the ongoing US presidential election and Brexit, and it is unlikely that it will become reality soon. Despite that, transatlantic trade is the way to go for both US and Polish companies, the panelists concluded. As Sikora said, “It is a good idea to cut transaction costs in EU-US trade and is worthwhile continuing, despite whatever happens to TTIP.” Erik Plas noted that the concept is important for pharmaceutical companies in the EU because they sell 60% of their products made in Europe to the US, accounting for 80% of their global trade in value. Ladowski argued that the lack of TTIP will not stop the growth of trade between the US and Poland and other CEE countries. “Just look at the statistics,” he said. “The growth has been constant over the last few years. Just because there is no TTIP in place, the trend is not likely to change.”

Rekindling romance The government must continue to woo existing foreign investors

ver since AmCham began its presence at the Krynica Economic Forum, the topic of US investment impact on the Polish economy has popped up in panel discussions. Facts and ﬁgures were quoted, always drawing a picture of the extraordinary success of American pioneers who not only generated handsome proceeds but also signiﬁcantly shaped the way Polish companies understand and conduct business. This time, however, the historical success of US businesses was put into a different time perspective: a look into the future. Can this success continue, and if so, what are its indispensable ingredients? The discussion panel entitled “The Im-

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Pavel Adamovsky, UPS Poland; Sebastian Arana, 3M Poland; Joanna Bensz, CH2M Poland; Jacek Siwicki, Enterprise Investors; Prof. Joanna Cygler, Warsaw School of Economics; Tadeusz Kościński, Deputy Minister of Development; Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman

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pact of US Investment on Economic Development in Poland” was made up of business leaders from US companies, including Pavel Adamovsky, managing director of UPS Poland; Sebastian Arana, managing director of 3M Poland; Joanna Bensz, country manager of CH2M Poland; and Jacek Siwicki, president of Enterprise Investors. The government side was represented by Tadeusz Kościński, Deputy Minister of Development, while Prof. Joanna Cygler of the Warsaw School of Economics was the voice of academia. The panel was moderated by AmCham Chairman Tony Housh. a good start All the panelists praised American companies for being among the first foreign investors to come to Poland, despite the risks characteristic of a country in political and economic transition. Their first investments gained a lot of publicity because they were viewed in Poland as game-changers as the country desperately sought to modernize its dilapidated economy. But as time went by and US investors began to generate profits, they began to increase their footprint in Poland with new investments, sometimes of much higher value than their first projects in the country, both in terms of the money it cost to put the new projects on the ground and the added value they created for local businesses, suppliers, labor markets and educational institutions the investors used as natural partners for tapping into the local talent pool. These reinvestments never generated as much publicity as the original projects marking their arrival in Poland. This phenomenon was explained by Prof. Joanna Cygler, who likened the relationship between a foreign investor and the host country to a marriage. “The first investment is like the wedding day,” she said. “You always remember your wedding day. But after the wedding there is this everyday routine, and it is something that does not stick in your memory. Reinvestments are part of that everyday routine. If the relationship is good, reinvestments just happen.” While a track record of an excellent relationship within a marriage usually bodes well for the couple’s future, that is not always so in the relationship between a foreign investor and the host country. Here is where the marriage analogy ends, as other, external aspects come into play. The world is changing, competition is growing, and the next investment project is nearly always more sophisticated and advanced than the ones before. International companies have a global outlook and naturally search for locations that suit their next project best. So, as 3M’s Sebastian Arana said, “The historical success of US investors in Poland must not be taken for granted” by

the host country—“that it will guarantee future success.” In other words, the country has to try harder to match the investor’s expectations for higher-value growth. Another example of how important it is for investors to be able to make higher-value investment in the future was offered by Jacek Siwicki. He said that venture-capital funds reinvest their profits to fuel growth in value of the companies they buy. But they do so in anticipation that in a few years there will be someone else who will buy their companies from them for a higher price than they paid for them, because during this time they have nourished them and increased their business efficiency and profits, and thus upped their value. But if the host country does not create a good enough ecosystem for those bigger, often more sophisticated investors, then the value chain breaks down, and so do the opportunities to sell the companies. Siwicki said that when he approached a US corporation that had a good firm in Poland with high potential to grow, with an offer to buy that promising company, the response was a package deal including a dilapidated and troubled company in a foreign country the owner did not know what to do with. The role of government Nobody doubts that Poland is a good country for investment at present. But the government must create an ecosystem for investors so they can bring in more sophisticated investment and higher-value projects, thus remaining competitive on the global market. In other words, as Tony Housh put it, “The job of the government is not to make the market look good for a day, but for years. It is a long-term commitment.” Cygler described the challenge the government is facing in different words: “We will enter into hyper competition with other countries, and we will have to fight for each individual investor so it stays here and has good everyday experience with its business environment.” According to Tadeusz Kościński, the Polish government has a good understanding of the challenges it will have to face in the years to come to keep foreign investors committed to Poland. “Reinvestments are more important to us than first-time investment projects,” he said. “This is because with the investors present in Poland we have their track records and know what to expect. So such an investor is more real to us.” Kościński said that the new policies currently being drawn up by the Ministry of Development are aimed at creating a better and more efficient business ecosystem for foreign investors. “Our administration will utilize the one-stop-shop idea,” he said, “which means that investors in need would contact us, communicate their problems to us, and it will be our business to solve the problem, not

theirs.” He added that to make room for more sophisticated investments in Poland, the ministry is developing new investor aid instruments. “In the past we gave a lot of support to big investment projects that created many new jobs,” he said. “Now we plan to give support to those investors who create highquality jobs—companies that will have a positive impact on the local environment, such as the local supply chain, cooperation with local schools and academia.” Kościński also said that as part of the new government strategy to make Poland a better place for foreign investors, ofﬁcials from the Ministry of Development will travel across Poland to meet with businesspeople and learn on the spot about what is holding back their business potential, and how they can help. we need you! This idea was acclaimed by Joanna Bensz, who said that top managers of foreign companies in Poland have to have some good argument for their central headquarters to make them see Poland as the best place to locate their new, more sophisticated projects. She argued that if a government minister pays a visit to a Polish branch of an international company, that fact is noted by the headquarters and the decision-makers there know that the country cares about their investments and is serious about doing their best to help them succeed. As Bensz said, “We have to convince our bosses that Poland is the best place to invest in much higher-value investment projects. When government ministers go and meet with companies, the headquarters see that the Polish government is very serious about attracting high-value investment.” Sebastian Arana turned this around. “A lot of sophisticated investments take place in Poland, but how many others is Poland missing?” he asked. “We will never know. But by creating a dialogue and continuous communication with actual investors, Poland will be the destination for more science centers, R&D investments coming to the country. This is the next step. Companies want stability in the legal system, mutual trust.” Concluding the panel discussion, Tony Housh said that the success of US companies in Poland has created a huge amount of good will among the business community in Europe and the US. “The Polish success is out there and we need to magnify it.” It seems that with a little help from the government, a lot is still possible for US investors in Poland.

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Cover story AmCham at Krynica Economic Forum

Michał Kobosko, moderator; Beata Stelmach, General Electric; Irena Pichola, Deloitte; Sebastian Arana, 3M Poland

Here to stay

Business-government dialogue is essential to plan for the future

mini discussion panel entitled “25 Years of Sustainable Development of US Business in Poland” was one of

the attractions at the AmCham Diner media corner in Krynica. Michał Kobosko, director of the Atlantic Council in Poland,

Michał Koboski, moderator; Prof. Joanna Cygler, Warsaw School of Economics; Prof. Andrzej Fal, healthcare activist

A cure for healthcare

Innovative business models in healthcare may cut system costs

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nother mini discussion panel, sponsored by LAWG, an association of US pharma companies operating in

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Poland, was moderated by Michał Kobosko. He brought to the AmCham media corner Prof. Joanna Cygler from the Warsaw School

moderated the panel, inviting Beata Stelmach, general manager of General Electric in Poland, Irena Pichola from Deloitte, and Sebastian Arana, general manager of 3M Poland, to share some of the success stories of their companies with the audience and how they impacted the local economy and business environment. According to Irena Pichola, a study of 25 years of US business in Poland is “the story of the role of business in the economy, society, community. This is a story of why businesses have to be successful and how it enriches the society. It is not just about making money by doing simple tasks.” Beata Stelmach said that while US investments in Poland were viewed initially as “American,” in time they became part of the local economy and its surrounding social fabric. This is why foreign investors want to stay in Poland. And as part of the Polish economy, they should be able to have a dialogue with the government, so they understand its future plans, policies and philosophy. “Without that dialogue we may create separate paths, and this is not going to do any good for business and the country’s economic development.” Sebastian Arana noted that Poland has had a lot of predictability. “If this continues, there are more opportunities for more US companies to come to Poland.”

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of Economics and Prof. Andrzej Fal, an activist for reform of the public healthcare system in Poland, to talk about how innovations and the private sector can help the government pursue its healthcare strategies. The panelists discussed the Polish government’s plan to boost healthcare expenditures to 6% of GDP within 8 years from now. They argued that 6% of GDP is not going to be enough for the system to meet all the health needs of an aging Polish society. Joanna Cygler said that in fact the government proposal will not result in Poland cutting the gap it has in healthcare expenditures with other OECD countries. In that time those other countries will also raise their spending, which is now 10% of GDP in some cases, and stay proportionally ahead of Poland. Andrzej Fal claimed that private healthcare companies employing innovative business solutions to cut operating expenses may replace costly and inflexible stateowned healthcare institutions by offering taxpayers better value for money. The panelists agreed that reform of Poland’s healthcare system is one of the main challenges for the country to move ahead without inflating its budget deficit.

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Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman; Marcin Petrykowski, Standard & Poor’s; Mirosław Dudziński, Fitch

An eye-opener

While ratings are still underestimated, agencies hope to see business grow soon

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Rating: An Illusion or a Real Driver for the Economy?” was a mini discussion panel moderated by AmCham Chairman

Tony Housh, with representatives of two leading rating agencies: Marcin Petrykowski from Standard & Poor’s and Mirosław Dudziński

Hubert Salik, Rzeczpospolita; Leszek Ladowski, Polish-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida and the Americas

A 21st-century race

No matter who the next President is, the US will remain the best foreign market for Polish exporters

eszek Ladowski of the Polish-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida and the Americas was invited

by Hubert Salik from Rzeczpospolita, one of the largest dailies in Poland, to discuss the US presidential election from the perspec-

from Fitch Polska. The panelists gave an overview of the philosophy and methodology behind rating and how a company’s having a rating can boost its perception by investors and business partners. Mirosław Dudziński noted that apart from having a rating, a rated company receives an analytical report from the rating agency which shows the company’s results across a set of rating criteria. For many companies it is an eye-opener, identifying areas with room for improvement, which in many cases is a simple way to boost the company’s business efﬁciency. Marcin Petrykowski said that the rating sector in Poland has huge growth potential as more and more Polish companies in all sectors of industry seek to expand their business activities abroad, and naturally many of them will resolve to be rated to gain more business credibility. “Rating is a tool to create a common language with the external world in business,” Petrykowski said. “We provide that tool to companies along with access to accelerate their business potential worldwide.” Both panelist agreed, however, that it will take some time before ratings become universally understood in Poland. Dudziński said, “There is still a problem in Poland of a relatively low level of understanding of what rating means. Many people approach rating as an extra cost, as they are completely unaware of the beneﬁts they would get if they were rated.”

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tive of the American electorate. Ladowski said that the 2016 presidential race is unprecedented because the two candidates are as different as they can be. Democratic runner Hillary Clinton has generated super experience for the position, as First Lady, Senator from New York, and Secretary of State. She is running against Donald Trump, a real estate tycoon with no experience in public service. Ladowski said that despite such differences, many American voters perceive Trump as a strong leader. He has been through bankruptcy, but it did not break his back. He reinvented his business and took it to new heights. “Trump is a born leader who has controversial ideas but he is also very pragmatic,” Ladowski said. “At least that’s how he is perceived.” He noted that regardless of which candidate wins the election, the US will continue to seek business opportunities with the outside world, including Poland. It is a chance to take for Polish companies. “American consumers can afford to buy Polish products because they make higher salaries than consumers in Europe,” he explained. “This means that Poland has an opportunity to start exporting products to the US and keep the exports growing for the next 10 to 20 years.”

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FA L L 2 0 1 6 A M E R I C A N I N V E S T O R

Monthly Meeting September

Yes we can, can’t we?

Despite heavy social spending the government plans no major tax hikes in 2017

ver a hundred AmCham members gathered for the first Monthly Meeting after the summer break to hear remarks by Paweł Szałamacha, then Poland’s Minister of Finance, about the condition of the state budget for 2016 and 2017 and the ministry’s plans for a more effective tax revenue collection system. Szałamacha admitted that his duties as the person in charge of the country’s finances were not easy, as his colleagues from other ministries often would like to spend more money than allocated to them. This is because they don’t look at how much money they have at their disposal but rather the percentage of the country’s gross domestic product they spend, and they want to increase that number. “I keep telling my colleagues in the government that the country’s GDP can only have 100% MEET THE SPEAKER

Paweł Szałamacha is a member of the Polish Parliament and was Minister of Finance in the current Law & Justice (PiS) government from November 2015 to September 2016. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Treasury in 2005–2007 in a coalition government led by PiS. Szałamacha co-founded the Sobieski Institute in 2005 and served as its president from 2008 to 2011. In 2010 he was appointed to the National Development Council, an advisory body to the President of Poland. Szałamacha is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. He also earned a master’s in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

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and cannot have 110%,” the minister complained. The ruling party, Law & Justice (PiS), positions itself as a beacon of a certain conservative ideology. But when it comes to the economy, its philosophy can be described as nationalist/socialist. Its flagship social program, Family 500+, makes every family with two or more children below age 18 eligible to draw a PLN 500 monthly benefit for every child after the first. Considering some experts’ criticism that the program is steadily draining the state budget, Szałamacha said, “When in December 2015 the government submitted its first budget bill, the business community in Poland was asking if the government would make it on such a budget. So far it looks like we are going to make it in 2016, and I’m sure our 2017 budget will be even better.” The minister noted that while the government is pursuing “an ambitious social agenda” it is of special importance for the Ministry of Finance “to maintain fiscal responsibility for the financial standing of the country.” He hinted that this was a success in itself: “At the beginning it was not so obvious even for international financial institutions that our government would be able to run such ambitious social programs and keep the country’s budget in check.” The Family 500+ program costs more than 1% of the country’s GDP, the minister admitted. But he added that the 2017 budget looked good “because in 2016 the government recorded an improvement in tax collection.” spending increased... According to the Szałamacha, Family 500+ is here to stay in next year’s budget, despite questions about whether it supports what it is meant to do—increase the number of children in the Polish population. “Despite those discussions, the program will be fully funded,” he said. Poland will also continue heavy spending on infrastructure—roads and railways— which “will be increased from PLN 8 billion to PLN 10 billion.” Another sector where more money will go in 2017 is defense. “The Ministry of National Defense is one of the few happy ministries in this government,” Szałamacha explained, because its expenditures are set at 2% of GDP by law. “In the past the ministry was not able to use all the money,” he said.

The government also plans to increase tax cuts on R&D next year even further than originally planned by the author of the provision, former President Bronisław Komorowski. “We are taking it a step further,” Szałamacha said. “The tax break will be extended and more types of expenditures around R&D will qualify for the tax break. The government has approved it.” He noted that so far the impact of the tax cuts on the state budget was not known: “Only a few months have passed with those measures in place, and it is too early to evaluate them.” ... and stopped Referring to a plan from the Ministry of Health to extend health insurance to all citizens of Poland for free, Szałamacha said it was too late this year to prepare the budget to cover that policy in 2017. “Such reforms should be well prepared and thought through. The healthcare system is very complex, and when it comes to the ability of the government to prepare it well and make it happen through the political process it is a major project.” He noted that to make the Family 500+ policy a reality, “a strong move was made” in the 2016 budget to get the money: “The financial burden of the program reduces the scope of maneuver in financing other sectors, such as healthcare and education.” He noted that he was not a strong proponent of such policies. “We have difficult discussions how to achieve those goals,” he said, “and I have been very skeptical, arguing that if the entire government decides to support the family by reducing old-age pension allowances and other social security benefits, the government should reconsider their ideas of the state budget which are now thought of as a percentage of GDP.” 2017 taxation Talking about taxation in 2017, the minister said that no major changes should be expected. “We will try to keep the VAT rate at the present level of 23%, as we cannot afford to lower it at present,” he said. He also said there are no plans to change income tax and excise tax at the moment. A lower, 15% rate of corporate income tax for small businesses, introduced in September, will continue into 2017. Talking about the new retail tax introduced just a few days before the meeting

with AmCham, the minister noted it had already been questioned by the European Commission and it was not clear if the government could include any of the projected income from the retail tax in the 2017 budget. The European Commission opposed the tax, arguing that the tax rate must not depend on the revenue generated by retailers. Originally the PiS government proposed two different tax rates—higher for retailers generating revenue above a certain level, and lower for those who generate revenue below that level. The Commission said that to ensure fair market competition, one tax rate should apply to all retailers regardless of their monthly revenue. The retail tax clearly aimed at giving an edge to small retailers, mainly family-run and with domestic capital, over big retail chains, which are predominantly foreignowned. An earlier proposal for the retail tax pegged the tax rate to the size of the retail space operated by companies, attaching higher taxation to big retail spaces. Tax administration reform To raise more money for the government, Szałamacha said that a reform of the tax administration was being planned. However, not all institutions concerned support it—particularly the tax offices and the Customs Service. “The Customs Service should have been fundamentally reformed 12 years ago,” he argued. “But when Poland joined the EU and the customs border disappeared—that is, 2/3 of its geographical border disappeared—the office was not reformed and began to collect part of traditional taxes. We don’t think it is a good idea.” He added that the reform aims at bringing “competent people, high-quality professionals to the service. Naturally, people who work in the current system are concerned with our proposed reforms, and I need to communicate with them and push certain ideas through. My objective is that the system is more predictable and competent and less toxic, more efficient and better paid.” When it comes to the system of tax offices, the reform is aimed at making it “more professional and more businessfriendly,” Szałamacha said. “There is always talk about the revenue service being an institution which takes people’s money, and we want just high quality and a good partner for legitimate business.”

nies so they were technically fit to go private. With liquidation of the ministry, the government is sending a signal that it does not plan to privatize more state-owned companies. When asked why the copper mining group KGHM was not privatized, the minister said that most likely it would have been bought by a big investor from the copper industry from Australia, China or the US. “It is not a good situation for us when most if not all big companies in the country are owned by foreign investors only,” he explained. “It creates a sense of insecurity and a sense of not being in charge of our own destiny.” He added that for a company to be efficient, “All that matters is effective management. I don’t know if private companies are managed in a better way than governmentowned companies. We have seen cases when conservatively managed companies owned by governments did not enter into some high-risk transactions and did not go bust because of that. In turn, some very aggressively investing private companies in traditional sectors of the economy went bust.” a look at e-commerce Asked to comment on the decision of the European Commission which found the Irish government breached EU competition law when it had agreed to a low tax on Apple’s profits in Ireland, amounting to unfair state aid, Szałamacha said that this case

shows a mismatch of competencies within the EU. In his view, the problem is that while the European Commission is in charge of ensuring the same level of competitiveness in the markets in all the EU member states, it is the competency of each individual member state to apply taxation on business. This creates an area of competence conflict between the European Commission and individual EU member states, because taxation is also a factor in making member states competitive for business. Szałamacha criticized the Irish government decision to apply special, low taxation to Apple in Ireland, saying that the Polish government “does not think it is a good thing to offer preferential taxation to selected companies, because as members of the EU all countries agreed to follow certain rules which were painfully negotiated, and should not amend their tax policies.” He admitted, however, that the mechanism by which the European Commission is intervening is a “backdoor action.” He said that a set of transparent rules have to be developed for taxation of the digital economy in the EU. “Of course the US would prefer to see all the profits taxed in the US, but we believe that there should be some division of the fruit within the different tax jurisdictions, based on the principle of taxing profits according to where they are made.”

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The end of privatization The Monthly Meeting took place around the time the government was working on liquidation of the Ministry of Treasury, which was charged with oversight of stateowned companies. The ministry was responsible for reorganizing selected compa-

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Monthly Meeting October

Chaos and creation Poland steps up efforts to build a single-platform government Internet service and safeguard its security

nna Streżyńska, Minister of Digital Affairs, met with AmCham members at the Monthly Meeting in October and presented a rather grim picture of the tasks facing the ministry as it seeks to build a government Internet system that is coherent and optimally secure against malicious attacks. She assigned a lot of blame to her predecessor, Rafał Trzaskowski of Civic Platform (PO) (who met with AmCham for the Monthly Meeting in May 2014). She monitored the work of the previous minister to some degree before she was appointed to run the ministry herself. She had some suspicions that things were not going right at the ministry, but it was not until she had taken over the ministry in 2015 that she “learned the details, which surpassed my direst expectations.” She said that all IT policies and programs implemented by the ministry (then the MEET THE SPEAKER

Anna Streżyńska was appointed Minister of Digital Affairs in the Law & Justice government in November 2015. In 2014–2015 she was a member of the Council for Digitization at the Ministry of Administration and Digitization and CEO of broadband Internet provider WSS SA. In 2015 she was the head of a regional broadband project called Internet for Mazovia. Streżyńska is a lawyer with huge experience in the public sector. In 2005 to 2006 she was Deputy Minister of Transport and Construction responsible for communications. In 2006–2012 she served as president of the Office of Electronic Communications, Poland’s telecoms regulator.

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Ministry of Administration and Digitization, which was split into two separate ministries by the new government in December 2015) “were not correlated and did not really match one another.” Because of that fragmentation, the ministry did not come up with any coherent cybersecurity policy, she said, pointing out that the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) had slammed the ministry for its chaotic approach to cybersecurity in an audit carried out after the change of government. Prompted by questions from the audience, Streżyńska gave a more specific description of the security faults at the ministry. Among other things, the ministry failed to establish a task force of security experts to deal with security incidents. Instead, this responsibility was attached to one person—the head of the minister’s political cabinet—which was a fictitious solution, she claimed. She added however that a number of ministries, including the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, had reasonably high security standards of their own, because people in such ministries naturally had more understanding and sensitivity toward security issues. But this was not the case, she charged, with other government agencies holding classified information, such as financial and tax records or sensitive medical information about individuals. However, she did not identify any major security incidents that could have compromised confidential information during the tenure of the previous government. But Streżyńska said that when it comes to implementing IT solutions, the previous government focused on programs that were meant to aid the internal working of government ministries and agencies. Again, she claimed this was largely a failure. The software designed for the National Health Fund (NFZ) did not meet expectations because “it was prone to generate errors.” Similar problems affected the IT systems of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the central tax administration. The tax IT system was found “so unreliable that the Minister of Finance issued a decision prohibiting businesses from using it for filing their tax returns,” she noted. She added that the government had used about EUR 4 billion from the EU’s Innovative Economy Operational Program to im-

plement a number of IT systems supporting the internal work of ministries and agencies, but it came with “no central controlling component which would constitute a platform to integrate the individual systems.” Without such a platform it is difficult to expect the government IT system to generate consistent information for end users, not to mention being covered by a single cybersecurity policy and system. learning fast Facing this conundrum, Streżyńska said she had no choice but to start building a government cybersecurity strategy from scratch. But before she took steps in that direction, she boosted security standards for the Polish Internet by extending the on-duty time of the National Center for Cybersecurity—a task force affiliated with NASK, the national Internet administrator in Poland, from bankers’ hours to 24/7. She admitted it was a small step, but nevertheless an important one. When it comes to building a comprehensive strategy for growth of the Internet in Poland, along with cybersecurity policies, the ministry is still in the learning and factfinding stage. “We looked at other countries for inspiration,” Streżyńska explained. “We were looking for competent people in Poland to source their aid. Those people were not in the government or the public administration. We had to look at private companies. We went to a bank and learned from it a lot about what cybersecurity is all about.” Today, the minister declared, cybersecurity is “one of our key priorities,” and the ministry has achieved a level of understanding of the problem enabling it to pick the right technology. “We know the technology and we know what we can achieve,” she said. “We are ready to write an act that will be the staple of Poland’s cybersecurity policies. We are now consulting this strategy with different ministries, and I hope a draft will be passed to the government by midNovember.” Another bill the Ministry of Digital Affairs is working on would create what the minister called a “cybersecurity cluster” protecting government servers through a cocoon of firewalls preventing random and unauthorized traffic from reaching the servers. In forming the idea of the cluster, the ministry resorted to solutions developed

by the UK government, which uses firewalls to protect its servers from malicious traffic. A draft of the bill will be presented to the Prime Minister by March 2017. The ministry is also focusing on drafting a bill laying out a strategy for effective development of Internet access across all regions of Poland. This document, also scheduled for next year, is to include an action plan for the government to erase the digital divide in some parts of the country. The minister noted that the EU has similar goals to make Internet available to all its citizens on a non-commercial basis—an idea that was originally developed in Poland. She explained that the EU directive setting the goal for local governments across EU member states to support the development of broadband Internet infrastructure—the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive (2014/61/EU)—was borrowed from a document drafted by the Polish government, aimed at enabling local governments to participate financially in developing broadband Internet networks across their regions, while wiring educational institutions and households into the network. The minister said that she coauthored the original document, and that it was a good scheme for involving local governments in developing Internet and telecom-

munications networks in regions where commercial operators do not go because they see no prospect for profit. One of the beneficiaries of such solutions is schools, especially those whose instructional programs use online resources. Perpetuating old sins While the ministry is still soul-searching for the best system architecture for cybersecurity, it is also supervising implementation of a number of IT systems across different public agencies. The minister admitted that formally speaking, it is a mistake to implement different systems before determining the general system architecture that the entire government Internet network is supposed to have. But had those projects been abandoned the ministries implementing the projects would have to freeze them, and that would result in loss of the EU funds dedicated to those projects. The problem of having to integrate different IT systems under one government system umbrella was recognized by Streżyńska’s predecessors, who compiled an academic study of how this can be done. This big conceptual work, as she referred to it, to a large extent is now being used by the ministry in drawing up its plans for such a solution, the minister admitted.

internet for all Another strategic issue the Ministry of Digital Affairs is currently working on is the concept of cyber identity, which would recognize the true identity of each Internet user and thus enable all end users to access the government’s information network and contact the relevant ministries and agencies. “Digital identity is the first thing that we are working on,” the minister said. “It is about making all users recognizable in the system. The conceptual work is scheduled to end in 2017, and by the end of 2017 we hope to have selected concrete solutions for it.” While 2017 is devoted by the ministry to establishing a single platform for all central government information systems, the ministry plans later to create a similar platform integrating all Internet services from local governments. Streżyńska added that while the cost to implement all the ministry’s plans will be huge, the plans for 2017 call for only USD 20 million. The amount will be split to support implementation of the security cluster project and hire more professionals for the NASK-affiliated task force of security experts.

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Boost your company exposure by sponsoring AmCham events We offer a unique opportunity to increase your company’s visibility through sponsorship of AmCham events, by promoting your company to the business and diplomatic community and receiving media coverage. AmCham events in Warsaw include business mixers, high-level discussion panels at CEO Forums, as well as our big annual events, the 4th of July Picnic and the AmCham Diner at the Krynica Economic Forum and the European Economic Congress in Katowice, which attract hundreds of guests. In addition to AmCham’s Warsaw events, companies can sponsor events in Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław, and Gdańsk. Events include business mixers, conferences, and more. For more information on events, please contact us at

anita.kowalska@amcham.pl

FA L L 2 0 1 6 A M E R I C A N I N V E S T O R

Focus Foreign investment

A force for good American FDI and the Polish economy

s time goes by, more and more foreign companies are celebrating their quartercentury anniversaries of business in Poland. Many of them are American corporations that came to Poland, mindful of the risks involved, nearly as soon as the country had begun its political and economic transformation in 1989 from autocracy and a centrally planned economy to democracy and a free market. In September, one such American corporation, 3M, celebrated its ﬁrst 25 successful years in Poland with a report presenting the many ways the company has had an impact on the Polish economy. Quantitative measurement Like any report of this kind, this one contains numbers that tell stories. The company registered in Poland in 1991 and since that time has invested USD 500 million in its operations here. As a result, today it maintains 2,900 jobs at its production plants, innovation center and global services center—most of them in Wrocław, where they constitute a super-production hub. The sales center and national headquarters are in Kajetany, near Warsaw. The company offers 10,000 products in Poland for a range of industries, from chemical to telecom, computer to automotive, consumer goods and municipal services to recycling. The estimated added value 3M delivered for them in 2015 was PLN 766 million, on sales of USD 510 million. While many of us who use Post-it notes—a popular 3M product—probably never wondered how much money the bits of paper with a failed adhesive save them, the automakers who use 3M glue instead of bolts in their vehicles have no doubts: the glue cuts the weight of each unit, which in turns saves fuel for the end user. The report contains those calculations too. One interesting calculation shows 3M’s impact on household incomes, or in other words, how much money the employees of 3M and its subcontractors have made. In 2015 the numbers were over PLN 172 million for 3M employees, nearly PLN 64 million for people employed by companies providing goods and services to 3M Poland, and PLN 62 million for companies that “proﬁt from consumer and investment spending” by the others mentioned above. In the aggregate, 3M Poland claims to have had an impact on household income to the tune of PLN 303 million in 2015, which, the report noted, “would allow for the purchase of over 1,000 50-square-meter apartments in Wrocław.” 3M Poland supports over 5,000 jobs directly or indirectly in the Wrocław municipal area, which translates to 11% of the entire work-

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force in the business sector there. The report conveys other interesting quantitative facts. As 3M products are meant to improve people’s lives, the authors calculated the number of times the average Pole encounters them. The result was 17 times a day, which suggests that most of us do not even realize how often we bump into 3M products. Many of those products are new innovations, as the report states that a third of 3M products sold in Poland in 2015 were launched on the market in the last five years. And half of the products commercialized in 3M operations in Central & Eastern Europe were developed in Poland. innovation unglued The subject of innovations brings us to the qualitative aspect of 3M operations. As a technology company, its modus vivendi is to develop innovations and sell them. When it comes to the development part, 3M does this in two conceptual areas. The first area, which the company is very proud of, is where the company encourages its engineers to devote up to 15% of their work time to develop innovations that are not related to their main line of responsibility at the workplace. This out-ofthe-box approach should not come as a surprise, because 3M is a company that understands the process of innovating. Often it is pure accident. Such was the case with one of 3M’s flagship office products, the Post-it note, which came to life with one man’s desire to find a bookmark that wouldn’t fall out of his hymnal. As a 3M employee, Art Fry had access to a glue that was too weak to inspire any use, except that when applied to a piece of paper it gently held the paper for some time. Fry took up the idea with 3M and the rest is history. Another conceptual area where 3M develops innovations is through innovative collaboration with its customers. For instance, who knows better than a car manufacturer what the next generation of its cars require to be a success? 3M sources this knowledge from its automotive clients and works with them to deliver what they are looking for. This is what the company calls “customer-inspired innovation.” Speaking at the launch of the 3M 25th-anniversary report, Sebastian Arana, 3M Poland’s managing director, said that while traditionalminded companies view innovations and R&D as product innovation which is about new patents and the continuous development of science, companies that want to be competitive globally have to use “different business models.” According to Arana, “That means different supply chain models globally, different manufacturing models globally, and also how you serve your customers in the global base.”

not alone The success of 3M Poland and its impact on the Polish economy at large comes as no surprise, according to Iwona ChojnowskaHaponik, director of the Foreign Investment Department at the Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ), a government agency that helps big foreign investors locate their projects in Poland. ChojnowskaHaponik said that the case of 3M Poland only underlines the importance of foreign companies in the Polish economy. Since the very beginning of Poland’s economic transformation they have been a force fueling economic progress. Through the end of 2014, they had invested over USD 208 billion in Poland. The longer they do business in Poland, the more they are likely to invest. In 2014 the total amount of foreign direct investment in Poland was over USD 11 billion, four times the number for 2013. Today there are about 26,000 foreign companies in business in Poland. In other words, foreign companies comprise nearly 17% of all firms in business in Poland, not counting micro enterprises. Those 26,000 companies provide employment to over 1.75 million people, which translates into 32.6% of all people employed in the economy, discounting the financial and insurance sectors. certain advantages Foreign companies reinvest 67% of their profits in Poland. According to ChojnowskaHaponik, “It is important that foreign companies do not repatriate their profit but reinvest to develop their core business further and create new companies in other niches of the economy, such as shared services centers, BPO and R&D. This is good for the Polish economy.” But foreign companies that do so well in Poland may have a good reason to expand their business footprint here. With their business acumen, their knowhow and international experience, they have a certain advantage over Polish companies. As Chojnowska-Haponik said, because of the ways they are managed, the business efficiency of foreign companies per employee is 37% higher than that of Polish companies. This is best seen in the export/import numbers: foreign firms generate 67% of all exports from Poland (in value) and approximately 50% of imports. And foreign companies pay their employees more than Polish firms do. ChojnowskaHaponik cited a report by the Polish HR consultancy Sedlak & Sedlak, which found that salaries in Polish companies are on average 40% lower than those paid by foreign companies in Poland. Chojnowska-Haponik also noted that foreign companies are much more prone to invest in R&D than local firms, with 57% of their internal investment going to R&D. She cited a report from the Central Statistical Office

AmCham Charity Drive 2016 (GUS) analyzing the impact of foreign investment on the Polish economy along a range of indices, which concluded that foreign investors generate 37.7% of the value of the Polish economy. “This is a big share,” she said, “and it best shows how important foreign companies are to the Polish economy.” lead a horse to water The fact that foreign companies do so well in Poland and have such a huge impact on the country’s economy might be explained by the observation that they are more openminded in their approach to business than homegrown businesses, which tend to follow solutions they have seen work in the past. Andrzej Jacaszek, vice chairman of the largest association of employers in Poland, Pracodawcy RP, said that the 3M Poland case shows the importance of innovative thinking in business today. He underlined that the 15% rule (the percentage of work time 3M people can devote to development of their own “private projects”) shows that the company values wild-card experimentation, even if it may not necessarily lead to commercial success. But this attitude breeds new thinking, which is essential in building a long-term competitive edge. Jacaszek also noted that foreign companies more often than Polish ﬁrms adapt their organizational culture and management along the lines suggested by the latest HR learning, and as a result can create a culture that promotes innovative thinking, teamwork, loyalty, and quality leadership. “It is not the heroic leadership of the company CEO, but the leadership across different organizational levels, that makes people personally responsible for the success of processes and projects they are in charge of,” Jacaszek said. Such attitudes are beginning to take root in Polish companies, Jacaszek noted, but there is still a long way to go before they develop to the level now known in foreign ﬁrms. One obstacle for change to take place, apart from the conservative approach to business, is the lack of mutual trust between business partners. “Our economy is only 25 years old,” Jacaszek explained. “It needs more time to mature, and I hope that the process will speed up soon.”

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For the 21st consecutive year, we are organizing the AmCham Charity Drive to help children from 8 orphanages across the country and a single mothers’ shelter in Słomczyn. All gifts are welcome, however, as these organizations struggle for everyday items, we encourage you to read the list below before making a decision on your donation. Please note that the single mothers’ shelter primarily needs basic necessities such as clothing and shoes for winter. The items in green bold are the ones that are needed most. In order to deliver the goods for Christmas we must receive them by Thursday, December 1, at our office: Spektrum Tower, 16th floor ul. Twarda 18, 00-105 Warsaw. We work from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. It is also possible to make cash donations to our Charity Fund, which is used to purchase goods we cannot deliver (such as coal and natural gas) on your behalf. All companies that participate in this project will be listed on the AmCham web site (www.amcham.pl) and featured in the winter edition of American Investor. Items needed: Clothing (winter clothing, jeans, sweatpants, sweaters, coats, jackets, skirts, dresses)—only new items please!; Shoes (winter, sports); Cleaning supplies (floor and bathroom cleaner, detergents, etc.); Toiletries (baby supplies, deodorants for girls and boys, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, etc.); Food, Candy; Beverages; Educational items (books, computer programs, computers/laptops, backpacks); Beds and bedding, (blankets, duvets, pillows); Sporting gear (sleeping bags, soccer balls, volleyballs, tourist equipment); Toys (not only soft toys but also educational toys, like games, building bricks, puzzles, etc.) If you want to help us make the holiday season a little brighter for those who need it most, please contact Anita Kowalska at +48 22 520 5994 or e-mail anita.kowalska@amcham.pl

Our account number: Fundacja Amerykańskiej Izby Handlowej w Polsce: 93 1240 6003 1111 0010 4343 0032

Obituary David Mitzner (1915–2016)

The American business community in Poland has lost a remarkable individual

he AmCham community has lost one of its most remarkable members, and I want you to take note. On Friday, September 26, 2016, David Mitzner passed away at the age of 101. I was at his 100th birthday party in Houston, Texas, and he had more stamina that night than I did, at less than half his age. Mr. Mitzner’s story is full of inspiration and life lessons for all of us. I met Mitzner in 2002 at a Monthly Meeting at the Warsaw Marriott. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down a little to boast in my ear about the biggest real estate deal this part of the world had seen. He was talking about Apollo-Rida’s purchase of the Metro group for hundreds of millions of euro. The transaction, which came through two years later, covered 28 shopping centers and shopping malls around Poland. It was a milestone deal in the market and required the approval of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs. As the brand-new director of the chamber, I was duly impressed at what he had told me, but all I could respond was, “Mr. Mitzner, are you married?” He smiled, I smiled, and a respectful friendship began. At the start of World War II, David Mitzner was in his 20s, running a family trading business in Warsaw. He ironically survived the atrocities of the war by being caught smuggling sweaters over the Russian border, which got him into a Russian gulag and 7 years of hard labor. As recounted in his biography (Nesim All Around Me: The Life of David Mitzner, by Konstanty Gebert), he survived because he was careful to ration his energy and because he was a small, though well-built man, and the tiny food rations sufﬁced. After leaving the work camp he returned to Warsaw only to ﬁnd that the Warsaw he knew—friends, neighbors, and neighborhood—were all gone. His parents and two siblings had died during the war. One remaining sister he later found in Canada. Mitzner found his way to New York, where he began a new life and got into the hosiery business on the production side. He was skilled at business and deal-making, but also was full of the kind of luck that comes to remarkable people. His son Ira once told me

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that his life was so incredible because so many people responded to the incredibleness of David Mitzner himself. From hosiery, Mitzner found his way to real estate and Texas. As soon as Poland began the process of building a free-market democracy, Mitzner made his way back to his homeland and invested here through the Apollo-Rida company, seizing on the opportunities but also with a need to return to the land of his youth. Indeed it is endearing that he spent the last 25 years of his life largely in Poland, while maintaining a house in Houston and visiting his family there regularly. Mitzner was not a bitter man. In personal life he was a man of determination and perseverance. In business he was a man of character and stamina. He did not dwell on the past, but lived forward. He spoke several languages and kept up this skill regularly. He swam every day and maintained a smart diet. He was the star at an August 2015 ceremony at the Presidential Palace where he received one of the highest honors the Republic of Poland can bestow upon its citizens—the Ofﬁcer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta—and stood through the ceremony, giving a rousing speech at the end. He said that while he was thankful to the US for the opportunities it gave him as a newcomer to the country, it was Poland that gave him the most. “I lived in the USA, a country that I’m a good citizen of,” he said. “But my roots are here in Warsaw, where I was born. I’m thankful with all my heart to Poland for the roots it gave me, for the strength it gave me for the ﬁrst 100 years of my life.” With his departure, the American business community in Poland lost a truly remarkable individual whose business acumen, personal charm and integrity were for many of us a source of fascination and inspiration. Dorota Dabrowski In 2015, for his contribution to the development of the Polish economy Mitzner was honored with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by Poland's President Bronisław Komorowski

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Company profile Jeppesen Poland

Team up, dream big American Investor’s Tom Ćwiok talks with Rafał Stepnowski, president of Jeppesen Poland, a Boeing afﬁliate, about IT solutions for the aviation industry

what products and services do you offer, and who is your target? We focus on helping customers become more efficient in their operations and delivering electronic navigation solutions that give pilots all the information they need at the touch of a finger. This not only saves time, but also replaces the bulky manuals pilots used to rely on. We also deliver flight planning tools that help pilots, dispatchers and others plan and execute optimal aircraft routings. Our crew and fleet planning tools help airlines build schedules that lower their operating costs while allowing individual crew members greater flexibility in booking schedules. And finally, our fleet and maintenance solutions are built for today’s connected world, allowing maintenance personnel access to manuals and publications, greatly increasing their efficiency.

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Photo courtesy of Jeppesen Poland

what is the history of your company in Poland? Jeppesen is a Boeing subsidiary and part of the Digital Aviation business unit within Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. As a brand, it has been present in Poland since 2007, but its history began earlier, in 1990, when C-map Poland, a part of C-map, was established in Gdańsk. Starting with a few IT, navigation and geography students and graduates, in rooms rented from the Gdańsk University of Technology, the company quickly gained a strong position as a producer of digital maps—as much as 25% of digital marine maps were produced in Gdańsk. In 2006, Jeppesen, a world leader in solutions for aviation, purchased C-map, and, thanks to its successful team and management decided to stay and evolve in Gdańsk. In 10 years, the company has grown to 350 people, and it is still ﬂourishing. It has also matured from a company entering navigation data into dedicated systems, to researching and developing sophisticated solutions for aviation customers. Our R&D department, operating since 2010, has made 10 patent applications.

How important is the market in Poland? We contribute to the entire portfolio of Digital Aviation offered by Boeing Group so we are part of the global market. We are Poland-based because the people here are dynamic, well-educated, strongly motivated and eager to learn, with growing professional ambitions. The number of IT students is growing. In 2014 alone, almost 2,000 students graduated from IT-related studies in northern Poland. This year over 30,000 candidates applied to study IT in Poland, and the number has grown by 20%

since 2010. Both Polish and foreign IT companies are constantly hungry for new talent. How do you collaborate with academia in Poland? Our long-term goal is to create a Development Capability Center, an independent unit within the structure of Boeing capable of creating, developing and maintaining navigation software products. It will be our next step to strengthen Boeing’s position in Poland, granting better access to ambitious, talented individuals exposed to the opportunity to create, implement, and develop new products. This is why we are expanding our relations with educational institutions. We have opened a cooperating ofﬁce on the campus of the Rzeszów University of Technology. Rzeszów is a vital location for academic development in our areas of interest—IT and aviation. We also cooperate with the Gdańsk University of Technology, where we run a series of workshops and give lectures in the Geoinformatics Department. iT engineering offers good, sought-after jobs.

Indeed, and the average wages in the IT industry are significantly higher than the median national wage in Poland. That guarantees a high standard of living for people working in the industry. Also, Poland is a special place for the aviation industry. Poles love aviation, and Poland has a strong avionics tradition. It is no coincidence that almost every glider championship brings medals for Polish competitors. with all the enthusiasm for aviation, what can you tell me about the culture of your company? We took the best from the international corporations we cooperate with and combined it with the spirit of Polish entrepreneurship. With this, we made a leap from a data-entry company to become a corporation with a relatively huge footprint on the market, creating new solutions and implementing its own patents. One of the rules of our corporate code is “Team up,” to ensure everyone is a team member. Another is “Speak out,” because every member of our team plays an important role. Our guidelines encourage our people to play fair, that is, respect the ethics of our company. Our rule “Stay sharp” encourages us to face new challenges. The last principle, but not the least, is “Have fun!” This is an indispensable element in our work environment. How does that look in practice? We have a strong, respectful and cooperative team. Our people spend a lot of time together, not only working but also having a good time, with other activities such as scuba diving and ice skating. We have a football team and a cycling team. A group of employees took part in a triathlon. It is much more efficient when the team members like each other and are eager to engage in interesting activities. Our values are more than just slogans. According to a survey done for us by an independent agency, our employees value the fact that they can discuss issues and exchange thoughts with their colleagues in different locations worldwide, as well as pilots who use our products and services. what is the biggest challenge for you as you look to the future of the company? I can see our future as a diligent, challenging job, searching for the best employees possible, willing to dream big.

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Crossover

Talent, not location

what is the history of crossover in Poland? The history of Crossover is a short but expansive one, since we are a startup, registered in the US in April 2015. Our story in Poland is even shorter. Andy Tryba, our CEO, decided that we should have a permanent presence in Poland due to the large amount of tech talent in the country coming from the many various technology universities around Poland, in Warsaw, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź, Kraków and Katowice. Those technology schools deliver a vast number of potential candidates. Therefore since November last year we have had a person on the ground specifically dedicated to the Polish market and issues in Poland. Having someone here in Poland to meet with partners and candidates gives us better insight and helps us build better relationships for the future. Our joining AmCham Poland in January is an example of this. what are the pros and cons of remote employment for companies and programmers? Working remotely is a natural part of where the future of labor is moving. Working remotely does not only mean working from home—it can be from anywhere, anytime. So in our model people work from co-working offices, home, cafés or even in different countries from where they originally live. Also, in our model we offer what we call a “cloud wage” that is dependent on your skills

Photo courtesy of Crossover

American Investor’s Tom Ćwiok talks with Per Markus Tornberg, country manager for Poland of Crossover, which specializes in linking companies with remote workers, about paradigm shift in employment

and position, not your location. It is a location-independent salary that we offer around the world, no matter where you live or work, and in most parts of the world it is significantly higher than the local average.

I have to add that remote work gives the employees bigger flexibility in their work hours and work location. For the employers it creates a happier and more efficient workforce. We all know that working in an office environment with stiff 9 to 5 working hours creates less productivity. So the pros can be clearly seen. In an 8-hour remote workday we get a lot more things done than in a classic office environment. The major pro for both sides is thus the flexibility, which helps companies find the best people for the job from anywhere on the planet, not just within driving distance of the office. For employees it means they can find work with companies on the other side of the planet without having to move from their favorite place of life and family. Indeed, family life is another pro for employees, as remote work offers flexible hours for them and each employee can take care of all of his or her personal issues with no problem. So we are talking about a great work/life balance, with no need to ask your boss’s permission to pick up or drop off your children at school. You simply do it. do you offer any software backing to people who work remotely in Poland?

Yes, we do. Working remotely from home of course requires self-motivation and self-control. To help achieve that we have a system that we install on our computers called Work Smart, which keeps us on track with our productivity and work hours. We all still need to work a minimum of 40 hours a week. with such recruitment sites as linkedin, do you think that the role of the middleman in recruitment is changing? Yes, for sure the role of the middleman and recruitment companies is changing quickly, and we consider Crossover a part of this change. We recruit for our own needs but also for our client companies, which also believe in the 100% remote work model. We also cooperate with such companies as LinkedIn, but there are many more appearing on the market. Even in Poland we already work with both Pracuj.pl and Goldenline. So the digital age is having an impact on how we work today. People can work from anywhere. It is all about connecting the right talent to the right companies. As an example, if a company in the US wants to get the best possible person for the job and pay a competitive cloud salary instead of the classic local wage, it can literally tap into any market on the planet and search through huge numbers of candidates to fill the position. so employment intermediation is on the way out? Yes, that is exactly correct. Crossover’s business model is a direct response to the new possibilities of our digital age, and a response to what companies and employees need today. If they are all happier working remotely and become more productive, then it is a win/win scenario for both sides. what are your company’s plans for Poland in 2017 and beyond? We need to continue to market our services in Poland for the labor markets, to show them that there are excellent fulltime, well-paying jobs available globally and remotely. The concept of cloud salary is becoming the future of labor. With that we focus in Poland on spreading this message along with our determination to offer jobs here paying higher than average salaries in Poland. We are looking for the best of the best to join us in our work and mission—a mission where the value of our hard work is based on our talents and not our location.

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Company profile Flex Poland

From ideas to products of the future American Investor’s Tom Ćwiok talks with Andrzej Połojko, GM of Flex Poland, a provider of integrated solutions for industry, about its transformation over the last 16 years

why did you choose Tczew for your main site? Tczew continues to be a good location for many reasons. It’s in the mainland of Europe where many of our key customers are located. It has good access to labor, both in Tczew and the Tricity area. It is also close to the main Baltic ports, the Gdańsk airport, and a good road and rail network. This strategic location is key. what products and services do you offer? Flex in Tczew offers a whole range of services to its customers, from initial product design and prototyping to production line development and production itself, end-toend distribution and logistics services. Our customers include leading global brands as well as SMEs and startups across several industries, including infrastructure, industrial, oil & gas, and consumer electronics. your company’s slogan is “live smarter.” Tell us more. “Live smarter” is Flex’s tagline as it embodies our company’s vision and mission, which 26

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ship, is at the very heart of what the company stands for. We view it as an immense opportunity to create a better life and a more sustainable future by building a smarter, more connected world. This of course takes place at global and local levels. Here in Poland, we have awarded several community grants through the Flex Foundation program, which has helped numerous activities locally, such as the creation of a computer laboratory in a Tczew orphanage and a recreation hall for a local hospice, and supported the purchase of cars for the Water Emergency Volunteers, WOPR, and the local food bank. None of this could be done without our employees’ commitment. They volunteer their work to make the communities where they live a more livable and prosperous environment. what drives your business in Poland? We have been operating and developing successfully in Poland for 16 years. This has been possible in particular thanks to access to a well-trained and talented workforce. The economic stability and location of our country in Central Europe, in close proximity to more developed countries of Western Europe and Scandinavia, are also important.

Photo courtesy of Flex Poland

what can you tell me about the company’s milestones in Poland? Flex began its operations in Poland over 16 years ago. We were small but in 2000 we completed the construction of our ﬁrst production facility in the Tczew Special Economic Zone. With that, we quickly began to expand as the demand for our services increased. In 2001 we hired our 1,000th worker, and a year later we built a second building, which further increased our production capacity. Today, Flex in Tczew employs nearly 4,000 people and has a production park of three buildings occupying 60,000 m2. The assembly of electronic boards, modules and electronic appliances takes place in the ﬁrst building. The second building houses metal processing and the assembly of complex products such as base stations for cellular networks, 3D printers and self-service machinery. The third and newest facility is our logistics centre.

is to bring intelligence to everything we make and everything we do, whether it is a solution set, a product, or the way we work on a daily basis. We believe we win only when our customers win. And we believe in creating a simpler, richer life through technology. Through our in-depth industry experience, our global footprint and our innovative solutions we are helping customers succeed in the era of what we term the Age of Intelligence by enabling them to turn their ideas into reality.

as an innovative company, what is your relationship with the local academic community? Fuelling education and developing future talent is extremely important to Flex, and consequently our cooperation with local universities and colleges is vital to our success. In practice, we cooperate with all the largest schools in the Tricity. We also started a joint postgraduate program called “Quality assurance in the technical sector” with the Gdańsk University of Technology. Collaborating with the university, our quality engineers created the curriculum and got involved in lectures and workshops. This program was so successful that we extended it with a new module, “Electronic equipment production engineering.” what would you say about the impact the company has on the local population? Firstly, I would like to comment that CSR, or what we in Flex refer to as Global Citizen-

is there anything in the economy today holding you back in Poland? In my opinion, Poland continues to be a very good place for business. Manufacturing operations located in Poland have a very good reputation in the production sector, mainly thanks to the quality they offer and their work culture and ethics. From my own personal perspective, the only thing that has been neglected in Poland over the last few years is vocational education, which has negatively impacted companies. Fortunately, this challenge was noticed some time ago and numerous educational and qualiﬁcation improvement programs for young people are currently in progress. what are your plans going forward? As part of Flex global operations, we continue to look to grow our capacity and capabilities here in Poland. We are constantly integrating innovative manufacturing technologies, improving our facilities and processes through forward-thinking ideas, including the use of technologies such as ﬂexible printed circuitry, 3D printing, microelectronics, advanced sheet-metal forming, and automated robotics, to ensure our facilities have all the tools necessary to turn our customers’ ideas into the products of the future.

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PKP Energetyka

Powering forward

Photo courtesy of PKP Energetyka

American Investor’s Tom Ćwiok talks with Wojciech Orzech, president of PKP Energetyka, the power company for the Polish railroad system, about market drivers of today and tomorrow

tribution network spans the entire country and is available not only to railway customers but also to large industrial plants. With our experience, we are able to ensure the highest reliability of electricity supplies in Poland. Other impor-

what is the history of your company in Poland? Our roots date back to the 1930s, when the first electric railway line opened in Poland. Back then, the company was part of the state-owned PKP—Polish State Railways—which was divided at the beginning of the 2000s, with different areas of its business spun off to a dozen or so different companies. That was the formal establishment of PKP Energetyka. The company’s origins are definitely what determines its strength—it is difficult to imagine a more demanding customer than the national railways. It was the employees of PKP’s power division who built the power infrastructure across Poland and, importantly, developed unique skills and capabilities that continue to drive our company’s growth. One of the major projects we completed in recent years was the upgrade of the traction power supply systems, a necessary step to adapt the Polish tracks for the fast Pendolino trains. The history of PKP Energetyka had a turning point in 2015, when the company was privatized and sold to CVC Capital Partners, a global private equity and investment advisory firm. what products and services do you offer, and who is your target? Our core business is power engineering services, and our key customer is the railway industry. We build, maintain and upgrade the traction network. Another target customer group includes non-railway companies and local governments, for which we develop, for instance, street lighting systems and tram lines. Our dis-

tant segments of our business include sales of electricity to small and mediumsized enterprises, and the sale of fuel for railway vehicles. As a matter of fact, we operate Europe’s second-largest network of railway refueling stations, used mainly by rail freight carriers. what is driving your business forward in Poland? The Polish market holds significant opportunities, not only for us but for other infrastructure companies too. Right now, we are ready to proceed to another phase of the traction power system upgrade, valued at some USD 300 million. There is a lot to be done in this area and significant funds to be absorbed thanks to EU funding allocated to Poland. The infrastructure, both railways and power systems, still requires enormous investments. do you see any trends in the market that negatively impact your business? This is a question we are frequently asked by foreign investors. We do not see any particular threats from legislation to doing business in Poland. Some problems may arise from delays in the preparation of tender procedures for infrastructure projects. The accumulation of work in the next years may result in a sit-

uation where project execution capabilities available in the market are insufficient to accommodate all projects once the tender procedures are eventually completed. However, in the meantime we are going to employ our resources outside Poland. what can you tell me about your corporate culture? The key values for the company’s management and employees are quality, safety, employee commitment, and efficiency. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees, which is a particularly important aspect of operations in our sector. All key decisions pertaining to the company and its employees are made in consultation with our social partners, as respect for employee rights ranks high on our agenda. We believe that if we ensure the highest standards of safety for our workforce and build their commitment, we will be able to offer top quality to our customers. Employees are our most valuable resource. Many of them have a track record of decades in the industry and are Poland’s only specialists in their field. what are your company’s plans for next year and thereafter? First of all, we will seek to ensure the highest standards of service to the Polish railways and take part in the development of Poland’s rail infrastructure. We plan many innovative projects for this market segment. Of course, development in other areas is also important. We intend to invest some USD 400 million in the expansion of our distribution network by 2020. We also want to explore foreign markets. We are beginning projects in Kazakhstan and Lithuania, and we are in talks with partners in Germany and Scandinavia.

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Company profile Sofitel Warsaw Victoria

A creative ambience American Investor’s Tom Ćwiok talks with Philippe Godard, the new GM of the Soﬁtel Warsaw Victoria and Soﬁtel VP for Operation of Luxury Hotels and Upscale Brands in Eastern Europe, about the ingredients of a successful hostelry

why is that so important? People do not travel for business only. They also seek pleasure ﬁnding new places and being exposed to new experiences. So we try to provide as much of a positive, interesting experience to our guests as we possibly can. We differentiate their experience in all possible areas: food, interaction with the guests from our service staff, so our guests return home with great memories of their stay in Warsaw. This can be done by investing in our services and people so our guests see our hotel as a place to stay. csR programs must be part of that? The Soﬁtel Warsaw Victoria is owned by Orbis Group, a Polish company quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and we are

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How attractive is the warsaw market for tourism and the mice sector? The market is optimistic. We can see growth in passenger trafﬁc to Warsaw airports, which translates into more clients at our hotel. The attractiveness of Warsaw has improved greatly over the years. 2012 was the ﬁrst step, as Warsaw was one of the host cities of the Euro 2012 soccer championship. The NATO summit this year also helped, when the spotlight was on Warsaw. We observe growth in the MICE sector (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) and the tourism sector in Poland, and it comes from international airports in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, and the Tricity. But it also comes from the Pendolino train service and improved railroad connections. Today it is relatively convenient to access all the main cities in Poland by rail. The highways are improving all the time and that also helps. Also what helps is the favorable economic environment, as Poland’s economy is doing well, which

MICE event organizers are amazed when they come to Warsaw for the ﬁrst time by the public gardens in the city and the amount of green areas. They are also amazed by the modernity of Warsaw, which is unique when you look at other capital cities in Europe such as Prague or Budapest.

Photo courtesy of Sofitel

How is the sofitel warsaw Victoria different from other five-star hotels in town? The Victoria was the first international hotel built in Warsaw. Sofitel took it over in 2001 and the hotel was redesigned in 2012. Sofitel hired international designer Didier Gomez, who worked with local designer Kaczmarek Studio to magnify the 1970s heritage of the building and reflect the local influence. The result is great, according to our guests. The design aspect is obviously important for us, because Sofitel is a strong brand that combines French elegance with international hospitality. We have our French DNA in Warsaw but also a strong respect for the local culture. In other words, Sofitel is a mix of French culture and local culture.

also part of AccorHotels worldwide, so we have a strong endorsement regarding corporate social responsibility. At the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria we realize an ambitious CSR program called Planet 21, which revolves around 4 strategic areas: people, local communities, business partners, guests, food & beverages and buildings. At Sofitel Warsaw Victoria we focus on healthy food—an element very important to our guests—but also on fighting food waste, and here we are deploying a very interesting project with a European startup. In addition, as part of AccorHotels’ program “Plant for Planet,” we reduce the use of towels by our guests. This results in savings for us because when you don’t change your towels every day we save on washing, and that means water and detergent. And 50% of these savings are given to AgriNatura Foundation in order to support the development of organic fruit or-

chards in Poland. This is particularly important for farmers who have small acreage of arable land, in which case organic farming combined with eco-agro-tourism ensures a sustainable source of family income. So we help them farm apples. There is a speciﬁc variety of Polish apple called Kosztela which we buy and make apple juice from. So we save towels, plant apple trees, and produce the organic juice you drink at our hotel.

attracts many people from abroad who come to Poland for business opportunities. So it all helps Poland to grow in the sector of MICE as well as leisure. MICE event organizers are amazed when they come to Warsaw for the ﬁrst time. They are amazed at the easy access to the city from the airport. They are amazed by the public gardens in the city and the amount of green areas. They are also amazed by the modernity of Warsaw,

which is unique when you look at other capital cities in Europe such as Prague or Budapest. How do you see specifically warsaw’s potential for the mice sector? In 2015 Poland hosted 34,000 meetings and events, compared to 18,800 a year earlier in the country, according to the Poland Convention Bureau. Those MICE events had 7 million participants, and 71% of MICE events were held at hotels. Warsaw is obviously Poland’s number one city for MICE. So this definitely means that the potential is huge. I have to say that the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria is the top provider of MICE facilities in Warsaw. We have 1,500 m2 of space for meetings and conferences, making it one of the biggest conference venues in Warsaw. We have a stage that allows us to host not only conferences and meetings but also big parties with shows. The city has developed a number of good conference facilities. However, it needs to take the next step and build a big convention center, international and welllocated. It would help attract new business tourism to the city. There is room for a huge convention center in Warsaw. MICE is limited now to hotel size. Even the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria, with its vast space, is a limited offer when you think about conventions for 25,000 participants. i wonder where else you see room for improvement? Apart from accommodations, what is also important is the dynamism of the city. What we should encourage in Warsaw is for the city to run more big cultural festivals with international exposure. We already have some of them in town, such as the Chopin Festival, which has been extremely successful. There is the Beethoven Festival, in the spring, which is also a high-caliber event. There is the Warsaw International Film Festival and Jazz Jamboree, but the city needs more. It has to be more vibrant. It needs more international-level music festivals, such as rock and other genres, and other events, such as exhibitions and shows. This would deliver more visibility to Warsaw in the European Union. speaking of visibility and marketing, how do you embrace the new generation of tourists and business travelers, the millennials? Of course we have to be visible to the new generation of clients, so we are present on social media. We are on Facebook, Instagram. It is vital to be connected with them this way. Another key thing is location. It has to be a place where you can meet with other

people and exchange ideas. Here we have a lively lobby at the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria, and an open bar. It is a lively and interesting place to be. But this is not the only way we connect with future generations of our guests. As a chain, Sofitel runs Innovation Labs, where we test and develop hotel solutions for the future. One such product that we created is JO&JOE—a new hotel format. It is a hotel that looks and feels more like a youth hostel or “open house.” There are a lot of common spaces that all guests can use. It also utilizes modern design. It was designed in collaboration between our specialists and a group of young people who represented the generation of our future guests. We invited different people from all around the world to our Innovation Lab, and in six months they were able to create a hotel brand with all functional concepts in place—including the full marketing portfolio, with logo and communications. They brought ideas while we brought quality of standard and design. The plan is to open about 50 such hotels by 2020 worldwide, including one in Warsaw. what can you tell me about accor’s corporate culture? Our core values are what we call “Feel valued.” It is about how our people approach other people they deal with—both our guests and our colleagues. Those values are guest passion, sustainable performance, trust, innovation, a spirit of conquest, and respect. I guess they are pretty self-explanatory. How about professional development programs? what do you offer to your people? We have approximately 2,000 brand standards, like any international brand, so training and learning are crucial for our people. We have Accor Academy in Poland, which offers a lot of training programs. More than 80% of our people have been through this training and become accredited as Accor Ambassadors. Professional development opportunities are also plentiful. This is through our Sofitel School of Excellence, which caters to young graduates of management schools and allows them to take junior managerial positions, and in a relatively short time— 18 months, say—they can be promoted to supervisory and senior managerial positions at our hotels. In Poland we also have the Fast Track Management Program. In 24 months we produce managers of tomorrow, as young graduates from business schools can become managers at our hotels. Top managers also take advantage of our specialized personal development programs, which are about coaching and

learning. So we take care of our employees, and as a result we have a fantastic team of talented people at the hotel. Having said that, I want to add that our training programs aim at letting our people follow not only our standards but also their own heart. They are free to create something special for a guest. They can personalize their service for particular clients and situations instantly, without consulting anybody. So it is about working for good emotions. Some extra service, a personalized gift—anything that creates magnifique memories for the people who stay in our hotels. In other words, this is a unique concept only for the Sofitel brand and we call it cousu main, which means “service from the heart.” This program has been running in our hotels for a few years now and it has been a success. Our people have produced original ideas, and every story is shared on our internal communication platforms so other people can get inspiration and ideas for their own personalized solutions. It is a super program—it comes from the heart instead of any specific design. It is about creating an ambience at work that triggers people to be creative and give to the client. can you give an example of how it looks in practice? A couple with a child came to one of our hotels for the weekend. The reception manager who welcomed them asked how the flight was, and they said the flight was fantastic. The boy, who was 11 years old, said that his dream was to be a pilot. So this info was passed to the pastry team, and they designed a cake with his name on it and a drawing of him piloting a plane. The cake was delivered to the room. The boy loved it. But that was not all. The hotel called the airport to pass a message to the crew of the flight taking the family home. When the family were on the plane, the captain welcomed the boy when speaking to the passengers on the intercom and invited him to the cabin to show him how it looked before the flight. So thanks to Sofitel, the boy had a special weekend stay with his family which included surprises he would remember for a long time. His parents were amazed at what we could do with a piece of information we accidentally learned at the beginning of their stay at the hotel. i wonder what your personal ambition is as the new Gm of the sofitel warsaw Victoria? As a professional I know it is good to be in a place where business is dynamic. So my mission is to stay as long as possible in Poland, because it is a dynamic market with great potential.

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Company profile Cargill Poland

Farming for the 21st century American Investor’s Tom Ćwiok talks with Joanna Byczyńska, member of the management board of Cargill Poland, about business challenges and CSR in Poland

what can you tell me about the company’s corporate culture? what are the core values? Our corporate culture has several value pillars, such as honesty regardless of the consequences, respect for others, readiness and willingness to help others, and a passion for success. 30

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Photo courtesy of Cargill Poland

cargill has a long history. what do you think is relevant today that dates back to its beginnings? Indeed, Cargill has been around for over 150 years. Its history dates back to 1865 when William Wallace Cargill set up his first grain silo in Conover, Iowa. Today we are a multinational corporation that continues as a family-owned company. 90% of the company's shares are owned by family members of those who established the company so many years ago. Cargill has been present in Poland since 1991. Our first investment in the country was the purchase and modernization of a feed production facility in Sierpc. Over the next 25 years we became the owner of 19 feed plants and a premix production factory which outputs mixtures of feed additives. In 1996 came our next big investment, in the food sector. We opened a major starch syrup factory, with a later addition of a plant producing ethanol, with alcohol dehydration equipment. How many jobs do you support in Poland and how much have you invested in the country so far? Cargill Poland operates in three major areas: animal nutrition, grain and oilseeds trading, starch syrups and alcohol production. We employ 2,000 people in 22 production plants across the country and in our Warsaw office. Over 99% of our people work on regular employment contracts. So far, we have invested over USD 300 million in Poland and we continue to analyze opportunities for further development.

lege and Provimi College. Those programs help farmers gain knowhow in many farming-related areas, such as feeding technologies, sales techniques, and how business operates. In the last 10 years some 10,000 farmers have come through our training programs. I have to say that our employees do volunteering with passion. In the aggregate, they have spent thousands of hours volunteering their work and engagement for community projects. They have renovated old classrooms and orphanages, and revitalized dilapidated playgrounds at schools and institutions for children. For several years we have been helping a handicapped children’s center in Wierzbice, Lower Silesia. Because we are in the food and feed industry, we also connect with initiatives against hunger and projects promoting physical ﬁtness among young people. As a member of the Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility, we are involved in a program that delivers hot meals to children from economically disadvantaged families in West Pomerania. We support many actions and initiatives in Poland, for which we have twice received the title of Benefactor of the Year. It is a major recognition on the national level. I have to add that globally Cargill donates over USD 50 million a year to CSR.

In practice, by appreciating differences and respecting individualism Cargill creates a work environment where each person is treated with dignity and respect. This is a commitment for all of our employees and with such principles we offer equal opportunities to all our people to support their development in line with their qualiﬁcations— regardless of race, gender, age and social status. We know that it is the people who create our organization and its success, and this is why we invest a lot of time and effort in training programs. We employ talented people who need our support for their development so they can progress professionally. Our diverse business offers them various ongoing opportunities for career growth. We also put a lot of emphasis on safety in

the workplace and managed to create a safety culture in our company which is not only about passive safety but also encourages people to actively watch out for potential hazards that may affect their coworkers and contractors in the workplace, as well as their family members at home and members of the local community. So it is a far-reaching policy. How does social responsibility ﬁt into your corporate dna? Cargill has enriched local communities across all the regions where the company is present. In Poland we apply our global CSR programs and also come up with our own local programs designed speciﬁcally for local regions. In Poland, in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Promotion and Support Center, we have created three educational programs for farmers: Nutrena College, Cargill Col-

what drives your business in Poland? Our goal is to be the global leader in nourishing the world. Poland is a major producer and exporter of food and agricultural products. With the country’s economy rising and the growth in Poland’s GDP, we believe Poland fits well into our business growth strategy. At this point we focus on delivering knowledge and technology to our customers in Poland. Many Polish farming businesses have grown in recent years and have to face new challenges for their efficiency and profitability. Our role is to help them do so by providing them with our world-class technology and knowledge to enable them to succeed. are there any market trends slowing business growth in Poland? Cargill is present in 70 countries the world over, and in every one of them, just like in Poland, there are different challenges that stem from political, social and economic change. One of the most challenging issues today in Poland is tapping into the supply of qualified and dedicated people, especially in the production sector located in rural areas. This is an ongoing focus for us because it is essential for us to safeguard high-quality products and services for our customers now and in the future. To achieve this we need qualified personnel on all levels of our corporate structure.

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AmCham Advisory Council The Advisory Council accumulates the knowledge and experience of its member companies and is a point of advice to the AmCham Board of Directors. With its global business expertise the Council has helped the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland to become one of the leading advocates of business in the country.

Expert State aid

With a little help from the state The pitfalls of state aid in the EU

he EU’s state aid rules have received much attention recently with the tax probes into Apple, Google and other multinationals. The rules are as old as the EU itself, but typically stand in the shadow of other competition regulations that apply directly to companies. Nonetheless, even apart from the major cases, the EU’s unique state aid rules impact every business dealing with an EU member state, whether as an investor, a taxpayer, a licensee, or the private partner in a public-private partnership, or as a supplier, customer or competitor of a stateowned entity. Below, we capture the basic concepts and key implications for dayto-day business.

fects trade between Member States.” Thus, state aid can be granted “in any form whatsoever,” including grants, capital injections, loans at below-market interest rates, tax advantages, reductions of social security contributions, purchases of goods and services at abovemarket prices, sale of land at below-market prices, etc. State aid law does not apply to general measures, i.e. measures that benefit all undertakings in a member state without any distinction between them. Any selective measure is likely to be considered to distort competition with companies that do not benefit from the selective advantage. In the Apple case, the allegation is not based on the low Irish corporate tax rate of 12.5%; it is based on the allegation that Apple’s Irish subsidiary received an advantage that was not open to other Irish companies.

The European Commission is under a legal obligation to order recovery of unlawful aid incompatible with the common market.

The purpose At its roots, the state aid regime is designed to ensure that companies can compete on equal terms and a level playing field throughout the EU by limiting the support that member states can provide to national champions. As such, it is a central pillar safeguarding the principles of the EU’s single market. The key provisions of EU state aid law are found in Art. 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. They are considered to form part of the EU competition and antitrust rules even though they are directed to the EU member states and not individual companies. The core definition of state aid is “any State measure…that grants a selective advantage that distorts competition…and af32

The role of the state In the typical case, the interests of the member state and the beneficiary are aligned: both jointly defend their arrangement against the European Commission. But remember: the money recovered goes back to the member state. It is tempting for, say, a new government that is unhappy about how an investment entered into by its predecessor turned out to “turn themselves in” to the European Commission hoping that the Commission will undo

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By Peter Święcicki, Warsaw managing partner, and Marcin Wnukowski, Warsaw corporate partner, Squire Patton Boggs

the deal. We have first-hand experience with two of these cases involving very significant amounts. In the Apple case, there are some in Ireland claiming that the country should not appeal the decision of the European Commission but instead use the EUR 13 billion from Apple to pay off its deficit. The qualification of a measure as state aid or not is most complicated in situations where the state acts commercially, for instance, as an investor or purchaser of services. In assessing whether or not measures involve a “selective advantage,” the European Commission and the courts apply the “market economy investor principle.” The rationale underlying MEIP is that no advantage is granted if the state behaves in the same way as a private operator would in the market, so if a private market investor would apply the same terms and conditions as the state did, no advantage within the meaning of Art. 107 TFEU is conferred and therefore no state aid is granted. How state aid can be granted State aid, per se, is illegal in the EU. There are numerous notices issued by the European Commission containing guidelines on when state aid can be permitted as compatible with the TFEU. This includes regional aid granted in poorer regions of the EU, rescue and restructuring aid for companies in distress, environmental aid, research and development aid, aid to support cultural heritage, and so on. If a member state wishes to grant state aid, it must either fall within a pre-approved set of rules, so-called block exemptions, or receive prior authorization from the European Commission. However, failure to comply with the notification requirement does not automati-

cally lead to an order for recovery. (There can be provisional measures, including provisional recovery.) Recovery will only be ordered if the aid measure does not meet any of the substantive requirements for regional aid, environmental aid, etc. where does the money go? The European Commission is under a legal obligation to order recovery of unlawful aid that is deemed incompatible with the common market. Recovery decisions are directed to the member state that has granted the unlawful aid, which itself is under an obligation to recover the aid from the beneficiary. There are many cases where the Commission has taken member states to court for failing to implement recovery orders. The Commission does not have the power to prosecute the beneficiary, which after all did nothing wrong. It is the member state that has infringed its obligations under the TFEU. For instance, the recent Apple decision is technically a decision finding that Ireland has infringed its obligations under the treaty, and is therefore obliged to recover the alleged unlawful aid from Apple. Apple must repay Ireland, not the European Commission. Technically, Apple is only a third party to the procedure, although beneficiaries can challenge a recovery decision before the EU courts and Apple almost certainly will. The Commission has adopted 254 recovery decisions since 1999. Of those, 95 cases are still open because either court procedures are still pending or the member states have not fully recovered the aid.

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Expert Competition law

Sue me, sue you

By Anna Gulińska, Senior Associate, Competition practice, Dentons

Enforcing competition law infringement claims will soon get easier

f a company’s supplier or competitor abuses its dominant position or is a member of a cartel, its actions may inﬂict damage on other businesses. Until recently, claims for damages arising from these types of infringements have been more notional than real in Poland. This is set to change with the implementation of the Damages Directive (2014/104/EU) of November 26, 2014. Its purpose is to facilitate the pursuit of compensation claims for violating antitrust laws in EU member states. This may mean that it will be easier for companies to obtain compensation if they experience problems with cartels or other antitrust practices and offenders will face a greater risk of civil liability for collusion.

Forks in the road There are a number of issues regarding how companies may sue for damages that the Damages Directive seeks to address. First, a company seeking compensation in Poland has to prove the value of the damage incurred, i.e. to quantify the losses (or lost profit) caused by the wrongful actions. That is not easy, not least due to the limited possibility of reviewing documents held by the offenders. Under Polish civil law, you first have to file a statement of claim with a request for the other party to disclose its evidence. The request must be limited to documents constituting factual evidence that has a bearing on the given proceedings. Another practical problem is how to strike a balance between overcoming obstacles in obtaining evidence and protecting the confidentiality of information presented to the antitrust authorities in leniency requests. In such instances, offenders make a voluntary disclosure to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and provide evidence enabling it to find a viola34

tion. This is done to entirely avoid or significantly reduce the fine imposed by the authority. On the one hand, the evidence and explanations provided by offenders in leniency requests would be very interesting and helpful in the context of private claims. On the other hand, the option to make them available to claimants would discourage offenders from submitting leniency requests, which significantly contribute to successful public enforcement of competition law. Poland is not the only country experiencing problems with competition law infringement claims. To date private enforcement in the EU has only developed in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. Implementation of the Damages Directive, which member states are required to carry out by December 27, 2016, is set to harmonize the rules for pursuing claims through private enforcement procedures and at the same time provide a level playing field for claimants in all EU jurisdictions. Cartels and other competition-restricting practices are a problem for the entire EU. According to the European Commission, the damage caused by illegal collusion alone costs around EUR 37 billion per year. simpler suing The new regulations mean many simplifications, and their implementation in Polish law will benefit anyone who has suffered a loss from competition infringements. For instance, the simplified procedure for obtaining evidence, partially based on the common law, may offer a great chance for jurisdictions of Continental Europe. However, this depends on whether the opportunity is taken and the directive is thoughtfully implemented. If this succeeds, aggrieved companies will have easier access to documents, under court supervision, which in consequence will enable them to

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prove an infringement and assess the damage suffered. In certain cases, the aggrieved party will be able to request that the evidence collected in the proceedings conducted by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection concerning a particular violation be made available. Another important matter is that the statute of limitations will be extended to a minimum of five years from the date when the aggrieved party learned of the violation. The limitations period will not run while the antitrust authorities take action, and the period will not end earlier than one year after a final decision in antitrust proceedings is issued. At present the limitation period is much shorter, which often prevents companies from pursuing their claims.

prices charged because of Alstom’s participation in a cartel in the gas-insulated switchgear market. The Polish market has also witnessed legal precedents. At the end of 2014 Orange Polska and Netia reached a settlement regarding Netia’s claims stemming from Orange abusing its dominant position, which the European Commission had previously found in a decision. The parties agreed to settle the claims, with Orange Polska paying Netia around EUR 33 million net. It seems that the telecommunications sector will play a vital role in the development of private enforcement in Poland, as there is another unprecedented case pending before the Warsaw District Court involving violations on the telecommunications market.

case studies The practicality of private enforcement has already been noticed by major corporations based in Western Europe and the US. Companies are increasingly resorting to this type of claim as an additional source of earnings. Deutsche Bahn is an interesting example right on our western doorstep. The German railway company proudly boasts of its team of specialist lawyers who handle only select cases and supervise the work performed by outside law firms in pursuing claims through private enforcement actions. The company even has a website where it posts news on its case against cartel members in the air freight market. The amount sought by the company, in excess of EUR 2 billion, proves that there is something worth fighting for. There is another interesting and fairly recent example from the Netherlands. The court ordered HAS Alstom, a power company, to pay EUR 14.1 million in damages to TenneT, a Dutch power grid operator, for inflated

more legal work Poland, like other EU member states, is required to implement the EU solutions by the end of 2016. Following public consultation of draft assumptions of the act implementing the directive in Poland carried out in April, the Ministry of Justice is now working on a draft bill, which should soon be published. Regardless of the final shape of the Polish regulations, we can assume that the new solutions will strengthen the position of aggrieved parties and result in an increase in the number of claims filed for violation of competition law. But this is a double-edged sword. When assessing antitrust risks stemming from their market behavior, companies must consider not only the risk of fines imposed by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, but also the risk of possible damages. This is because the Damages Directive gives the right to seek full compensation, which, as shown by Polish and foreign practice, may run into many millions of euros.

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Expert Cybersecurity

No laughing matter

By Andrew de Roy, managing partner, CEE Consulting Group

Cyber attacks shake up the US election

n mid-October, when this text was due for submission, the election season in the United States was reaching its long-anticipated climax, with the presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton just taking place. This election has been one of the most colorful in recent memory, and aside from medical scares or 11-year-old videos being leaked, recent developments are hinting at frightening developments for the future. One of the most intriguing subplots was the recent formal accusation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that the US intelligence community “is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.” This is clearly a reference to the Democratic National Committee e-mail hack, which forced several DNC leaders to resign. The American government is also investigating attacks on other election systems and attempted probes of the security defenses of such systems, often originating from servers based in Russia. However, the evidence that these other attacks and probes are orchestrated by Moscow is currently insufficient to lay blame. an act of war? The cyber sphere is the fifth domain for warfare, after land, air, sea and space. Cyberspace offers state and non-state actors some of the best returns on investment for attacking adversaries. In the case of hacking and leaking DNC e-mails and materials, this may not require a public counter-response, especially since attributing cyber attacks is oftentimes an impossible task. 36

The mere fact that an attacker is using a Russian server does not mean the attacker is Russian. However, the level of cyberspace attacks has not yet risen to such a magnitude that cyber attacks and hacks feel like an act of war for the masses. Indeed, some hacks and leaks have captured the attention of the public solely because they bordered on entertaining (like the alleged North Korean attack on Sony). That doesn’t mean that the public goes unaffected. The current attacks and probes of the defense of election systems and networks in the US will cost significant financial sums to investigate properly. Beyond that, if indeed state-sponsored, the attacks are also an attack on core democratic and American ideals. How big is the threat? The ODNI and DHS have stated that it is unlikely that attackers could compromise the presidential election in the US. This is based on the decentralized nature of American elections and the claimed “number of protections state and local election officials have in place.” However, e-voting machines and systems are not without problems. Numerous security holes have been discovered by researchers or accidentally by local officials. In 2009, news broke of 197 votes mysteriously disappearing from the tally for one California county’s precincts in the days after the November 2008 election. In another instance, one vote for every hundred cast in favor of the incumbent was deleted. In that case, the incumbent lost the race by 1,600 votes, and it is estimated that the deleted votes were approximately 2% of the total votes cast in favor of the candidate, which would have been 1,540 votes. Just as worryingly as a rogue machine or one

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that’s complicated enough to operate that it results in the disappearance of votes is the fact that many voting machines in use in the United States are nearly a decade old and run on Windows XP—an operating system released in 2001 for which mainstream support ended in 2009. There are very likely signiﬁcant vulnerabilities that would allow a bad apple to attack these antiques. E-voting machines are not supposed to be connected to the Internet, according to the recent DHS and ODNI press release, but that’s not the case. Voting at one Pennsylvania precinct came to a halt because an election worker was streaming music on the same public WiFi network to which the voting machines were connected. An attacker sitting in the parking lot of the voting precinct could in about three minutes decipher the key used by the machines, to watch, record, and attempt to alter the data being sent by the machines. In 2000, the election hinged on Florida. In the end, George W. Bush won the state and the presidency, beating Al Gore by 537 votes after the recounts were halted. That means a presidential election could, potentially, be decided by the tally on one machine in one precinct. Could the election be decided by a single compromised machine? Possibly. A single compromised voting machine could cause an electoral college crisis. Moreover, as is becoming clear in the current Russian strategy, even the suggestion that there is a lack of integrity in the US election could spark a constitutional crisis in the US, and more generally in Western liberal democracy. How should we respond? Responding to attacks on voting systems and networks is unlikely to accomplish much in the im-

mediate term. Rather, emphasis should be placed on toughening systems to limit the likelihood of attempted hacks being successful. Unfortunately, that’s no easy task. Current estimates suggest that upgrading and improving the security of electronic voting systems currently in place in the US could run as high as USD 1 billion. While it is mandatory to have audit logs to verify the authenticity of election results, implementation is less than stellar. Ideally, there should be a paper trail to validate the results recorded by the machine. Computer logs are no replacement for paper trails, as the reliability of the logs is only as trustworthy as the system, and if the system has been compromised the logs are essentially useless. Countries facing such threats and attacks may not be able to respond effectively because of a lack of compelling evidence, although there may be strong circumstantial evidence. Even if there are strong indications that a cyber attack may have the blessing of a government, the government likely attempted to put enough distance between itself and the attackers to provide itself with plausible deniability. The US, let alone other countries, facing the prospect of a state actor interfering with the electoral process by hacking the e-mail accounts of political parties and politicians, and possibly voting machines and electoral databases, will be tempted and even pressured to respond in a fashion that disrupts that actor’s ability to carry out cyber attacks, or levy sanctions. It could very well be that the United States is responding but keeping that response out of the public sphere, as it does not want some of its activities compromised externally. The difﬁculty here is that it then is losing the PR war, as to the public it looks impotent and seems like the US is appeasing a

power that is quite clearly acting with hostility. Another aspect is that responding to such incidents in a similar fashion could have unexpected, enormous ripple effects. Some governments may want to avoid certain kinds of actions to avoid a tit-for-tat cyber war. After all, Russia is not the only country militarizing cyberspace: China, North Korea, the UK and the US all have highly sophisticated cyber war capabilities. motives for Russia Given the circumstances surrounding this year’s election, the reports of Russian-backed cyber attacks might seem just like another sideshow in an absurd circus, but there are valid reasons for Russia to pursue cyber attacks against the American election. Some analysts now see Russia as a weak and declining power on the world stage which is playing its relatively bad

hand extremely well. Cyber attacks fit its profile and strategy very well, as they are an ideal way for the weak to fight the strong. Russia has long been a frontrunner in understanding the technology-mediated world. Power is in the hands of the one who controls the information. Russian President Vladimir Putin—a former KGB colonel— fully understands the power of propaganda, and reportedly uses Russia’s digital army to generate 40,000 positive online hits every day. This helps him maintain his power at home, and quite clearly allows him to control the agenda. With the significant success he has had at home, he is now looking to replicate the strategy abroad. The power of Russia’s virtual army was of course shown in full force during its 2007 attack on Estonia. Russia has already been very effective in retaliating against

the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) and proving double standards after signiﬁcant numbers of Russian athletes were barred from the 2016 Rio Olympics. The attack on the election is seen by some as a way to promote Donald Trump, someone who has alleged business ties to several notable Russian oligarchs, or simply a way to discredit Western liberal democracy. A more likely scenario may simply be that in recent years the American government has been taking a tougher stance against Russian aggression in Europe. While a Trump presidency might seem like a good scenario for the Kremlin, the Kremlin cannot simply rely on Trump winning the presidency. Rather, the hacks and leaks may be an attempt at undermining the mandate of an apparent Hillary Clinton administration (as I write, polls and analyses

have her winning approximately 320 electoral votes). By leaking less-than-flattering DNC emails, Moscow may hope to make it harder for Clinton to work with Congressional Democrats and Republicans. what next? What seems quite clear is that this will be the cusp of the wave. While the US system may still be quite analog, there is huge scope for such attacks in the near-abroad of Russia, and indeed in Europe, where the voting systems of many countries and institutions are far more digitized. The US and all countries relying on any sort of digital processes for voting will most certainly need to work out how to secure their systems before rolling out e-voting to the masses.

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Expert Aviation law

Not the trip we planned The EU struggles with delayed ﬂights

lanes always seem late. Usually they don’t fall behind schedule, but that doesn’t dispel the nagging sense of delay embracing us from the moment we realize that after checking in our baggage we still have 90 minutes left to the flight, and at least 50 minutes to the boarding call. One is left to stroll through perfume shops so generic it’s hard to name the country you’re in. The airport food is subpar, with vain attempts at spicing it up with coffee. There is no amount of time one would like to spend at the airport. Waiting around may be charming only in cheap novels—aptly named airport literature—which treat long waits, long journeys and shabby rooms rented by middle-aged detectives the way their 18th-century predecessors treated green pastures. But the 18th-century literature could be excused, as the pastures had long been enclosed. There is no such excuse for airports. They never close, always in waiting. Beyond delayed flights Under the circumstances, it’s small wonder that the European Union decided to regulate late flights. It is not only that they contributed to the general lateness at airports; they also grounded the EU’s nurturance of air travel. Admittedly, air travel has connected Europe more strongly than any direc-

tives from Brussels. It is easier to be a member of one society with somebody in Lisbon we can reach in 4 hours than somebody in Lisbon separated by a four-day expedition by train or ship. This may help explain why the EU funded all those empty airports in Spain or why when it considers directly taxing citizens it looks first to air passengers. Rumor has it that EU officials were personally interested in flight delays because they are frequent flyers. It is hard to know for sure. But the fact is that there now is a legal regime in the European Union for canceled and delayed flights. The act presently in force has a name with the baroque sturdiness (think El Escorial) I’ve always found reassuring in EU bureaucracy. It’s called “Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91.” For short we’ll call it the regulation—but to make the article sound more legal, let’s make that a defined term: “the Regulation.” Funny thing, I remember the first cases before Polish courts, when the Regulation was interpreted (or for the sake of legal-

There is one exception to the compensation regime when the airline is not required to pay—when the delay or cancellation “was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.” 38

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By Paweł Marcisz, advocate at Łaszczuk & Partners, assistant professor of EU law at the University of Warsaw, counsel for airlines in consumer cases

ism, “construed”) as covering merely overbooking—not even other instances of travel cancellation. Those days are long gone. It suffices to Google “delayed flight” to be presented with an array of firms offering their assistance in getting compensation for any suffering at the hand of airlines. meaning of delay But how did we get here? Initially, the scope of the Regulation was rather narrow. Well, not anywhere as narrow as in the Polish judgments I mentioned, but the strongest sanction in the Regulation—fixedsum compensation—applied only to canceled flights. There were certain duties for airlines in case of delays but nothing as brutal. And then the European Court of Justice delivered its Sturgeon judgment in 2009. It was a reply to a question by a national court and the problem was quite simple: Does a very long delay amount to cancellation? No, answered the court, but passengers of delayed flights have the right to compensation nevertheless, as long as the delay on arrival was more than three hours. This didn’t go well with the airlines, which judged the judgment as flying in the face of the Regulation. There was no compensation for delayed flights provided for in the text. It took teleological, functional, and historical construction to arrive at the Sturgeon holding. Yet, the holding held. It was challenged in subsequent cases and the Court of Justice affirmed it; it was accepted by national courts; it became the law. Behind extraordinary There is, however, one exception to the compensation regime, one situation when the airline is not required to pay. It

is when the delay or cancellation “was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.” This short passage is the major source of contestation, the main battlefield in a game between passengers and airlines. It leads us to truly philosophical problems, appropriate to consider over long waiting hours at the airport. Like: What is reasonable? What is unavoidable? Will my plane be more than three hours late? striking questions Obviously we lawyers take pride in speculating on what is reasonable and unavoidable (lengthy contracts, big lawsuits). Consider strikes, for instance. If all reasonable measures are taken, can a company prevent a strike by its workers? Is accepting their demands a reasonable action the company should be expected to take? If it is the firm’s duty to avoid strikes, doesn’t this give unfair leverage to the workers, who may enforce their demands because of the threat of passenger compensation? You don’t need Thomas Piketty to tell you that relations between labor and capital are strained in these times of permanent crisis. These are the questions that must be answered every so often by the courts when hearing a passenger case. Or maybe labor strikes are just part of a company’s everyday business, not any extraordinary circumstance, just as life has made hanging around airports and waiting rooms a part of our everyday experience, a part only sweetened by the possibility of collecting some compensation when our plane is even later than usual.

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AmCham is the premier international business organization in Poland, serving the business hubs of Warsaw, KrakĂłw, and WrocĹ&#x201A;aw since 1990 Over 300 Corporate members strong with a voice that reaches across the Atlantic Superior networking community with regular Monthly Meetings and Business Mixers Recent highlights: US-Poland Business Summit 2012 with US Secretary of Commerce and Polish Minister of Economy White Paper The Next Level: Polish-American Economic Cooperation 2012 and Beyond AmCham Diner at Krynica Economic Forum 13 business sector committees with over 60 program committee meetings Largest 4th of July Picnic in Poland

We look forward to working with our members and partners on another exciting year ahead!

Events AmCham Kraków & Katowice

It’s garden party time!

n August, Walter Braunohler, US Consul General in Kraków, hosted a Summer Barbeque party at his residence for members of AmCham. The event was a unique occasion for the families of our AmCham members to meet.

1. Networking time. 2. Joanna Bensz, AmCham Vice Chair (CH2M Polska); Walter Braunohler, US Consul General in Kraków. 3. Justyna Janiszewska, Polish–US Fulbright Commission. 3. Douglas Jones, Żaneta Cielecka, CH2M Polska. 4. The party in progress. 5. Jakub Link-Lenczowski, Polish Aviation Museum; Anna Link-Lenczowska. 6. Prince Michael von und zu Liechtenstein; Robert Huserik, CH2M Polska; Monika Lux-Huserik, Andrea Migali, International Paper.

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AmCham—Łódź cooperation

Creating value for business

usiness opportunities in Łódź were the focus of a conference in October at Łódź Technopark, an event partnered by AmCham. Issues surrounding the revitalization of the Łódź city center as well as the city’s pitch to host Expo 2022 and what it means to business were discussed by members of the local business community and local and regional government.

1. Wiesław Gorzelak, Dell; Konrad Dróżka, Mabion; Artur Chabowski, Whirlpool; Pavel Adamovsky, UPS; Zygmunt Łopalewski, Whirlpool. 2. Charles Ranado, US Commercial Counselor; Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź. 3. The conference in progress. 4. Marek Michalik, Łódź Special Economic Zone; Tomasz Marciniak, McKinsey; Jolanta Zięba-Gzik, Łódź Province; Iwona Chojnowska-Haponik, Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency; Charles Ranado; Hanna Zdanowska; Andrzej Bobiński, Polityka Insight. 5. Zbigniew Jakubas, Multico; Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman (APCO Worldwide).

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Events AmCham Diner at Krynica Economic Forum

Fifth time around

n September, for the ﬁfth consecutive year, the AmCham Diner made an impact at the Krynica Economic Forum, the largest gathering of businesspeople, government ofﬁcials and NGOs in Poland. The three-day forum, together with fringe events, abounded in topics relating to macroeconomics, business, management, international policy, security, the EU and its neighbors, energy, innovation, sustainable development, and healthcare. This year, among its many guests the AmCham Diner had the privilege of welcoming Prime Minister Beata Szydło and other members of the government and Polish decision-makers.

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1. The AmCham Diner pavilion. 2. Dorota Dabrowski, AmCham Managing Director; Michał Kobosko, Wrocław Global Forum, Atlantic Council. 3. Andrzej Maciejewski, member of the Sejm, Kukiz15; Marzena Drela, AmCham Deputy Director; Paweł Pudłowski, member of the Sejm, Nowoczesna; Roman Rewald, AmCham Board Member (Weil Gotshal). 4. Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman (APCO Worldwide); Bartosz Ciołkowski, MasterCard. 5. Krzysztof Bolesta, Polityka Insight; Michał Koczalski, CEC Government Relations; Marcin Korolec. 6. Joseph Wancer, AmCham Board Member (BGŻ BNP Paribas); Jacek Michałowski; Ryszard Kruk, Enterprise Investors. 7. Dorota Dabrowski; Lech Surowiec, LS Tech-Homes. 8. Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz, Gessel; Sebastian Król, Enterprise Investors. 9. Dorota Dabrowski; Tadeusz Kościński, Deputy Minister of Development; Marzena Drela; Grażyna Ciurzyńska, Ministry of Development; Jolanta Jaworska, AmCham Board Member (IBM). 10. Paweł Gruza, Deputy Minister of Treasury; Tony Housh. 11. Ewa Piacentile; Leszek Ladowski, Polish-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida and the Americas; Dorota Dabrowski. 12. Marzena Drela; Bartosz Dobrzyński, Play. 13. Michał Kobosko; Krzysztof Kalicki, Deutsche Bank. 14. Dorota Dabrowski; Frank Wagner, Lufthansa. 15. Pavel Adamovsky, UPS; Dorota Dabrowski. 16. Inside the AmCham Diner pavilion. 17. Erik Plas, MSD Polska; Paweł Handschuh, Novartis Poland. 18. Paweł Bujnowski, Lotos; Dorota Dabrowski; Konrad Pokutycki, BSH Sprzęt Gospodarstwa Domowego.

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19. Dorota Dabrowski; Gedeon Werner; Ryszard Kruk. 20. Sebastian Arana, 3M Poland; Tony Housh. 21. Penny Naas, UPS International; Dorota Dabrowski; Piotr Marczuk, Microsoft. 22. Dorota Dabrowski; Marcin Piasecki, Rzeczpospolita. 23. Magdalena Derlatka, Ministry of Development; Małgorzata Wadzińska, Procter & Gamble; Jerzy Kwiecińśki, Deputy Minister of Development; Michał Penkala, Procter & Gamble. 24. The stand of Gallo Vineyards with Apothic and Dark Horse wines. 25. Marzena Drela; Sławomir Sikora, AmCham Board Member (Citi Handlowy); Dorota Dabrowski. 26. Dorota Dabrowski; Sebastian Arana. 27. Tony Housh; Jarek Oleszczuk, AstraZeneca Pharma. 28. Brands sponsored by CEDC. 29. Jacob Turowski, Facebook; Patrycja Gołos, UPC. 30. Tony Housh; Prime Minister Beata Szydło. 31. Beata Szydło. 44

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32. Michał Kobosko; Beata Stelmach, General Electric; Dorota Dabrowski; Irena Pichola, Deloitte Advisory. 33. The McDonald’s team with Prime Minister Beata Szydło. 34. Zoﬁa Leśniewska, Polityka; Bartłomiej Morzycki, 3M Polska; Marzena Drela; Marek Mouczulski, Bakalland. 35. Marzena Drela; Rafał Olbiński, artist; Beata Stelmach. 36. Adam Pustelnik, City of Łódź; Dorota Dabrowski; Tony Housh; Joanna Bensz, AmCham Vice Chair (CH2M Poland); Hanna Zdanowska. 37. Dorota Dabrowski; Jacek Siwicki, Enterprise Investors. 38. Jacek Rostowski, economist; Dorota Dabrowski. 39. Marcin Święcicki, member of the Sejm, Civic Platform; Joseph Wancer. 40. Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, member of the Sejm, Nowoczesna; Roman Rewald; Agnieszka Jankowska, General Electric; Paweł Pudłowski; Bartłomiej Morzycki. 41. Magdalena Burnat-Mikosz, Deloitte; Joannna Bensz; Agnieszka Jankowska. 42. Dorota Seraﬁn, Anita Kowalska, AmCham. 43. The McDonald’s team with Jacek Rostowski.

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44. Dorota Dabrowski; Tony Housh; Dr Petra Pana, Deputy State Secretary for Foreign Economic Affairs, Hungary; Roman Rewald. 45. Olgierd Dziekoński, politician; Sławomir Sikora. 46. Witold Kołodziejski, National Broadcasting Council; Marzena Drela. 47. Sławomir Sikora; Tony Housh. 48. Ryszard Petru, member of the Sejm, head of the Nowoczesna party; Marzena Drela. 49. Michael Kern, Polish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Dorota Dabrowski. 50. Jacek Poświata, Bain & Company; Marzena Drela; Sebastian Mikosz, eSKY. 51. Robert Rusak, Boston Scientific Polska; Marta Pawlak, AmCham Legal Council. 52. Dorota Dabrowski; Wojciech Kuśpik, PTWP Group. 53. Marzena Drela; Ryszard Kalisz, politician. 54. Mirosław Dudziński, Fitch Polska; Tony Housh; Marcin Petrykowski, Standard & Poor’s. 55. Marzena Drela; Jadwiga Emilewicz, Deputy Minister of Development. 56. AmCham Diner open for business. 57. A busy time at the AmCham Diner. 58. Charles Ranado, Commercial Counselor, US Embassy; Dorota Dabrowski. 59. Tony Housh; Wawrzyniec Smoczyński, Polityka Insight; Marzena Drela. 60. Paweł Zegarłowicz, Citi Handlowy; Marzena Drela; Mariusz Kostera, Bank BPH; Dorota Dabrowski. 61. Tadeusz Kościński; Tony Housh. 62. Jolanta Jaworska; Witold Kołodziejski; Wojciech Arszewski, UPS. 63. Katarzyna Piekarska, politician; Roman Rewald. 64. A private party at the AmCham Diner ready to begin. 65. P&G gift stand. 46

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66. Joanna Bensz; Magdalena Burnat-Mikosz; Marzena Drela; Marta Pawlak. 67. A meeting with Jadwiga Emilewicz, Deputy Minister of Development. 68. Karol Poznański, MSD Polska; Maksymilian Świniarski, Eli Lilly Polska. 69. Tadeusz Kościński; Sebastian Arana, Bartłomiej Morzycki. 70. Kinga Dec, Jarosław Machocki, Rzeczpospolita; Marzena Drela; Bartłomiej Morzycki. 71. Marzena Drela; Bogusław Chrabota, Rzeczpospolita. 72. The AmCham team: Dorota Serafin, Dorota Dabrowski, Tony Housh, Marzena Drela, Marta Pawlak, Anita Kowalska. 73. Marzena Drela; Sebastian Arana. 74. Special edition bottles of Coca-Cola. 75. Jerzy Bochyński, chairman of the Krynica Economic Forum; Marzena Drela. 76. P&G products available at the AmCham Diner. 48

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Events AmCham in Wrocław

Bavarian brouhaha

rowds turned out for 1 the International Oktoberfest in Wrocław, the annual beer fest of the international business community in Lower Silesia. Great food and drink were plenty, coupled with a great mood and attractions like the grand rafﬂe. The event was put together by the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, the British Polish Chamber of Commerce, the German-Polish Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK), and the Irish Polish Chamber of Commerce.

1. Steffen Möller, emcee; Krzysztof Bramorski, Lower Silesia Marshal’s Office; Christiane Botschen, German Consulate General; Sarah Tiffin, British Embassy; Padraig Francis, Irish Embassy; Tom Zia, US Consulate General. 2. Monika Ciesielska-Mróz, AmCham Wrocław director (PM Group); Iwona Makowiecka, AHK; Ilona Chodorowska, BPCC. 3. Joanna Bensz, AmCham Vice Chair (CH2M Polska); Antoni Reczek, BPCC; Kenny Morgan, Irish Chamber; Steffen Möller. 4. Guests entering the Wrocław Arsenal courtyard. 5. Sarah Tiffin. 6. Padraig Francis. 7. Tom Zia. 8. Krzysztof Bramorski. 9. Welcome speech by Platinum Sponsors. 10. Bavarian orchestra opening the International Oktoberfest. 11. VIP corner. 12. A lucky lottery winner. 13. Raffle drawing. 14. Networking in progress.

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Platinum sponsors Bronze sponsors

Gold sponsors Drink sponsors

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Events AmCham in Gdańsk

Meet the new Commercial Counselor

he AmCham Council met in Gdynia with Charles Ranado, the new Commercial Counselor at the US Embassy, who discussed with council members issues and ideas for American companies in the region of northern Poland. Chairman Tony Housh represented the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, presenting the viewpoints of the American business community as seen from Warsaw.

1. Maria Kowalska, US Commercial Service, US Embassy, Warsaw; Charles Ranado, Commercial Counselor, US Commercial Service, US Embassy, Warsaw; Tony Housh, AmCham Chairman (APCO Worldwide). 2. Dorota Dobrzyńska, Bank Millennium; Charles Ranado; Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, Deputy Mayor of Gdynia; Tony Housh; Marzena Drela, Marta Pawlak, AmCham. 3. The meeting in progress. 4. Tony Housh; Mateusz Litewski, Uber; Małgorzata Zalewska, Invest in Gdansk. 5. Andrzej Dżuryk, Société Générale; Agata Żurek, City of Gdynia; Maria Kowalska; Mateusz Litewski; Charles Ranado. 6. Roman Rewald, AmCham Board Member (Weil Gotshal); Agnieszka Pniewska, Magdalena Kamińska, Express Relocations. 7. Marzena Drela, Marta Pawlak, AmCham. 8. Roman Rewald; Dorota Dobrzyńska; Charles Ranado. 52

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AmCham at EFNI

Cocktails by the sea

mCham held a 1 cocktail party during the European Forum for New Ideas, held in Sopot in September, for AmCham members present at the forum. The party was an opportunity for AmCham members to interface with representatives of the Polish government and some diplomats from the US Embassy in Poland. The venue was the Sheraton Sopot Hotel.