Prague Leaders Magazine 01/2009

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N 1/2009 O

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Leaders Magazine No 1/2009

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Mirek Topolánek, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic photo: ČTK

RESILIENT COMPROMISING ENFORCER prague city hall

moravian-silesian region

EU presidency

gala evening

national theatre

VIP Business Meeting

Region for itself

We will Harmonize

Czech 100 Best

Celebrated!

On 10 th December, 2008, the Mayor of Prague Pavel Bém invited representatives of the political...

The advent period is traditionally and inseparably connected with the Christmas concert Region for Itself...

On 7th January, 2009, the National Theatre witnessed a composed gala ev evening under the title...

COMENIUS, educational and cultural society held the XIII. “Czech 100 Best” gala evening...

On 18 th–20 th November, 2008, the National Theatre celebrated the 125th anniversary of its opening in 1883...

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Financial Consulting for Europe

www.ovb.cz Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Italy • Poland • Romania • Slovakia • Spain • Switzerland • Ukraine

Mirek TopolĂĄnek Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Photo: Martin SvozĂ­lek

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15.1.2009 9:36:01

An interview with Mirek Topolánek, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

SOMETIMES I CAN BE

THE GOOD COP The Czech Republic is undergoing the first test within its EU presidency – it is to find a joint stance within the EU on the war between Israel and the radical movement Hamas. In an interview with HN,, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek talked about the presidency, his relation to Václav Klaus, and about the prospects of his government.

The Czech presidency experienced a brisk start owing to the war in Gaza. What should be the role of Europe and of the Czech Republic there?

I went to Israel last year and talked to Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Olmert, Jordan’s King Abdullah, so it did not catch me unawares.

Our objective is to initiate a ceasefire and try to negotiate a truce. Which will not be easy. There are the February elections in Israel. For the time being, we have sent a mission headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who is travelling there with Foreign Relations Commissioner Benito Ferrero-Waldner, Javier Solana, Swedish minister Carl Bildt. French Foreign Minister Kouchner is there too, at the invitation of Karel Schwarzenberg.

Isn’t it rather like that French have got used to their role of a presiding country and want it to be their country holding the Middle East talks?

Nicolas Sarkozy is going to go there too...

Sarkozy’s trip to Syria and Lebanon to see their soldiers had been planned for a long time. I talked to him on 31 December for about a quarter of an hour, and his activity is not a problem for me at all.

In the end, both delegations will probably meet at Pale Pa lest stin inia iann Pr Pres esid iden entt Ab Abba bass.

Have you learnt something at EU summits that you could not learn in any theoretical training?

I have attended some ten meetings of the European Council, so I think I am now able to read the backstage moves, the unofficial talks. And what I found quite inspiring was the way that Nicolas Sarkozy led the European Council.

In what sense?

He led it like I lead the government. That means briskly.

Is there any situation or topic where the opinions and stances of President Klaus can

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help the Czech government during its talks within the European Union?

If I am interviewed by foreign media, then one of five questions always concerns Václav Klaus.

I must say that I am starting to have an aversion to that.

I told the BBC recently: If you were to name the presidents of all European countries now, the only one you would remember would be Václav Klaus – and that is something I am proud of. And when he asked whether it bothers me that there is no EU flag at the Prague Castle, I said: I didn’t see a single European flag when travelling through the centre of London, and I saw one in Paris – crouching below a giant French flag.

But it is an increasing problem for me to defend some of his opinions because Václav Klaus is used to dominating the media scene, and not just in our country. He therefore searches for controversial topics that he specialises in and takes room from the others, so the Czech Republic at present is perceived through him rather than through the real local spectrum of opinion.

We asked whether it gives you any advantage.

Some So metitime mess I ca cann be “ th thee go good od ccop op”, aand nd hhee ca cann play the role of the “bad one”. He sometimes presents an idea, that I also share, as harshly as only he can afford it as the president, but not I as the head of the administration. This enables me to set limits for discussion that then allow a comfortable movement.

But it’s a sort of a complication during the presidency, which is much more about finding a compromise than about opinions brought to a head. It is about the broadest common denominator, not about a blocking minority.

Is it clear already whether he would, for example, chair the EU-Russia summit where he

would be the “nice policeman” and not the government?

I don’t know yet. The exact number of summits and their dates have not been set yet, the one with Russian should take place in Kazan somewhere in May probably. Not all summits will take place – for instance the one with Korea was shifted to our presidency by France, and the one with China was cancelled because of the Dalai Lama’s visit.

But the agreement is that some of the summits will be under his direction. There is time for that, they are organised six or eight weeks beforehand.

When abroad, I repeat that Václav Klaus really is a professional, able to handle the role of a moderator totally without any problem. And I believe nobody would mind that he may make some remarks during the discussion.

Do you have to explain, not only to the media, but also to politicians, that it is really the government that sets foreign policy?

I would say I do so very often. I tell them that they overestimate it and demonise him needlessly, that Václav Klaus’s opinions on global warning are not that unusual in our country. And that, among other things, he raises the voices of those who have let themselves shout down a bit.

Even Ev en ttho houg ughh Kl Klau aus’ s s op opin inio ions ns aapp ppea earr as vver eryy radical in the European Union, they basically copy the opinions of scientists that are rather sidelined at present because the issue of climate changes has been caught by business. Trading in waste, trading in cleanness, trading in emissions is so interesting that it has exceeded the original debate on whether or not the temperature on Earth has increased.

Do you perceive his New Year speech as a gesture of conciliation after the year 2008?

If you want the whole interview to deal with Václav Klaus, you should have said that before, and we did not have to do it at all.

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Of course, Václav Klaus disappointed me last year. I am not going to hide it. The way he entered the events in ODS and how he expresses his dissatisfaction with the way we manage this country... At a time where we managed to keep the growth at 4 % – while other economies are in a recession already – and to cut unemployment to a level last seen here ten years ago... But emotions are not part of politics. I have a vision, an idea, and if Václav Klaus does not join me on this path, I would only take it into account.

Obama could help ČSSD votes for radar. Is Barack Obama going to come to the Czech Republic during its presidency?

He will attend the G20 summit in London in earlrlyy Ap ea Apriril,l, aand nd tthe henn mo move ve ttoo St Stra rasb sbou ourg rg ffor or a NATO meeting. And we would like him to come then for the meeting of all 27 EU members.

All member countries support it, a nd so does the European Commission, but we are waiting for Obama’s administration to take office on 20 January. Home affairs will of course be his priority. If the EU meeting with Obama is held in Prague, it would be a great honour; if it takes place in Brussels, it is not a problem either.

What we perceive as more important is the statement on the missile defense project. The statements so far have been largely positive,

but we are waiting until he talks on behalf of the United States.

Do you believe that Obama’s stance could help ratify the radar treaties in the lower house?

It is definitely one of the reasons why it has been postponed. The thing is to make it possible even for non-coalition Czech deputies to vote for ratification, and a statement by Obama’s administration can bring a positive impulse in this respect. I regard it as a fundamental issue that is as important as the entry into NATO. So patience pays off here.

And only after the radar, there can be some progress in Lisbon Treaty ratification?

Yes, Ye s, thi thiss is wha whatt th thee OD ODSS co cong ngre ress ss dec decid ided ed on. on.

Jiří Paroubek laughed at me, saying I am not able to control my deputies and Senators, but the congress resolution is unanimous and does provide for such a link. I do not think the Lisbon Treaty could go through the Senate – given the opinions of ODS Senators – unless the Chamber of Deputies ratifies the radar. But I may be wrong.

Are you going to go to the USA to say goodbye to George W. Bush?

I would like to. I am one of the few politicians who were invited to the White House and had to refuse the invitation because of problems at home. Despite all the reservations in the world

and in Europe, I regard him as a big president, especially in his second term in office. And history will definitely prove that, like it did with Ronald Reagan.

He certainly made mistakes, like we all do, but I personally would forgive him. Although I might be the only politician in Europe to do so.

Frankly, do you expect the EU presidency to raise your popular preferences?

It is hard to communicate this to the home audience, it is impossible to build popularity on that.

No statesman has benefited from the presidency.

By contrast, for Austrian Chancellor Schüssel and Slovenian Prime Minister Jansa the presidency meant lost elections.

And from the other side – are you looking forward to any moment during the presidency?

If I wanted to ease it, then I would say I am looking forward to the end of the presidency.

I reject the statements that it is a ceremonial issue. For half a year, we have to be ready to respond to new situations, organise debates, search for solutions... I am not saying I am on the point of collapse. I just want to say that it is not fun.

By Tomáš Němeček, Tereza Nosálková I Hospodářské Noviny českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Mirek Topolánek, Prime Minister of the CR, Mrs. Cecilia Malmström, Minister of EU Affairs Sweden, Mrs. Vlasta Parkanová, Minister of Defence of the CR, JUDr. František Mikeš, Deputy Minister of Culture of the CR and Gunnar Sahlin, National Library of Sweden Photo: Archive

ččeesskkou ou ver er zzii nnal alez al lez e ne nete t na ww te www w ww..leead ader er sm smaaggazziinne. e.cczz e.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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Dear Readers, Welcome to 2009. I hope you all have had a joyful and restful Christmass season and also that you hav avee be av been en able to see friendss an andd relative vess in ve a relaxing atm tmos tm osph os pherre ei ph eith ther th er at ho home or on va vaca cation.. Ye ca Year ar 200 0099 lo l ok okss to be acco cord co rdin rd ingg to all experts a veryy gl in g oo oom my andd di an difffff icuult yeear for for all all of us us. The glob obaal ob fifinanciaal cr cris isis is is is ca cast ast stingg itits ugly shaado dow w ovver all ooff us and nobod odyy re real ally al ly kno nows ws hoow thhe outcom me will willl aff wi affffec ectt ou ec o r livves.

Wee are all in in th the sa sam me boat inn a ssto torm to rmyy rm weat we athe at her buut I th he t inkk with optim im mis ism,, har har ardd work and witth a ne wo neve verr-gi ve give ve-u ve -uup sp -up spiirit we caan toge geeth theer ste teer er t hi h s bo boaat ashore.

Perh Pe rhap aps ps this his exp xper erie er ienc ie n e of nc of har hards dshi hipp can hi caan le lead add to to a be betttter er lif liffe wh wher wher eree we wil willl appr prec pr eciiatee and take ca ec caree of eachh oth ther er bet ette ter,r wheere greed will be reppla te lace cedd wi ce with th comm mmon mm on sen ensse, ignoora en rancee wi with th com ompassion, and om nd boa oastfuln lnes ln esss wi es with th hhum umililiitityy to um name na me jusst a fe f w of ver eryy im impoort rtaant values in life fe.. fe The Cz Czecch Re Repu pubblic, whichh to pu took ok ove verr th thee EU Presi P si side denc de ncy onn 1st of Januuar nc ary, h s no ha now w th the re resp spoonsibilityy to ma sp make ke ccertain in things betteer and nd m more eff fif ci cien ent,t, en particcularly in thhe fifiel pa elds el ds ooff en ener e gy and er nd ggloobaal climate ch chaange. I am con con onviinc nced ed that th at ppeoplee in invo volv vo lved lv ed lik li e mi m nisters, exp xperr ts t s fro rom m th thee go gove vern ve rnme rn ment me nt and other orga orga gani niza ni zatitition za onss are quitte su on suitt ab a le to de deal al wititithh th thes e e issu sues su es. There wiilll be ma es many semi se mina mi nars na rs, co rs conferencess and me meet etin et ings in gs t ak akin ing pllac in ace in i thhis country annd be sur uree that thiss ma th maga gazine wililll co ga cove verr so ve some me of th thee most impoor t ant nt one n s as wel elll as pre rese sent se ntt in-dep depth thh art rtic i le ic less frfrom om vvaario arious us min mi is istrtiees an andd ve very ry int nteeres erestiting ng iint nter ervi view iew ws.

Anot An othe herr th thin ingg wh whic ichh I have too me ment n io ionn iss ttha hatt yo youu no now w ca cann read ad the whole maga ma gazizine ne – pagee by ppaage – on our webb ppag agee in ann el electronic veerssioon a few days afte af ter th the printedd vers rsio ionn is oout ut. Ju Just st cli click ck on w ww.leadersm maggazzin ine. e.cz c . Thee qual alitt y is i fantaast stic ic and I aam m coonv nvinced that thiis seervice will be much use sedd an andd appprecia iate ted, d, nnot ot oonnly in the CCzzecch Republicc buut inn m man anyy ot othe herr co coun untrtrie iess wh whic ich have ha ve vvar ario ious us tiees with this coun untrt y. We have ve alsoo vi vide deos os on ourr we web page, whhic ih meaans thatt w me wee ar are able too sh show som omee of tthe he m mos ost intere rest stin i g toop events takinng plaace here in th thee Cz Czec echh Re Repu publ blic ic ssta tarttin ingg frrom an edited ver erssioon ffrom Comeni niuss 1000 best Award 10 rd G Glilittttering Ev Eveening.

In tthi hiss is issu suee we are prooudd to have Priime Minnis ister of the Cze C ech Rep Repub u lic Miirekk Topolá lánekk, on our front page g toggeth ther with th an interview. He H already d hadd a briskk and hectic start of the EU presidency with the conflict in Gaza and the GAS dispute between Russia and Ukraina. Other interesting interviews are with Prof.

MUDr. Pavel Klener. DrSc., Zdeněk Zajiček, Deputy Minister of Interior, Mr. Jan Klas CEO of the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic, Jaromír Gajdáček, PHD, CEO of the Health Insurance Company of Ministry of Interior, Mr. Bernard Bauer Executive member of the board of AHK, Dr. Nicolaus Seiwald, head of the Austrian Trade Office, Ms. Valerie Dubsky, fashion designer, Mr. Ranko Pecič, head of Saga Trade, Mrs. Vendulka Raymová, head of Bohemia EU Planners to name just a few.

Many people ask me what is my goal with Leaders Magazine and what I want to achieve. I tell them and you, dear readers, that my goal is to reach as many as possible readers of the magazine – printed version or electronic version – both here and Myy ddo M dog og R og Rhheeaa abroad – and to show them how vibrant, interesting and dynamic this country is through our high quality coverage of events of various topics and interesting interviews with leading personalities in the field of politics, business and culture. We are now establishing cooperation with the Bohemian National Hall (BNH) in New York and American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR) in Washington. In this issue of Leaders Magazine you can see highlights from the opening of the BNH and the Gala Award Dinner by AFoCR.

events 16 18 22 25 34 36 40 42 45 46 62 64 72

76 82 84 90 92 93 96 98 100 111 112 115 124 130

Quality Management Award Czech 100 Best Gala Evening Key Factors of Success Round Table of Comenius with the Minister of Industry and Trade Mr. Martin Říman Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador at Restaurant Pelikan The CzechoSlovak Foreign Institute Celebrates Ifield Computer Consultancy (ICC) Christmas Party 1000 Years of the Gold of the Incas in Prague Gas Business Breakfast German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce Christmas Spirits Lions Club Prague Eagle AFIZ in Andel’s Hotel Hilton Charity Annual Christmas Concert with Czech National Symphony Orchestra and page 72 – Hilton Charity Annual International Female Choir Viva Voce Christmas Concert VIP Business Meeting at Lord Mayor’s Residence MasterCard Bank of the Year 2008 UEFA Cup SK Slavia Praha vs. Hamburger SV at Slavia Arena Eden Region for itself AUDI Showroom Residence on the Roof of Ostrava We will Harmonize Europe Lobbying Should Gain the Knightly Spirit International Conference a Security Strategy for Europe New Priorities, New Challenges Grand Opening of the Bohemian National Hall in New York Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of European Lionism AFoCR Hosts Star Spangled Gala in Houston International Christmas Bazaar at the Hilton Prague Christmas Party 2008

Your Yo urss sinc ncerely, page 96 We will Harmonize Europe

Benk Be enk nke ke Aikkell I benkke. e ai a ke kell@leadersm maga gazi zine ne.cz ne www. ww w.leadersm mag agazinne. e.cz cz

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Lead Le adeers Ma ad Maga g ziine I/ 200 200 009

diplomatic events 134 138 1400 14 142 144

Nordic Chamber of Commerce Traditional St. Lucia Party Farewell Reception for H.E. Mrs. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas Nation i all D Day off Thaililandd Japan National Day at Hilton Prague 90th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia

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12

14 28 30 32

50

52

54 60

79

94 106

Sometimes I Can Be The Good Cop An interview with Mirek Topolánek, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic We Can Inspire Other EU States in Some Aspects of E-Government An interview with Zdeněk Zajíček, Deputy Minister of the Interior responsible for Public Administration and Information Czech Graduates Should Have More Practical Skills An interview with Bernard Bauer, Executive Member of the Board of the CzechGerman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Austria Is a Large Import Market An interview with Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald, Trade Counsellor of the Embassy of Austria Health Care Free Of Charge Is An Illusion An interview with Professor MUDr. Pavel Klener, DrSc.r.

It Should Have Been Torino An interview with Tomáš Kraus, Czech Champion in alpine skiing More Competition Among Health Insurance Companies Is Needed An interview with Ing. Jaromír Gajdáček, Ph.D., CEO of the Health Insurance Company of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic Everything and Nothing Was Possible Under Socialism An interview with Ranko Pecič, Businessman and Owner of the SAGA Trade Company Air Traffic Control Is my Misson An interview with Jan Klas, CEO of the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic Networking Is Much About Reference An interview with Dr. Vendulka Raymova, Executive Head Bohemia EU Planners Fashion Is My Life An interview with Ms. Valerie Dubsky, a Czech who Set the TTone of the Canadian F Fashion Industry If there Are a Few Women in Politics, Politics Changes Women.

If there are More of them, Also Women Change Politics.

An interview with MUDr. Michaela Bartáková, Member of the Prague City Assembly and Deputy Mayor of Prague 4 The Moravian-Silesian Region – Region with a Unique Genius Loci An interview with Jaroslav Palas, the President of the Moravian-Silesian Region European Law Serves Its Citizens – Nonetheless the Working Time Directive Is an Exception An interview with Richard Falbr, Member of the European Parliament

page 18 Czech 100 Best Gala Evening

the good things in life 56

Burgundy/Three Glorious

contributors 9

page 79 – An interview with MUDr. Michaela Bartáková

culture events 48 68 86 118 120 121 126 127 128 129 132 135 136 146

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Vernisage with Zdeněk Burian at Law Office Kříž and Bělina, Paintings aand nd LLititho hogr grap aphi hies es ffro rom m Mr Mr. Ja Jann Pr Prád ádle ler’rs Co Collllec ectition on Koncert Harmonie In Remembrance of John of Luxembourg King of Bohemia National Theatre Celebrated!

Czech Premiere December of the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK Exhibition: Frank Stella (*1936) „Sculptures“ Exhibition: André Masson (1896–1987) „Terre Erotique“ – Graphic Cycle Exhibition Czech Contemporary Art – Parallel Lines II. The Kazakh National AAca cade demy my ooff Mu Musi sic, c, AAst stan ana, a, KKaz azak akhs hsta tann Exhibition Czech Contemporary Art – Parallel Lines II Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok Jazz at the Castle with Emil Viklický 60 Jadran Šetlík, Jaroslav Svěcený: Gala-evening with Portraits and Violin Socialist Realism Czechoslovakia 1948–1989 Jazz at the Castle with Eva Pilarová

Transformation of Companies in a New Way/JUDr. Roman Jelínek, Ph.D. 39 Invisible Hand of Emotions/ Ivan Pilný 66 Key Steps on the Road to Recovery/Jan Muehlfeit 71 The New Art of Conversation/ Karin Genton L 'Eppée 80 The Energy-Climate Crisis is Your Business Part VI: A Vehicle Revolution Is Part of the Solution-Electric & Fuel Cell Cars1 /James A. Cusumano, PhD.

EU matters 98–1110

page 90 – Region for Itself

16.1.2009 10:59:08

info We are pleased to announce that we have considerably extended Leaders Magazine spread to include 80 top– notch restaurants in Prague.

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Publisher: Benke Aikell Contributors: Vanessa Bulkacz, James A. Cusumano, David Creighton, Joseph Drebitko, Karin Genton-L’Epée, Pavlína Holancová, Martina Hošková, Filip Hubáček, JUDr. Roman Jelínek, Ph.D., Zuzana Kasáková, Jan Muehlfeit, Ivan Pilný, Věra Řiháčková Marketing/Advertising: Michala Vosková, Ingrid Železníková EU Matters: Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, CEBRE Czech Business Representation, AMO, CESES, Europlatform, Ano pro Evropu Photographers: Tomáš Jacko, Zuzana Jirásková, Pavel Kaucký, Philippe Veldeman, Martin Janas, Dagmar Kneřová, Martin Malý, Jiří Zerzoň, Jaroslav Marek, Pavel Lebeda, Radovan Miča, Paul Pacey, Jaroslav Petrek, Roman Sejkot, Martin Siebert, Jadran Šetlík, Radovan Šubín, Vojtěch Vlk, Vladimír Weiss, Lillis Werder Subscription service: Bc. Daniel Raška Leaders Magazine CEPONA, s.r.o.

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legal affairs Produced in partnership with the PRO BONO association

TRANSFORMATION OF COMPANIES IN A NEW WAY

JUDr. Roman Jelínek, Ph.D., lawyer Association of Lawyers PRO BONO

On 1st July, 2008, a part of the Commercial code dealing with transformations of commercial companies was repealed and a completely new act on transformations of commercial companies and cooperatives is now valid. This large act consisting of 388 paragraphs is based mainly on the German law and on the European Union directives. In this field especially the Third Council Directive concerning mergers of public limited liability companies was implemented together with the Sixth Council Directive concerning the division of public limited liability companies and the so-called Tenth European Parliament Directive concerning cross-border mergers of limited liability companies, into the Czech legal order.

In the introductory general articles common for all ways of transformation, the new act defines the basic ways of transformation – merger, division, transfer of equities to a partner of the company and transformation of the company’s legal form. At the same time it states that also partners with the seat or domicile in any European Union state or in the member state of the European Economic Area can participate in transformations of domestic subjects, under defined conditions. In contrast to the preceding acts also the possibility of cross-border mergers

and the transfer of equities to a foreign surrenderee is implemented, while in this case the decisive code is the legislation of the country in which every participating company has its seat, with the exclusion of the entry in the relevant Commercial code, where the valid legislation used is the one of the state where the succession company will have its seat.

The act separates the merger in the form of amalgamation or division. The amalgamation results in the extinguishment of one or more commercial companies or cooperatives, and the assets of the extinguished subjects are transferred to another commercial company or cooperative. The merger results also in the extinguishment of one or more commercial companies or cooperatives, but their assets are transferred to a new commercial company or cooperative. In both cases the merger is preceded by the extinguishment of the extinguished companies or a cooperative, without liquidation.

A commercial company or cooperative also extinguishes by a division and its assets are transferred to one or more commercial companies or cooperatives and the current partners or members of the cooperative become partners or members of one or more succession commercial companies or cooperatives. The division can take place in the form of a division with the foundation of new commercial companies or cooperatives, in the form of a division by merger, during which the extinguishing commercial companies or cooperative extinguish as well as the succession commercial companies or cooperatives, and finally in the form of a division by splitting.

In these cases too the extinguishment of the companies has to be preceded by their extinguishment without liquidation.

During the transformation of a commercial company by the transfer of its assets to a partner, the total assets of the commercial company are taken over by one surrenderee of the company. In this case the company extinguishes without liquidation, too. This model of transformation cannot be used by a cooperative.

In its end the act mentions the transformation of a commercial company through the transformation of its legal form. In this case the corporate body does not extinguish and its assets are not transferred to a successor, only its internal legal conditions are transformed together with the legal position of its partners. A commercial company

can thus change its legal form into another form of a commercial company or cooperative.

In contrast to the rendition of transformation in the Commercial Code the new act introduces the “project of the transformation” (e.g. the project of a domestic merger), which is written by the statutory bodies of the participating companies and presented to the relevant highest bodies of the company to be approved and published. The project of the transformation has to be approved, when capital companies are concerned by their general meeting, when personal companies are concerned by all partners, in the similar wording.

I must appreciate the attention of the legislator regarding the preservation of the rights of employees during the transformation. In case of any form of transformation the employees keep all rights and duties from the work and legal conditions of the extinguishing company and these are transferred to the successor. In case of a cross-border merger the employees have the right to become acquainted with the project of this merger and with all news about it and they can present a statement on the merger.

Another positive feature of the new act is the implementation of unified legal and common procedures valid for all ways of transformation which substitute the former criticised act for its ambiguity and difficulties in its interpretation. A certain imperfection of the new act can be found in the inconsistent use of legal terms, the use of different terms for the same entity (e.g. assets and total business property), erratic or inaccurate references to other legal norms or uncertainties concerning the transformation from the point of view of bookkeeping of companies or cooperatives.

Even though on the theoretical level it is possible to comment upon certain errors of flaws of the act in question, it is necessary to welcome the effort of the current government to specify clear, economically and socially acceptable rules for the enhancement of the possibilities of business activities in the current difficult economic situation.

JUDr. Roman Jelínek, Ph.D., lawyer Association of Lawyers PRO BONO

českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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An interview with Zdeněk Zajíček, Deeputy Ministerr of the Interioor responsible for fo Public Administration annd Information

We Can Inspire Other EU STATES IN SOME ASPECTS

of E-Government

Zdeněk Zajíček graduateed from Charles University Faculty of Law. Between the years 19991–1992 he workedd at the Town Prosecutor’s Office in Praguee annd then one year at the Ministry of Nationaal Property Adminnistration and Privattization. In 1993 he started to work at the Naationnal Property Fund. From the years 1995–19996 he practised law w. In 1996 he was eleccted to the Chamber of Deputies for the Civvic Democratic Party. Threee years later, he beecame the directoor of Prague City Hall. Since 2006 he has been deputy minister of the interior responsibble for public admiinistration, information, legislation annd archives. Zdeněk Zajíček is also member of the Government Council for the Information Society and presiddent of the Czech Bassketball Federation.

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

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Youu are responsible for fo public administration information of Interior. Why and in nformation at the Ministry M you present the whole concept of did yo ou decide to presen eGovernment eGove ernment through eGON? eGO We are living in the worrld of symbols. I am very glad that we found one that we started to call eGON which manages to explaain our projects to simplify bureaucracy and make the lives of people easier.

EGON has four basic partss. The first one is eGON’s fingers – the establishmeent of universal contact places named Czech POIINTT (Czech Posting Verifying Information National Term minal). The second is the circulatory system – thee crreation of a unified communication infrastructure and network on which state institutions will coom mmunicate internally and also with the public. The tthird part is the heart of eGON – the pump that, thrrough the system of data boxes, will send messaagees among state bodies, firms and citizens. The biggest b task represented by the brain of eGON is the creation of the system of basic registers as a pplace through which the information will be shared.

When Whe en will this system be fully operational?

Since the beginning we hhave been saying that we want to manage it in four yeaars – until 2010. Currently, Czech POINTs and com mm munication infrastructure are in operation. The systeem of data boxes should start working from 1 Julyy 22009 and basic registers from 1 January 2010. Duurinng 2010 we will mostly be working on the compatibbilitty of the old and new systems. During this time we will also clean the data.

Then we will switch off the old system and only the new one will remain. Wee shhould be able to manage it by the end of 2010, orr m maybe it will only take half a year, we will see.

So now now you are in the middle of the process. so far?

What are are the results and responses r Now we are roughly in the middle and have implemented two big projectss. The T results are amazing.

There is no other universsal system like Czech POINT to connect thousands of authorities through one application in the Czechh Republic.

R Currently, there are 2,500 Czech POINTss inn our country. Our aim for contact places, which will serve as universal filing locations, to be placed in all 6,000 municipalities in the Czech Republic annd also in many branches of the Czech Post and Czech Chamber of Commerce.

Maybe we can reach thhe unbelievable number of 7,000. These places will enable e people to get an extract from the crime, companies, trade and land registers and won’t have tto visit all the individual authorities as they did beffore. We also have Czech POINTs in 40 Czech em mbaassies abroad. Today an agent from Ireland who waants to become an agent in the Czech Republic dooesn’t have to travel to the Czech Republic can inssteead collect the required documentation in Dublin.

People who are now ruunning the Czech POINTs are happy with its applicaation and we are getting a positive response froom them. People requiring services have also expressed their satisfaction. This is a sign for us that it is a good project and it is worth conti-nuing. Czeechh POINT was our first project and has given us the unequivocal answer that it is possible to secuure such a big system and to

ensure its reliabilityy. It also shows us that thhis is the right way to go.

The system of basic registers represents the brain of eGON. On what does this system depend?

The system of bassic registers will contain information on every citizeen to the extent that autthorities currently require. T he amount of data fillinng within each authority thus diminishes because the authority can look them up in the system. The system m is designed very safely annd I think that such a greaat system is not available eveerywhere in Europe. I darre to say that we are even gooing beyond the framework of our inspiration – the Auustrian model of securityy of personal data in electronic systems.

Issuing electronic identity cards is a part of e-Government and electronic elections have also been discussed. When we can expect their establishment?

It is necessary too have fully functional coommunication infrastructurre for the operation of ellectronic communication andd governance. First of all we have to have all authorities connected to the com mmunication network for peoople to get their informattion from every local authoritt y, but at the same timee so that local authorities caan get information from basic registers. Once this iss secured and all users, mayors, officials can enter the unified network, run and use applications, then it is worth talking aboout what could be provided electronically, both at hoome and in public places.

To communicate surely and safely with thhe state in this way, it is neceessary to set up electronicc identity cards. They would probably function like payment cards. When this is done, then we can talk abbout how to vote. We have staarted negotiations with thhe Czech Statistical Office too discuss the next steps for electronic elections.

We shouldn’t om mit any phase because all these systems are basedd on confidence. If someething is sped up and there iss no trust, it could discreddit things like election resultss. We cannot afford that.

In April 2008 the Government Council for the Information Society agreed on a Strategy of services development for the “information society”. The vision that the Czech Republic should rank among the five best EU states in the area of e-Government development by the end of tenure of this government is part of this strategy. The strategy has been criticised that it is rather unlikely to move from the 19th place to the 5th place in such a short period of time. Critics have also pointed out that it is a very brief document that is lacking measurable objectives.

We approached writing the strategy a bitt unconventionally indeed. We told each other that thhere is no point in writing thoussands of pages about whaat should have been done. Thhat was already written inn all the strategies that were adopted earlier. The basiic objectives don’t changee. We defined priorities without which we won’t movve forward. While writing the strategy we looked for examples abroad and saw w strategies that were veryy brief. Now we are deeveloping the strategy into operational implementatioon plans in which we set whatt must be done when, whaat are the target dates and how w the results should be meeasured.

The strategy is writtten in a way to connect main issues of e-Governnment in 2010 and for us to see results in 2012. Thhe ambition is big. On the other hand I have to sayy that from our debates with foreign experts who havee been working for us and have experience with thee implementation of new communication technologies abroad our activities are commanding some resspecc t. If we manage to bring it to a conclusion, it will be an entirely unique project to such an extent and in such a short period of time.

Now no state in Euroope has a system as perfect as this. I think we have a chance to get into the top 5.

I even think that we could inspire other states in some measures wee aree taking now. Apart from other things, no state issuues extracts from registers abroad and we do.

You are also the president of Czech Basketball Federation. Did you play basketball?

Yes, I did. But I sttoppped playing relatively early and started to referee. Wheen I was 26 I even became an international refereee. I was the youngest international referee in the Czecch Republic. Unfortunately, I had to leave this job duee to health problems. I returned to basketball after 100 yeaars.

How did basketball enrich you?

The things I learrnedd in this team sport make my work easier. I’m ussed to working in a team within which I have clearlyy deefined role. This division of roles is important inn anny team. You have to accept a role and on the otheer hand, you have to respect the roles of otherss. I live by that even now. These are principles thatt hold true everywhere. Besides, basketball is a nice and very creative game that forces you in eacch moment to evaluate a great number of the mostt suiitable combinations.

What is the current situation for basketball in the Czech Republic?

Basketball is the thhird most popular sport after football and ice-hoockeey in the Czech Republic now.

Everybody wants to see success today. The compe-titors are stronngerr and stronger and it is not easy. How coaches shhould be, whether he should come from abroad or not, etc. are issues. Despite all that, it provides a certaain relaxation for me, because I am forced to thinkk about something else. The problem I especially seee heere is that young players who represent the Czecch Republic in the highest competitions don’t haave suitable conditions to play and study directly in the Czech Republic and that is a reason they goo to abroad. Unfortunately, this is a trend now.

How it is possible to prevent it?

One of the possibilitties is to establish basketball academies whose aim is to create conditions for top sports training andd addequate studies. It works this way in America in thee long term. The results from American competittionss show that it is the only and right way. In the ennd, American universities struggle to get the best plaayerss to represent them and give them a chance to studyy under good conditions.

By Zuzana Kasáková I

českou verzi nalezznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magaazine II/ 2009

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interview

Bernard Bauer Executive Member of the Board of the Czech-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry Photo: VladimĂ­r Weiss

xxx

CZECH GRADUATES should have more practical skills 12 2

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An interview with Bernnard Baauer, Executive Member of the Board of the Czech-Germ man Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bernard Bauer receivved his edducation in the economics of industry at Osram S.A. company in Maddrid. He worked at several positionss in the inddustrial sector and also as a deputy delegate in the German-Saudi Araabian contact office for economic aff fairs in Rijad. In 1991 he began work for the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, first in Petrogradd and then in Prague. Between the years 2001 and 2005 he managedd the German Chamber of Commeerce in Ecuuador and then did the same for two years in Chile. Since 2006 he has beeen an executive member of the board of the Czech-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Prague. Since Juuly 2007 he has been an official representattive of the Bavaria Free State in the Czech Republic. He speaks German,, English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.

This is your second stay in Prague. Why did you decide to come back?

When I was in South America, the opportunity to come back to Europe to a place that I knew very well just occurred. My family and I decided to come back to Prague because we like it very much here.

Did you want to get away from Latin America?

I would not say get away. I had a fantastic time there.

I was director of the German Chamber in Ecuador for four years and in Chile for two years. It was really a challenge to run Chambers in different cultural surroundings.

Was there something that surprised you there?

In Ecuador, people are very motivated. Wheen I arrived at the German Chamber, I could not belie ievve that young people working for the German cham amber from 8:00 to 6:00 then studied at universityy from 7:00 to 11:00 in the evening. The next day, at 8:00 they were back in the office laughing, with no stress and no bad moods. This was fascinating. I had not seen that before. German people would no nott do this. It was very nice to work with them bec ecaause they were very optimistic and interested in hav aving a better life than their parents. In Chile the situation was a bit different because it is the most prossi perous country in the region nowadays and the education level is quite high.

Germany is the top investor and trade partner of the Czech Republic. What brings German investors to the Czech Republic?

There are more than 1,400 German factories in the Czech Republic and they are very active. German companies like to be here because of the excellent infrastructure, a high quality and wide number of suppliers and also so a workforce skilled at the university level. It is very important for investors to have suppliers he here on the spot. It’s also important that the structuure of industry in the Czech Republic is similar to thatt of Germany. There is traditional industry here such as machinery production, the automobile industry an andd so on. When German companies decide to invves estt in the Central Eastern Region, they often comee fifirst to the Czech Republic to get inforrmation befor oree going to other countries because of the proximitityy and common border.

In what areas does German investment mostly go?

German investments go to a quite a number n of areas – the automobile industry, machi hinnery, electro-technical fields, optics and advancedd technologies. Nowadays it also goes to logistics and services. For example, Lufthansa has openedd a call centre in Brno.

You are responsible for corporate education here.

We hav avee been organising a dual system m of education (voccat ational training), which is like wha hatt we have in Germany, for 13 years in Prague. It means that 50 percent of the education is theory and 50 percent is practice.

The programme lasts th three years. It works like this: students have a coont ntract with a company. They study, for

example, marketing for six weeks and the he following six weeks they are assigned to the mar arkketing department of their company. Whatever the heyy learn in theory, they get to see immediately how ow it works in practice. They move around the comp mpaany, from one department to the other, accordingg to that what they have learned. After finishing theiir studies, they normally stay at the company.

For the co company it is very good to have young people educ ucated from bottom to top who know the entire company structure, which is why the companies like this type of education. We have more interest from companies here in the Czech Republic than from students. In Germany it is the other way around. 60 percent of people in Germany start with this type of education and only 38 percent go to university. In the Czech Republic, this type of education is not very well known or well accepted in society so more than 80 percent of people here go to regular university.

What degree do students obtain?

They get two diplomas – a Czech one (diploma specialist) and a German diploma which is recognised ed within the EU. Studies are in both German and Czeech ch. Over the past 13 years we have educated 320 yooun ung people and some of them are now directors of Ger erm man companies here.

What problems do German companies face here?

The biggest probleem our companies experience here is the lack of praact ctice in education, the lack of qualifiedd technical wo work rkers and the strength of the Czech Cr Croown.

They get very well educated engineers from the university ty, but most of them have never worked ed before. They don’t have any idea how things work in practice. It is very important to have not just theor oryy in mind. If a company wants to become more sop ophhisticated in high technologies, it is important an andd necessary for people to havee more practical exp xpeerience.

As for thee llaack of qualified technical workeers rs, we organised an event with Minister Ondřej Liškka who became resp spoonsible for education in Novembeer 2008. We invited a German specialist in the vocatt io ional education system and a German investor who wa was talking about his experiences and we discussed ed what to do in this field. If investors stay here, thhey want to be competitive and thus want highly qu qual alified workers. However, we don’t want to say that we have a better system and that you must introd oduce our system here. That is not what we want. We just want to act as a mediator in offering help, different ju solutions and advice on how to take part in the system.

We are in the process of talking to Czech industry and associations as well as the ministry of education.

And what about the strong crown?

As for the crown, German companies are doing a bit better now because it is about 25 crowns to the Euro and they are thus more competitive. But in July 2008 when the crown went up to 22, it was a serious problem for many of them. It would be convenient for exporting com-

panies for the Czech Republic to adopt the Euro as soon as possible. The Slovak Republic introduced the Euro on January 1st 2009 but in the Czech Republic we are not even talking about the date. Some people say 2013, some say that it will be even later, so companies cannot make a plan to prepare for it, which is a pity. Adopting the Euro would be one solution for the competitiveene ness of companies here. The sooner the country ado dopts it, the better for us. For companies it is muchh easier to make budgets this way because they doon’ n’t have to calculate currency risks. Generally sp speeaking, I can say that the common currency is suc uccessful – history has proved it – and it would be a pity for the Czech Republic to be an island amongg all the other countries that have it.

Is it possible that investors will move somewhere else?

If German companies invest in the coun unttry, they stay.

It is not German style to come andd le leave quickly. German companies are slower in making decisions about where to invest because thhey analyse the situation properly. So if they decide de to go into a market and invesst there, they stayy in the country. We are not awar aree of German com mpanies leaving the Czech Republilicc. Maybe a few wi willll consider leaving. But accordiing to a survey we ddid id among our member companie iess, some informed us that they will not do further inv nveestment in the country, but they will stay.

You also offer help for Czech companies starting businesses in Germany. Are many Czech companies interested in this?

Yes. We have a lot of requests every day. We also help lp tthem participate in German fair trades, which means we organise every part of their participation from A to Z. They get a complete package from us. Trade fairs are mostly international so they have a chance to meet people from all over the world, not just from Germany.

You are also an official representative of the Bavaria Free State in the Czech Republic. What is your role?

We have two special agreements with Saxony and Bavaria because they have common borders and very tight business relations with the Czech Republic. Both of them wanted to have representation in the Czech Republic and they came to us first and asked if we were interested. My job is to take care of Bavarian companies. We offer them the same services as all German companies, but I also go to conferences in Bavaria to get to know what they want to do in the Czech Republic, to organise information days and also to accompany Bavarian politicians to meetings with their counterparts in the Czech Republic.

By Zuzana Kasáková vá I

českou verzi naleznete na www.le leaadersmagazine.cz

Leader erss Magazine II/ 2009

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An interview with Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald, Trade Counsellor of the Embassy of Austria

Austria Is a Large Import Market Dr. Nikolaus Seiwald is a career diplomat and has been the Austrian Trade Counsellor to the Czech Republic for the last two and half years. In the course of his professional career he worked in Zimbabwe, in the Arabian Gulf, Moscow, India and Belgrade, accommodating different trade and business cultures. He says it pays off to stay in the ďŹ eld of economic diplomacy for a lifelong career, because an extensive experience of business and marketing is needed as well as a deep knowledge of one’s own market and companies.

Photo: Paul Pacey

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How does your previous experience from the countries like Abu Dhabi or Zimbabwe help you in your job in the Czech Republic?

During my career I learned how to communicate with decision-makers, how to reach out and how to make the deals - if you know how to approach your partners the right way you can do a lot. I also learned how to motivate Austrian companies to enter different markets.

Given the current economic and financial crisis, how would you describe the situation in Austria?

How do you think the crisis can impact the AustrianCzech trade relations?

Austtria i is hea h vilily inv i olved l d in Cent C trall andd East E tern Europe; we invested especially into services – banks and insurance companies, law offices and others, and we, of course, can feel the economic and financial crisis in Austria. Like in other EU countries, there are bank ba nk gua guara rant ntee eess in ppla lace ce and and m mos ostt lilike kely ly, we w wililll no nott be affected that much as the big liberal market economies like the UK or Germany, but definitely, our economy is likely not to grow in the course of the next year.

The economic growth expected could reach around 0.3–0.4 % and that is all. Usually, we score on the top of the economic growth charts in the EU or above average. I do not think that the trade relations with the Czech Republic will suffer very much but naturally, the country will not be able to get as much investment as until recently and therefore there will be less demand on the input market and we will feel that. On the other hand, in 2007–2008 we realized that while German supplies to the country were stagnant, our growth rate was still around 15 %. The Czech Republic became such an important market for Austria. When I came here the country was Austria’s eight largest export market worldwide, now it is our fourth largest.

The trade relations grew especially because of the Czech EU accession?

Yes, to some extent, but it all happened rather in the last two and half years. We overtook France, Hungary, the UK and Switzerland being now only behind Germany, Italy and the USA. Therefore, I think our trade relations will not suffer that much; the decline of our import to the Czech Republic will not be as significant as in trade with other partners, because we are very well established in the Czech market. Our policy – that we were able to take a lot of risks here and invested much in this market, now pays the bill.

We are very much present in the country; there are over ov er 2.500 500 com compa pani nies es her heree th that at hav havee an Aus Austr tria iann share, which brings also certain stability into our trade and business relations.

What do you expect from Austrian companies having a share in the Czech businesses or a daughter company here as far as the crisis is concerned in terms, for example, of employment cuts or any other precaution measures?

As to employment I do not think, too many lay offs are happening now. I still receive phone calls from Aust Au stririan an ccom ompa pani nies es ttha hatt th they ey nnee eedd ma mana nage gers rs aand nd ccan annot find any despite advertisement and recruitment efforts. I think the crisis will ease off this pressure; the companies will be able to follow more selective HR policies, because the crisis will increase the availability of labour on the Czech labour market. So far, we have had only a few Austrian companies which have announced employment cuts. What I have heard is that established

companies are cautious in re-investing or expanding – that is definitely happening. But on the other hand we see new companies investing. Some are also planning an expansion because they can see a chance, for instance in the building and construction sector – the plumbers or carpenters are needed here and we can see the Austrian companies entering Czech market, because there is a lack of these professions here.

It seems the Austrian companies are very active in the bordering regions – Southern Bohemia and Moravia, and the labour market is different there compared to Prague where there is not as much competition as you described. Still, you expect the same development there as well in terms of employment?

Yes, most of our largest companies have already invested heavily here and those who are newly interested, so to say, are the SMEs, which are rather going to pursuee th su thei eirr fifirs rstt bu busi sine ness ss sste teps ps iinn th thee bo bord rder erin ingg ar area eass.

They will need to find labour in these regions and we also advise them to start their business there. We organize around 15 meetings and seminars for Austrian and Czech businessmen in the bordering areas every year. We realized that we need to advise the Austrian companies not to go to the most developed centres of the country, if the business allows, precisely because of the labour market.

Austria is one of the last EU countries which will most likely prolong the transition period for the free movement of labour applied on the new EU members although the Czech EU Presidency will push for abandoning it. What do you think of the situation in Austria, is there any chance that this barrier could be lifted?

Until the last general elections in Austria there was a big chance the restriction on the free movement of labour would be lifted. With the new government, in which trade unions are heavily represented, I doubt the administration will agree to open our labour market. The Austrian business community regrets it very much. I tried to lobby the government but without success, it seems, because a major factor in play are the trade unions´ interests. We regret we have not opened our labour market at the very beginning, because we would have needed to train the people in our line of business in our companies and then send them back to manage our investments here. But this is a political issue and the trade unions do believe they will get more votes if pursuing such policy; economically, it is wrong andd in my an my op opin inio ionn, I do do un unde ders rsta tand nd the the CCze zech ch pos posititio ionn.

On the other hand, it is an advantage for the Czech Republic even if it does not seem so because you need your own labour here.

On the Czech side, to lift this barrier is to a great extent a psychological issue…

Yes, and it is understandable. The transition period is limited until 2011, it has to be lifted afterwards and may disappear even earlier but of course the current crisis and our new government comes into play.

What about the Austrian public opinion? Would the Austrians be in favour of shortening the transition period?

Those involved in business are in favour. General public does not have enough information, I would say, and they do not know the reasons why it would be favourable for Austria. “To protect our labour market” is a very nice slogan for every elections to gain the

votes on, but the economic side and implications are not generally understood.

Your department provides trading partners on both sides with many activities and services, mediating also the access to the markets very often.

Can you describe how this works in greater detail?

All Austrian companies are organized in the Federal Economic Chamber and all of them have a right to our services which include practically everything. Finding buyers, lobbyism, market information, investments etc. Or if a company in Austria wants to find out who produces garments, for instance, we are looking for contacts. If there are any problems – like in deliveries, we can assiistt th them, too. IfIf a C zechh company wants t to penetrate the Austrian market, we have also some tools how to help them; from time to time I have bilateral talks with the representatives of the companies which are interested in entering the Austrian market, lilike ke rec recen entltlyy in Zno Znojm jmoo, and and I ppro rovi vide de the them m wi with th iinf nfor ormation and contacts. I also refer to their own organizations like the Czech Trade and the Czech Embassy in Vienna, but if anyone comes and asks for help we are trying to be of as much assistance as we can.

In which sectors can you observe the highest demand for cooperation from the Austrian side at the moment and have there been any trends in this sense?

Interestingly enough there is an ongoing trend with a strong demand on the engineering sector; 40–45 % of our import from the Czech Republic consists of technical goods. I think that our two economies are, not only because of historical reasons, very complementary in this sense; our specialized industries need the parts manufactured in the Czech Republic. This trend will remain but there will be more and more demand for consumer goods and for food – natural bio food, from the Austrian side, too. The biggest increase we are experiencing at the moment is in the field of tourism – the Czechs really like to go to Austria and we wished this trend continues. We share our premises here with the Austrian Tourist Office and they are always very enthusiastic about the Czech tourists going to Austria.

And what about the Czech demand, which companies are the most interested in entering the Austrian market?

It is the engineering industry predominantly; but also energy, building material and wood-processing industry. I would like the Czech companies to understan st andd, tha thatt th ther eree is a ver veryy la larg rgee im impo port rt mar marke kett in Austria. We are number twelve among the largest trading markets in the world with very high income per capita. So many things are needed – there is a high demand for energy and food, building materials, steel and other kinds of products. I just wish the Czechs offer more to Austria. For a long time, we bought more products here than we sold to the Czech market. This has changed in the last two years. Our export to the Czech Republic has grown and now we have an active bala ba lanc ncee of tra trade de, al alth thou ough gh iitt is vver eryy sm smal alll. We We ex expo port rt goods for about EUR 5 billion to the Czech Republic and we import roughly for EUR 4,5 billion in total.

Overall, I think it is a very healthy relationship.

By Věra Řiháčková I českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

Interviews.indd 15

15

15.1.2009 13:34:17

business event

From left: Lumír Al-Dabagh, Director, BENEŠ a LÁT, a.s., National Award of Quality 2008 Winner and Martin Říman, Minister of Industry and Trade of CR

On 20th November, 2008, the Spanish Hall of the Prague Castle witnessed the celebration of the presentation of the most important awards for companies and establishments – the National Quality Award of the Czech Republic. In the business sector category it was awarded to the companies HBPO Czech, s.r.o., and BENEŠ and LÁT, a.s., in the public sector category the winners were the City Part Prague 10 – Municipal Office of Prague 10 and the Town Hranice – Municipality Hranice.

Quality Management Award The awards were presented by the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Mr. Přemysl Sobotka, the Minister of Industry and Trade Mr. Martin Říman, the vice-minister of the Ministry of Environment Ms. Rut Bízková, the vice-minister of the Interior Mr. Zdeněk Zajíček and other important personalities. The National Quality Award is the most important award that can be won by a company or organization. It is awarded in 80 countries and it is presented by the presidents of states (e.g. in the USA, France), monarchs (Sweden, Great Britain), prime ministers and other leading personalities.

In Europe, National Awards are awarded according to the unified rules by the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) and the winners of National Awards can take part in the European competition EFQM Excellence Award.

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more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: James A. Cusumano, PhD., Chairman of Chateau Mcely, Club Hotel & Forest Restaurant, Mrs. Inéz Cusumano, CEO of Chateau Mcely, Mrs. Rut Bízková, Deputy Manager, Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic, Ing. Vlastimil Plch, Managing Director of Chateau Mcely and Ing. Eva Plchová, Sales and Marketing Manager, Chateau Mcely – Winner of the prestigious 2008 World Travel Awards in the Green Hotel category as The World’s Leading Green Hotel

14.1.2009 16:28:32

From left: Ladislav Drážný, General Director, Continental Teves Czech Republic s.r.o. and Zdeněk Juračka, President of the Union of Czech and Moravian Consumer Co-operatives, Laureates of Memorial Letters for Principles Enforcement of the National Policy of Quality (NPK)

Mrs. Helena Pískovská, Chairperson, Management Committee of Czech Quality Program and Honorary President, Union of Czech and Moravian Consumer Co-operatives receiving Memorial Letter for Principles Enforcement of the National Policy of Quality (NPK)

From left: Jindřich Jindřich and Ing. Ivo Hříbek, Unit of Competitiveness, Ministry of Industry and Trade of CR

The World Travel Awards are considered the “Oscars” in Tourism. World Travel Awards have been presented in every segment of tourism each year since 1993. Since 2007, these awards have also been an integral part of the World Prizes for Ecological Services in Tourism – The World Green Awards. Announcement of the 2008 World Travel Awards took place at a gala event in Slovakia. Nominations were announced at the ITB Fair in Berlin in March.

MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, President of the Senate

From left: Mrs. Ivana Křečková, Director of Regional Office, Královehradecký Region and Mrs. Helena Nováková, Karlovarský Region receiving Honorable Recognitions for Participation in the Program of National Award of Quality for Public Sector

From left: Ing. Zdeněk Baroň, Mrs. Sylva Slunečková and Antonín Koníček, General Director, Kovokon Popovice s.r.o

JUDr. Ing. Robert Szurmann, Ministry of Industry and Trade of CR From left: WO. Rudolf Douša, Inspector, Police Czech Republic, Lt-Col. Ing. Michal Bureš, Counsellor, Police of the Czech Republic

Otakar Král receiving Anežka Žaludová´s Award from Milan Hutyra, 2007 Award Winner and Miroslav Jedlička, Chairman, Česká společnost pro jakost

PLM_0901_events_1.indd 17

From left: Mrs. Stanislava Lukešová, Jan Lekeš and Mrs. Lucie Lekešová, EU Politics Department 1, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

15.1.2009 13:38:31

A special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. and Top Hotels Group for making this reportage possible

gala evening with the best

Czech 100 Best Gala Evening From left: SM Konsoláta Miroslava Frýdecká, Superioress, Karel Muzikář, President of Comenius and Mrs. Miloslava Procházková, Owner, Avanti

November 28, 2008 Prague Castle

COMENIUS, educational and cultural society held the XIII. “Czech 100 Best” gala evening. The key part of the gala, the “Czech 100 Best” award ceremony, took place at the Spanish Hall of the Prague Castle on Friday November 28, 2008 with 700 VIP guests from the Czech Republic as well as abroad. This year the following 8 categories were awarded: “Agriculture & Food Industry”, “Construction and Construction Materials Industry”, “Dynamic Growth”, “Education – Science – Health – Humanity”, “Information & Communication Technologies”, “Invention – Commitment – Export – Profit”, “Manufacturing Cooperatives”, “Tourism & Hotel Industry”. One of the ultimate peaks of the evening was the awarding of 12 ladies in the popular category “Lady Pro”. For the fourth time in the Czech 100 Best history the “Gentleman Pro” category was awarded, presented by the Chiarman of the ČSSD party Mr. Jiří Paroubek. The three special gentlemen were Chairman Prof. Václav Pačes (Czech Academy of Sciences), CEO Dr. Štěpán Popovič (AGC Flat Glass Czech) and CEO Mr. Rudolf Skaunic (PSG International). The gala evening culminated with the awarding of top ten companies. Prosecutor General, JUDr. Renáta Vesecká, presented awarding certificates to the managing directors and representatives of the ten very best companies.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY PLM_0901_events__2.indd 18

All together, Czech 100 Best

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TOP HOTELS GROUP 14.1.2009 16:56:32

From left: Daniel Lukeš, Managing Director, CARLA, Zdeněk Štěpánek, General Director and Chairman of the Board, Alima Značková potravina, Jan Veleba, President, Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic and Petr Gandalovič, Minister of Agriculture of CR

From left: Jiří Paroubek, Chairman of ČSSD and Jiří Čunek, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Regional Development of CR Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board, Top Hotels Group with wife

Pavel Hlaváč, Director, Trass-Eko s.r.o. and JUDr. Renáta Vesecká, Supreme Public Prosecutor

George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. receiving Award in category „Invention-Aspiration-ExportProfit“ from Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs

First row from left: Mrs. Libuše Šmuclerová, General Director, Ringier ČR a.s., SM Konsoláta Miroslava Frýdecká, Superioress, Mrs. Blanka Matragi, Fashion Designer, Mrs. Dagmar Mocová, Director, Regional Agrarian Chamber, Mrs. Zdenka Pinkasová, Resident Manager, Falkensteiner Grand Spa Hotel Marienbad Second row from left: Karel Muzikář, President of Comenius, Lt-Col. Vladimíra Řeháčková, Mrs. Barbora Špotáková, Sportswomen, Mrs. Marie Staňková, Head of AIDS Centre, FN Na Bulovce, Mrs. Petra Wendelová, Partner, Ernst&Young, s.r.o., Jiří Čunek, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Regional Development of CR, Mrs. Kateřina Luisa Daňhelová, Director, SYNOT Holding, Mrs. Božena Voborníková, Chairperson, Detecha, JUDr. Blanka Kalcsová, Chairperson of the Board & General Director, MEDIS Holding a.s., Chairperson of the Board, M – SILNICE a.s. and Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs; Behind: Roberto Vogt, Director, Credit Suisse

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

PLM_0901_events__2.indd 19

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY 14.1.2009 16:57:00

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Mrs. Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd., George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. and Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, Afiz

From left: Cyril Svoboda, Minister & Head of the Government Legislative Council of CR and Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Mrs. Petra Burgerová, Ogilvy One and Stanislav Beneš, Chairman of the Board & General Director, ČD-Telematika

From left: Jiří Hejduk, Managing Director, IDS Scheer, Aleš Bartůněk, General Director, IBM Czech Republic, Tomáš Rutrle, General Director, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Stanislav Beneš, Chairman of the Board & CEO, ČD-Telematika and Pavel Dvořák, Chairman, Czech Telecommunication Office

From left: Ing. Patrik Choleva, MBA, Deputy Chairman of the Board & Financial Director, SKANSKA CS, Roman Blažíček, General Director, Lasselsberger and Tomáš Hüner, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

From left: H.E. Alexey Fedotov, Ambassador of Russia and Sanjiv Suri, President of Zátiší Group

From left: Ing. Radek Dohnal, Vice Chairman of the Board, TOP HOTELS GROUP a.s. and Jiří Čunek, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Regional Development

CZECH 100 BEST 2008 THE FIRST TEN BEST ČEZ, A. S. ŠKODA AUTO A.S. VODAFONE CZECH REPUBLIC A.S. ŠKODA HOLDING A.S. MICROSOFT S.R.O. VELETRHY BRNO, A.S. ALLIANZ POJIŠŤOVNA, A.S. EUREST, SPOL. S R.O. DELOITTE ADVISORY S.R.O. AGC FLAT GLASS CZECH A.S. INDUSTRY LASSELSBERGER, A.S. LIAS VINTÍŘOV LEHKÝ STAVEBNÍ MATERIÁL, K.S. P R Ů M S T A V, A.S. PSJ, A.S. SKANSKA CS A.S.

PLM_0901_events__2.indd 20

ČESKÉ DRÁHY, A.S. G-TEAM A.S. LINDE GAS A.S. POZEMNÍ STAVITELSTVÍ ZLÍN A.S. ŘÍZENÍ LETOVÉHO PROVOZU, S.P. VÍTKOVICE HOLDING, A.S. INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES ČD – TELEMATIKA A.S. FUJITSU SIEMENS COMPUTERS S.R.O. IBM ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA, SPOL. S R.O. IDS SCHEER ČR, S.R.O. NESS CZECH S.R.O. TIETOENATOR CONSULTING A.S. UNICORN A.S. INVENTION – COMMITMENT – EXPORT – PROFIT BEST, A.S. IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY LTD. INEKON GROUP, A.S.

STAVBY SILNIC A ŽELEZNIC, A.S. STOMIX, SPOL. S R.O. TOURISM & HOTEL INDUSTRY CESTOVNÍ KANCELÁŘ EXIM TOURS A.S. CESTOVNÍ KANCELÁŘ FISCHER, A.S. ČEDOK A.S. ČESKÉ AEROLINIE A.S. ESO TRAVEL A.S. EUROAGENTUR HOTELS&TRAVEL A.S. TOP HOTELS GROUP A.S. CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MANUFACTURING COOPERATIVES DITA, VÝROBNÍ DRUŽSTVO INVALIDŮ, TÁBOR DŘEVOZPRACUJÍCÍ DRUŽSTVO LUKAVEC KOVOBEL, VÝROBNÍ DRUŽSTVO ORLÍK-KOMPRESORY, VÝROBNÍ DRUŽSTVO SNĚŽKA, VÝROBNÍ DRUŽSTVO NÁCHOD DYNAMIC GROWTH BLAŽEK PRAHA A.S.

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OHL ŽS, A.S. PRIMECELL A.S. SPRINX SYSTEMS, A.S. EDUCATION – SCIENCE – HEALTH – HUMANITY ČLOVĚK V TÍSNI O.P.S. FAKULTNÍ NEMOCNICE V MOTOLE PORG – GYMNÁZIUM A ZÁKLADNÍ ŠKOLA, O. P. S. STODSKÁ NEMOCNICE A.S. ÚSTAV MAKROMOLEKULÁRNÍ CHEMIE AV ČR ÚSTŘEDNÍ VOJENSKÁ NEMOCNICE PRAHA VĚDECKÁ CENTRA 1. LF UK VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA FINANČNÍ A SPRÁVNÍ, O.P.S. AGRICULTURE & FOOD INDUSTRY AGROTECH, SPOL. S R.O. ALIMA ZNAČKOVÁ POTRAVINA, A.S. CARLA SPOL. S R. O. STATEK NOVÁK JARPICE-KAMENICE S.R.O. STÁTNÍ VETERINÁRNÍ SPRÁVA ČR

ZEMĚDĚLSKÉ DRUŽSTVO LIBČANY ZŘUD-MASOKOMBINÁT PÍSEK CZ, A.S. LADY PRO KATEŘINA LUISA DAŇHELOVÁ MIROSLAVA FRÝDECKÁ-SESTRA KONSOLÁTA BLANKA KALCSOVÁ BLANKA MATRAGI DAGMAR MOCOVÁ ZDEŇKA PINKASOVÁ VLADIMÍRA ŘEHÁČKOVÁ MARIE STAŇKOVÁ LIBUŠE ŠMUCLEROVÁ BARBORA ŠPOTÁKOVÁ BOŽENA VOBORNÍKOVÁ PETRA WENDELOVÁ GENTLEMAN PRO DR. ING. ŠTĚPÁN POPOVIČ, CSC. PROF. RNDR. VÁCLAV PAČES, DRSC. ING. RUDOLF SKAUNIC

14.1.2009 16:57:52

From left: Mrs. Libuše Šmuclerová, General Director, Ringier ČR, Roman Šmucler, Owner, Asklepion, Mrs. Pačesová and prof. RNDr. Václav Pačes, DrSc., Chairman of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic

Jiří Čunek, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Regional Development of CR with wife Pavla From left: Jan Oberman, Owner, Korado Consulting, Mrs. Barbara Taušová, Managing Director, Canadian Medical Care ČR and Aleš Bartůněk, General Director, IBM Czech Republic

JUDr. Blanka Kalcsová, Chairperson of the Board & General Director, MEDIS Holding a.s., Chairperson of the Board, M – SILNICE a.s. and Evžen Tošenovský, former Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region

From left: Otto Jelínek with his sister, both World Champions in Figure Skating in the sixties and Jiří Paroubek, Chairman of ČSSD

František Jenerál, Director and Chairman of the Board, Lira and company

From left: Petr Fajtl, Director, Planning and Development Division, ANS ČR, with wife Tereza, Jan Klas, General Director, ANS ČR, Mrs. Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. and George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd.

From left: Zbyněk Eiselt, General Director and Chairman of the Board, Tietoenator Consulting a.s., Jiří Hejduk, Managing Director, IDS Scheer and Mrs. Petra Hejduková

PLM_0901_events__2.indd 21

Miroslav Tacl, Chairman of The Board of Management, Allianz pojišťovna, Bohumila Havlíčková, Unimex Group

From left: Tomáš Březina, Chairman, Best, a.s., with wife and Jiří Uklein, Director, Bureau of Labor Office Brno město with wife

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY 14.1.2009 17:15:37

A special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. for making this reportage possible

comenius event conference In the morning hours of the November 28 the Comenius Society has organized the XIII. international conference “Key Factors of Success” as part of the “D” day of the Czech 100 Best competition 2008. More than 120 participants – managers from significant Czech companies, but also diplomats and representatives from the state administration – have traditionally filled the New Gallery Hall at the Prague Castle and listened to the presentations delivered by their colleagues, all of whom had a lot to say about how to reach success and what is success in the first place.

Whether it was the global perspective of the French Commercial Counsellor Bernard Boidin, successful management of the financial crisis hinted at by the Director of Credit Suisse for Central Europe Michael Rüdiger, or a presentation about whether it is at all possible to achieve success in the Czech health care delivered by the Director of the Motol Hospital Miloslav Ludvík, the interpretation of success gained different dimensions in case of each one of the speakers.

XIII. International Conference

KEY FACTORS OF SUCCESS Martin Roman, CEO & Chairman of the Board, ČEZ, a. s.

What most of the presentations agreed upon, however, was the importance of the personal dimension of success and the question whether success equates happiness. From this perspective the contributions made

by General Director of BEST Tomáš Březina, departing head of the Alfa Bank in Moscow Petr Šmída or representatives of Microsoft Jane Gilson and Jan Mühlfeit were especially valuable.

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New Gallery, Prague Castle

From left: Michael Rüdiger, Managing Director & CEO, Credit Suisse Central Europe, Mrs. Magdalena Souček, Managing Partner, Ernst & Young CR and Grigorij Naskidovich Sarishvili, Minister Counsellor, Commercial Representation of the Russian Federation

14.1.2009 16:30:54

From left: Petr Šmída, CEO, Alfa Bank Moscow, Mrs. Blanka Matragi, renowned Fashion Designer, and Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman, Europe Microsoft Corporation

Tomáš Březina, Chairman of the Board, Best a.s.

Richard Kuba, Senior Vice President, ABB

Mirko Kalous, General Director, Ness Czech s.r.o.

From left: Albin Sybera Jr., Comenius, Albin Sybera Sr., Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises, and Michal Procházka, Marketing Manager, Avanti

Mrs. Barbara Frei, Country Manager, ABB

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Martin Roman, CEO & Chairman of the Board, ČEZ, a. s., Petr Šmída, CEO, Alfa Bank Moscow, and Pavel Zentrich, General Director, Dell Computer

PLM_0901_events_1.indd 23

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY 15.1.2009 13:51:32

Martin Roman, CEO & Chairman of the Board, ČEZ, a. s., and Karel Muzikář, President of Comenius

Jan Kohout, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Miroslav Šole, Director, CEE Compass Group PLC

Mrs. Jane M. Gilson, Executive General Director, Microsoft CR

Last, but not least we have to mention the rest of the speakers of the conference which included Martin Roman of ČEZ, General Director of NESS CZECH Mirko Kalous, Commercial Counsellor from the Commercial Office of the Russian Federation Grigori Naskidovich Sarashvili, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Magdalena Souček, General Director for Central and Eastern Europe of the Compass Group/Eurest Miroslav Šole, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kohout and General Director of ABB Barbara Frei. XIV. Key Factors of Success conference will take place on November 27, 2009 again at the Prague Castle at the New Gallery hall. The webcast from the conference is available at www.comenius.cz.

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From left: Mrs. Jane M. Gilson, Executive General Director, Microsoft CR, Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman, Europe Microsoft Corporation, Miloslav Ludvík, Director, Motol University Hospital, and Michael Rüdiger, Managing Director & CEO, Credit Suisse Central Europe

14.1.2009 16:32:28

From left: Jiří Uklein, Director, Labour Office Brno Municipality and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador, Embassy of the Slovak Republic

On December 18, the final and eleventh in total “Round Table of Comenius“ in 2008 took place at the Hotel Pyramida. The VIP guest of the Round Table was the Minister of Industry and Trade Mr. Martin Říman and the main topic was summarized under the heading “securing the long term strategic position of CR as the dominant energy player in the region”. The Round Table was attended by top representatives of the key companies operating in the energy field in the Czech Republic as well as representatives of companies and businesses which are immediately affected by the energy situation in the Czech Republic. The discussion was very lively but also productive leaving the participants with the feeling of fruitful cooperation between the state and private sector.

networking/discussion event

A special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. for making this reportage possible

Round Table of Comenius with the Minister of Industry and Trade Mr. Martin Říman

From left: Vladimír Plašil, Chairman of the Board, ALTA, Martin Říman, Minister of Industry and Trade and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

PLM_0901_events_1.indd 25

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 25 2 5 IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY 14.1.2009 16:33:02

From left: Miroslav Příkop, General Director & Chairman of the Board, Cimex and Petr Rudolf, Director of Division, Civil Aviation Authority

Zdeněk Čáp, Managing Director, Equity Solutions From left: Tomáš Jelínek, Executive Director, Donath, Burson & Marsteller and Pavel Bobošík, General Director, Sahm

From left: Jiří Vávra, General Director, Strojexport and Jan Wiesner, President, Union of Czech and Moravian Production Co-operatives

From left: Albin Sybera, Advisor to President, Comenius, Albin Sybera Sr., Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises and Nicolas Fitaire, Head of Representation, Lombard, Odier, Hantsch & Cie

The discussion concentrated on the key element of the future energy resources for the Czech Republic, which by most of the participants as well as the present government officials, is seen in the nuclear energy sector. Exploration and research into any alternative energy sector is welcome, however, the reality is that at this stage alternative resources are by no means able to meet the energy demands of our society. Individual topics including the current state of investments into bio fuels, plans for the enlargement of the Temelín nuclear power plant, or even the security of the energy sector from a potential terrorist attack then more or less stemmed from this statement.

26

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY PLM_0901_events_1.indd 26

From left: Jiří Vávra, General Director, Strojexport, Rudolf Musil, Commercial Director, Parliament, Government, Municipality, Jan Tošnar, Director, Hydropol Project & Management , Prof. Josef Veselka, Head of Cardiologist Dept., Motol University Hospital and Jiří Vacek, Co-owner, Avanti

15.1.2009 14:42:52

From left: Jiří Zapletal, General Director & Chairman of the Board, Škoda Holding and Tomáš Hüner, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade

From left: Horst Riedner, Business Development Eurasia, AREVA T&D, Jaroslav Ira, Business Development Director, Škoda Power and Pavel Hlinka, General Director, Orea Hotels

From left: Michal Procházka, Marketing Director, Avanti, Jiří Janda, Managing Director, WSW Engineering and Mrs. Hana Winklerová, General Director, Extech Outsourcing Services

From left: Jan Vrátník, General Director, Erste Corporate Finance and Mrs. Jana Marco, Managing Partner, Pan Solutions

Congress hall Hotel Pyramida

Other participants at the Round Table included Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Tomáš Hüner, Ambassador of Slovakia, H.E. Peter Brňo, who used the opportunity and highlighted the recently signed cooperation between ČEZ and the Slovak government on the development of the new nuclear power plant in Slovakia, Head of Investments in ČEZ, Peter Bodnár, representatives of the Russian AtomStroyExport who stated their resolution to work on the best possible cooperation between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation, as well as many others. Partners of the event were Škoda Holding represented by its CEO, Jiří Zapletal, AREVA T&D SA represented by Stanislav Návoj, Head of the Czech representation and CIMEX Group represented by its General Director, Miroslav Příkop.

From left: Alexander Akulinin, Advisor to President, Comenius, Josef Hušek, General Director and Chairman of the Board, Inekon Group and Pavel Zentrich, General Director, Dell Computer

PLM_0901_events_1.indd 27

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY 14.1.2009 16:35:13

interview

MUD U r. PPav avvel el Kle Kle er, DrSc Klener Kl Sc.r. .r., Proofes Pro feesso ess sor ssooorr Photo: Pho to: Vl to to: V adi a mĂ­r Weeiss isss

Interviews.indd 28

15.1.2009 15:25:13

An interview with Professor MUDr. Pavel Klener, DrSc.r.

Health Care Free of Charge Is an Illusion Professor Pavel Klener graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague in 1961. He worked as a doctor, assistant professor and lecturer at the Second Internal Clinic at Faculty Hospital during the years 1988–1990 as the head of the Oncological Clinic. Dr. Klener was also head of the First Internal Clinic of the General Teaching Hospital and from 2002–2007 worked as director of the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

You mentioned that you ran for senatorial election primarily out of fear of the ongoing health service changes. You did not become a senator, though. Are you continuing with the fight for “healthy” health services?

Yes, I am definitely. However, my chances are obviously significantly limited as the Ministry of Health Care is not very interested in expert suggestions. The new law was prepared by only a few colleagues of minister Julínek, without factoring in other interests. Legal proposals have not once been presented to the scientific council of the Ministry of Health, which includes many independent experts. The views of the Medical Chamber, specialists, special medical associations and trade unions were not respected either. Suggestions from experts of both coalition partners were not reflected sufficiently. Yet, it is necessary to admit that health service reform is urgently required. Current proposals presented by the Ministry of Health (MZd) are, however, in various provisions unclear, formulated without appropriate professional discussion and do not reflect all professional suggestions.

How do you believe the current health service reform proposal should be changed?

It is obviously impossible to list all objections and inputs. For instance, standards of health care procedures can not be determined by MZd without consultation with experts and the Medical Chamber. Thus, the Ministry of Health would keep a monopoly over decisions on the patients regarding above-standard payments.

I also consider the proposal regarding transfer of university hospitals and health care insurance companies to joint-stock companies very unfortunate. A free market without certain regulation and control from the state can mean disaster for patients. The interests of the patients within the framework of the free market health care system are completely disappearing. According to the proposed law, the patient’s right to choose their doctor is also disappearing. People have only the right to choose one provider which could be, for instance, only one health care facility within the whole region.

Could you describe how you think reform of health insurance should be managed?

Health insurance companies should not be transformed into private entities directed primarily by the primary aim of making profits (out of public and

obligatory health insurance). This system would allow these private entities to freely profit without any obligation to return any money back into the health care system. The reasoning is that insurance companies under these circumstances will create pressure to decrease payments by health care facilities, which will also make the profits of insurance companies as big as possible. The situation would be worsened further by the proposal, which would create a monopoly by putting the insurance company and provider in one owner’s hands.

As the first post-1989 minister of health you proposed requiring co-payments. Do you think this should also be implemented for children and pensioners?

I realised already in 1990 that health care free of charge is an illusion. Implementation of new diagnostic methods and new and more costly drugs cannot be fully covered solely by health insurance. Growing health care costs are no doubt also influenced by increasing longevity. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent wasting means and exploiting the health service. In March 1990 I proposed a charge of 50 CZK for emergency services and 5 CZK for prescriptions. However, my proposal was not approved. I still have certain reservations regarding charges and supplementary payments for medicines.

Regarding exceptions I find it appropriate for pensioners to receive services free, as well as organ and blood donors. But many other exceptions would completely depreciate the whole payment system. Launching financial partnerships within health care system is, however, necessary to supplement the social programme and ensure the required care for citizens with low incomes.

What do you believe cancelling payments in some regional hospitals will mean?

I consider this to be a populist and unsystematic step that will complicate the budgets of the affected regions. Payments have a rather regulatory function and maintaining their price at the same level of a pint in a restaurant would certainly not lead to a collapse of family budgets.

Having spent your entire professional life dealing with exact western medicine, do you also consider the possible contributions of alternative medicine?

I am not fond of alternative medicine because I have repeatedly encountered ill people preferring an alternative method of healing and thereby losing a chance to

be cured. But I am not in principle against it. If the practitioner is cooperating with a doctor and the treatment supplements standard therapy, it can only benefit the patient.

You are an opponent of euthanasia. Could you discuss under what circumstances it could be implemented?

I have had my negative attitude toward euthanasia repeatedly expressed in the media. I take into account not only my moral principles but also my long term experience with dying people suffering from serious illnesses like cancer. I am convinced that in case of its legitimatisation the decision of using it would lie with the relatives rather than the patient himself. In other words, I am afraid of the misuse of euthanasia. In addition, a doctor’s mission is saving people’s lives, not finishing them.

What is missing from the political culture of the Czech Republic? How do you perceive the gradual return of the Communist Party to power at the regional level?

I think that the majority of current politicians are lacking willingness or ability to communicate. They very often turn factual problems into ideology and they are convinced of their infallibility. This leads very often to abuse of power and reluctance to compromise in any case other than where they would acquire power or economic advantage.

I would consider the Communist return into the power structure acceptable if the Communist Party would clearly dissociate itself from its past totalitarian issues and techniques, which it has not articulated unequivocally yet.

Do you have time for any hobbies?

Thanks to my numerous working activities I have always had only limited time for hobbies. Despite that I should mention at least two of them which I have never neglected. First of all, I like the arts – music, concerts and theatre. My other pastime is working at my cottage.

My physical activities there to a great extent have substituted for my insufficient sporting activities. In recent years I have also taken on the role of grandfather which very pleasantly fills up some of my free time.

By Pavlína Holancová českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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15.1.2009 9:41:05

An interview with Tomáš Kraus,, Czech Champion in alpine skiing

It Should Have Been Torino The position of ski-cross among other winter sports will be confirmed at next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver when it will be a part of the official programme for the first time. Your name has been connected with the sport from its early days.

What new features did you find in it? What are the novelties that ski-cross brought that could not be experienced in other winter sports?

In my case it gave me, or better brought it back to me, the enjoyment of movement on snow. I stopped enjoying alpine skiing. Ski-cross is a sport in which you have to be able to orientate well in space, there is a lot of jumping, constant overtaking and I enjoy all of this. On top of that, you are in the mountains when practicing it. All those things are important for me and those were the reasons why I took up on ski-cross and why I love it so much.

A specific feature of your discipline when compared to other alpine skiing disciplines is that you compete on one race track with others. What role does the tactical preparation on specific competitors play in the final success?

I would say it plays a crucial role in the success since

ouur sport is not just about how good someone is on the skis, but also how well they can read the track. Very important is also the position from which you start.

There are three or five people with me on the track whho I know very well and only according to my opponeents I decide which position at the start I will take and I also think about the strategy that would be the best onn a specific track against those competitors.

When there are all of us on the track, good thing is thaat in any minute of the race I know what position I am in and whether it is worth it to risk a bit more than I thhought I would have to. So you have to make immediaate decision at the very moment. You can hardly find thiis in any other winter sport from cross-country to doownhill skiing. If someone finished first in alpine skiingg and someone else goes down the hill as the fortiethh, then those two do not have the same conditions onn the track. In our sport everyone has the same condittions. And it is clear and same not only for the skiers, buut also for the spectators.

Do you use video to study your opponents, for instance? Do you keep any files about you rivals – how they race, what is their style?

Currently I rather have to deal with the opposite situation when the others are editing videos of my races.

So I try not to show everything I can do in every race.

The advantage of the sport is that the conditions are so different in every race that it is impossible to read anyone without a good deal of experience. The momentous improvisation is essential, too. The sport is interesting because it is not just about drill, drudgery in training, working out and swallowing hundreds of kilometers on the hills, but also about improvisation and thinking and getting back to your own experience from past races.

Ski-cross as the Olympic sport in Vancouver 2010; does it mean that the conditions and facilities of the ski-cross events and all that is connected with it can compete nowadays with the other entrenched disciplines?

Foremost, I think that it should have been on the programme already in Torino, because the sport was developing extremely quickly and in fact everything was prepared already for Torino. I think that only some people with power who make the decisions did not believe it and that was the reason why they postponed

Tomáš Kraus was five times the Czech Champion in alpine skiing before he moved to ski-cross in 2003.

He won the World Championship in ski-cross in 2005 and 2007. In the years 2005–2006 and 2008 Tomáš Kraus finished first in the overall ranking in the FIS World Cup Championship and in 2006 he won the FIS Freestyle World Cup Golden Globe Award. Although his sport may not be the most popular of the alpine skiing disciplines, his achievements put him among the snow kings who will be looked up to at the Olympics in Vancouver.

Photo: Vítek Ludvík

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15.1.2009 9:41:27

it. I am positive that the conditions have been on the requested level already for several years.

Did you, as one of the most pronounced sport celebrity of the sport, enter the debates and negotiations that were leading to admitting skicross on the programme of the Olympics? Did you play any active role in the process?

I would say that not directly, though indirectly through the people that I meet and cooperate with in the World Cup races. Those people can influence this kind of things rather than I. With those I talked many times because I believe there is nothing better than when they hear opinions not only from people from their own rank, but also from those who compete on the tracks.

Is it not a problem of ski-cross that one can hardly do it as a free time activity since you need to have a special track for it and pretty much the rivals too?

This must lead to the situation that the majority of your fans have never had the chance to try it themselves.

Are there places where they would build tracks so people could go there and try it out? It is a blessing for every sport to have involved and erudite fans that do not seek just the adrenaline but can read it and understand it…

Well, this is a very difficult question. One thing is that some tracks can be found around the world and not few of them. However, if it has to be real ski-cross, it needs to be of a certain level and this on the other hand requires some level of proficiency which cannot

be found with people who lack a good ski exercise.

Some eight, nine, ten years ago, when I took up skicross, it was not perceived as a new sport, rather as a different one.

For instance in the Czech races you got a mixture off people who were basically living on skiing, who were professionals, and on the other hand there are people who just come to try it and in their case they have nott spent an awful lot of time on skis. I saw this as something that would help to make the sport more common and accessible for a wider public. Sure, there were some injuries but you could see that the people were enjoying it. That was something I liked. Nowadays itt looks like it loses this form and character a little bit.

Certainly, we have the series of World Cup, X-Games and the American Series, but besides there are events in almost all European resorts that are not so much known and those are opened to people who just wantt to enjoy the sport. To cut it short, I think it is not an extremely mass thing, but the number of people who know what is going on on the track during the race is already relatively large.

You are a sportsman who should concentrate on your sport performance. Nonetheless, the financial and economic crisis cannot avoid the sport business and environment as well. The economic strength of your sport lays predominantly in the U.S. Do you read the newspaper articles about what is going on in economy and how could it affect your sport?

Like in any other sphere of human activity it is nott

a pleasing situation. The direct impact that we experienced was the cancellation of a professional series in the U.S. when it was almost a megalomaniac event in three resorts where everything was supposed to stop and everyone was expecting the event with our competition. The amount of money that was needed for it was so big that the car manufacturer that was sponsoring the event withdrew their support. This is the most perceptible impact of the crisis for me, but certainly I am curious how it will develop; I believe that it will not be that bad. But those are the hopes of everyone today.

The Olympics take place next year, so you can afford mistakes and wrong decisions in your training process this season. Do you take the advantage of this season and do you experiment?

Yes, I do experiment. For several seasons I have been trying to do things that worked and in fact to do them always the same as in the previous season. But I know that many people are going to try and come up with anything to get into the best form before the Olympics so also I am using this season to try out a couple of new things including training methods, a physiotherapist teaches me new things that should help. I test them and hope that it will not have any negative impact, but if it does, it will not be such a tragedy this season.

By Filip Hubáček I českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Photo: Archive Nissan

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interview

Ing. Jaromír Gajdáček, Ph.D. CEO of the Health Insurance Company of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic

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Photo: Lenka Hatašová

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An interview with Ing. Jaromír Gajdáček, Ph.D., CEO of the Health Insurance Company of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic

More Competition Among Health Insurance Companies Is Needed You have been working in the health insurance field for more than ten years. Could you tell us whether the health insurance companies differ one from another?

No changes occurredhappened before the last parliamentary elections. On the contrary, state decision authority strengthened, andmoreover the authority of the Health Ministry strengthened as well. Only the current Health Minister is trying to make the essential changes which would noticeably influence the power and responsibility of health insurance companies. However, it is not clear yet whetherif the reforms are going to be approved. We do not know if the intended changes will be implemented. So far, health insurance companies have been able to compete e more less only in the spheremeans of the division of the Fuond of Prevention Prevention, which is definitely insuffiinsuffi cient. Nonetheless, despite the upper-of mentioned factors, a certain loosening of “state pliers” has already appearedhappened recently. We will have more opportunities in the field of contractual relationships, of the quality of health care and providing of client services. The possibility to buy health care leads to the decrease ofin the length of waiting periods, e.g. concerning the operations of hip-joints. So, I can see a distinct shift forward in the last year. I suppose the situation will isdevelop positively primarily in 2009.

What specific features are connected with the is specific about the Health Insurance Company of the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic (ZP MV ČR)?

The ZP MV ČR is the biggest employees’ insurance company in the Czech Republic. It She has more than 1 100 000 policyholders and their number is constantly slightly growing. The role of our insurance company consists of our attempts to improve the quality of health care service provided for the majority our clients, and especially to for our “main” policyholders, i.e. policemen, firemen, employees of the prison system, Czech Railways and others. We would like to support their healthy living style.

In generally, what are the advantages of employees’s insurance companies?

The Employees’s insurance companies are not the nationwide, hardly manageable juggernaut

like the General Health Iinsurance Company (VZP).

They have much more options in providing care of taking care their its decisive groups of clients.

In our case, these are for instance policemen or firemen for whomich we can prepare directly targeted programmes. I am convinced that the competition among health insurance companies based on legislative parity would be a great benefit for the Czech client of health insurance companies a great benefit. For the time being, the VZP has, regarding our legislation, a lot of advantages that the employees’ insurance companies lack.

I suppose that at least this factor should be changed.

So, the VZP insurance company has still occupies a privileged position on the market at present. Do you find it beneficial also for the future?

As I already mentioned, in any case it is important that the insurance companies become equal in order to have space for real competition. Obviously, it should be always for the benefit of its clients. We are aiming at the clients’ better chance to choose the best offer of the insurance companies. We particularly are focusing primarily on the existing clients and want to be exceptional in a way that we want to pay attention to prevention, to appropriate feeding habits, to overcoming smoking habit… simply to a healthy way of life.

What should be goal of the reform of the public health insurance system?

The goal of the rReform’s goal is primarily the accentuation of the patient’s position within the whole system of public health insurance.

Patients do not know when, where and after how long they will get the required care. The new laws should state this strictly. Patients have no opportunity, thanks to the current legislation, to pay anything extra. The only option, they have is to pay super-standard paying above standard rooms in hospital, which I find also consider wrong. During the current political and professional discussions we all can see that it is a very difficult issue to determine the level of “a standard” and “an above standard”. Nonetheless, I think it could be possible that people in charge of this issue find a solution with a little effort. It would definitely be beneficial for our benefit patients.

However, science is developing going quickly ahead. Is it possible at all to set standards just with in regard to its the permanent development?

According to my view, standards can not be set by laws. Yet certain legal rules have to exist in order to determine them. And then, according According to these rules, new pieces of knowledge, new ways of treatment will be evaluated, together with new drugs and healing preparations. Would be than considered new peace of knowledge, new ways of healing, and new drugs and healing preparations would be evaluated. Obviously, it would have to be defined who would do the evaluation itself. I think that a part of this team should definitely be formed by also health insurance companies.

Do you agree that health insurance companies shwould transform into joint-stock companies?

If yes, what would be the advantages for patients resulting from this step?

This question sounds like if I am for or against hospitals as would turn into joint-stock companies.

We, as a health insurance company, do not care if a hospital is private, with state ownership, a jointstock company or a non-profit organization. What It is important for us is whether that a the management of the hospital is has a qqualified management and whether it is able to provide patients with available, best and most professional health care.

If an eit comes to equalization of competencies and opportunities of employee’s’ health insurance companies with and tthe VZP occurred, I can imagine that even under such conditions we could be able to we can work professionally and improve our service for our clients also under these conditions.

Do you have time for your hobbies? How do you relax?

I have only little time, yet I still try to manage it somehowanyhow. So, I divide it among work, recreational sports, physical activitiesexertion and music. I like listening to it or I enjoy playing the guitar. am either listening to music or I like playing guitar.

By Pavlína Holancová I českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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15.1.2009 16:53:31

networking/charity

LIONS CLUB

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Ing. Josef Čekal, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and MUDr. Michael Vít, Ph.D., Chief Public Health Officer of the Czech Republic and Deputy Minister of Health

Prague Bohemia Ambassador at Restaurant Pelikan Guest of Honor: MUDr. Michael Vít, Ph.D., Deputy Minister of Health and Chief Public Health Officer of the Czech Republic

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: MUDr. Michael Vít, Ph.D., Chief Public Health Officer of the Czech Republic and Deputy Minister of Health, RNDr. Karla Říhová, Ministry of Health, JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Advocate, Charter President and Secretary, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

14.1.2009 16:27:14

From left: JUDr. Jaroslav Šátral, Chairman of Senate of the Municipal Court Prague, Ing. Jiří Málek, Treasurer, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, MUDr. Blanka Seifertová and MUDr. Karel Stibral, Authorized Expert

From left: Ing. Jiří Opichal, Hotel Managing Director, Ing. Josef Čekal, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and JUDr. Vojtěch Trapl, Advocate, Former District Governor, LCI Czech Republic and Slovak Republic From left: Ing. Martin Felenda, Auditor and Ing. Ladislav Bouček, CSc., Former District Governor, LCI Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

From left: JUDr. Jaroslav Novotný, Advocate, Chairperson, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Business Director, PhDr. Ladislav Říha, Owner, CK RiTours and Charter President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: Prof. ThDr. Jiří Huber and PhDr. Karel Vondrášek

From left: Ing. Antonín Novotný, General Director, CSI, a.s., Ing. Jiří Kubát, Ing. Jaromír Kaulfus, Entrepreneur and Mgr. Jaroslav Drápal, Analyst, ČSOB

From left: Ing. Jaromír Kaulfus, Entrepreneur, Mgr. Jaroslav Drápal, Analyst, ČSOB, Ing. Antonín Novotný, General Director, CSI, a.s., JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Advocate, Charter President and Secretary, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and Ing. Jiří Kubát

PLM_0901_events_1.indd 35

Lions Club Praha Ambassador is one of the biggest and most active clubs of Lions. They participate in number of charitable projects like build-up a hospital in Kenya, help to handicapped fellow-citizens and 35 improvement of environment.

14.1.2009 16:27:46

jubilee The 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute was observed by its friends and members at a festive evening in the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Prague on 10 November. The programme acquainted those present with the activity of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute for Czechs and Slovaks who emigrated at various historical periods, whose cultural and social activities in Czech and Slovak national associations the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute supports, as well as the preservation of their cultural identity.

The Czechoslovak Foreign Institute also cooperates with Czech-studies scholars at foreign universities.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

THE CZECHOSLOVAK FOREIGN INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 80 YEARS OF WORK FOR ITS FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN

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From left: JUDr. Ladislav Jíša, Vice Chairman of the Board, Český Rozhlas, with his wife Helena Jíšová and PhDr. Josef Havel, Managing Director, Český Rozhlas

15.1.2009 17:29:05

From left: Kim Yong IL, Councellor, Embassy of North Korea, Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, H.E. Ri Pyong Gap, Ambassador of North Korea to the Czech Republic, with his wife and Kim Yun Chang, Councellor, the Economy Sector, Embassy of North Korea

Prof. PhDr. Ivo Barteček, CSc., Dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the Palacký University in Olomouc

Ms. Tereza Šlápotová and Vojta Kočárník

Mrs. Barbara Semenov, Executive Director, Regent Productions and Jiří Rudolf, Parliamentary Assistant to Jan Březina MEP, European Parliament

From left: Eduard Janota, Deputy of Minister of Finance, Mrs. Marie Klaková, Michael Pojezdný, Abbot of Strahov Monastery and JUDr. Eva Dobrohrušková, Advocate, DLA PIPER Law Office

The foundation of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute was one of the projects to mark the 10th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Republic; its realisation was strongly supported by President Thomas G. Masaryk.

Those present were informed about the history of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute by Prof. Ivo Barteček, Dean of the Philosophical Faculty of the Palacký University in Olomouc.

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From right: Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ivo Valenta, Vice Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ing. Jiří Rudolf, Mrs. Jitka Valentová, Manager of the event, Ing. Vladimír Kubiš, CSc., Vice Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Miroslav Langr and Ing. Jiří Musil

14.1.2009 16:21:03

From left: JUDr. František Hoffvozak, Chairman of Control Commission of ZHMP, JUDr. Světlana Zvolánková, Advocate and Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

From left: Eduard Janota, Deputy Minister of Finance, JUDr. Eva Dobrohrušková, Advocate, DLA PIPER Law Office, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Ivo Valenta, Vice Chairman of Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

Kristián Kodet, Artist and Olga Vyleťalová

Libor Ševčík, Editor, Hospodářské Noviny and Mrs. Dita Kyliánová, Member of the Board, Ampelos

From left: Mrs. Marcela Plevková, JUDr. Milan Plevka, Lawyer, EuroFinancial and Ing. Martin Houžvička, Correct Insurance Brokers

Pavel Exner, Managing Director, Auto-Exner

Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ing. Jan Klak with his wife Marie and Ivan Kočárník, 1st Czechoslovak Minister of Finance

The38 Chairman Jaromír Šlápota spoke about projects and philosophy. “We have acquired a great deal of experience from meetings with, by now, several generations of compatriots – from the pre-war years, from 1945, 1948, 1968 and today, who are out in the world pursuing their mission, education and work.

They have divers views of life, of the Czech Republic, its behaviour in the world and what they expect from it.” Considering these differences the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute now pursues as its principal aim the support for the education of children in compatriots’ schools abroad.

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15.1.2009 15:36:47

INVISIBLE HAND OF EMOTIONS The current economic crisis and its reasons are discussed from all possible p ints of view and standpo points. There appear mainly would-be rational reflexions, based on facts or historical data. Discussed is the end of the contemporary model of capitalism, socialization of of the bank sector, legitimacy or illegitimacy of government interventions in market economy and disturbances of economic competition.

Efforts to create a unified approach of governments are unsuccessful. We can hear voices saying: “Bankers of the whole world, unite!”

Money is piled in inaccessible bank safes and mattresses. Games played by greedy bankers and financial institutions with artificial and speculative products are subject to rightful criticism. Pot-hats, golden cufflinks and a golf club have suddenly become despicable symbols. There is a lot of truth in everything. It is not by far all and maybe these are not even the most significant reasons of the current crisis.

If we disapprove of greed, we should think off people l who h takke mortgages andd do d not think of what they are going to do when the situation gets worse. A lot of people are enchanted by the charm of consumerism and gather debts they are going to have difficulty in paying off. The naivety of those believing in institutions that offer long-time huge outcomes still exists. Not everybody accepts the fact that when someone earns money on speculations, somewhere there has to be someone who has paid for it. Speculations do not create any values, they just transfer wealth from ones to others.

Emotions and panic do not obey any rules.

Photo: Archive

The effect of the snow-ball creating a chain of bank withdrawals and causing panic on the stock market works. It is accelerated by new phenomena, predominantly by the internet.

No one is able to differentiate which piece of information is reliable and which is not. There are too many of them and they spread at the speed of light. Bad news is perhaps even faster in i causiing panic. i It I is defif iniitely l no rule that more pieces of information means better pieces of information. Media have long known that bad news is better sold than good news.

Is it possible to do anything rational?

Perhaps calm is needed, nor the 1929 crisis did not bring the end of the world, there is no danger of the nuclear war. Good and bad times alternate. Each fact is neutral in itself, what matters is what we find in it. A bit of patience will do no harm. Even the guru of American investors, Warren Buffet, says: “It’s only when the tide goes out that you

learn who’s been swimming naked.“ Is it a lesson for the future – a cliché? Life really is not just about consumerism, even though marketing still forces us to buy things that we do not need and we are more or less becoming its slaves. Let us stand with both feet grounded and let us count on the fact that worse times are certain to come and then we will ill have h to help l ourselves. l No N lunchh is for f free, let alone to appetizing one with champagne and caviar.

By Ivan Pilný I President of Tuesday Business Network Former Chairman of Czech Telecom

In partnership with Leaders Magazine

českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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15.1.2009 9:43:00

christmas event Traditionally, some honored guests from Air Navigation Service in the Czech Republic (ANS) were invited and enjoying the party as well.

Mrs. & Mr. Parobek, Owner of Ifield Computer Consultancy

IďŹ eld Computer Consultancy (ICC) Christmas Party at KarlĹĄtejn

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more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

All together

14.1.2009 18:13:03

From left: Ms. Lubomíra Haaseová, Pavel Kocovský, George Parobek and Jan Abel

Mr. & Mrs. Klíma

Crazy Boys

From left: Patrick Brosnan and Michal Chylík

Mr. & Mrs. Kulveit

From left: Ms. Lubomíra Haaseová, George Parobek, Milan Koráb and Pavel Kocovský From left: Viktor Urban and Jiří Bráza

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14.1.2009 18:13:33

exhibition event

A special thanks to Hotel President for making this photoreportage possible

1000 Years

From left: Guillermo Olivares, General Manager, Hotel President, H.E. Alberto Salas Barahona, Ambassador of Peru and Mrs. Lenka Žlebková, Director of Sales and Marketing, Hotel President

of the Gold of thein Incas Prague

The event was inaugurated by Mrs. Livia Klausová, First Lady of the Czech Republic and the exhibition is held under the auspices of MUDr. Pavel Bém, Lord Mayor of the City of Prague, Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CR and Václav Jehlička, Minister of Culture of the CR

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOTEL PRESIDENT PLM_0901_events_1.indd 42

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Mrs. Markéta Křížová, Curator of the Exhibition and Ethnographer, H.E. Alberto Salas Barahona, Ambassador of Peru and Mrs. Victoria Mujica, Director Museum Gold of Peru

15.1.2009 16:07:37

From left: H.E. Enkhtur Ochir, Ambassador of Mongolia, H.E. PhDr. Huo Yuzhen, Ambassador of China and Thomas Hafermann, Manager of the Exhibition

From left: František Padělek, Deputy Minister of Defence, Mrs. Kopecká, Olga Poivre d´Arvor, Director, Institut Francais de Prague and H.E. Jan Kopecký, Ambassador From left: André Léger, Chairman of the Board, Modrá pyramida and H.E. Alberto Salas Barahona, Ambassador of Peru

Richard Sequens, M.D., Mrs. Elfenkämper, wife of the Ambassador of Germany, H.E. Carmelita Rodrigues Salas, Ambassador of Philippines and Ing. arch. Iva Drebitko, President of TRIGA, Patrons´Club of the Prague National Theatre

Mgr. Tomáš Chalupa, Mayor of Prague 6 with his wife

Some 90 priceless fabled golden Incan artefacts, a part of the Peruvian national treasure, arrived wrapped-up in seven massive crates Inca Gold Exhibition in Prague Thursday to be displayed within a unique exhibition. Two Peruvian curators and the director of the Museum of Gold in Peru, who is also a representative of the collecting family Mujica, checked whether the consignment was not opened before it was placed in show cases at the Prague Nejvyšší purkrabství (Supreme Burgrave Office) house. Only them could touch the exhibits. The journalists could at first see a golden goblet in the form of a bird with emerald eyes. Further pieces, evidence of the goldsmith’s art of pre-Columbian cultures, were unpacked in the days to come so that the exhibition “Curse of Gold, 1000 Golden Years of Incas” could open on November 1.

The exhibition will last until May 1, 2009.

There will be golden goblets, death masks, ritual knives and jewellery as well as a glove beaten from gold and an ancient Inca depilator also of gold. The importance of the gold Peruvian treasure can be compared to Czech coronation jewels, organiser Petr Marinov said. The artefacts will be deposited in armoured show cases, but the visitors will not be limited in any way when watching them. The show cases will be in darkness and the exhibited objects will be lighted from below so that the shimmering gold material as well as the elaborate artwork are clearly seen. The exhibition will IN PARTNERSHIP 43 start with an obelisk with a jaguar as a symbol of untamed nature and close with a lama head on a cup. Lama was sacred for Incas. It is also a symbol of the conquered nature.

WITH HOTEL PRESIDENT

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15.1.2009 16:07:57

Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic and H.E. Alberto Salas Barahona, Ambassador of Peru

From left: H.E. Donal Hamill, Irish Ambassador to the Czech Republic and H.E. Tahir T. Taghizadeh, Ambassador of Azerbaijan

From left: H.E. Arturo Laclaustra, Ambassador of Spain and Luis Suarez, Chargé d´Affaires of Peru

Most Reverend Diego Causero, Titular Archbishop of Grado, Apostolic Nuncio JUDr. František Mikeš, First Deputy Minister of Culture of the CR

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From left: H.E. Mati Vaarmann, Ambassador of Estonia and Vladimír Laštůvka, former Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies

From left: H.E. Osvaldas Čiukšys, Ambassador of Lithuania with wife, H.E. Alberto Salas Barahona, Ambassador of Peru, Mrs. Levy, wife of the Ambassador of Israel, Mrs. Sequensová and H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel

14.1.2009 16:19:34

Gas Business Breakfast 2008 With the participation of Eurogas, DG TREN and IGU representatives, Gas Business Breakfast 2008 was held on the last Friday of November. 120 most important people of energy sector in the Czech Republic participated in the conference.

Oldřich Petržilka, Senior Manager, Czech Gas Union

Tomáš Hüner, Deputy Minister of the Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic

Mrs. Markéta Schauhuberová, Manager, Czech Gas Union and Jan Pouček, Senior Manager, Czech Gas Union

Michal Mejstřík, Headmaster of the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague

From left: Robert Schaffer, General Manager, Euronews, Mrs. Renata Čudová, Marketing Director, Euronews and Jakub Železný, Moderator of the event

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: Josef Kastl, General Secretary, Czech Gas Union and Vladimír Feldman, Managing Director, PA/PR Agency Weber Shandwick

From left: Martin Chalupský, Spokesman of RWE Transgas, a.s. and Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board, RWE Transgas, a.s.

From left: Roman Budinský, President, Czech Gas Union, Vladimír Vurm, Vice-chairman of Supervisory Board, RWE JMP, a.s. and Mrs. Jana Marcová, Managing Partner, PAN Solutions

14.1.2009 17:22:46

Deutsch-Tschechische Industrieund Handelskammer The II. business discussion hosted by the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DTIHK) concentrated on vocational training in the Czech Republic as its main subject. The panel discussion between Ondřej Liška, education minister of the Czech Republic, Sybille von Obernitz, Head of the Department for Vocational Training and Education Policy of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and Horst Blom, managing director of the company Hettich ČR k.s. was based on the DTIHK education survey, which documented that German companies in the Czech Republic are not satisfied with the students‘ skills and knowledge. The business discussion attended to the educational systems in the Czech Republic and Germany, the co-operation of companies and public educational institutions, as well as upcoming reforms of the Czech educational system. The host throughout the evening was Petr Šimůnek, chief editor of the newspaper Hospodářské noviny.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE Ondřej Liška, Minister of Education, Youth a Sports

German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce 12th November 2008 Hotel Praha II. Business Discussion

46 Conference room in Hotel Praha

PLM_0901_events_1.indd 46

14.1.2009 16:25:07

From left: H.E. Helmut Elfenkämper, Ambassador of Germany, Walter Wejwar, Director, Německá škola v Praze s.r.o. and Jitka Špetová, Managing Director, Německá škola v Praze s.r.o.

From left: Ing. Radomír Šimek CFO, Siemens s.r.o. and Ing. Ivan Doubrava CFO, Financial Director/Chief Clerk, Linde Gas a.s.

From left: Till Oberwörder, President & CEO, Mercedes-Benz ČR s.r.o. and Dr. Stefan Keil, Counsellor Head of the Economic Department Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

From left: Dr. Henning Sommermeyer, General Manager Nycomed s.r.o., Horst Blom, Managing Director, Hettich ČR k.s. and Bernard Bauer, Executive Member of the Board, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce

From left: Dr. Henning Sommermeyer, Nycomed s.r.o., Dr. Ing. Luděk Pitra, The Frank Latzer Group and Holger Kintscher, Member of the Board, Škoda Auto a.s.

Petr Šimůnek, Chief-Editor of Hospodářské noviny and Moderator of the evening

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: Ing. Vladimír Vurm, CSc., President, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Bernard Bauer, Executive Member of the Board, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Ondřej Liška, Minister of Education, Youth a Sports and Mrs. Sybille von Obernitz, Head of the Department for Vocational Training and Education Policy of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK)

14.1.2009 16:25:33

culture event

VERNISAGE with Zdeněk Burian at Law Office Kříž and Bělina Paintings and Lithographies from Mr. Jan Prádler’s Collection

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PLM_0901_events__2.indd 48

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Jan Prádler, COF, Sazka a.s. and Prof. JUDr. Miroslav Bělina, CSc.

14.1.2009 16:54:13

From left: Ing. Josef Vozdecký, Chairman of the Board of Directions and General Director, Bohemia Sekt and Dr. Bořek Severa, Managing Director, Media Trust Communications

Adolf Born, renowned Painter

From left: MUDr. Michael Vít, Deputy Minister of Health & Chief Hygiene Inspector and JUDr. Pavel Kučera, Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Court

From left: Karel Kratina, former Chairman/ CEO of Česká pošta a.s. and PhDr. Michal Lukeš, General Director, National Museum

Mrs. Jiřina Bohdalová, famous Actress

Mrs. Markéta Mališová, Director, Franz Kafka Centrum Prague and Arnošt Lustig, renowned Writer and Franz Kafka Prize Laureate 2008

From left: Prof. JUDr. Aleš Gerloch, CSc., Dean, Faculty of Law, Charles University and Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Lawyer, University Professor, Partner of Law Office Kříž and Bělina

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From left: Ing. Václav Matyáš, President, SPS (Svaz podnikatelů ve stavebnictví CR) and Augustin Sobol, Pramacom

From left: Jiří Polman, Tatra Trucks, Pavel Studík, Lawyer, Law Office Kříž and Bělina and Prof. JUDr. Zdeněk Češka, CSc., Partner, AKCČS

14.1.2009 16:54:45

Ranko Ran ko Pec Peecič ičč BBus usi us sine ines nessman ne s sm ssm sman an and n Ow nd wne nerr of th t e SAGA the SAAGAA Tra Traade Tr de CCom oom mpan pan pa anyy Pho Pho hoto: to: Vl to Vlad adimí ad adi mírír We m Weiss i iss

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15.1.2009 17:29:43

An interview with Ranko Pecič, Businessman and Owner of the SAGA Trade Company

Everything and Nothing was Possible under Socialism

Ranko Pecič came to Prague from Yugoslavia in 1972. He worked here at the Commercial Representation of the Republic of Yugoslavia and was responsible for building industry. Mr. Pecič and his German partner opened the first United Colours of Benetton boutique in Prague in 1984 and Hugo Boss shop a year later. Now he owns three Hugo Boss shops in Prague and is going to open the new one in Pařížská Street. Since 1992 he has been organizing the charity Advent concert Harmony in co-operation with Peter Dvorský. He plays golf and tennis.

How would you describe socialist Yugoslavia?

Yugoslavia was a very interesting state in Europe. There was neither socialism, nor capitalism, there was something in between. We travelled all over the world without problems, because we did not need to have any visa. I was very popular in Prague, because every week I went to Germany and bought bananas and chewing gum for all my friends.

You were responsible for building industry at the commercial representation of the Republic of Yugoslavia.

What did you build here?

We built a lot of things in the Czech Republic – the Tatra Kopřivnice factory, the Škoda Auto factory in Mladá Boleslav, the Panorama hotel, now Corinthia Towers, or the Motol hospital in Prague.

Have you been always interested in fashion?

I have inclined to fashion since my younger days. Under socialism, we were short of many things. When I was travelling around Western Europe, I asked myself why their goods were not also in our country. I understood some things, but some I did not. If I thought like normal people, I would not have opened the Benetton shop in Prague in 1984. I always say that it is better when people get married until they are 25 because then they start to think a lot. It was the same thing in fashion. When I decided to implement this project, I did not think about what was possible and what was not. I simply wanted it and did everything to succeed. Under socialism, nothing was possible and everything was possible.

How did you manage to open the Benetton shop?

It was possible because I know quite well the daughter of the then Czechoslovak minister for foreign affairs, Chňoupek. This connection allowed me that Mr Benetton could come to Prague and open the shop here in 1984. It is said that the first private plane landing at the Prague airport was Benetton’s. My persistence and belief that it comes off, and also contacts in business spheres including the Tuzex helped me open the shop. The original Benetton shop was opened within the Tuzex where under socialism foreign goods were sold and paid by Tuzex vouchers, not by crowns. One Tuzex voucher was 5 crowns.

What were the reactions?

People were shocked because there was nothing like that in Prague at that time. It was also a great success.

Benetton was number one in Europe in those days and shop windows of this company were beautiful. Once I went out of the shop and saw two very decently dressed elder ladies standing at the shop window. They admired one sweater

that cost 280 Tuzex vouchers. It was very expensive. The average salary was about 2,000 crowns then. One lady said to the other one: “Look, what a wonderful sweater!”

And the other lady replied: “It is not so expensive. It costs only 280 crowns.” So they entered the shop and suddenly saw the Tuzex sign. They stopped and realized that the price was not in crowns, but in Tuzex vouchers. They reacted very spontaneously. They cursed communism and went away. I had to laugh how these gracefully clothed ladies used very strict words to the regime.

One year later you opened the Hugo Boss shop. Why did you choose these trademarks?

I always had a special liking for branded companies.

After the fall of the communist regime I had shops with trademarks such as MaxMara, Calvin Klein, Strenesse and at least ten others. I always wanted the best things. It is not worth doing fashion that has no name. This way proved to be right. Also under socialism there were people who had money. And I do not even speak about today. I focused on the rich clientele, on people who have money at all times.

How has the current crisis influenced the sale of Hugo Boss goods?

I do not have absolute statistics but I can say that we do not experience crisis for now. Hugo Boss has very good and strong name. Our clients – people from all over Europe and above all from Russia – have remained so far. The question is how the situation in Russia will develop. If the number of these clients decreases, we will certainly feel it. We are aware of the crisis, of course. Nothing lasts forever. It is necessary to think about some things, but at the same time not to push the panic button. It is like in other sectors.

Do you choose from the new Hugo Boss collections or it is specifically set what goods you can take?

We choose, of course. Our chief manager goes to the Hugo Boss central office in Metzingen in Germany where there are designs from all labels – black, orange and green labels, special programme, etc. The basic trademark is Boss Hugo Boss – for both, women and men. There is also Hugo Hugo Boss – for women and men as well.

How do you choose the products?

In particular, we rely on our own experience; what sells more, what less. We follow our clients and what they want.

We have no problem to choose. All people who work in fashion carefully follow everything. If 80 percent of the collection is sold, it is a success.

Is Hugo Boss a family business?

It was a family business. When I started with Hugo Boss,

Holý brothers were its owners. They sold it to a Japanese firm and the Japanese firm to the Italian fashion giant Marzotto that sold it to an English firm about a year ago.

Now it is the fifth owner in 20 years.

What attracts you to the fashin?

I like people who are very well and tastefully dressed, in particular women. It does not have to be expensive. It is not based on it. I like how the Italians are dressed. You cannot see any expensive clothes on them, but they are chic. When I am interested in certain person, I always start with shoes. For me, shoes are the illustration of the taste of dressing. It often happens that people are nicely dressed, but then I look at the shoes and they are in a bad state.

It destroys the whole impression.

You are a big sportsman. Why did not you focus on sports trademarks?

I engaged in sports trademarks as well. I ran a wellknown sport trademark for tennis and skiing – Ellesse – for 14 years. I started with this Italian trademark immediately after the fall of the Iron Curtain. I also dressed the tennis player Petr Korda. I got involved in sports quite a lot. However, I figured out that when you have 5 firms and one is good, second bad, the other one is average, the fourth is very good and the fifth very bad, the result is that you just live on. Because then the good firm has to pull the bad one. It is a business. Finally I thus focused on Hugo Boss, because Hugo Boss is the trademark that has everything and you do not have to look for the alternative. And then you have one firm, you invest in one thing and it is financially better.

You also organize cultural events. One of them is the annual Advent concert Harmony.

We have been organizing the Advent concert Harmony for 16 years. It is really a wonderful event which takes place under the auspices of Václav Klaus. We co-operate with Peter Dvorský who has a foundation called Harmony in Bratislava. It is a charity concert, so the yield goes partly to Peter Dvorský foundation and partly to the Foundation of Livia and Václav Klaus. Peter Dvorský is a fixed star of the concert. We also invite other opera singers and musicians from all over the world. Event that is hosted by Marek Eben is always held on the second Advent Sunday in December. Besides helping needy people, the concert also brings us pleasure and delight.

By Zuzana Kasáková I českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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16.1.2009 9:30:05

An interview with Jan Klas, CEO off the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Reepublic

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL IS MY MISSON

How did you become a manager of air navigation services? It is a specific job – what do you find fascinating in it?

It was basically my desire to become a pilot.

I did not succeed but I am very happy I was able to start working as a manager of air navigation services immediately after completing my university studies. So, I returned back to airplanes.

The saying – “becoming an air service manager is rather a mission than ordinary work” – really works. Every day in this profession I have to face challenges and try to find solutions to situations which thoroughly prove my personal abilities and professional knowledge I need to do this job. It is just the variety of situations which might happen in air navigation services, the use of modern technologies, a great degree of responsibility for security, and generally meaningfulness of the whole profession, that is exactly what fascinates me constantly in this profession.

Are you successful in the transformation of the state company Air Navigation Services into a joint-stock company?

Firstly, I would like to stress that the final form

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of the whole transformation process is primarily connected with our founder, i.e. the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic. It depends also on the Ministry’s decision regarding the future activities of the company as a business company active within the framework of the Commercial code.

At present we have legal analyses that with regard to the present legislative environment in the field set several variations of the whole transformation process procedure. No matter which of the possible ways we choose, the result will be a business company with absolute state ownership anyway. Transformation processes concerning the providers of air navigation services management have already taken place in thee majority of all European countries. The results were successful and the transformations becam me a prerequisite of the realization of the integrration requirements within the framework of thee European system of air navigation managemeent. In order to be able to participate in Europpean development projects in future, it is necess sary to have a legal form that will ensure the neecessary ability of a company to enter internationnal associations and to take part in relevant operaational, technological and institutional issues within the Central European region. At the samee time, it enables us to develop our commerciial activities like, for instance, the training of airr traffic managers or tutorial and consultancyy activities within the field of technological innovation.

In February 2007 the Integrated Air Traffic Control Centre IATCC in Jeneč near Prague started to operate. Could you tell us something about its results and its activities?

Thee first operational year showed that the prepaaration was very well managed and that all activities that tested both the abilities of the

personnel and system operability, were perfectly established and no difficulties occurred. The whole project was perfectly implemented which obviously influences thee increasing capacity of Czech air space in a possitive way while keeping high level of air traffic security. So, this is the current situation, yet lifee goes on even after the start of the Centre. At prresent we are discussing what to do next. It is essential to find the optimum balance with the very weell accepted user’s environment and flexibility aff ter introducing changes required by both users annd outer environment on the one hand, and on the other hand we have to be able at the same time to become part of the development projects alll over Europe. From the international point of view, I see a significant success in the fact that the IATCC Prague project received a very prestigiouus award, the ATC Global Award 2008 presented during the international conference and exhibittion Air Traffic Control Global 2008 in Amsterddam. This award is presented and judged by experts in air navigation services. The Czech project was presented within the category “Seervice Provision” rating the most significant conntribution to safety and effective rendition of air navigation services management.

The air traffic has to cope with the changing international environment as well. Could you specify it?

International air traffic belongs to the most important multipliers of economic and social development of particuular world regions. Its overall condition and further development is therefore always largely influenced by outer factors which determine its development periodically. Among the strongeest effects there are the price of oil and obvioussly the whole economic and security situation, all together reflected by potential passengers’ interests. On the other hand, air traffic itself found solutions how to satisfy passengers’ saffety and security, how to offer them both good quality and cheap flights, through its liberalizatioon and the consequent increase of low budget caarriers. Similarly, we can find such connections inn the sphere of air navigation services. Requireements on delay minimization, simplification and optimisation of air

Leaders Magazine I/2009

15.1.2009 9:44:29

trackks served also as thee reason for the preparationn of the project of the “Single European Heavven” managed by the European Commission.

It reppresents the transfformational process of the whole European sysstem of air navigation servicces management. The T creation of the socalledd functional airspacce blocks without referencee to state borders, yeet with regard to services requirements, is a new sttep which can be implementted only by means off changes in the international environment, withiin the framework of the ongoing European integraation and unification.

In this context, could you discuss the real impact im mpact of air traffic on cclimate changes?

Airr traffic is very oftenn marked by media as one of the most significannt areas of human activities contributing to globbal climate changes in connection with greenhhouse gas emissions.

Howeever, the truth is coompletely different. According to qualified figgures of the Intergovernm mental Panel on Clim mate Change (IPCC), air traffic participates in thee total volume of emissionss of carbon dioxide only by 2 per cent. As far as future development evvaluation of air traffic is concerned, in 2050 thee share of air traffic of carboon dioxide emissionss will be 3 percent even whenn tripling the amountt of air traffic compared to thee current situation. In comparison to other kindss of traffic and furtheer areas of human activities, primarily to the produuction of electric energy

or chemical industry, air traffic belongs only to marginal causes of global warming. Yet it would be very buckpassing to claim that air traffic can not contribute to the reduction of its part in global climate changes. Therefore, research focused on the application of new technologies and processes aiming at this target is being carried out. In case of air technology it is for instance the introducc tion of the new Boeing 787 “Dreamliner”, whose fuel consumption and operational effectivenness represents the peak of technology innovattion.

In case of air navigation services managem ment it concerns the application of the so-caalled “reduced minimums of vertical spacing” which increased the capacity of European air sppace with current significant fuel consumption reduction and thus carbon dioxide emissions as well.

Another option is the implementation of thee socalled “continual profile of airplane’s landing within the last flying phase”. The implementaation of this concept ensures not only the reducc tion

Photos: Archive

of fuel consumption, but also a distinct decrease of noise loads of dwellings in the neighbourhood of an airport.

Do you have time for your hobbies?

I try not to neglect my hobbies. As long as my time allows, I enjoy playing ice hockey or tennis.

I look for challenges and limits of my physical abilities in long-distance running and triathlon.

I relax listening to rock music, I enjoy good books and if I can, I go to the theatre or cinema.

By Pavlína Holancová I českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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15.1.2009 16:49:45

An interview with Dr. Vendulka Raymova, Executive Head Bohemia EU Planners

NETWORKING IS MUCH ABOUT REFERENCE

says Dr. Vendulka Raymova, the founder and executive head of the Bohemia EU Planners about the Czech Presidency of the EU. Ms. Raymova’s Bohemia EU Planners organizes training courses for the Czech State Institutions and Regional offices’ employees who are national experts and members of working groups for the Czech Presidency at the EU Consilium. Previously she worked for many years as Regional or General Manager of large companies for the regions of United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium and Luxembourg.

Photo: Paul Pacey

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Leaders Magazine I/2009

PhDr. Vendulka Raymová Executive Head Bohemia EU Planners s.r.o Český dům, 60 Rue du Trone, B 1050 Bruxelles

15.1.2009 9:45:21

Considering your previous career with big companies one has to ask why did you decide to start to build your own business right now?

Yes indeed, it comes after many exciting years of an interesting career. My decision was of a pragmatic nature. It meant a solution of two problems I faced. In case I had decided to stay with the company I worked for, I would have had to move from Brussels to London for at least two years. Second and even more pragmatic thing was that my daughter gave birth to her second c ildd an ch a d I wa w ntted to be arooun u d annd helpp the family. y If I wanted to stay in Brussels with a somewhat longer perspective, then starting my own business – the Bohemia EU Planners was the right thing to do.

How many years have you been actually connected with Brussels?

You know, I have been there practically since March 19, 2000. That is time long enough to get used to the place. Also it is a time long enough not only to get acquainted with the place as such but to learn about it into depth and get integrated into local conditions.

There are a lot of companies and organizations offering similar services as Bohemia EU Planners.

Was it really the right time to enter the ring, was not it too late? Did you consider this fact when preparing your business plan?

My business plan was nothing than a reaction to current demand. I have always been in contact with state institutions and the preparation for the EU Presidency started substantially earlier than it might have seemed here in the Czech Republic. Knowing this fact I created my product – to help to supp pport the state bodies and innstituttionss and theeir rep epreseentt atives es in thhe sensse thatt they would incorporate also experience with local environment to their theoretical knowledge. Their theoretical knowledge is gained certainly in Prague, but when comparinng produ ducts offfered in Prr aggue annd in Brussel e s, thee addeed value of my conceptt is thaat I plac a e thhem inn Brussels in real, actual conditions. Thus they can start to realize and learn what contacts in Brussels could help them and what contacts are essential and necessary for them. In absolute terms, they get better in understanding Brussels environment and networking.

You are right that the content of those programmes with the start of the Czech Presidency is played out. The programmes and courses will be offered in some reduced form and with different focus and specifics aiming at different target groups. This has been ongoing already in the sense for the needs of the Regions when I modified the courses for their demands. I will continue developing this regional aspect. What I want to develop more is the target group of businessmen which I have been focusing on already and want to pay more attention to it in future. I believe that there is a broad area worth of detailed mapping that should be offered in some programmes and once again I stress the fact that this should be done “on the spot” in Brussels. Besides I want to upgrade educational internships for the youth that is the living engine of the trend of the ever developing European Union.

The upgrade of my business plan then lies in the organizational provision of the presentation of key projects with the possibility of application in the international environment.

Why do not Czech businesspeople educate more of their key employees in the EU matters and the art of applying for the number of funds and endowments the EU membership offers?

I think that it will be only during our presidency that we will realize in depth how the knowledge of the local environment in Brussels is essential. The situation brings us

+32 495 244 175 and +420 739 356 856 raymova@bohemiaeuplanners.eu www.bohemiaeuplanners.eu

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also into a wider perspectivee between two worlds – the US and Europe. This implies that the responsible departments of companies will have to enter this sphere as well. By no means will a theooretical knowledge be sufficient, nor will it be sufficient if this knowledge was possessed only by a single exeecutive. My vision of such successful departments workks with three to five people.

It has to be a small collecttive of experts possessing the expertise in the field off the company’ss bu busi siness.

This team of people has to bbe oppen to th thee world, ready to ccom ommu muni nica cate te aand nd exc excha hannng ngee ideas and thus create an effective company strattegy. It is necessary that those people connected withh the agendas of the EU are able to clearly imagine whho they work with on the other side.

Is this another aspect of the EU presidency that not only we will get the chance to present ourselves to Europe, but also that we will ourselves better realize what Europe is?

You are hundred per centt right. We will finally learn about the whole area, the reeal value of it and that we will get a taste of Europe ass we will be sitting on the boss’s chair.

If I am getting your concept right you focus on networking, on the knowledge of local environment.

But this is a long term matter. Where do you succeed to get participants of your programmes in the four days you have got for it?

What I show and open to them is the understanding of new possibilities for their work witth the EU. I do not provide them with single piecces of information. I tell them how to work with inform maation and how w to uuttilize it for their best s . Ever e y piecce of o informaatition on,, every direct contact is given to them frrom me gratuitously. It is passed onto them from me thr t rough gh personal meetings with members of the European Parliament, directors in the Council or heaads of deppartments and units of the European Com o miss ssion wh w en the participants know that they can later continue with tthose people. They start to be able to spread in front of tthemselves a whole map of contacts, according to theiir professional orientation and agenda and based on the information I provide them with. They learn whom they need for their work or for their businesses and companies. They start to be able to develop their own neetwork, follow up on social education and other skills they are gaining according to their professions.

What do people actually know about networking at the beginning when they come to you?

They know that someone iss the head of some working group and that there is some managing responsible figure that is standing for some agenda. They usually find themselves at this level of knowledge and understanding. And very few peoople help them unselfishly from this level of knowledgge to an upper level. That means to tell them, ok you know this guy, but do you know the one who can help yyou to resume whether your company is eligible for such aand such subsidy, because it will be producing a produuct of certain parameters?

People often do not realize that networking does not have to be a long-time proocess, but that it is often a matter of the reference witth which you enter the process. And this is something that I can provide them with even in a few days. To get infformation is one thing, but the second and more importtant is how you go on working with it, because you havee to be able to say why you want to know something; whho you got the information from; how you will work with it; what result it will bring; how useful it will be; and whaat will be the feedback. You have to show that you acknowledge your personal responsibility in the whole proccess and that you are ready

to stand for it. Moreover, the EU specific is that the aspect of different nationalities you have to deal with comes into play. You find yourself in a multicultural environment and you’d better be prepared for it. Simply said, the whole thing is about leading people to better effectiveness of the process of ne nego gotitiatition, not only that someonee iiss on a certain position in the organizatiion cha chart.

Concerning the Czechs working with the European institutions based on the national quotas, what is their professional perception of them and how well do they represent the Czech Republic in Brussels?

As I have been in Brussels since 2000, I was around during the very interesting time when the rumor and activity started in around 2002 with the expected admission to the EU. Certainly, representatives of the traditional member states such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain or Italy were curious what the new accessing countries and their represennta tatitive ves will look like, behave and contribute to thhe common work.

The expectations differedd an andd people from the Co Com mmission, European Pa Parlrlia iament were visitinng the new member statees an andd were compa pariring ng them. My experience was that they com mpa pare redd us with the Swedes, English or Flemish, si sinc ncee they were putting us into the category of soome mewh what serious, conservative people who stand fo forr wha hat they say. They were saying that there woul wo uldd not be much fun with us as it is for instance with the Italians. However, I think that it comes to the good th now in the relation with our presidency. They take us rather seriously and they think about what we say.

When we move from people to ideas, how are the Czech priorities of the Presidency perceived in Brussels? Is there any positive vibe about them?

Very positively because the big motto – Europe without Barriers alluding to the opening of the labour market and liberalization in practically all spheres – is very well received. And why does it vibe? Because it comes from the Lisbon Treaty itself which declares the promotion of the human capital and potential. Every government is bound to create conditions for human potential development. And we evolved this intoo th thee motto Europe without Barriers which sounds very good.

Also the other topics which the Czech presiddency sums up under the big motto into “3E’s” – Eco cono nomy, Energy and Europe are well linked.

You give a clear perception that we shall be looking forward to this half year.

I am deeply convinced that thhis will be a tremendous contribution to our country and I would be so happy if anyone who in any way can enter and get involved in the whole process woulld do so because through this experience they can leaarn about this world and can learn what they want from m it and what are their interests in it.

I am wondering, you do so much to stay in Brussels but Brussels has not got the best reputation as a place to live…

I havve travelled all my life. I have got acquainted with many countries. I have learnt about life in many of them and Bruussels seems to me as a pleasantly civilized city.

Itt iiss co cosmopolitan and multicultural. I said that I had decided last year to stay there with a longer perspectiive, but I do not limit myself to anything. I take everything as it comes and let the life go on. Still, for me, Brussels iss an interesting place and foremost a place that constantly offers new sensations and possibilities.

By Filip Hubáček I

českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagaziine.cz

Leaders Magazine I/ I 2009

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15.1.2009 9:45:43

Burgundy/Three Glorious President of Knights of Bourgognes Marc-Louis Chevignard with Joseph Drebitko

PART 1 The end of every year, or to be more speeci Th cifific, c the thirdd we week ek in November means the traditionall end of the peaak of the winery season in Burgundy. In B rgundy, wine and everything connected with it is Bu one of the main valuues and the centre of all activities.

The endd of November is considered the most important periood of the yea earr. Damp and cold autumn weather has co come m and prepa para ratitons and organization of celebrations of tthe whole reg egion with the centre

in a picturesque town Beaune are und nder e way. Wine festivities last for three days during which everyy th thin ing vibrates in joy, conviviality but also with the effort to gain perfection without unnecessary pompousness.

Three main events around which the festivities are centered are the opening “Chapitre de Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin” gala evening with the traditional ceremony of dubbing the knights of Burgundy wine culminating with a gala dinner in a refined chateau “Clos de Vougeot”. The second day follows with te an int nter ernational auction of Burgundy wines in the “Hospices de Beaune”, organized by a foremost world auction house annd everything ends and culminates with the “La Paulée””, a prestigious wine-tasting with opulent and unbelievably long lunch at the “Chateau de Mersault”. It is no doubtt tha th t during the lunch everybody tastes about 60 or 700 wi w nes. To get an invitation to this event for 700 guestt s is as difficult as to get the tickets for the annual ball in Vieenna Opera.

The guests of the events can enjoy a rich culttural and gastronomical programme, so that all categoriess and interests are satisfied.

I – Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin/Chapitre de Trois Glorieuses, 15th November, 2008 Chevaliers du Tastevin (Knights of Burgundy Wine) and their fellowship is a well-known and respected institutioon, aiming at taking all efforts to promote the traditions, products (mainly wine), holidays, gastronomy, custtom ms and folklore of Burgundy. Members

of the fellowship are the lovers of Burgundy wine from all over the world and new members are accepted on the basis of recommendation. There are lotss oof members from the USA, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, but ut also Polynesia, African countries, Australia, China na, Singapore, etc… Among honorary members we can find outstanding personalities from the political, artistic or bbusiness life.

The dinner of the Knnig ight h s of Burgundy Wine on Saturday, 15th November, 20 2008 0 , was prepared with great pomp and diligence, ass uusual. The Chateau Clos Vougeot near Dijon was fest stiv ivel e y decorated to the smallest detail and all guests, al alll dr dressed up for the evening, in festive mood, are subject to “French organization”. A flourish of local trumpeters, atmosphere partly like at a royal changing of guard rds, s partly like at a variety show, everything stresses the special character of the occasion. Ladies in eveningg ggow owns and gentlemen in tuxedos fizz just like their glass ses full of Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Rosé in a laarg rgee court, all expecting a great evening. As the 8 o‘clock chimes, according to the previously set order alll guests (600 people!) start to move to richly decorated tables in the great hall and begin to study an unusually large menu of the evening. The orchestra “CCad a ets de Bourgogne” plays like blazes and the flourish present selected speakers and their speeches, in which a witty and funny undertone is expecteed. Even though speeches are presented in French and many international guests miss subtle

I. Beaune winery fiests

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Leaders Maga gazi z ne II/ 2009

15.1.2009 9:58:29

Wine Auction in Hospice de Beaune by Christies

irony, the atmosphere is wonderful – fulll of joy.

Guests wave napkins whhile singing the chorus of traditional songs “Je suis s fier d’etree un Bourguignon” (I am proud to come from Bourgogne).

Guests from various continents hum local folklore songs dedicated to the tradition off winery. The menu is generous and seerved in a luxurious way.

Each dish is of course acccompaanied i by selected Burgundy wines. Wines and dishees are chosen with regard to the occasion and can an satisfy even the most demanding mouths. All wines of the evening are crowned today by Voolnay 2002 and Clos de Vougeot 2000, well-balaance cedd harmonious, with sparkling taste and younng passion. The evening goes on in a pompous but rrelaxed atmosphere.

The first of these din i ner s took place on 16th November, 1934. The reeas asoon to hold it was the typically Burgundian appprooaccch to serious situations: “There is a lot of wine annd it does not sell well, so let us drink it to toge geth ther er aand nd let us invite a couple of friend n s!” Thhe cr crisiss affected everybody at that time andd wayss weree so souught how w to find solutions. Since thatt timee a loot of matterss have been successfully setttled, Burgu gund ndyy wine is well-known all over the world ld, sold ld andd appreciatted and even today, the K nightt s of Bourgogne are ann institution that continues too promo m te its well-deserveed fame.

II – The 148th auction of Wines from Hospice de Beaune On 16th November, 2008, at the Halles de BBeaune the 148th auction of 544 barrels (“pieces” s or barrels holding 288 litres each) was held. On sale there was only wine picked in 2008 in the wine reegiion of “Hospices de Beaune”. It is formed by 50 hecc tares of “Pinot Noir” and 10 hectares of “Chardonnay”. 22 wine makers, under the leadership of Mr Mass offers 21 red and 12 white more or less successful appellations, e.g.

Corton, Mazis-Chambeert rtiin, Pommard, Volnay, Batard Montrachet, Mersault,, Pouilly-Fuissé, etc. of this year.

Vineyards are scatteered all over Bourgogne. In contrast to 2007, when the wine i crop was weaker (approximately 607 barrels in 20007 and 680 barrels in 2006!), the crop of 2008 is affected by bad weather and was saved, so to say, in th thee very last moment thanks to the last two relatively sunny weeks.

Wine-tas astting that precedes the sale is organized all over the world, from New York via London, Amsterdam,, Los Angeles, Paris, to Hong Kong.

The auction sales have been regularly held siince 2005 by the auction house Christie’s and the auc uction in Beeaune is open to professionals as well as private persoons. Only whole barrels are sold in the au aucc tion. It is possible to buy in the classical way, over the phone annd over the internet. Of course, the mostt iinnteresting

Wine Auction in Hospice de Beaune by Christies

is personal auction, which starts at half past two sharp and lasts for the whole afternoon. The average ge price of the barrel is EUR 8,000.–, but can re reaach EUR 668,000.– (2007 Mazis Chambertin Magdalene Colignon). Each barrel sold is then se sennt to selected wine makers who take care of it, llet it mature and then, after 12 to 24 months, they bottle it and use an etiquette according to you our wish. The result is about 380 bottles that are sen ent to you in crates of 12 bottles each. The purch chase price increases: it is necessary to count alsso about 50 % of the original pricee fo forr fees and charrges, maturing, shipping and the price for a botttle rises to about EUR 30.–.

It iss im important to mention that the yielld from the sale iss traditionally given to local hospitals, in ord rdeer thaat they can modernize their equipm ment. This chharity has a 600 years of tradition, in 11443 in Beaune Nicolas Rolin founded a hosppititaal “Hotel dee D Dieu” devoted to “poor sick people”” and the fifirs rst vineyard was donated by a certaiin Mr. Plaampays in 1459 (1959). Since then this innstitution t exis ex ists and develops thanks to financial do donnations,, m material donations and means received from vine neyyards that were donated by honorary donators.

By Joseph Drebitko I českoou verzi nalez eznnete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

dinner Clos deVougeot

Clos deVougeot

Photos: Archive of Autor

Leaders Magazine I/ I 20009

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15.1.2009 16:59:14

JEAN-JACQUES GODET Visited Prague to Present his Rolls-Royces between Cognacs Starting in antiquity, the quest for the water of life (aqua vitae) as a drink that grants immortality, banishes clouds from the heavens, comforts hearts and preserves permanent youth has been intensively pursued by both respected scholars and various charlatans. Hope appeared when arabic doctors discovered the distillation of fermented spirits. The Arabic doctor Geber was one of the first to give exact instructions how to prepare the fabulous water of life from white wine in his paper called “testamentum geberi, regis indiae”.

Jean-Jacques Godet, President of Godet Fréres

The family, whose labours to improve the spirit have continued for almost 500 years, have produced results that are appreciated by renowned connoisseurs and occasional consumers a like. This is revealed by drinks lists both at the Palais d’Elysée and aboard the planes of Air France. Further proof is the number of awards obtained by the company Cognac Godet Fr`eres SA at international beverage fairs.

SÉLECTION SPÉCIALE 2000 – Gold Medal of Poznam, International Fair Ltd, Poland 1999 – Gold Medal of Intervins, Canada 1999 – Bronze Medal of International Wine and Spirit, London FAMILY RÉSERVE 1998 – Gold Medal, Monde Sélection, Brussels 1999 – Bronze Medal, Wine and Spirit, London

X.O. FINE CHAMPAGNE GASTRONOME 21ST CENTURY 2002 – Gold Medal, Monde Sélection, Brussels 2000 – Gold Medal, Monde Sélection, Brussels 1997 – Gold Medal, Monde Sélection, Brussels

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2000 – Bronze Medal, Wine and Spirit, London CUVÉE JEAN GODET 1999 – Gold Medal, Intervins, Canada

15.1.2009 16:32:36

At the end of the 9th century, Europeans also started to become acquainted with this secret through regular mission- aries. In the 13th century, it was mainly the alchemists who acquired art of distilling spirits and called it “spiritus vini” – the spirit of wine. At the same time miraculous powers were attributed to the newly discovered drink and since then it was a necessary part of the arsenal of each doctor or apothecary, who were the only ones to be authorized to prepare distilled spirits and other liquids obtained from honey, fruit, herbs, spices etc. All these diverse “extracts” had majestic names and they were commonly known as “spiritus essencia” – the spirit of mass. In the 14th century knowledge of distillation spread rapidly and at that time the first spirit made from barley malt was recorded in Ireland – whiskey.

In the Middle Ages better knowledge of how to grow grapes lead to the spread of vineyards, mainly in France, and to improvement of the production process of wine spirits. However, their importance only became clear in connection with the expansion of overseas navigation in the 16th and 17th century.

During long navigations the addition of spirits into drinking water proved to be one of the best desinfectants to prevent bowel diseases.

It was in this era that the whole area of the French Atlantic coast, with its renowned ports of Bordeaux and La Rochelle became famous. From this area busy trade routes lead to Dutch and English ports, and thousands of boats were lying at anchor ready to set sail. These were mainly supplied with wines and spirits by merchants and wine makers from the Bordeaux and Charente-Maritime areas, with their endless plains of vineyards. The town of Cognac, lying on the banks of the river with the same name, became the centre of spirit production.

In 1550 a Dutch merchant called Bonaventure Godet came to this area to export spirits and salt to his country. At that time Holland was the biggest importer of distilled wine. Bonaventure Godet settled in La Rochelle, he became a busy merchant and in 1588 his family obtained the highest honour – to bear a sword – from king Henry IV. The descendants also continued the established family business.

In 1730 Augustin Godet was the exclusive supplier of English court and his son Gédéon moved to England for some time to expand the business there. After he came back to La Rochelle in 1782,

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Jean-Jacques Godet and his sons September 2007

he founded the company Cognac Godet, whose history has been so closely interwoven with the history of French cognac.

1838 – Gédéon Godet jr. discovered new possibilities for improving the taste of cognac. During one of his journeys to Portugal he came across huge 600 litre barrels in the area of Douro. He had them transported to La Rochelle and he decided to let his spirit mature in these barrels. This spirit came from the area of Grande Champagne, which is even today the best in which to grow grapes for distilling into cognac. Month after month Gédéon checked the quality. Not until eight years had passed did he conclude that all the aromatic constituents were suitably balanced. The cognac which he called Gastronome became one of the most popular brands.

By 1900, the brothers Louis and Paul Godet had already developed the firm into a well-established company. Therefore the son Jean, who was the president of the company from 1920 to 1970, went to the USA for some time and helped Cognac Godet win a majority share of the American cognac market.

From 1970 to 1984, the company was controlled

by Jacques Godet. In spite of the severe economic situation he kept on expanding business possibilities by trying to open up future market prospects.

His motto, “the future has already got its history here now”, became famous.

From 1984 to 2000, the company was controlled by his son Jean-Jacques Godet, who is a direct descendant of famous Bonaventure Godet of the Renaissance era. The contemporary president, J. J. G., has created a new, more dynamic image of the quite conservative cognac world. “New blends” have been compiled and these are put into bottles with a more progressive design. This way new brands like “Excellence” and “Sélection spéciale” started. They combine the tradition and the new expectations of clients. Since 1984, the company has been managed by Jean-Jacques Godet, today’s president and the direct descendant of Bonaventure GODET. Thanks to him, the GODET business has known how to adapt to the situation: new blends are developed and presented in original and avant-garde bottles.

Since 2004, the new generation is working in the company. The three sons of Jean-Jacques Godet are giving a new touch to the Cognac Godet and are representing it all over the world: Jean-Edouard is running in New York, Maxime in Shanghai and Cyril in London.

An exclusive distributor: Berentzen Distillers CR, spol. s r.o.

Bedřichovice 1654, 664 51 Šlapanice milan.sedlak@berentzen.cz It´s possible to buy Cognac Godet products via e-shop at godet.cz

15.1.2009 16:33:12

An interview with Ms. Valerie Dubsky, a Czech who set the tone of the Canadian fashion industry

FASHION IS MY LIFE Ms. Valerie Dubsky comes from a well-known family of between-the-wars Czechoslovakia. She left the country after the February 1948 coup d’etat. She experienced turbulent times in emigration before she settled in Montreal, Canada, where she established the company, Vali Designs Inc. A bathing set for children that she designed was awarded a Coty Award – sometimes called the Oscar of the world of fashion.

(The award went to the manufacturer.) She contributed significantly to the development of Canadian fashion and rose quickly to the top.

Her fashions were hits also in the USA and France: Jacqueline Kennedy and Margaret Trudeau, wife of the Canadian prime minister, wore dresses branded Vali. She personally designed three lines a year herself, insisting on high quality manufacturing and top level materials.

At the moment, she is preparing an exhibition of her work in Canada and hopes to present it in the Czech Republic as well.

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

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It seems your family is oriented toward fashion and design. Your sister is also a designer?

My mother was a very elegant lady. Whenever we went out with her we met primarily well-dressed people. This naturally influenced me very much as a child. My sister Anna, who also emigrated under very dramatic circumstances, settled in Mexico and started a fashion business with two partners from Europe. Although we left our home country possessing little, we were fortunate to have been educated in the best of pre-WWII culture. Interwar Czechoslovakia was a cultural superpower and we exported 2 percent of the world’s total – an enormous share for a country so small. For example, British tweeds, beautiful fabrics, were manufactured in Czechoslovakia; they were onlyy branded in England g and exported p further.

How long have you been designing fashions for a living?

People told me I was good in drawing and sketching.

My gifts are my eyes not my ears; I have a photographic memory. When we emigrated, we reached Paris after some time with my husband and son and I started to do my first sketches there. I cooperated with a gentleman who used to be my mother’s tailor back in Prague at the well-known Podolska salon. I went to see the new lines of Nina Ricci and Lanvin. When I returned home I sketched what I saw and the tailor bought sketches from me. I sketched and did copies of those sketches all the time. My husband then left for Canada alone because Canada was accepting immigrants on a workcontract basis only. He worked in a hat factory for a year.

Meanwhile, I fell very ill in Paris. Because we had little money I ended up in a hospital for poor people and my sonn Ho so Honnzaa was as le left ft alo alone ne. He sta stayed ed with ith a Fre Frenc nchh couple ple near the place we lived; they were total strangers to me and when I returned from the hospital they even didn’t want to give him back to me. I recovered and we travelled to Montreal via Halifax by ship. I thought that in Canada I would be able to offer my own sketches and ideas.

But I noticed immediately that there was no original fashion in Canada, only copies of existing brands. When I presented my sketches, people would ask, “And what should we do with these? Where are the patterns?”

Then we left for the USA and stayed in New York because my husband’s family was living there. After some time I wanted to return to Canada because I saw many opportunities and better future for my son there.

But I went there alone; my husband decided to stay in the USA.

Leaders Magazine I/2009

15.1.2009 16:56:38

How difficult was it for you to start your fashion business in Canada?

It was not customary to produce original fashions in Canada after the war. Garments were copied from the collections sold in New York. The best manufacturers ran regularly to Europe for inspiration. Canadian firms paid enormous sums of money to American manufacturers just to be permitted to copy their designs. They sent their production managers and pattern specialists to New York every week to see what was new and to see fabrics. My beginnings in Canada were difficult. Production was in the hands of couple of manufacturers and it was not easy to breach their exclusive circle. There were very talented designers in Canada who were employed in the manufacturing companies but they had no opportunity to show their real abilities and talent. The state was not financing anything; there was also no school of fashion design in thhe country. So I calllledd a meetiing andd seven or eiighht of us went to Ottawa and presented a plan to the government.

As a result, the government began providing funding to build a fashion industry in Canada. Gradually we gained respect. Eventually a school of design, originally a very small institution called La Salle, was established a bit later as the fashion scene developed in Montreal.

By then I had been a manufacturer for ten years.

Did you also teach at the La Salle?

No. Unfortunately I didn’t have time. But I helped them as I could. I also tried to help the Czech emigrants who came to me and wanted jobs. For example, that’s how I got to know Ivana Trump. She wanted to work for me as a dressmaker. Mr. Jiří Syrovátka, formerly a top ranked skier – as she was, too – introduced her to me.

We were just about to present an autumn line and when I saw how tall and slender she was, I suggested that she model for us. At that time, we presented fashion

Valerie Dubski and Ivana Trump

Photos: Archive

shows in hotels so that agents and potential customers from all over Canada could attend easily. We employed two models who did their own make-up and hair dressing; the hair style had to be the simplest possible in order not to disturb the style and outfits. Ivanka learned the skills of performing after about 10 or 15 minutes of instruction – a natural talent.

She modelled perfectly and people would ask, “Where did you get her? She is fantastic!” And I simply replied: “Well, from Czechoslovakia!”

She workkedd for Sh f us for over a year and my son who was a production manager and commissions’ distributor, took many of her photos for our PR materials.

Are you still in touch?

Yes, we have been always in touch. She has never forgotten me over those years.

We met a couple of times in New York when she was expecting her first baby and started working for a big hotel – the Plaza, a hotel her husband Donald Trump bought afterwards and she managed it perfectly. She is a great businesswoman, enormously hard-working and loyal. She did a lot of good work for Donald besides bringing up their three children, who can speak Czech perfectly. She is working in Dubai now. I was invited to her last wedding, which was provided for by her ex-husband. It was all like from the “Tales from a Thousand and One Nights”. Donald is a great showman. As we were waiting for the bride to arrive, his helicopter appeared above us and in a couple of minutes he passed by in his black tuxedo. He went around the guests and stopped by the place Ivana was supposed to enter from. It was very moving.

Let’s go back to your beginnings. It has been said that your bank gave you a very hard time to get a loan for starting your business...

Yes, we had to borrow the money the first year but at an extremely high 20 percent interest rate. We were successful so I thought it would not be difficult to get a loan in a normal bank the second year. When I and my accountant came to a meeting at Imperial Bank of Comm Co mmer erce ce, th thee ba bank nk ddirirec ecto torr sp spok okee on only ly ttoo my aacccountant all the time, asking him about how much we would approximately make next year. So I had to intervene and I told him,”Excuse me but that is up to me to say. He doesn’t know.” My accountant was great but he couldn’t know how much we would produce.

And then I added: “You would prefer to see me in trousers, wouldn’t you?” Then he started to laugh and said: “All right, Ms. Dubsky, you win.” I started making original designs, my own collections and fashion lines.

It was not an individual haute couture.

Some say that I dressed Jacqueline Kennedy. That’s not the whole story. She bought some of my outfits herself in the shops where I was selling. When I succeeded and got a contract with Sachs Fifth Avenue in New York, she went shopping there by chance and,

Vali Dubski with her models

without knowing me or my brand, she bought five or six pieces from my summer line. She simply liked it.

A production manager from Sachs called me to say: “Could you imagine, you know who just walked in? Jacqueline Kennedy!” And when I found out she bought my outfits, my first question was: “And what’s her size?”

And what was her size?

She was very slender but tall. She bought a size 12.

I thought she could have had an 8.

Did you have any “breaking” line, which actually made you?

It needed to be the first one. I bought a specific fabric for it, a mix of natural and synthetic linen. It looked great and it didn’t crumple. The fabric was made in Switzerland and was far more expensive than fabrics used for lines sold at this price level.

I made only around eleven types of outfits in eight colours. The style was closely elaborated but it looked simple. Everyone who wore that dress looked much slimmer. Just two outfits made from this fabric were bought by Jacqueline Kennedy. The whole collection was sold out and we ended up our first year with profit. Things come faster when one is younger and there is not enough time to think about it all – but I would do tthe he ssam amee ag agai ainn to toda dayy.

Do you follow the current Czech fashion? Do you have any favourite Czech designer?

Unfortunately, I don’t know their work. Even if I wished to, I don’t have enough time for it. I went once to have a look at Helena Fejkova’s collection.

I liked her outfits but I found them a bit under elaborated in terms of craft and manufacturing. Otherwise I think there is still too much emphasis on imported brands and fashions. That’s the same as it used to be in Canada a long time ago.

By Věra Řiháčková I

českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

Interviews.indd 61

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15.1.2009 10:04:12

A special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. for making this reportage possible

networking/ charity

From left: General Andor Šándor (ret.), Dr. Karla Říhová, Director of Strategy and Management of Public Health, Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, Michael Vít, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief of Hygiene, Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, Dr. Petr Svoboda, Partner, Amrop Hever and Count Jan Dobrzenský, Owner of Chotěboř Castle

Christmas Spirits Lions Club Prague Eagle

From left: General Andor Šándor (ret.), Michael Vít, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief of Hygiene, Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic and Petr Nevický

Mrs. Jana Fišerová and Ing. Jan Fišer, Director, Manta Medica

Count and Countess Germenis, Blatná Castle

MUDr. Jaroslav Barták, General Secretary, Lions Club Prague Eagle and President of Poliklinika Modřany with wife Lenka

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to acquire full photocoverage go to www.leadersmagazine.cz/photogallery

From left: Michael Vít, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief of Hygiene, Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic and Count Jan Dobrzenský, Owner of Chotěboř Castle

14.1.2009 17:39:48

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Jaroslav Kubišta and Miroslav Votruba, Sales Director, Eurest, spol. s r.o.

From left: Jaroslav Bureš, Judge and Dr. Petr Svoboda, Partner, Amrop Hever

From left: Ing. Zbyněk Štáf, Production Director, Quality Season Product s.r.o., Prof.

Mgr. Josef Hauzar, Chancellor, Orthodox Church in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

From left: 4star Army General Karel Pezl (ret.) and MUDr. Štefan Brunclík, MBA, Colonel, Director of ÚVN (Central Military Hospital Prague)

From left: Ing. Stanislav Slavík, Mrs. Martina Cikánová, Vice President, ESO Travel a.s., and Ing. Tomáš Cikán, General Director, ESO Travel a.s.

Ing. Jan Vokurka, Managing Director, Kirl s.r.o. and Mrs. Lenka Bartáková

From left: Ing. Václav Červenka, PBM, Mrs. Marie Zelenická, JUDr. František Zelenický and MUDr. Štefan Brunclík, MBA, Colonel, Director of ÚVN (Central Military Hospital Prague)

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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63 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY

14.1.2009 17:40:25

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

„Elected Board of Directors of AFIZ“ From left: Martin Šefraný, Profit Investment v.o.s., Vladimír Poliak, Chairman of the Board, ZFP akademie, a.s., Petr Stuchlík, 1st Deputy Chairman of the Board, AFIZ & General Director, Fincentrum, a.s., Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, AFIZ, Jiří Klaban, Chairman of the Board, AFIZ & Member of the Board, KAPITOL pojišťovací a finanční poradenství, a.s., Václav Tomek, Deputy Chairman of the Board, AFIZ, Jan Blaschke, General Director, Effectconsulting, s.r.o. and Petr Šafránek, Member of the Board, AFIZ

AFIZ in Andel’s Hotel The Association of Financial Intermediaries and Financial Advisers of the Czech Republic (Asociace finančních zprostředkovatelů a finančních poradců České republiky, o.s. – AFIZ) is an independent and voluntary association of interested parties operating on the Czech financial market as financial intermediaries and financial advisers.

It focuses on the development of the Czech financial market and contributes to the definition of rules and conditions promoting the principles of fair trade, protection of good business ethics and especially the strengthening of general public’s confidence in the financial market and its promotion. December 3rd, AFIZ held a General Assembly during which a new Board of Directors was elected. The Chairman becomes Jiří Klaban from KAPITOL pojišťovací a finanční poradenství, a.s. During the evening party AFIZ members were joined by special guests from partner associations, Czech Ministry of Finance and Czech National Bank and other celebrities from political and cultural life of the Czech Republic. The partners of the evening were: Aegon pojišťovna, LBBW, Quantum Insurance, Cognac Godet and Leaders Magazine.

From left: Jean-Jacques Godet, Owner of Cognac Godet France, Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, AFIZ and Benke Aikell, your Publisher From left: JUDr. Ladislav Jíša, Deputy Chairman, Czech Radio Board and PhDr. Josef Havel, CSc., Executive Director, Czech Radio

From left: Michel Ruggaber, Chief Executive Officer Quantum Insurance AG and Thomas Stoiber

PLM_0901_events___3.indd 64

to acquire full photocoverage go to www.leadersmagazine.cz/photogallery

From left: Petr Stuchlík, Chairman of the Board, Fincentrum, Mrs. Strnadová, Fincentrum and Mr. Lánský, Fincentrum

From left: JUDr. Ing. Otakar Schlossberger, Ph.D., Layer & Chairman of the Board, Akcenta, SÚD, with wife JUDr. Libuše Schlossbergerová, Ministry of Finance, Legislation Section, and Václav Tomek, Member of the Board, Member of the Law and Legislation Committee AFIZ

14.1.2009 17:27:25

From left: Robert Hanák, Regional Director & Member of the Board, IBS, Jan Svoboda, Member of Board, Kapitol, Mr. Zlámal, Chairman of the Board, Kapitol, Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, AFIZ, Jiří Klaban, Chairman of the Board, AFIZ, Jean-Jacques Godet, Owner of Cognac Godet France, and Petr Zapletal, Chairman of the Board & Sales Director, IBS

From left: Tomáš Síkora, Executive Director, ČAP and Jiří Klaban, Chairman of the Board, AFIZ

From left: Doc. Ing. Tomáš Ježek, CSc., President AFIZ, Martin Hanzlík, Executive Director, AKAT ČR, Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, AFIZ, Ing. Milan Šimáček, former Deputy Finance Minister, and Mgr. Jan Topinka, Advocate, Havel and Holásek s.r.o.

From left: Vladimír Poliak, Chairman of the Board, ZFP Academy, and Václav Tomek, Member of the Board, Member of the Law and Legislation Committee AFIZ

Ing. Martin Gardavský, Ethics Committee, AFIZ

From left: Mr. Kryl, Member of the Board, LBBW Bank CZ a.s., Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, AFIZ, and Radim Štantejský, Head of Retail Banking LBBW Bank CZ a.s.

From left: Petr Zapletal, Chairman of the Board & Sales Director, IBS, and Robert Hanák, Regional Director, Member of the Board, IBS

Mr. Bezděk, Chairman of the Board, Pojišťovna AEGON

Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and Mrs. Helena Kohoutová, Director, Magic Helena

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From left: Vladan Rojíček, Managing Director, Ford Credit Europe, s.r.o., Mrs. Marta Gellová, Secretary General, AFIZ, and Michal Pokorný, Managing Director, TechniTrade

14.1.2009 17:27:57

global perspectives

Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman Europe Microsoft Corporation

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KEY STEPS ON Reflecting on the year 2008, one can only say ‘what a year we have behind us…’ Twelvee months ago hardly anyone in the world couldd have predicted the levels of volatility and unncertainty that 2008 was about to bring. Whilee this was in many ways a disturbing experiencee, it has also tough us several important lessons that we should not forget to learn from movingg forward.

I believe that amongst the most importannt ones is that while the democratic principles inn the global market have to be well guarded andd preserved, more effective governance and its underlying supporting tools will also be neededd in order to prevent a similar chain of events that we have witnessed in the past year. Addiitio-nally, this crisis has yet again underscoredd the critical importance of high-quality educaation, both in the developed and in the emergingg markets. When the markets get bumpy andd economies unstable, education will have twoo key roles to play. In a long-term view, the imporrtance of well educated population will becomee especially important in the tough times whichh might bring around even social unrest. Thosee countries, which have created more higheer education and academic opportunities for theiir citizens, will then often find them to be moree globally aware and therefore also less vulneerable to any extremist political doctrines. Yeet in a short-term view, quality and access too education and long-life learning will be evenn more important. Re-skilling of the work forcee, opportunities for people to improve and furtheer enhance their qualifications or for example ann as easy as possible access to the various jobb offerings will be just a few elements that will be essential for the European and global jobb markets to recover. Information technologiess, IT education and skills will also have a key suppporting role in this process; in particular givenn that currently still about 40% of the Europeans lack the IT skills. The Internet as the communiication channel of the 21st century will obviously be an important platform for all of such projects and activities, however here I would also urgee that we as the business executives hand-innhand with our public sector counterparts, thee global political leaders, need to continuee stress the importance of Internet accessibility

and every effort must made to prevent the danger of the so called digital divide.

As you have indeed noted, the economical crisis of the last year has also caused one immediate side-effect: those being variously severe cuts in corporate budgets and spending on everything ranging from employees bonuses to employee fringes, advertising and ultimately even the corporate social responsibility projects. That is what I actually consider quite dangerous development because many of these CSR projects have taken years or even decades to build and their parent organizations often cannot sustain their positive impact without continuous corporate funding. I personally believe that focus on profit and care can work together at the same time. In fact when you look back into the Adam Smith’s masterpiece, The Wealth of Nations, written at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and strongly advocating a free market economy as more productive and more beneficial to society, you will find that he has articulated these principles already back in the 18th century.

I am a strong supporter of the so called Citizenship for Growth approach, where corporate social responsibility is not something on the side or on the top of, but a natural integral part of the company’s overall business strategy. At Microsoft we have been lucky enough to receive the support for such way of doing things from the European Commissioners Messrs. Verheugen and Spidla for the past three consecutive years. This approach is a straight-forward way of expressing our belief that any company can only nourish and grow if the society and environment in which it operates successfully develops itself first. Such a win-win philosophy supported with an appropriate set of actions and investments can make the right positive difference. A most illustrative example I would use here is the overall continent of Africa, where both options and routes of development are still open to us: within the 20 years and with the right investments into education and HIV cure and prevention, there can be a market with almost a billion of new consumers or, the other way around, if right steps are not made in time and therefore very soon, the continent can present a great challenge to all of us. I am also

pleasedd to see more and more global and Europeean companies looking at their corporate social responsibility investments the similar way. Reecently I had an interesting conversation with one of the senior executives from the British Telecom, who to my positive surprise mentiooned that at BT they see the job of Head of CSR as a real talent advancing position and therefoore put there their most talented people to grow w and further expand their skills before being promoted to even more senior positions back inn the business. That’s indeed the way to go and especially in the economically challenging times, the Citizenship for Growth should be the way for us as corporate executives in general too think about this topic.

Finallly, let me please add a few words about the im mportance of effective Public Private Partnerr ships in order to bridge and even amplify the reccovery efforts of the business and public sector worlds in these volatile times. Only the activities and investments that increase the ability to unlock the human potential will help us to manage and further increase our competitiveeness – regardless whether they are fundedd from private or from public sector. We should therefore make sure on both ‘sides of the tabble’ that maximum effort is made and that thee emphasis put on acceleration of various PPPPs around Europe with a specific focus on thoose which support the economical, healthccare and social reforms such as the eHealthh, where technology has a major positive suppportive role both on the back and front end of healthcare services delivery.

In a nutshell those are some of the priorities that I believe we should have on mind while we head into the next 12 months and beyond.

While the financial downturn and the global markett s will indeed need more time to recover, I personally look into 2009 with a certain level of sober optimism and just I hope that you do, too.

Jan Muehlfeit Chaairman Europe Microsoft Corporation

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culture event

Koncert Harmonie Peter DvorskĂ˝, Opera Singer, Tenor

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IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE 14.1.2009 17:59:10

From left: Peter Dvorský, Opera Singer, Tenor, Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade, Mrs. Silvia Dalla Benetta, Opera Singer, Soprano, Paolo Pecchioli, Opera Singer, Bas, Mrs. Naděžda Nováková, Producer of Concert Harmonie and Mrs. Marta Dvorská, wife of Peter Dvorský

From left: Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade, Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Mirko Lachman

This year the Harmony Concert was held for the 16th time during the Advent time before Christmas. It has a long tradition, it is a wonderful social and cultural experience but moreover, it also helps many foundations. Since its beginnings, the main role belongs to an outstanding and famous Slovak tenorist Peter Dvorský.

He has been accompanied by many world-famous opera singers.

Part of the pay-off of the concert is divided among foundations.

During the recent years the donees have been the Fund of Lívia and Václav Klaus and the Foundation Harmony of Peter Dvorský.

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Marek Eben, Moderator and ČNSO

69 Mrs. Silvia Dalla Benetta, Opera Singer, Soprano

16.1.2009 8:57:25

From left: Mrs. Gabriela Pecičová, Petr Žaluda, General Director, České dráhy, Mrs. Jitka Pecičová, Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade, Mrs. Aleksandra Udženija, Business Manager, Saga Trade, daughter of Mr. Pecič and Edvard Udženija, Entrepreneur, husband of Mrs. Aleksandra Udženija

From left: Mrs. Jitka Hosprová, Violist, Rastislav Štúr, Chief Conductor of Opera, National Theatre in Slovakia and Mrs. Jitka Pecičová, wife of Mr. Pecič

From left: Peter Dvorský, Opera Singer, Tenor, Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and Ing. Miroslav Chytil, Spedi-Trans, General Director, Čechofracht

From left: Tomáš Abraham, General Director, Miele, Mrs. Jitka Hosprová, Violist and Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade

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From left: Jan Kalousek, Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter with friend, Mrs. Tereza Maxová, Top Model, Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade and friend of Tereza Maxová

From left: Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade, Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic

Ing. Miroslav Chytil, Spedi-Trans, General Director, Čechofracht and Ranko Pecič, Owner, Saga Trade

14.1.2009 17:59:56

-

THE NEW ART Karin Genton-L’Epée has 15 years of management experience in the United States, France and the Czech Republic.

For the last 10 years Karin has worked as a successful business coach in the Czech Republic offering international professional expertise. As a business coach, Karin has developed a range of coaching and training programs for mid- and top-level managers to focus on leadership development, cross-cultural understanding and effective communication in an international environment. With her knowledge, skills and range of experience, Karin has been a frequent guest speaker at business conferences and educational institutions. She is also a regular contributor to business journals and magazines. Karin works in English and French and can be reached at karin@coaching.cz

As 2008 came to a close, to no one’s surprise, Time magazine chose Barack Obama to grace the cover of its annual Person of the Year edition. Though there are certainly many reasons for the selection, top among them would certainly be the fact that on January 20th Barack Obama will make history by being the first African American president to move into the White House. Much has also been said and written about the success of his presidential campaign last year, which was notable particularly for its innovative use and understanding of new technologies, notably the Internet, to engage and motivate American voters. As a business coach, my main focus is not on technology, but rather on people, their needs, behaviors and communication styles. As a member of the baby boom generation, my understanding of digital communication is limited. And quite frankly, I am not sure what added value this mix of new applications including wikis, microblogs, news aggregators, social media releases, videos, and podcasts would bring to my coaching practice. However, after seeing how masterfully Obama leveraged social media and networking technology in his campaign to become the 44th US president, I realized that a whole new world of digital communications has emerged in the past few years and that, as a communications professional, it is important that I learn more about it. While I admit that I still have difficulty navigating the field of social media and grasping all its possibilities, what fascinates me most is how social media is able to encourage conversation and get people talking. The monologue of television seems to have given way to the dialogue of the Internet and a new way of engaging with the world. As such, social media represents a major shift in the way we communicate with each other. The younger generation is obviously already comfortable using these tools. While there will always be the telephone and email for us “old folks”, it is very important to understand that many important conversations are or will be going on exclusively in the social media arena.

Starting the conversation Conversation once happened around the watercooler, in cafes, or over the counter. In such conversations, friends and colleagues shared stories and information about things they had heard about, bought, or discovered. Today, the Internet allows people to get together anytime, anywhere and start a conversation about anything. Social media opens up the con-

versation to audiences big and nd small, who can in turn provide feedback, add new ideaas or develop a completely new idea. Businesses have a ne new w tool with which to build a personal connection with thhei eir customers; perhaps more significantly, social media has as provided customers with a novel avenue to express theeir ideas and opinions about a product or service, which can then be directed to both the companies themselves andd to other consumers. For organizations trying to promote a program or cause, social media can be an important tool in encouraging people to evaluate their opinions, get off the fence and become involved. For its part, the Obama campaign was the first presidential campaign to fully embrace the ideas and practices of social media and to confidently navigate an electronic landscape made up of bloggers, viral videos and virtual communities. As a result, www.barackobama.com attracted millions of hits and was a key factor in keeping supporters engaged and connected. Using all kinds of social networking platforms, they played an enormous role in spreading his message of hope and his vision of “Yes We Can”. Thanks to the power of these new technologies, this campaign was less about money (though the Internet was also successfully used to in collecting millions of dollars in donations) and more about the millions of people who were now engaged in the dialogue. The Internet helped Obama shape a campaign that was increasingly built around the concepts of community, conversation and participation.

Online conversation The virtual water coolers of a new millennium include social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as microblogs like Twitter and Jaiku. The conversation is similar in many places: people are talking about their interests, expressing their opinions, posting comments about what they are doing or blogging about what they think about various issues. These social networking platforms allow people to join in or create groups and invite like-minded individuals to participate in the dialogue. Anyone with a computer and a connection to the Internet has a voice, the ability to participate and the chance to share information. It’s no surprise of course, that brands throughout the world see social media as a way of raising their profiles, and attracting the attention of Internet users at home and at work.

Companies want to be part of the conversation too, or to at least occasionally influence the conversation with the aim of pulling people away from their computers

and into a store. However, even if a potential customer doesn’t actually buy anything, the time they spent engaging with the brand online still makes any investment of time and money worthwhile. For that reason, many companies are setting up dedicated teams assigned to the “social media project’, because they realize that they too need to join the conversation. Businesses could certainly take a page out of the Obama campaign’s playbook: its use of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to mobilize young voters, a demographic an thatt has ha traditionally been uninterested in politics, was consider ered e pivotal in the success in the election.

Joining the conversation Thanks to Innte t rnet and social media tools, we are increasingly livingg in i a conversational culture. People will talk about anything ng;; the question is who is listening?

Before you or your compaany joins the conversation, first consider your target audienc nce and understand how and with whom they are interactiting ng online. Factors such as gender, age, nationality and soci cioo economic background all play a role in determining whhic ich social media is most appropriate for you to join in the con o versation.

While the Obama campaign did use mainstreaam social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twititte ter to reach out to potential voters, it also established a pre resence on lesser-known, alternative social networking sites such as Black Planet, MiGente and AsianAve, as well as Eons, Faithbase and Glee. Additionally, the campaign created its own platform on My.BarackObama. com, which saw more than 2 million people create their profiles there. Participating in social media is more effective when you have a deeper understanding of your audience and not simply the social tools that facilitate interaction. This is about creating and cultivating relationships with people, online and in the real world, and these relationships are defined by mutual value and benefits. It’s not important to be involved in every social media channel – but it is important to understand where your customers are and how they are communicating with each other. Pick the most appropriate “conversation” for your product. As you participate in these new discussions, be sure to listen to what people have to say and try to learn from them. They learn. You learn. It’s about building a community around people. The rest is just tools to facilitate the conversation.

I

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christmas charity concert

From left: Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Mrs. Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town and Tomáš Brauner, Conductor

Hilton Charity Annual Christmas Concert with Czech National Symphony Orchestra and International Female Choir Viva Voce

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From left: Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Mrs. Claudia Specking, Mrs. Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town and Manfred Franke, Chairman and Director, Chance 4 Children receiving contribution to the charity Chance 4 Children

14.1.2009 18:00:34

From left: Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Mrs. Claudia Specking, his wife, Mr. Specking’s parents in law Dr. Heinz Mammes and his wife, Anna-Luise, Mrs. Gehring and Herbert Gehring, City of Dresden

From left: H.E. Helmut Elfenkamper, Ambassador of Germany with wife

Jiří Novotný, Czech National Symphony Orchestra

Mrs. Dagmar Kacerová, Operations, Bellville Rodair International and Thamir Al-Adhami, owner of Adams Trading & Real Estate, s.r.o.

Mgr. Zdeněk Ptáček, Lawyer, Law Office Zdeněk Ptáček with wife

On Sunday, 21st of December, the Hilton hotels in Prague organized the annual Christmas Charity Concert for their clients and partners, already the twelfth in the history of Hilton. For the second year in a row, the concert was organized jointly by the Hilton Prague and the Hilton Prague Old Town, supported by Pfeizer as a general partner and others. The great music with Hollywood movie themes was played by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Tomáš Brauner, this year featuring the International Female Choir Viva Voce, which brought the right Christmas spirit with carols sung in different languages.

As in the previous years, the Hilton Prague decided to support the charity foundation Chance 4 Children that is focused on helping children in need. Throughout the evening guests contributed to the collection in the amount of CZK 115.000. In addition, a cheque in the amount of CZK 50.000 was handed over to Chance 4 Children on behalf of Hilton by Michael Specking, General Manager of the Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town. During the raffle, more then 1000 guests had a chance to win valuable prizes, after the concert a festive reception took place in the Congress Hall foyer.

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15.1.2009 10:13:23

From left: Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Mrs. Claudia Specking, his wife, Mrs. Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Mrs. Elfenkamper and H.E. Helmut Elfenkamper, Ambassador of Germany

Mrs. Petra Jungwirthová, National Gallery in Prague and PhDr. Oldřich Vejvoda, Correspondent, The European Weekly New Europe

Mrs. Beky Rosulková and Mr. Thyman

From left: Miroslav Lukeš, Mrs. Lukešová, Mrs. Pohunková and Miroslav Pohunek, Specialist Advisor for Gastronomy Hygiene, Gama Holding

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From left: Mrs. Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town and Erik Bossan, Country Manager, Pfizer

15.1.2009 10:13:52

Mrs. Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town and Michal Donath, Managing Director, Donath-Burson-Marsteller

Members of Orchestra

From left: Mr. Specking’s parents in law Dr. Heinz Mammes and his wife, Anna-Luise, Mrs. Gehring and Herbert Gehring, City of Dresden

From left: Manfred Franke, Chairman and Director, Chance 4 Children and Jiří Tráva, Corporate Affairs Director, Pfizer Mrs. Věra Rašková, Owner, Disemo Consulting Interiors and Thomas Berger, Owner, Berger & Partners

From left: Ing. Martin Hájek, Account Manager – Government, Cisco Systems, Mrs. Štepánka Vávrová, Executive Assistant to Managing Director IT Services, DHL, Ing. Marián Kováč, M.S., Chairman, Value Management Consulting Services, Ing. Denisa Fukalová, M&A Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers, JUDr. Ing. Marcel Šebek, Lawyer, Sekyra Group and Mrs. Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town

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15.1.2009 18:47:31

MUDr. Pavel Bém, Lord Mayor of the City of Prague

Prague City Hall

On 10th December, 2008, the Mayor of Prague Pavel Bém invited representatives of the political, cultural and business spheres to participate in the pre-Christmas meeting in the picturesque Residence of the Mayor of Prague. The Mayor thanked all of them for their cooperation during 2008 and wished them all the best in the next year.

VIP Business Meeting at Lord Mayor’s Residence

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From left: Václav Pačes, former Chairman, Academy of Sciences of the CR, Mgr. Horymír Kubíček, General Director, National Technical Museum, PhDr. Michal Lukeš, General Director, National Museum, PhDr. Ondřej Černý, General Director, National Theatre and Mgr. Pavel Hazuka, General Director, National Library of the CR

14.1.2009 17:36:14

Miro Smolák, Owner of MIRO Gallery, and Ing. Marie Kousalíková, Deputy Mayor of Prague

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Petr Maděrič and Pavel Bradík

From left: Václav Kasík, General Director, Czech Radio, Mrs. Anna Lukešová and Mgr. Pavel Hazuka, General Director, National Library of the CR

From left: Jiří Zapletal, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Škoda Holding, Miroslav Singer, Vice Governor of ČNB and Ing. Michal Hrubý, Chairman of the Board, Cautor Consulting

From left: Egon Kulhánek, Director, Karlín Theatre, and Ing. Martin Trnka, Director, Prague City Hall

From left: MUDr. Boris Šťastný, Member of the Parliament of the CR and Patrik Roman, Pražské Služby Services

From left: Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Mrs. Kateřina Janstová, Managing Partner, AK Janstová, Smetana & Partneři and JUDr. Miroslav Jansta, Advocate, Jansta Kosta & Spol.

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14.1.2009 17:36:43

From left: Jiří Weigl, Chancellor, Office of the President of the CR, Capt. Jindřich Vodička, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Deputy General Director, Czech Ports, Ing. Karel Kříž, Managing Partner, Value Added and Tomáš Hüner, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR

Ing. Václav Bláha, Deputy Director, City Police Prague

From left: Martin Dvořák, General Director, Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy and Radomír Šimek, CFO, Siemens

From left: Dr. Ivan Chocholys, Partner, Kaufmann & Partner, Bohumil Procházka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Imperial Karlovy Vary, JUDr. Petr Polák, Director of the Cabinet, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR and Miroslav Skenar, Deputy Executive Director, Prague City Council

From left: Prof. JUDr. Jan Kříž, Lawyer, University Professor, Partner of Kříž & Bělina and MUDr. Pavel Bém, Lord Mayor of the City of Prague

From left: MUDr. Milan Kubek, President, Czech Medical Chamber, PhDr. Petr Fejk, Director, ZOO Praha, Ing. Libor Klug, Director, SAWY Consulting and Ing. Marcel Grun, Director, Planetarium Praha

From left: Ing. Martina Malinová, Prague City Hall and Mrs. Michaela Bartáková, Prague City Assembly Juraj Jakubisko, Film Director, with wife Deana Horvathová-Jakubisková

From left: Ing. Petr Kuchař, Chairman of the Board & General Director, Navatyp Group, Bc. František Dombek, Member of the Board, PPF Banka and Petr Milev, PPF Banka

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From left: Martin Langmajer, Pavel Klega with wife Martina and Jiří Janeček

16.1.2009 9:19:43

An interview with MUDr. Michaela Bartáková, Member of the Prague City Assembly and Deputy Mayor of Prague 4

IF THERE ARE A FEW WOMEN

in Politics, Politics Changes Women. If there are More of them, Also Women Change Politics.

In 2006 Michaela Bartáková was elected member of the Prague City Assembly for the Civic Democrat cr atic ic PPar arty ty, sh shee is tthe he ppre resi side dent nt ooff th thee he heal alth th ccom ommi mitt ttee ee, an andd sh shee is a m mem embe berr of tthe he ccom ommi mitt ttee ee on economic politics, foreign committee and is a member of the Anti-drug commission of the Council of Prague. At the same time as the councillor of Prague 4 she was elected deputy mayor of Prague 4 competent for education, public health, anti-drug prevention and psychological counselling.

You are a medical doctor and you entered regional politics. There are not too many women in politics and their position is often difficult. What do you think of the situation of women in Czech politics (or of the possible ways of dealing with it)?

It is generally known that the ratio of women and men in politics, and this is generally valid, still does not reflect the position and importance of women in society. There have always been only a few women in Czech politics but I believe and hope that their role was necessary despite small. Almost 20 years after the Velvet revolution the number b off women iin elected l t d posts t ddecreases, it ddoes nott increase. Anytime when I have had the opportunity to confront the Czech situation with the conditions abroad, I have wondered why we had not already done something with that. I can say that around me in the city assembly there are wonderful men. They are intelligent, educated, they keep their word. I can rely on them. We work together long hours and our relationships are great. Several of my best friends are politicians and I know that these friendships will last for ever, they are proven by obstacles and we have overcome difficulties that had strengthened them. Politics also checks people’s characters, because in one moment it is specifically individual, you have to fight for your own position and power. At that moment you learn about the characteristic features and boundaries of others around you. You will find people who are modest but also those who are wire-pullers. Women can serve as a calming phenomenon in politics, they are not as impulsive as men and they are often cool-headed. They can also serve as a motivation to act in a fair sense, decently and truly like gentlemen. This is quite a lot of things, isn’t it? Politics with women can be nicer, cannot it?

What are men as politicians like?

There are dull politicians and passionate politicians.

I personally prefer the latter. Unfortunately, there are more of the dull ones…

What do you think of the influence of the media?

The media are really very influential when working with public opinion. They can be used as a means of political fight and creation of virtual reality that has nothing in common with the true reality. It is a question of personal valour, character and intelligence of journalists how they work and whether they really want to tell the truth.

Journalism is a beautiful job if it does not lose freedom

and does not become a means of power and influence of someone else. I know a number of excellent journalists and I have learned how to discern them.

And a message for the public: use your own brains when viewing political situations. Once a friend of mine and a well-known politician saw me sitting and pondering over two pounds of newspapers and told me: “Michaela, you just can’t read the newspapers that much, it might affect you too much…” So I had to take a think…

What do you enjoy in your work in politics?

I enjoy j every dday. I am able bl to t occupy myselflf bby an issue. You have to be passionate, that is the beginning and end of the whole life. You cannot work on something that does not please you, life is too precious for that approach. The opposite is boredom and indifference, such people should leave politics. You are responsible for the trust of your electors and you have a given period of time, then you have to show the results of your work. I want to finish approaching a number of issues, especially I want to help the inhabitants of Prague 4 (it is the largest part of Prague, with 130,000 people). If I succeed in changing important issues through politics, I have to say that that is precisely what fascinates me.

Do you have any political model?

I admire the generation of the “founding fathers” of the Czechoslovak Republic led by T. G. Masaryk. If I were to name women that could be my models, I must mention Margaret Thatcher and the charismatic, brave, wise and sometimes also stubborn Madeleine Albright. She is American, of Czech origin, and she managed to achieve great goals in the USA and promote women in politics all over the world.

What is politics, in your opinion?

As a politician I have to have a clear vision. My words have to speak about something. Communal politics is a public service, in my view, in the full sense of the word and with all humbleness. I talked about that in my presentation at the Congress of the Civic Democratic Party – regional politics of the party has a number of devoted, hard-working and enthusiastic politicians as representatives of towns and villages everywhere in the republic.

There is a lot of everyday work behind them. Now even these people have to be visible. My philosophy of my political work is openness and decency.

Phhooto Pho to: to: o PPaul Pac Pacey ac aceyy

What are the priorities of your work as a member of the Prague City Assembly?

In the sphere of public health I want to mediate good quality and well accessible general health services for Prague citizens. Medicine is a beautiful field, so important, it has to become our priority, and moreover, there is nothing better than to cure people. I have a rather clear vision and a proposal of a system. I saw a flawless and logistically clear system that works e.g. at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, where I studied and worked.

The question is to state clearly the objectives and to prepare the system.

I know that you have a daughter and a son. Could you tell our readers how you manage to combine the work in politics with the role of a mother?

Sometimes it can be difficult, it is a constant “fight with time” but with the support of the whole family I can be both, a mother and a politician. Moreover, it is very motivating for children to see their parents who take pains to reach their goals, who try to create something meaningful. This is my donation to their lives. An example, atmosphere, enthusiasm, thirst for new things and for knowledge, absorption in an issue… And what is the opinion of the family? You will have to ask them…

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

The Energy-Climate Crisis is Your Business

Part VI: A Vehicle Revolution Is Part of the Solution-Electric & Fuel Cell Cars1

James A. Cusumano, PhD “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!”

Anonymous AUTHOR’S NOTE Oil prices have plunged over the last few months from $147 per barrel to less than $40 per barrel today. That’s not good. Why? Because history teaches us from what followed the Arab oil embargoes of 1974 and 1978 that governments, industry and citizens will be lulled into believing that prices will remain low. They will not – especially this time – and here is why.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), the ultraconservative representative of major oil companies in the developed world recently issued its World Energy Outlook report, and it expresses a deep concern for the future price of oil2, 3, 4 and the sever climate cost of a ‘business as usual’ policy5.

Oil Price – In a study of 800 oil fields around the world, the IEA warns that the current lack of investment into new sources of oil will bring about a supply crunch worst than that which rocketed oil prices to $147 this past July. The current price of oil ($42 per barrel on December 18) is causing companies from Kazakhstan to Canada to cancel their investment in oil and gas projects. The IEA concludes that the global credit crunch has put the world “on a bad path.”

The report maintains that demand from OECD countries has peaked and most of the growth in demand for oil until 2030 will come from developing countries. Even with corrections in the global financial markets, China will contribute 43 % of this growth Figure 1

Tesla Roadster Fully-Electric Vehicle

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in demand, India and the Middle East, each 20%, with the remainder coming from other emerging economies in Asia.

One particularly hard–hit area is Canadian tar sands, only months ago called the “Saudi Arabia of heavy oil.” At a production cost of $80 per barrel, things were great with $100+ oil, but now the production cost exceeds current oil prices by more than $30 per barrel.

The IEA report concludes that the current low price of oil is temporary and will jump to triple digits within the next 2 years, and it projects $200 per barrel by 2030 (The present author projects even higher prices by then.).

OPEC will have to much to do with this change. Saudi Arabia requires oil at $60/barrel just to meet its national budget; Russia needs $75 oil to keep its accounts in balance; Iran needs $100 oil to meet its payroll; and Venezuela requires $125 oil to cover its national outlays. Oil will begin its climb in 2009.

Climate Impact – On top of the bad new concerning oil prices, the IEA issued a warning that “business as usual” policies will have “shocking” consequences for climate change, raising average global temperatures by 6 oC6. Warming at that scale would have catastrophic consequences, causing melting of both the North and South poles.

Nobuo Tanaka, IEA’s executive director points out that maintaining the current global atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases at 450 parts per million (ppm), a level consistent with a 2 oC rise in temperature, would require sever cuts in emissions.

A level of 550 ppm would be much easier to achieve, require no new technologies, but implies a global temperature rise of 3 oC, with damaging effects, including droughts in some parts of the world and flooding in others. To have a positive impact, the IEA concludes that the price on carbon emissions would have to be set at $180 per ton as opposed to the current price of $23.

Alternative Energy – To make things even more challenging, the current credit crunch and low oil price is resulting in the same short-sighted actions that have occurred before in the areas of energy efficiency and the development of alternative energy technologies. The two previous Arab oil embargoes catalyzed a transition of the American public from large cars to small ones.

Small Honda Civics and diesel-powered cars were in high demand. Tens of billions of dollars were saved over a short period of time by increases in energy efficiency. But just a few short years later, when oil prices fell, Detroit turned its attention to sport utility vehicles (SUV), and look where it has brought them.

Now more than ever, governments must encourage the commercial success of alternative energy technologies. This strategy will create a new growing industry, generate new jobs, and stimulate the global economies. How could we not pursue this approach?

FULLY–ELECTRIC VEHICLES In the last issue, we described the need for increased fuel efficiency, a move away from fossil fuels, and the incredible benefit of hybrid–electric vehicles. Close ‘cousins’ to the hybrids are the fully-electric and fuel-cell powered vehicles.

The very first automobiles invented during the late 19th century used electric battery power, but the discovery of cheap oil and the development of petroleum refining technologies changed that.

Now, with emergence of the energy-climate crisis, diminishing oil

reserves, a growing appetite for energy, and advancements in new battery technologies, we have come full circle. The epitome of a modern high-performance electric car is the Tesla Roadster, developed in Silicon Valley by Elon Musk, co-founder of Pay Pal and Space Exploration technologies (SpaceX). The first Teslas, priced at $109,000 rolled off the assembly line this year with a 248 hp electric engine, powered by a 450 kg lithium-ion battery. Top speed is electronically limited to 200 km/h (120 mph) and the car boasts an incredible acceleration rate of 0–100km/h (60 mph) of 4 seconds. Over a 1000 cars have been ordered (see Figure 1)7.

This Roadster produces no CO2 during operation, and even if one calculates the CO2 emissions generated at the power plant when recharging the battery, it produces less than half the amount of greenhouse gases generated by the greenest petrol cars available.

And, if the power plant were to generate its power from a renewable fuel such as biomass, Tesla’s CO2 footprint would be even lower.

Figure 2

Leaders Magazine I/2009

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TO BE CONTINUED...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Figure 3: Vehicular Fuel Cell System (ref. 9)

Fuel economy is impressive. It costs less than 2 cents/km to operate. Compare this with a conventional fossil fuel vehicle with a consumption of 9 l/100 km (26 mpg) and petrol at $3.60/gal, which results in a cost of more than 8 cents/km to drive – 4 times more expensive than the electric vehicle.

Clearly, the Tesla Roadster is expensive, but it was only meant to demonstrate that commercial high–performance electric cars can be a reality. Within 3 years, Tesla plans to introduce a family sedan that will sell for $60,000, and then subsequently a compact that will sell for $30,000.

A number of other companies are developing all-electric vehicles. GM, if it survives the current global financial crisis, plans to launch in 2010 its Chevy Volt, which has a lithium-ion battery that propels the car from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 9 seconds, and has a maximum speed of 160 km/h. When the battery runs low, a small petrol-powered motor kicks in to recharge the battery, thereby providing a range of 575 kilometers (345 miles). The fuel efficiency of the petrol engine is 4.8 l/100 km (50 mpg)8.

The key innovations that have made electric cars economically viable, and in fact, advantageous vis-à-vis a fossil-fuel powered car, involve advancements in the lithium-ion battery. As shown in Figure 2, the concept behind the battery is simple. A chemical bond is used to trap positive lithium ions at the negative carbon electrode (cathode). When the battery is hooked into a circuit, lithium ions break the chemical bond and flow through a special separator to the positive electrode (anode), made from a lithium compound. In breaking this bond, electrons are released at the cathode and flow as electricity through an external circuit, power an electric motor, and end up at the anode. When this process is complete, the lithium battery requires external recharging to recover the original charged condition. Key factors that had to be overcome were cost, safety, durability, power density, i.e. high power and low weight.

Sony was the first to pioneer high energy density lithium batteries and introduced the lithium-cobalt-oxide battery in 1991 to power its Handy-Cam video camera. However, cobalt is expensive and toxic, and lithium cobalt batteries were known to catch fire or explode. This led to the replacement of cobalt oxide with manganese oxide or iron phosphate.

The first hybrid and electric vehicles used nickel hydride batteries, which are safer, but have lower power density. The Chevy Volt is based on the lithium-ion battery, as are many of the new electric and hybrid vehicles. GM has put a large investment into the Volt and its strategy is to leapfrog its competitors, especially Toyota, which last year, helped by sales of its hybrid-electric vehicles such as the Prius and the Lexus, became the largest automotive company in the world.

Currently, 75 electric cars have been announced and are projected to enter the marketplace by 2013. However, companies that have developed these vehicles have been slow to commit to firm orders for batteries, and this is where governments can help by intervening to make it easier to launch electric vehicles. GM tested batteries from every lithium battery producer in the world and narrowed it down to LG Chem in Korea and A123 Systems in Massachusetts. Only in late October did it commit to LG Chem.

Ultimately, manufactures intend to move away from hybrid-electric cars to total electric vehicles because the latter are much less complex, cheaper to manufacture, and produce lower emissions.

The key will be continued improvements in the lithium-ion battery.

FUEL–CELL VEHICLES During the early 1960s, General Electric produced the fuel cell electrical power system for the Gemini and Apollo space capsules, and to this day fuel cells provide both reliable power and drinking water in all space stations and launch modules.

The fuel cell is a simple device in concept. It generates energy by converting a fuel, e.g. hydrogen gas, which is fed to the anode of the cell, while an oxidant, e.g. oxygen gas is fed to the cathode.

The only product in this instance is electricity, and the only byproduct is pure water. Some fuel cells use other fuels such as methanol or natural gas, but the hydrogen fuel cell is the most desirable for vehicular use.

As shown in Figure 3, hydrogen gas [1] is fed to the surface of the platinum catalytic anode, where a single electron is stripped off each hydrogen atom9. The electrons flow as electricity through an external circuit to power the vehicle. When an electron is pulled from a hydrogen atom, it yields a positive hydrogen ion (H+) called a proton [2]. These protons migrate through a polymer membrane [3] to the cathode compartment where they combine with negatively-charged oxygen atoms, formed by feeding oxygen gas to the cathode [4]. Oxygen atoms react catalytically at the cathode with electrons that have flowed from the cathode in the external power circuit as electricity. The only byproduct is pure water. Just as with batteries, fuel cells can be combined in series to form a fuel-cell stack, which can provide high levels of power. The beauty of the fuel-cell car is that it is truly a zero emissions vehicle, and if its hydrogen fuel comes from a renewable energy process, such as biomass gasification, or wind-powered or solar-powered electrolysis of water, it contributes essentially zero CO2. This is clearly the ‘next step’ after hybrid-electric and fully-electric vehicles. Most automobile companies have fuel-cell vehicles in development.

However, before fuel-cell powered vehicle can become a broad commercial reality several challenges must be addressed. They are: (1.) boost on-board hydrogen storage so that 500 km (300 miles) range is achieved; (2.) cut the cost of fuel-cell engines by a factor of 3; (3.) increase the fuel cell operating lifetime by 5 times; (4.) create a viable hydrogen fueling infrastructure. These are significant challenges, but the U.S. Department of Energy and manufacturers believe they will be met by 2015.

Progress has been significant. In 1990, the cost per kilowatt for producing fuel cells was $3,000 ($2,250/hp), compared to internal combustion engines, which cost $25–35/kW ($19–26/hp) to manufacture. However, keep in mind that the internal combustion engine has been under development for more than 100 years.

Today, fuel cells can be manufactured for as low as $50/kw ($38/hp). Areas where improvements are foreseen are in the polymer membrane, which represents 35 % of the cost, and in reducing or eliminating the level of platinum used in the anode catalyst.

Platinum constitutes 40 % of the fuel cell cost.

By far, the most challenging issues have been on-board hydrogen storage to achieve 500 kilometers (300 miles) range, and developing a hydrogen fueling infrastructure. A significant breakthrough was recently announced by Toyota for its FCHV car, which it now leases in limited numbers. The fuel-cell powered car now achieves 780 kilometers (470 miles) range. Toyota achieved this by developing a means to store twice as much hydrogen, and increasing fuel economy by 25%.

Developing a hydrogen infrastructure is being pioneered by the state of California, which, by 2010 will make hydrogen fuel available on 21 of its interstate highways. Honda, which has developed its FCX fuel cell car, and is leasing the vehicle, has developed its own versions of a hydrogen filling station, one for home use, and another for commercial use. In the latter, solar panels power an electrolysis system that converts water to hydrogen and oxygen gases. The hydrogen is then pressurized, and stored for fueling vehicles (see Figure 4). The beauty of this approach is that the hydrogen is produced Figure 4 by renewable energy, and then converted to power in a fuel-cell engine. The result is zero emissions. A recent breakthrough at Solar-Powered Water Electrolysis Hydrogen MIT may provide the Fueling Station

technological basis for producing hydrogen directly from water using sunlight and a novel proprietary catalyst10.

Hybrid-electric, fully-electric, and fuel-cell cars all provide a unique benefit for both car owners and electric power companies. It is possible to interface these vehicles with utility companies through the power grid system (see Figure 5)11. Most recharging of batteries would occur at night, which creates a new source of revenue for the utility company at a time when there is usually excess capacity. During the day, fuel-cell vehicles could “plug into the grid” when parked at home or at the office building, and generate emission-free electricity from its on board hydrogen, feeding the electricity to the power company for a fair price of compensation. A study by the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California demonstrates that for example, if 60 % of the U.S. Figure 5

automobile market were electric transport vehicles, they would consume only 8 % of the nation’s electricity. The nation would use 15–20 % less oil and reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 450 million tons, which is equivalent to pulling 83 million of the current 250 million internal combustion vehicles off the road.

There is no question that the internal combustion engine has seen its day and it will be replaced by much more efficient, cleaner and ultimately lower costing electric engines based on batteries and fuel cells. The time scale for this transition is really up to us.

James A. Cusumano, PhD 1

Parts I and II of this series outline the Global Energy Security and Climate Change issues, respectively; Part III provides a summary of a workable solution; Part IV presents an analysis of nuclear power; and Part V describes the role of vehicular transportation with a focus on hybrid-electric cars. See Leaders Magazine 2, 3, 4, & 5, 2008.

2 Javier Blas and Carola Hoyos, “Oil at $200 will shift Power to OPEC,” Financial Times, November 6, 2008.

3 Carola Hoyos, Javier Blas and Ed Crooks, “Crash in oil exploration puts world ‘on bad path,’” Financial Times, November 13, 2008.

4 Javier Blas and Carola Hoyos, “Oil price forecast to bounce back with recovery,” Financial Times, November 6, 2008 5 Ed Crooks, “IEA warns on severe climate cost of ‘business as usual’ policy,” Financial Times, November 13, 2008.

6 Op. Cit, reference 5.

7 Jim Giles, “Born to be Wired,” NewScientist, September 20, 2008, pp.

26–33.

8 Ibid 9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PEM_fuelcell.svg 10 Kevin Bullis, “Sun + Water = Fuel,” Technology Review, November/ December 2008, pp. 56–61 11 Jeff Tollefson, “Charging the Future,” Nature, Vol. 456, November 27, 2008, pp. 436–440.

About the Author: James A. Cusumano is Chairman and owner of Chateau Mcely (www.ChateauMcely.Com), chosen in 2007 by the European Union as the only “Green” 5-star luxury hotel in Central and Eastern Europe and in 2008 by the World Travel Awards as the Leading Green Hotel in the World. He is a former Research Director for Exxon, and subsequently founded two public companies in Silicon Valley, one in clean power generation, the other in pharmaceuticals manufacture via envi-ronmentally-benign, low-cost, catalytic technologies. While he was Chairman and CEO, the latter – Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – grew in less than 5 years, to a $1 billion enterprise with 2,000 employees. He is co-author of “Freedom from Mid-East Oil,” recently released by World Business Academy Press (www.WorldBusiness.Org) and can be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com.

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MasterCard Bank of the Year 2008 On 26th of November 2008 top Czech bankers gathered for the 7th annual Award ceremony of MasterCard Bank of the Year in Hybernia theatre in the centre of Prague. The event has been organized by a leading Czech financial advisory company Fincentrum since 2002 and supported by MasterCard Europe, Ernst&Young, Cap gemini, CCB – Czech Credit Bureau and Lesy ČR. Presenter Leoš Mareš moderated the Award ceremony which featured top Czech models in a dynamic fashion show.

MasterCard Bank of the Year 2008 Martin Diviš, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Kooperativa pojišťovna, a.s., Vienna Insurance Group (front) and Martin Nejedlý, Co-founder and Majority Shareholder Fincentrum a.s.

From left: Jiří Kunert, UniCredit Bank ČR a.s., Banker of the Year 2008, with wife and Petr Stuchlík, CEO and Co-founder Fincentrum, a.s.

From left: Gernot Mittendorfer, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Česká spořitelna, a.s., receiving Award of the Public - “Most Trusted Bank of 2008” from Patrik Horný, CEO Cap gemini. Middle: Robert Holman, Member of the Board, Czech National Bank

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From left: Ján Čarný, General Director DIRECT Pojišťovna, a.s., and Petr Stuchlík, CEO and Cofounder Fincentrum, a.s.

From left: Petr Kučera, Acting Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board, CCB – Czech Credit Bureau, a.s., Petr Stuchlík, CEO and Co-founder Fincentrum, a.s., Lubor Žalman, CEO Raiffeisenbank a.s. – “Bank of the Year 2008”, Martin Nejedlý, Co-founder and Majority Shareholder Fincentrum a.s. and Pavel Uzel, General Director OVB Allfinanz, a.s. Czech Republic

14.1.2009 16:44:32

MasterCard Bank of the Year 2008

Czech supermodels

Team of the winning Raiffeisenbank a.s.

Lubor Žalman, CEO Raiffeisenbank a.s. holding red box with the Award

From left: David Šimoník, Leading Partner Relative PR and David Soukup, Head of Marketing, Lesy ČR

From left: Jiří Kunert, UniCredit Bank Czech Republic, a.s., receiving Award “Banker of the Year 2008” and Pavel Javorský, Acting General Manager, MasterCard Europe for the Czech Republic and Slovakia

TOP AWARDS: Bank of the Year 2008: Raiffeisenbank a.s.

(Main Award of the Jury) Most Trusted Bank of the Year 2008: Česká spořitelna, a.s. (Award of the Public) Most Dynamic Bank of the Year 2008: mBank (BRE Bank S.A.) Banker of the Year 2008: Jiří Kunert, UniCredit Bank Czech Republic, a.s.

(Vote of the Bankers)

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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Top management and Czech and Slovak regional Directors of Fincentrum, Fincentrum a.s. Czech Republic and Fincentrum a.s. Slovakia with Czech supermodels

14.1.2009 16:45:11

sport event

Ruling Champions Slavia Prague are current Champions of the Czech Republic. It was the first regular game the red-whites played in the new stadium of Eden on 17 May 2008 against Jablonec in which they earned the 16th title. The celebrations were long, the players joined the concert organized for the fans in front of the stadium. The title was won after 12 year pause, the last title belonged to Slavia in 1996.

From left: Roman Vik, Member of the Board, SK Slavia Praha, Sigthor Einarsson, Deputy CEO, Icelandair Group, Bogi Nils Bogason, CFO, Icelandair Group and Jiří Šimáně, Chairman, Unimex Group

UEFA CUP

SK Slavia Praha vs. Hamburger SV at Slavia Arena Eden Choreography of Slavia fans

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From left: Miroslav Ondříček, legendary Filmmaker, Member of Supervisory Board of SK Slavia Praha, former President of SK Slavia Praha Club, Mirko Lachman and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Antonín Straka and Ladislav Malý

From left: Jan Kodeš, legendary Tennis Player and Richard Farda, legendary Ice Hockey Player

From left: Otto Rieckhoff, Gerd Krug, Gerd Hein and Ralf Schaar, Department Manager / Product Manager MICE, Liga Travel, all Hamburger fans

Eden – the most modern Czech stadium Eden has been a traditional home of Slavia since 1953 when the old stadium was opened. The first ever goal in the old stadium was scored by legendary forward Josef Bican who holds the record of the world number one goal scorer of all times.

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: Ing. Tomáš Rosen, Chairman of the Board, SK Slavia Praha, Mgr. Petr Doležal, General Director & Member of the Board, SK Slavia Praha and Ing. Michal Šrámek, Sports Director, SK Slavia Praha

14.1.2009 18:06:23

culture event

H.E. Jean Faltz, Ambassador of Luxemburg in his welcome speech

Program of the Concert: JIŘÍ IGNÁC LINEK – CORONATION FANFARES Jiří Svejkovský, Barbora Fuxová and Libor Vanyo (horns) and Jan Adamec (bombardon), led by Mgr. Josef Zámečník WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART – DUET FROM THE OPERA DON GIOVANNI Petra Musilová a Miroslav Orság (chant), MgA. Radomíra Šlégrová (piano) JOHANN SEBASTAN BACH – PARTITA FOR PIANO SOLO Francesco Tristano Schlimé JEAN MARIA LECLAIR – SONATA N°3 FOR TWO VIOLINS Jaroslav Svěcený / Julie Svěcená JAN HANUŠ TRNEČEK – BEDŘICH SMETANA FANTASIA ON THE THEME OF THE SYMPHONIC POEM VLTAVA FOR HARP SOLO Kateřina Englichová CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS SWAN – VERSION FOR HARP OP. 124 Kateřina Englichová / Francesco Tristano Schlimé / Jaroslav Svěcený JOHANN SEBASTAN BACH – CHARLES GOUNOD AVE MARIA

In Remembrance of

John of Luxembourg King of Bohemia Jaroslav Svěcený, renowned Violinist, Francesco Tristano Schlimé, Pianist and Mrs. Kateřina Englichová, Harpist

a Concert Was Held in Bethlehem Chapel – Organized by the Embassy of Luxembourg

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more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

14.1.2009 16:23:32

Donation from H.E. Jean Faltz, Ambassador of Luxemburg to Mgr. Milada Rybářová, Director, Jan Deyl Conservatory and Secondary School for Visually Impaired

From left: Roman Pikola, Dipl.-Wirtschaftsingenieur, Roman Pikola, Ing. Arch. Radmila Iblová, Interier and Ing. Arch. Michal Ibl, Ateliér Všehrdova 19 Fernand Blum, Director, Private Banking, Sal. Oppenheim and Mrs. Nicole MunoDurbach

Miroslav Lipina, Owner, Galerie La Femme and PhDr. Věra Brejová, Spokeswoman, Head of Communication, ArcelorMittal

Mrs. Lucia Slivová, Central & Eastern European Markets, Dexia and Claude Schettgen, Sr. Director, Market Group Manager, Dexia From left: H.E. Jean Faltz, Ambassador of Luxemburg and H.E. Mati Vaarmann, Ambassador of Estonia

Mrs. Bertha Alicia Bernal, wife of Ambassador of Mexico and H.E. Jose Luis Bernal, Ambassador of Mexico

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14.1.2009 16:24:12

Dear readers,

Itt hass been eeen a gr g eat pl p eaasuuree to realize how much enthusiasm and interest our pages on Moravian-Silesian R gi Re g on o bro roug ougght ht .

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Wee wililll also brirng W n inntterr vi view ews wi ew withh impor mpor mp o ta tant n business pers rson onal alitiees and intr trod o ucce so s me inter eres er esti stiting ngg new cuultl ur ural al act al ctivities t s an a d evven ents t . ts W alll wissh yyoou ma We m rv rvellous u yea e r 2009 099.

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Váážeeníí čte tená n řii, ná

Dr. Michaela Jorgensen, Smed Jorgensen Attorneys of Law Office

Nesm Ne smírírírně sm ně náss těš ně ěší,í, kol olik ik nad adše š níí a zzáj ájmu mu naš a e stránk n y o Mo M ravssko koslezssk ském kra raji vzbudily. y Spln Sp lnilililoo se naš ln ašee oč o ekkáván ávánní z do áv doby byy, kd kdyy js j mee s tím ímto t pro to roje jekt ktem em začčín ínal a i: o zzpr al práv ávyy z ne nejp jprů růmy mysl slovvěj ější šího ší h rreg ho e io eg ionuu Česk Če ské re repu p blikyy jee nebbývval a ý zááje jem. m.

o M of Mor orav avia iann-Si Sile lesi sian an Reg egion:

S přříchoodem m nového h rokuu a se s všeemii pře řeká kážk žkam ami,i kkte teré ré nnám ám tot oto složité obdoobí přiná náší, vz vzhlížej ejjí mnoz oí k Moraavsko k sl s ez e skému krr aj a i s úcctou. Řada prům ůmys yslovýých odv dvět ě ví, které v něm m sídlí,, se moožn ž á buude mus u et vyrovnávat s jistými obt b ížemi, je však také možné, že region zůstane i nadále me m zi vůd ůdčími silami če č ské ekonomiky.

V roce 20099 vá váss prrov o eddem e e ud udál álos osstm mi v Mo Mora ravs avsko skosl oslez lezzskkém ém kraaji a sez ezná n mí ná míme me váss s úsp spěš ěššný nými m hhrá mi ráči rá čii na zdejším poli. Jsmee ppře řesv ře svědčeni, že právě to je posláání sv ním m naše šeho še h časopisu. Uvádět a představ avov o att úúsppěc ěchhy, zajímavé společnostiti,, zajímavé lidi. Totoo vš v echno možn žnná ví víc než kdy jindy bude důležitým possel e st ství vím pr ví pro nadcházející rok.

S ra r doost stí může ž mee ozn známit, že do našeho časopisu buude de přiř spívvat at i novýý he hejtjtma man krr aj aje je, e, ppan an Pal an alas as,, a předdst stav avíí nám svůj ů pohle l d na úkoolyy, kter ktter eréé s sebo sebo se bou le bou leto tošnní ro tošn to rokk př přin ines in eesse. e M Mic icchaaella Jo J rg rgennseen ná náss sseezn z ám ámí s noový v ými m mi členy kr k ajskéhho zaasttupitelstt vaa a i s něk ěk te t rý rými ými mi z nnic ichh vá ic v m jiist s ě př p in ines essem emee ro rozh zhov zh ovor ov vor ory. y. Zárov y. árov ár oveň eňň bbud udem ud eme pu em p bl bli-i-i kova ko vat ro va rozh zzhhoovvor o y s výýznnamný nými ný mi pře ředs dssta tavi vite vi teelii poddnika nika ni k te tels lské ls ké sfééryy a zpr p osstř třed eddku edku kuje jeme je me zaj ajím ím mav avéé kuultltur u ní akc ur k e a události.

Přej Př ejjem me vá v m sk s vě vělý lýý rokk 200 009!

9!!

Part Pa r ne rt n r:r Se srd Se rdeč eččný ným ým po pozddrave raave v m Benk Be n e Ai nk A keellll, ll, vy v daava vate tel te

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14.1.2009 15:58:49

The Moravian-Silesian Region Region with a Clear Idea of Development The Moravian-Silesian Region, the largest and most densely inhabited region of the Czech Repu Re p bllic i , iss a stabl t able ta le region with a clear idea of iti s de deveeloopm pmen ent; t; it has t; haas a lot to offer to its inhabitant n s as nt a wel e l ass to the he vi v sitors. The following feat feat fe atur ures e bel elon onng amonng itss as a seets t : a co c nssidderably stroongg iind st stro ndus nd dus u try trr y an a d be b autititifu fuul na natu tuuree witithh ititss jjeeweel – th w thee wo w nd n er erfu full Be fu B skk yd ydyy Mo Moun unntaainns. s In shor shhoorr t, t, thee Mo th Mora raavi vian a -Sil an -S Sililes esia es iann Regi ia gionn haass a gre r at a poten ottenenntitial andd har ardw dwor dw o ki or k ngg peoplee wh whoo ar aree ab a le l to use usse itt wise wi sely se lyy ly.

Ass foorr the h furthher e dev e elop opmeentt of thhe re op regi g onn, ouur pr p iooririty ty wilil be b thee ffin i isshiing of thhe tr traf af ffiic innfr af f aa-sttrruuct ctur uree an ur andd th thee inte terc te erccoonnne n ct c tio ion ooff the Airpoort r ooff LLeo e š Jaanááče č k in Moš ošno novv wi no w th rai ailw lway lw ays and mo ay m torw to r way rw a s, as well ass the supp p or pp ortt off sma m llerr tow o ns andd vi an villllllag agges age es. We es.

W wannt we w lll baallance c d de develo lopment me nt ooff Mo Mora ravi ra vian vi an-S an -Sililles -S esia ian Regionn it me ia ian m anss nott to t cent ce ntra nt ralililize ra ze aallll oour ur int nter eres er estt onnly iinn la es larg argge induussttririal all centtre ce ress of tthe he rreg egio eg ionn. io n. O Our ur nnex extt pr ex prio iooriity is th thee ennvi vi vironm mentt wh w erre wee w willl be abl blee to ame melililior orat or atee th at thee situ si t atio ionn noot on io o ly by thhe co c ns nstr truc tr uctitition uc on of of ci circ rcum rc um-um fere rential hi re high g waays arooun und to town wns an wn andd ci cititities es but also al so by pprroc ocee ocee eedi ding di ngss wiithh aallllll lar ng a ge ger poll poollllut uter ut ter e s. s T hes Th esse pr proc o eedi ding nggs ar aree ai a me medd att the heiri approacch too this issue in the fo foll ollow owin inng years.

As we try to reaach a higgher level of the deveelop-ment in the qualitt y of thee region, we want to “ddrag”” industries with higher added value to the reggion..

Thhis can be heelp lped edd e.g .g. by the he foorrma matition tition of th t e baack grrou oundd ooff th thee fa facu c ltltyy of eele cu lect le c ririca ct call en ca engi gine gi neer ne erer i g an in and by b the hee est stab a lish shme sh ment me nt of of th thee fa facu cultltltyy off cu

medicine. We are going Photo: Robert Mročka to seek ways of financing these projects at the very beginning of 2009 at a meeting with the mayor of Ostrava and rect c orr s.

T e upppe Th p r mentioonedd pr ne proj ojec oj jec ec tss sho h uldd be prroff itt ab able l not le ot onl n y forr t e Moorraavi th v an an-S -S Siles e ian R gi Re gion o , bu on butt al a soo foorr its its ts neig ne igghb hbou ouurss. Ou O r re r gi g on i not is ot an is isol olat olat ol ated ed sub ub-j ct je c . On O the h connttrrarr y, y onne of o the sspe peci c fif icc feeaturees of the Morrav tu a iaann Sile Si lesi esiiann Reggio i n is its c nttra ce r l po posi sitititon amo si mong ng itt s neeigghb its h ouurs r :S Sllov lov ovaakkia anndd Pol olan and, an d, whi d, hich chh for orms m ms thee ba th basi asis sis off the si he devvel e op opin ingg fron o tiier er ccoo ooope pera raatition o .

Thro Th roug ro ughh the Assooci ug ciat attio ionn of Regio eggio i nss of tthhe Czzec e h Repu Re publ pu blic bl ic we of couurs r see de deve velo loop oouur coooopper erat atio at atio ionn wiithh ooth ther reg th ther e ions n in ou ns our co coun oun untr try, tr r y, y tooo. I re rega gard ga rd highly ouur ur abi biliity t to dr d aw w on exxperi per enncee fro pe rom m ot othe heer regions and to wor oorrk on on the the he approacch too imp mpor orta or tant ta n nt issues. Moreoverr, wee ccaan an draw onn val va ua uabl blee fif nddbl ings from m ouur pa parttneer reegions – Lo Lorrai a nee in FFrrannce c , Silesian Voivode ddeesh s ipp, N Noort ort rthh Rh Rhin innee-We West stphaliaa, the se th s lff-governing nngg rreg egio eg ionn of ŽŽilililin io ina, in a, tthe he Bri Briritititish sh resh re gion gi on Nor orth Eas a t an a d th t e re regi gion gi on ooff Vo Volo logd lo gdaa in tthe gd he Russ Ru ssia ss iann Fe ia Federatiion o . I thhin inkk th that at one ooff th thee mo most st

impo im p rt po rtan a t annd ne an n ce cess s arr y fe feat atur at urees ur es is the the coomm th m unica ni catitition o wititithh thhe hiigh g es estt re repr p essen enta taatitivees off thee Czzecch R C Reepubl b ic iinn wh whic i h I in inte tent ntt ttoo usse alll my pers pe rson rs o al con on onta tact ta cctts t s wi w th t the h membe em mbbeers r of th the he ggoovvernm er nm nmen men e t inn ordder e to he h lpp m myy regi g on gi on so th that a it do does e es noot lag laag behi beehind hind iinn th hi thee spphe heree of thhe ccoonsstr truc uucc titionn ooff trraf a fificc innfr f as astr truc tr ucc tu ture re and iin ot re othe her de deve eve v lopm lopm lo mennta t l pprroj ojec ojec ects tss. But Buut I am am not o aafr frai fr aidd of thi ai his. s T he he Moorrav a ia i nn Sile Si leesi s an Reg e ioon ha has as al a l pr prer ereq er equi eq uuiisi site tess an te a d po p te tent ent n iaal to devvel elop op in al all sp s here heeres rees an andd re reac achh itt s fuulll ac pote t nttia te i l.

By JJar a os ar o laav P Paala l sI Pres Pr esid es iden id entt of en of tthe hee Mor o av a iaann-Si Sileesi Si s an a Regio eeggio ion

Moravskoslezský kraj – region s jasnou vizí rozvoje Moraavs v koslez ezský kr ez kraj aj, nejvvět aj ětší a nej ejlidnat attěj ější šíí k aj Čes kr eské ké rep epub ubli ub blil ky k , je je sta tabi bili bi ililizo z va zo v ný ným ým reegi g on o em s jjaasn snou ouu viz vizzí ro rozv ozvooje, kteerýý má co c nnab abíd ab ídno íd nnoouutt jaakk svv ým oby byvatelů l m, tak náv lů ávšt šttěv ěvní n ků ní kům. ům. m K jeh jeh e ho před ednoost s em paat atříí poměr ěrrněě sililný ný průůmyysl i nád á heerrnná ná přř íroda,, jejímž kl klen enot en otem ot eem m jjee přek přřekrá krá r sn snéé ppoohhooří Bes esky k dyy. K rátce řeč ečenno, o Mor o aavvskos skkosle os ezsský os ký kraj kr raj a má ve velk lkk ý ppoote lký tenc nciá iáll a prrac a ovit ovvititéé lid liidi di, ktteř e í jej jeej d ká do k ží ž doobbřřee v yu yuží žít. ží tt..

Poku Po kudd jdde o da ku d lš l í ro rozv zvoj zv oj kkra raje ra jee, na naší š ppriririor ší oritittou or o bude bu de,, kr de k om mě do dobu obu b ddoovááníí doppra ravn vníí in vn infr frras astr trruk uktu t ryy tu a pr p oppojjen ení Le ení L ttiišt išt ště Leeoš ště o e Jaaná náčk čkka v Mo čka Mošn šnoovvě šn s že žele leezn znic icí ic cí a dá dáln lnic ln iccí,í i podpo oddpo p raa men enší š chh obccí.í. ší Chce Ch c me me tot otiž ižž, ab iž, aby by se Mor Mor orav avvskos skosle sk ossle lezs zský zs kýý kraj raaj ro rozz zvíje ví í jel jeel roovnnom oměr ě něě a aaby ěr b veške by ešške kerá r poz rá ozor orno or nost no s nebbyl st ylaa ssm měřov ěřov ěř o ánna je jenn na n vel e káá průůmy mysl ssllov ováá cceent ntra r kra ra raje je.. je Dalš Da lšší pr prio iooririto iori touu je obl to blas a t ži as živo votn tnníh íhoo pr p osstř třed edí,í,í, kde ed by k zzle lepš le pšen pš eníí měěla en l kro romě mě sta tavb vbyy ob vb obch chva ch vatů va tů měs ěstt p mo po moci ci t ak ci a é pr práv ávěě pr prob o íh ob í aj ajíc ícíí je íc j dn d án á í see vše šemi m mi

Suupp ppor orte or ters te rs and and Gen e erral Partn ar tnner ar erss of M Mor orav avia av iaann-Si Sile Si leesian sian a Reg egio ion: io n:

věětš t ím ími m znečišťova vaateelili ovz v zdu d ší š . Ta se tý týka kaají jej ejiich ic h ic přř ístupuu k tét přís éto prob oble ob lema le matitiicee v dal ma a ššíích ch lettec ech. h h.

Protož ožee nám jdde o kv ož k al alititt at ativvně n v yš yš ší š sstu t pe tu peňň rozvoje regi ro reegi gion o u, chc h em me doo Mor o aavvsskkos osle lezs le z kkéého kraje ´ppři ř t áhnout´ t vvýr t´ ý ob ýr o y s vy v yššší př p iddan anou o hooddou notou. u Tom mu by by moh ohloo pom pom o occi na např př ík í laad vy v ybu bu bud vání záz do ázzeem mí elek eekk tr trot otec ot e hn ec hnic ickké ic ké fakul akkul u ty a zříř ze z níí faku fa kultltltyy lééka ku kařs řské řs kéé. Sppol oluu s pr p iim mát á or orem em m měssta ta Ostr Os t av tr avyy a s re rekt ktor kt oryy bu or b deeme m hhne need v za z čá čátk átk tkuu rookkuu 2009 20 09 spo 09 pole leečn čněě hl h ed edat at ces estu tu k f inan innan anco c vá co vání níí těc ěchtto p oojjekk tů. pr tůů.

Ty bbyy mě Ty měly ly přiř iné nést né s pro st rofi ofit fif it neejeen Mo Mora Mora ravs vssko ko-slez sl ezsk ez ském sk émuu kr ém krajji,, alee i jeh e o ok o ol olí.í. Náš reggio ion on ro rozzhoodn dněě neení iizo zoolo lova vaný va ným ný m su subj b ek bj ekte tem. te m. Ba na naop aop opak ak.. ak M zi sspe Me p cifi pe ciififika f ikaa Mor orav avskos av avsk skkossleezs zské k ho kkra ké raje ra jee pat atříříř jeh ehoo ssoous u ed edst ství st ví se Sl Slov ovven ensk skkem a Pol o sk skem em,, ktter em eréé je j zákl zá klad kl adem ad em roz oz ví ozví víje jejíjíjící je c se se př příh íhhra r ni ničn ičn čníí sp s ol olup u rá up r ce. cee.

Pros Pr oosstř třed e ni ed nict c ví ct v m As Asoc ocia oc iace ia ce kkra ce rajů ra jů ČČes e ké rep es e ub ubliliiky samo sa mozř mo zřej zř ejmě roz ej o ví víjíjíjíme jíme i spo polu lupr lu prrác áci s os osta taatn tatn tním ím mi kr kraj ajii aj

naaší š zem eměě.. O Occeňu ňujijiji, žee můž ů em me vy využ yužžítt zku k še š no n st stii jijiný innýých ch kra kraajů a spo pole leečn lečn č ě pr p ac a ovat ovvat at na ře řešení šeení zzáv ávaž áv važ anýchh ppro ných ný roblém ro mů,, k te teréé mussím íme me řřeešit. šiit. t. Cen enné né pozzné natk y vš však ak čerpá páme me t aakké u naši me naaši šich ch paarr tn tner eerr skk ýcch reggion re onůů,, jim mižž jsoou fr f aannnco coouzz sk ský k ý reeggiion o Lo Lotri otrir nnssko ot k , Slez Sl ezz ské skké vvoojvvod odst odst s ví ví,, Seevveernní Po Porý rýní rý nníí-V -Ves estf es estf t álsk álskko, ál o, Ži-i lilins ins nský ký ssam amos am osspr p ávvný n kkra raj, ra aj,j bbriririts t ký ts k rreg egion eg ioon No Nort r h Ea East stt a ob obla laast st Vol o ogda g z Ruusské k ffed eder ed errac a ee.. Z a ve velm lm mi dů důůleeži žito toou a neezbbyt y tnou po pova vaažu žujiji i kkom omun om u ik un ikac acii s vrrch ac choo olovýými lo mi přeeds dstaavi dsta vite teelili Čes eské k rep ké epub ublililiky ub ky,, kdde chhci ky c v yuž vy u ítt svý v ých osoobn bníc ích c koont ntak aktů ak tůů na je jedn dnot dn otlililivé ot ivéé čle l ny vlád vl ády, ád y aby kra kra raj v bu b ddoování váání ddop opra op raavnní in infr fras fr astr truk tr ukk tu tury ry a v ob obla l st la stii da dalš lššíc íchh roozv z oj ojov o ých ov ýcch pr p oj ojek ektů ek tůů nez ezůs ů tá ůs távall pooza va zadu du.. I kddyž toh du ohoo se s neoobá bává vám. vá m. Mor m. orav avsk av skkoo slez sl ezz sk skýý kr kraj aj m máá to totitit ž ve v šk šker e é přřed er edpo pokl po klad kl adyy a poote tennc ál k tom ci omu, u aby u, b se ro rozv zvíjíjíjel zv ell po všec vššecch st strá ránk rá nkkác áchh a v pl plné né šířř i.

Jaaro r sl slav av P Pal allas I alas h jt he jtma mann Mo ma Mora ravs ra vsko vs skkoosl slez ezsk ez skkééhho kr kraj ajee aj

Lead Le ader ad ers Ma er ers Maga g zi ga zinee 1/ 20 zine 2009 09

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moravian-silesian region

Mrs. Monika Žídková, Moderator and Ing. Miroslav Fabian, General Director, Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian region

REGION FOR ITSELF The advent period is traditionally and inseparably connected with the Christmas concert Region for Itself, one of many events held by the Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian Region every year. The aim of this event is to support cooperation of regional subjects and to thank the members of the Union, 157 in total at present, for their work. The regular advent meeting of the representatives of business sphere with the representatives of the region had a pleasant, inspiring atmosphere, as always. This year again, the Christmas concert was held under the auspices of Msgr. František Václav Lobkowicz, O. Praem., Bishop of the Ostrava-Opava diocese, who wished a happy new year to everybody who participated in the event.

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From left: Ing. Miroslav Fabian, General Director, Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian region, Ing. Pavel Bartoš, Vice President, Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian region, Prof. Ing. Václav Roubíček, CSc., President, Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian region and Jaroslav Palas, Governor, Moravian-Silesian region with wife

14.1.2009 16:01:33

Mrs. Naďa Urbánková, performing artist RNDr. Věra Palkovská, Lord Mayor, Třinec

From left: Ing. Jaroslav Palas, Governor, Moravian-Silesian region, Doc. Ing. Jiří Cienciala, CSc., Chairman of the Board & General Director, Třinecké železárny, a.s. and Ing. Pavel Bartoš, Vice President, Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic

Prof. Ing. Václav Roubíček, CSc., President, Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian region

From left: Mrs. Magdaléna Holeksová, Director, CzechPolish Commercial Chamber in Ostrava, Msgr. František Václav Lobkowicz, Bishop, Diocese of Ostrava and Opava and Msgr. Mgr. Martin David, General Vicar, Diocese of Ostrava and Opava

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14.1.2009 16:02:47

moravian-silesian region OSTRAVA – the first authorized showroom of AUDI cars in the Czech Republic was built in less than a year in North Moravia, not far from the centre of Ostrava City. It is a very important event for the AUTO Heller in its successful history. This event is also very important for other companies in the Moravian-Silesian Region like the GEOFIN a.s., which has cooperated with the AUDI for many years. At the opening of the modern centre of the prominent world’s automobile manufacturer there were present the representatives of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, President of the Union for Development of the Moravian-Silesian Region, many politicians, businessmen and representatives of companies. The building was blessed by Bishop Lobkowicz who expressed a wish for the success of the company in his prayer. During the construction, the employees of the VOKD company relied on their rich experience but they also profit from the tight cooperation with the representatives of the German car company, who supervised the project.

The result of this cooperation is a luxurious showroom, where even the most demanding customers will be satisfied.

AUDI Showroom more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Rudolf Javurek, General Director, Import Volkswagen Group, Jan Heller, Managing Director, AUTO Heller and Petr Neústupný, Head of Division Audi

From left: Mons. František Václav Lobkowicz, Bishop, Diocese of Ostrava and Opava, Evžen Tošenovský, Regional Governor Moravian-Silesian Region, Jan Heller, Managing Director AUTO Heller, Rudolf Javurek, General Director of Import Volkswagen Group and Petr Neústupný, Head of Division Audi

Ostrava region.indd 92

From left: Karel Březina, Executive Director, Geofin, a.s., Mons. František Václav Lobkowicz, Bishop, Diocese of Ostrava and Opava, Pavel Bartoš, Vice-President, Czech Chamber of Commerce and Chairman, Regional Chamber of Commerce of Moravian-Silesian Region, Jan Heller, Managing Director, AUTO Heller, Daneš Zátorský, Chairman of the Board, Geofin, a.s. and Miroslav Fabián, General Director, Association for Development of Moravian-Silesian Region

From left: Daneš Zátorský, Chairman of the Board, Geofin, a.s. and Miroslav Svozil, Mayor of Town District Moravská Ostrava

14.1.2009 16:03:28

moravian-silesian region

The highest situated accomodatin spaces in Ostrava City – ATRIUM SLEZSKÁ were opened on the 21st of November 2008 by developer‘s representatives of the project, supplier of construction, architects, general dealer, representatives of the city and other guests. Total 123 flats arose approximately in one year and seven months and form a new dominant of the city. It is a fascinating view from the building on the whole Ostrava City and also on Beskydy mountains.

From left: Robert Švec, Director of the TRIMEX REALITY,a.s., Antonín Maštalíř, Mayor of the Town District of Slezská Ostrava, Daneš Zátorský, Chairman of the Board, Geofin, a.s., Jiří Adam, Owner of ADAM architects, s.r.o., and Pavel Švidernoch, Chairman of the Board of Byty Slezská,a.s.,

RESIDENCE

on the Roof of Ostrava

The authors of the project from ADAM architects, s.r.o. designed the Atrium relaxation area with children playground and green, which forms the inner – from the street separated zone of interior for the tenants

From left: Miroslav Svozil, Mayor of Town District Moravská Ostrava, and Daneš Zátorský, Chairman of the Board, Geofin, a.s.

ATRIUM SLEZSKÁ, compact complex of apartments, new dominant of Ostrava City

From left: Antonín Maštalíř, Mayor of Town District of Slezská Ostrava, and Robert Švec, Director, TRIMEX REALITY, a.s.

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14.1.2009 16:04:05

Jaroslav Palas President of the Moravian-Silesian Region Photo: Jiří Zerzoň

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16.1.2009 10:03:06

An interview with Jaroslav Palas, the President of the Moravian-Silesian Region

The Moravian-Silesian Region Region with a Unique Genius Loci It is the easternmost region of the Czech Republic. The region is situated on the boundaries of Moravia and Silesia with Slovakia and Poland. It is a truly varied and unusual place which attracts visitors by its genius loci, the spirit of the place, forged among otherr things by pivotal historical periods.

The specific culture and folklore of the region of the Beskydy mountains are created by typical wooden huts, the original centres of towns boast with unique atmossphere in Štramberk, Nový Jičín and Příbor. Opava, Frýdek-Místek, Ostrava, Hradec nad Moravicí, Fulnek, Bílovec, Krnov, Bruntál and others are very important cities and towns from the historical poinnt of view.

The first question for Jaroslav Palas, the President of the Moravian-Silesian Region, is obvious: Which part of the region do you like the most?

I like my region as it is. Everybody comes from somewhere, but as a President I have to view the region as a whole and try to develop it as a whole, too.

The specific feature of the MoravianSilesian Region lies also in a number of technical monuments. What do you think of their importance from the perspective of the development of tourist industry?

I think they are a very positive phenomenon. It is e.g. the area of Landek in Ostrava-Petřkovice, the narrow gauge railway Třemešná-Osoblaha and the Lower area in Ostrava-Vítkovice. At the end of this year, the so-called Lower area of Vítkovice will be incorporated into the prestigious list of European monuments, architectonically and historically important and valuable monuments, called the European Cultural Heritage. I think it is one of the things that deserve mentioning. Mainly because this label should help develop a cultivated cultural tourist industry in the region where there is a wide spectrum of other historically valuable monuments besides blast furnaces, but we also have vivid developing businesses and parts of the socalled brownfield areas still waiting for revitalization. At the same time we have prepared a large developers’ and developing project “New Vítkovice” that will create a modern phenomenon in Ostrava on the area of 253 hectares and will bring about 60 billion Crowns of investments to the metropolis of the Moravian-Silesian Region.

In a part of this area there shall be a university campus, too. This logically moves us to the issue of the further development of education in your region.

Within the region there are 156 seconddary schools, 2 conservatories, 11 schools off vocational training and 4 universities and coolleges. At first sight it therefore seems that education on the secondary and university level is sufficiently covered in the region. But if we want to attract production with higgher added value that should contribute to the further development of the region, we cannnot be content in the sphere of education with what we have now. We are thus interesteed in the forming of the faculty of electrical engineering and in the establishment of the medical faculty. This could help us approach one of the issues, the fact that young people who want to study these subjects, leave our reggion.

After graduation they usually settle whhere they have studied and received practice, and our region thus loses intelligent young people. Furthermore we need to concenttrate more on development and research andd we also want to create suitable scientific baackground for the teaching hospital in Ostravva.

We have roughly touched the issues of the strategy of the development of the region.

What is the priority in this field in your opinion?

We have to build the traffic infrastrucc ture of the region, its functional connection with other regions, neighbouring European coountries and with the rest of the world at the saame time. At present, the communication D 1 and R 48 are being built, we need to finalizee the communication I/11, we are currently wor-

king on the construction of circumferential highways that would help ameliorate the traffic in cities as well as the environment there.

The environmental issues are also one of the priorities we are discussing with all larger polluters in our region. We want to concentrate on smaller villages in order to ensure a balanced development of the region. But let us get back to the traffic infrastructure. One of the main issues is the development of the Airport of Leoš Janáček. Even now it provides regular daily connections with Prague and Vienna and from the beginning of September, Moravian-Silesian citizens and people from neighbouring regions can use the services of an airplane line to the metropolis of the Russian Federation. Thus we can also use further flights to more than 230 destinations all over the world. Thanks to the planned investments of the Moravian-Silesian Region to the Ostrava airport of Leoš Janáček which we want to connect as soon as possible with railway and motorway, it will become the central point of traffic quite unparalleled in the Czech Republic. We are going to cooperate closely on these issues with the Union for the Development of the Moravian-Silesian Region, Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Moravian-Silesian Region and with other subjects and establishments whose activities are aimed at the support and development of the region.

By Lenka Gulašiová I

českou verzi naleznete na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine II/ 2009

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EU presidency

From left: B. Le Maire, France´s Minister for European Affairs, Mirek Topolánek, Czech Prime Minister of the Czech Government, Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic

We will Harmonize Europe On 7th January, 2009, the National Theatre witnessed a composed gala evening under the title “We will Harmonize Europe”, held on the occasion of the opening of the Czech EU Presidency. The programme of the evening, the principal partner of which was the Government of the Czech Republic, came from the production of the twins Petr and Matěj Forman.

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From left: Jiří Suchý and Mrs. Chantal Poullain

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From left: Mirek Topolánek, Czech Prime Minister of the Czech Government and José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission

From left: Václav Jehlička, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic and Ing. Peter Palečka, Member of the Board, Komerční banka, a.s.

From left: Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, Tomáš Roule, Cardinal´s Secretary and Ondřej Černý, Director of National Theatre of Prague

Petr Forman

From left: Matěj Forman and Petr Forman

From left: Martin Bursík, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic, Mrs. Kateřina Jacques, Member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and Václav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic

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EU matters Daniel Gueguen, CEO, Clan Public Affairs, Groupe ESL & Network

High level conference about interest representation in the EU took place in historical Knights’ Hall of the Senate Chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on Tuesday, 11th November 2008. The aim of the Conference “Interest representation in the EU” was to examine the efforts of state and private sphere representatives to influence the legislative process on national and European levels.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE The Conference was opened by the Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on EU Affairs Luděk Sefzig, who stated he wished “Czech lobbying to regain the knightly spirit...” Lobbying at European level has much better reputation than in the Czech Republic. Brussels officials listen to lobbyists very openly and closely. CEBRE survey on lobbying shows that 80 % of respondents deem it is easier to put through one’s interests at European level than at national. One of the very top European lobbyists Daniel Gueguen noted: “...lobbying is a fair instrument of policy and we will have to learn to use it.“

LOBBYING SHOULD GAIN THE KNIGHTLY SPIRIT

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From left: Stanislav Kázecký, Vice-President, Confederation of Industry of the CR, Jan Wiesner, Chairman of the Union of Czech and Moravian Producer Cooperatives (KZPS) and Ivan Voleš, Deputy Secretary, Czech Chamber of Commerce, and Member of EHSV

14.1.2009 15:45:08

From left: Luděk Sefzig, Senator & Chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs, Parliament of the CR and Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the CR

Pavel Bouda, Member of Cabinet of Vladimír Špidla, European Commission

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Arnošt Marks PhD, Consultant, CEITEC

Radek Špicar, Director of Škoda Auto and Mrs. Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová, Chairperson for ANO pro Evropu

Roman Línek, First Vice-President, Regional Development, EU Matters, Pardubice Region

The Conference “Interest Representation in the EU” was organized by the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic and CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU in the framework of the ESF project enhancing the capacity of social partners. Partners of the conference were ČEZ, a.s., European Training Institute, EBAQUE and Westminster.

Media Partners were BusinessInfo.cz, EurActive.cz, Lobby, Podnikatel, Leaders Magazine and INSIDE LG.

From left: Luděk Sefzig, Senator & Chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs, Parliament of the CR, Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the CR, Pavel Bouda, Member of Cabinet of V. Špidla, European Commission and Daniel Gueguen, CEO, Clan Public Affairs, Groupe ESL & Network

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EU matters

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Petr Just, Prorector for Education, Metropolitan University of Prague, Moderator of the Conference and Miloš Balabán, Ph.D., Head of the Centre for Security Policy CESES FSS CU, Organizer of the Conference

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

a Security Strategy for Europe New Priorities, New Challenges

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From left: Claus Haugaard Sorensen, Director General Communication, European Commision, Tomáš Chalupa, Mayor of Prague 6 Municipal District and Petr Just, Prorector for Education, Metropolitan University of Prague and Moderator of the Conference

14.1.2009 15:46:59

From left: RNDr. Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Premier for European Affairs and Tomáš Chalupa, Mayor of Prague 6 Municipal District

From left: Drahomír Šelong, Ministry of Industry and Trade CR, Jiří Feist, Director of Development Section, ČEZ and Denis Le Fers, Ministry of Defence, France

From left: Štefan Volner, Alexander Sidoriak, and Jiří Fiala

From left: Karel Pezl, 4star Army General (ret.), Mr. Stanislav Turnvald and Andor Šándor, Brigade General (ret.)

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: Bedřich Moldan, Senator, Director of Environment Center, Charles University and H.E. Václav Bartuška, Ambassador for Energy Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs CR

From left: Jaroslav Sejpka, Dr. Libor Rouček, 1st Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs European Parliament, Benoit d’Aboville, former Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, Permanent Representative of France for NATO, Member of the Commission of the French White Book on Defence and Security, Miloš Balabán, Head of Center for Security Policy, CESES FSS CU, Lubomír Zaorálek, Deputy Chairman of Chamber of Deputies, Parliament CR, Karel Kovanda, Deputy Director-general, External Relation DG of the European Union and Doc. PhDr. Jan Eichler, CSc, Institute of International Relations, Prague

14.1.2009 15:47:53

Prof. RNDr. Jan Ámos Víšek, CSc., Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague and Claus Haugaard Sorensen, Director General Communication, European Commission

From left: Miloš Balabán, Head of Center for Security Policy, CESES FSS CU and Lubomír Zaorálek, Deputy Chairman of Chamber of Deputies, Parliament CR

From left: Karel Prskavec, Government Bureau and Miloš Svoboda, Deputy Director General, Ministry of the Interior Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Benoit d’Aboville, former Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, Permanent Representative of France for NATO, Member of the Commission of the French White Book on Defence and Security and H.E. Charles Fries, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic

From left: Karel Kovanda, Deputy Directorgeneral, External Relation DG of the European Union and Doc. PhDr. Jan Eichler, CSc, Institute of International Relations, Prague

Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation

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International Conference...

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From left: Dr. Libor Rouček, 1st Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs European Parliament and Benoit d’Aboville, former Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, Permanent Representative of France for NATO, Member of the Commission of the French White Book on Defence and Security

14.1.2009 15:48:29

THIS IS A BRIEF SCHEDULE OF THE MAIN CONFERENCES DURING THE PERIOD OF THE PRESIDENCY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN THE COUNCIL OF THE EU: One important area that the Czech Republic would like to address is the issue of ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTENCE (AMR). Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of microorganisms to survive or multltip mu iply ly iinn th thee pr pres esen ence ce ooff co conc ncen entr trat atio ions ns ooff an antitimicrobial substances that would usually suffice to prevent multiplication of such ch microorganisms microo gan anis or to kill them.

In connection with the efforts rts of international inte organisations, the initiative ative of the Slovenian S Presidency of the Council uncil of the European Union that put AMR on the agenda again, gain, and the planned activities of France and Sweden, en, the Czech Republic intends to further develop this t important public health lth prottectition priioritit y and, d th thereby, b iincrease awareness of this serious problem. The Czech Republic is well aware that the recommended implementation of national programmes controlling AMR and the overuse of antibiotics is necessary to preserve the effective ffec e treatm treatment of infections over the long term.. It is ther therefore ref efo important to emphasise the responsibility sponsibility of the governments of the EU Member States and a find appropriate models of support to ensure th that the interdepartment me ntal al ccoo oord rdin inaation a on me mech chan anis isms ms w wor orkk pr prop oper erly ly and that action plans, pla including their financing, are duly implemented.

The ministerial conference entitled “The Microbial Threat to Patient Safety in Europe” will take place from 15 to 16 April 2009. More ore detailed information inf about the conference can be obtained at logistics. amr@mzcr.cz and content.amr@mzcr.cz. mr@mzcr.c The second priority ority of the Czech Cz Ministry of Health is FINANCIA INANCIAL SUSTAINA UST ABILITY OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEMSS. Financially Fin sustainable heal he alth thca care re sys syste tems ms is is unde dders rsto tood od as as a sy syst stem em of of healthcare financing that ha will ensure that values such as universality, access to quality care, re, equality, and solidarity will be guaranteedd well into the future. The unfavourable demographic development both in the Czech Republic and in the whole of the European Union will soon result in a marked imbalance between the active and inactive parts of the population, which will lead to a growth in healthcare costs. The most significant factors affecting healthcare costs are an agin ag ingg po popu pula latition on, me medi dica call ad adva vanc nces es aand nd inn innov ovaa tion, and increased expectations and demands on the part of patients. The majority of European healthcare systems today are facing limits imposed by the fact that they are financed predominantly from public sources, while the expectations of European society are tied to the principles of

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solidarity and universal accessibility to quality heal he alth thca care re..

The aim of this priority is to generally increase awareness of certain aspects of an aging population. Member States should be provided with the opportunity to share experiences, information, and proven approaches in the healthcare and the financial sustainability of these systems.

A conference at a high expert and political level will be devoted to this priority. The dates of the conference have been set for 10–1 0–12 May Ma 2 . More 2009 re ddetailed information can be obtained obtaine at logistics log ogis cs cs.f.fin insu sus@ s@mz mzcr cr.c .czz an andd content.fins con co sus us@ @ mzcr.cz..

In the he first half of 2009, the Czech zech Republic willll focus on the issue of the digital ital integration of healthcare services and interoperability era of information systems in healthcare (eHEALTH).

The priority is eHealth in relation to individuals (closely connected to the citizen as patient and the healthcare provider, and their interaction), in relation to societyy (with a focus on education and science and research and their significant in eHea eH ealtlth) h), an andd in rrel elat atio ionn to tthe he eeco cono nomy myy ((cl clos osel elyy connected to the issue of financial sustainability).

The aim of the priority is to contribute to the better health of citizens, make the provision of healthcare services more effective, and thus improve the quality of care and safety of patients. The basic priorities are high quality of healthcare services,

accessibility to healthcare, and long-term stability of the the ssys yste tem m of ppro rovi vidi ding ngg hhealthcare hea ealtlthc hcar aree se serv rvic ices es..

In cooperation with the he European Euro ean CCommission, the ministerial conference nce entitled “eHealth for Individuals, Society, an andd Economy” Econo Ec will be held in Prague from 18 to 20 Februa uary 2009. More detailed information mation about the conference conf can be obtained at logistics.ehealth2009@mzcr.cz s.eh and content.ehealth2009@mzcr.cz.

9@ Mgr. Ivo Hartmann, MBA I CURRICULUM VITAE 2007

General Director for Economic and International Affairs, Ministry of Health

2006–2007 Chief Economist and Advisor to President, State Office for Protection of Economic Competition 2004–2006 Deputy to Vice Prime Minister and Deputy Minister of Justice 2002–2004 1st Deputy Minister for Regional Development 1998–2002 Adviser to President of the par liamentary faction, Chamber of Deputies, The Parliament 1995–1998

Assistant to President and MP, Chamber of Deputies, The Parliament

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VIEW OF CZECH PRESIDENCY This edition of CEBRE Business News is dedicated to the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU and its priorities.

Ambitious Czechs calll for a Eu Europe u without Barriers making ng full use se of its economic, human and cultural potential p and therefore capable able of holding its own against global, political and eco economic competition.

EUROPE WITHOUT BARRIERS From January to June 2009, the Czech Republic will hold its first Presidency over the Council of the EU. Czechs will chair numerous meetings, represent the EU in the world and deal with unexpected events.

Many challenges are alread already on the table: Firstly, financial crisis hass threatened business b confidence in Europe and stressed s sed the need nee for a better business environment. Secon Secondl ndl dly, y th the mandates of both the Europeann Parliament and European Euro Eu r Commission come to an end nd in 2009. Thirdly, many actions and proposals haave bee eenn inittiate t te tedd un unde derr th t e Fren ench c Pre resi s de denc ncy. y.

While some of them th have been achieved, others have not.

The Czech Presidency’s slogan “Europe without barriers” reflects a more open Europe without any barriers to the Internal Market, rket, global markets, ma or in its relations with third countries. ountries. Special Spec attention will be also given to secure, re, efficient aand sustainable energy. Identification of persisting barriers to the Internal Market and conceivable solutions so will be presented in an OECD ECD study to be re released at the beginning of the Presidency. ency 2009 is also dedicated to cre creat ativ ivitityy an andd in inno nova vatition on. In lig light ht of of th thee fifive ve yyea earr anniversary of EU10 enlargement, the European Commission will release a study on the impact of the th 2004 enlargement.

PRESIDENCY PRIORITIES … Economy – A Competitive Europe In line with the Lisbon Strategy, the Presidency will focus on the development of all four freedoms of the internal market trying to improve the administrative environment for businesses and to enhance empl em ploy oyme ment nt as as we wellll as as flflex exib ibililitityy on the t he lab labou ourr market. Presidency will further work on world trade liberalisation and fight unfair competition and insufficient protection of IPR. ... Energy and Climate Change Presidency will try to ensure energy security, competitiveness and sustainability in Europe

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focusing on energy supply security, on replacing imported fossil fuels by new technologies and greater terr te rrititor oria iall di dive vers rsitityy of sup suppl plie iers rs. Fu Furt rthe herr, itit wi willll str striv ivee to achieve efficient coordination among transmission system operators. Presidency will focus on Kyoto obligations to pave the way for a broad international consensus to be reached in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 … External relations – Open and Secure Europe Czech Presidency will place an emphasis on close dialogue with the new US administration in the key areas of security, economy and energy. It will launch t e Eaast th ster e n Paarttneersshipp pr p oj ojec ect,t, str t en e gt gtheeningg thee cooperation with the countries of the Eastern Dimension of the ENP and will continue the South Dimension as well. Accession negotiations with Croatia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will continue and possibilities for the countries of the Western Balkans will be examined.

SUPPORT TO BUSINESS CONFIDENCE? C zechh Presid idency cllaiims to focus f on removiingg barriers on the internal market. Business sector always supports such efforts and evaluates the priorities in a very positive way, supporting the point of view of their government. Attention to better business environment without creating new barriers is more than welcome. Although, controversial measures (often hidden behind the green „hysteria“) continue to be proposed. d. It could be partly due to a very diverse point of view ew of different Council formations. for Many issues are linked to business environment, only somee are are discussed discu within tthe Competitivenesss Council. Fo For or better be functio tioning of the internal al market and European Europea ea econom mic development, Europe needs more horizontal than th sector approach, say Czech businesses.

In the light of current economic crisis, Czech businesses fear how effective will the measures undertaken on both, European and national level be.

They already suffer difficulties when accessing to finances. Not to even mention the yet more difficult situation of SMEs. IMPULSE STATEMENT „The financial crisis underlines the need to unlock the potential of small and medium sized enterprises to innovate, grow and to create jobs. That is where renewed confidence will come from“.

Jiří Plecitý, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner Günter Verheugen

„Free movement of goods, capital and persons seems to func fu nctition on qui quite te wel welll in Eur Europ opee already. Despite of that free movement of services is more of a fiction than of a real freedom and part of the internal market and entrepreneurs are very much aware of that. Nonetheless the future of competitive European economy lies in services. Czech Presidency will enhance all initiatives that will enable yet better implementation of the freedoms of internal market and will reduce administrative burden and extensive regulation“.

Martin Říman, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade ... Czech Presidency Website Official website of the Czech EU Presidency www. eu2009.cz was launched on 1st January 2009. Itss trilingual version provides up-to-date information, n, calendar of events, interviews, photo/audio/video archives and a possibility to subscribe to a weekly Presidency Newsletter. ... Czech economic growth slows to 4.2% The Czech economy slowed its annual annu GDP growth to 4.2% in the 3rd quarter rter despite Western W Europe’s fall into recession (+0.9%). .9%). The estimations es for 2009 reflect substantially llyy lo lowe lower werr gr growth (2.5-3.7%). ... Denmark will open for Czech workers in May In May, Denmark will ca cancel all transitional limitations of its labour market arke for Czechs, Slovaks and other new European Unionn m members. The transitional periods remain only in Belgium, Germany and Austria. ... Foreign workers leave the Czech Republic During the last three years, the number of foreigners in th the Cze C chh Rep R ubli blic doubl bledd to reachh four f hundred d d thousand. In November, the economic migration started in the opposite direction, and approximately one thousand foreigners left the Czech Republic.

Most of them were Slovak, Polish and Vietnamese.

Business News brought by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU, www.cebre.cz

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14.1.2009 15:50:22

QUALITY IS A LIFESTYLE AN INSTRUMENT OF BUSINESS SUCCESS AND A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE The revision of the EU quality policy makes one of the pivotal themes of the Czech presidency, along with ith thhe reviisiion off EU EU buddgets, maiinly l th the future form f of direct payments. Another priority rity theme the is the simplification of the future operation on of the CAP a new definition of LFAs. As for the quality uality policy, ensuring quality agricultural and foodd products a long-term perspective both in the EU’s internal market and also in relation to third countries. untries. The reassessm reassessment process for the quality policy hass been bee commenced and, during the Czech presidency, y, tthe expert discussion launched by the Commission o through the release of tthe he ssoo ca calllled ed G Gre reen en PPap aper er w wililll be ssum umma maririse sed. d.

Quality expresses the characteristics of an object; it answers the question “of what kind?” or qualis in Latin. Quality is among the basic categories and is mentioned in this connection as far back as Aristotle and Kant. ntt. Thee term ““quality” has been coined in everydayy life, and andd today ttoda expresses a practical appraisal of excellence, ssuch as “quality” goods or services. Unlike the word “good,” “ the term “quality” evokes an idea of somehow objective evaluation and in itself often en refers refe to high grade.

Whililee th Wh thee te term rm ffoo oodd sa safe fety ty is is cl clea earlrlyy de defifine nedd by legislation, quality ali is a fairly relative term and can be interpreted in various ways depending on the point of view. In the food industry, it may be sensory or nutritional quality, the quality of technological processing, etc. Each customer omer is an individual indi and creates his own definition of quality.

The current concept of food and be beverage production, together with traditional raditional culinary culina procedures, forms one of the he key aspects of cul cultural identity in the individual regions of the EU and their populations. With advancing gl glob globalisation, we encounter incr in crea easi sing ngly ly str stron onge gerr co comp om mpet etititio ionn frfrom om oth other er nat natio ions ns in the production of basic agricultural commoditiess and products with higher added value, characteris terised by lower production input and a lower retail price.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the European quality policy in agriculture, focussed on promoting highh quality products and supporting agricultural development has been playing an increasingly important role in recent years. The key competitive advantage of EU producers is the quality of their production, which is constantly becoming a decisive factor in customer orientation.

Hence, EU producers have an exceptional opportunity to perceive these quality requirements in a positive sense, as a real chance to make them an advantage in supplying exactly what consumers want. Therefore, the EU agricultural policy should provide maximal support to the efforts of EU producers to fulfil the high qualitative demands.

Petr Gandalovič Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic

The quality policy is one of the key priorities that the Czech Republic hopes to address during its upcoming council presidency. CZ PRES has set an obje ob ject ctiv ivee to m mak akee a su subs bsta tant ntia iall sh shififtt in tthe he deb debat atee on revision of the EU quality policy, which will ensure quality agricultural and food products a long-term perspective on the internal EU market and vis-à-vis external markets. The Czech Republic is very active in the field of protected designation; it negotiated communitarian protected designation for several products within the framework of the Accession Agreement, and presently has the most os protected designations of agricultural and food products oducts among mong the new EU Um member states. To this day, ay, the CR has ha definitely re registered a total of 17 agricultural ricultural ind indications and annd de desi sign gnat atio ions ns ooff or orig igin gin in and 11 moree aare re pendinng. CZ PRES hopes to follow up on this wealt wealth of experie rience and focus e.g. on simplifying plifyin the registration tr tion procedure pro and shortening thee lengthy le assessment deadlines. This particularly concerns on the deadlines on the part of the European Commission. High quality arguments to support the application or refute potential objections require a vast volume of specialised, almost scientific work – e.g. for the recently acknowledged registration of the Czech Beer designation, material was collected from archive documents dating all the way back to the 11th Century.

The process of reassessing the EU quality policy has been launched and it will be up to the Czech presidency to summarise the expert discussion opened by the Commission by publishing the Green Paper in August 2008. CZ PRES will organise a ministerial conference on this topic in March 2009, with the participation of Euro Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

At the conference, the Czech presidency will address the policy of food quality, issues regarding the designation of foods and fulfilment of the stipulated rule ru les. s. Ove Overr th thee lo long ng ter term, rm, m, the the Cze CCzech zech ch Rep Repub ublilicc ha hass stood against the potential tential relaxation relaxat of quality standards, such as thee proposal for the chemical treatment of chilledd pou poultry. oultltryy. Fo For Czech producers have been under der constant pressure to fulfil the highest standards, this naturally being lin linked to substantially investments, thee use usefulness of which could thus be threatened. The only on weapon we will have is the quality of our own foods, their good reputation and the trust of European citizens, built up over time.

Health soundness, a designation which will not be misleading for customers, but on the contrary willll ppro wi rovi vide de tthe hem m wi with th m max axim imum um aamo moun untt of ccle lear ar information, and superior hygienic standards in the entire processing process are a matter of course and the indisputable obligation of all producers. Without fulfilling these minimal standards, the product has no place on the Community market.

During revision of the Community quality policy, we certainly do not want further bureaucratisation.

We want comprehensible information for consumers and clear indication of quality. However, the definition of quality itself must be handled cautiously. For a quality product is a product that consumer consider to be of high quality. No other definition is possible, and if we adopt it, it will be binding to a considerable degree. We can define the minimal share of fruit content in juices, milk fat in dairy products and lean muscle in meat products. But quality is a far more subtle phenomenon and this is how the quality policy must be approached.

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EUROPEAN LAW SERVES ITS CITIZENS – NONETHELESS THE WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE IS AN EXCEPTION JUDr. Richard Falbr was President ident of the CCzech-Moravian Trade Unions of the Workers in Services and the vice-president of the Czech and Slovak Confederation of Trade Unions. ns. After the split of the republic he became president of the largest trade unions centre in the Czech Republic. Richard Falbr was also active, holding ding importa important posts in international structures. He was member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, member of the headquarters dquarters of the European Europ Trade Union Confederation and member of the managing board of the ILO. In 1996 he was elected senator of the Senate of the Czech ch Republic Re and in 2004 he was elected Member of the European Parliament. He works in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and he iss ac active in the issues of health and safety measures at the workplace, of working hours and of the reduction of poverty.

Mister Falbr, you worked as a senator elected in the region of Most, now you are an MEP. What difference can you spot between the legislative activities of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and those of the European Parliament?

The biggest difference is the amount of work. While the

Senate works predominantly on the legislative acts, i.e. it discusses the proposed laws coming from the Chamber of Deputies, the legislative work of the European Parliament is just a part of the activities of the EP. That surprised me at first. The EP discusses and sanctions various proposed points of view and resolutions that are

in a sense truly important but they are far from legislative activities.

At present not only the European Parliament discusses the Working Time Directive. What is the role of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs when formulating the directive and what is the attitude to-

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wards this directive as far as all political fractions of the European Parliament are concerned?

I think the Working Time Directive means a step towards the dismantlement of the European social model.

It is impossible for the EP to forgo the ILO Convention No. 1 of 1919 concerning the length of working hours that stated the maximum of 48 hours of work per week, and to propose a directive that enables people to work 65–78 hours in certain weeks. And reportedly voluntarily!

The first proposal of the directive was rejected by the EP. But the Commission presented a new proposal, which was even worse. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs voted with the ratio of 36:16 for the amendments presented by the rapporteur Alejandro Cercas, member of the Spanish Socialist Party, by which the directive was changed significantly. I remind youu that that the first proposal of the directive wass rejected not only o by the left-wing part of the Parliament nt but also bby a large part of the peoples’ parties. Catholics atholics believe believ that man has the right to rest after work and to bring up children.

Ther Th eref efor oree I su supp ppos osee th that att als aalso lsoo the the current entt ve en vers version rsio ionn of tthe he directive will be rejected by the Parliament. arliam Could you tell us more about the effect of this directive on the length of working hours in the Czech Republic?

The effect is null at present. Our working hours are stated by the Labour Code but in practice there exist various working hours, corresponding with the so-called opt-out in Great Britain. And I am not even mentioning the slave work in industrial rial zones in the th Czech Republic.

I mean the inhuman work conditions condition of foreign workers employed through agencies, gencies, whic which appeared recently in the Czech press. The defenders of the proposed directive state that itt is possible ossible to work longer lo hours only on the basis of voluntary olunta decision, with a written consent of the worker. No one believes lieves that there are 3.5 million people in Great Britain working ork voluntarily for longer hours. That is why I insist that at it will mean that we will return to the 19th century or work according to the Chinese model.

Allow me to change the theme and let us discuss the presidency of the Czech Republic of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2009. What do you think of the preparations preceding it and what do you expect from the six months?

In my opinion, we are re well prepared for the presidency from the technical point of view. But as far as the issue whether our politicians aree rea ready is concerned, I am scared. At least half of ourr ministers mi are not able to express themselves in a foreign eig language during the common meetings. We are constantly being harmed by thee theatrical excesses of the head of our state and the relu reluctant approach of our coalition government towards the Lisbon Treaty incites astonishment and loathing in almost all member countries. It is as if we were trying to tell the governments, which have ratified the Lisbon Treaty, that they are blind and dull because they did not see all furtiveness lying in its ratification. And therefore we will stay lost and lone. The president who keeps brandishing over sovereignty promises to sign after the Irish YES. What sovereign act that is? I am therefore certain that our grand plans will lead to nothing because other member countries will not see any reason to discuss it. I mean the EU enlargement, discussions with Eastern countries, invitation of Israel to our table. It seems that we will be glad if we manage to fulfil the administrative part of it.

Your words seem to be rather strong and I hope that the result of our presidency will be more positive.

In your opinion, is there anything that could be viewed as a contribution to the European Union within the framework of Czech priorities? Our businessmen and entrepreneurs are excited over the central motto “Europe without Barriers”.

In view of the fac fact that during our presidency numerous discussions were he held with the representatives of our business sphere, sphere and I do not think they are dumb, I believe that our presidency can bring them something positive. ive As far as the motto “Europe without Barriers” is concerned, e I would like to say that it is really a very nice idea, but in practice it has not got enough support. In view of the defensive measures of the USA and of the failure of the proceedings at the WTO some governments feel that Europe has to defend itself too. As for the elimination of barriers between member countries, I fully agree with that. And I do support all such measures.

The period of our presidency is also the period of the end of your first electoral term in the European Parliament. How would you sum up those five years from the point of view of a member of the first Czech delegation of the Czech Social Democratic Party in the European Parliament?

There are very few opportunities to execute the socalled defence of Czech national interests. The achievements of the 24 Czech Members of the EP cannot be summed up as an achievement of the Czech team.

Therefore I will speak just of the work of my colleague Libor Rouček and mine. Libor Rouček is the first vicepresident of the largest committee of the European Parliament – the Committee on Foreign Affairs – and belongs to the respected MEPs. I work in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and in view of my experience from my work in Trade Unions and my knowledge of labour law, I do not think I am useless there. I have got involved in debates over the regulation of services and I have served repeatedly as a rapporteur on numerous amendments presented to the committee. Together with colleagues from Spain and Great Britain I belong among the more active members of the committee.

What themes should be central for the new members of the European Parliament for the Czech Social Democratic Party?

For four years I have been listening too the motto “USA – Our Model!”, and “let us increase our ur competitive strength stre th and level lev it with the competitive stren strength th of th the USAA and Asian Asia markets”. And suddenlyy we have to fface the financ ncial crisis that spreadss like cancer from the th States all over the world! I hopee that after the collapse of the neo-l o-liberal capitalism, which Friedman’s dma children forced orced us tto believe during thirty years, rs, tthe efforts to slenderize the state administration, reduce du taxes, privatize public services and to dismantle the European social model, by which the European Union differentiates from other economic centres all over the world, will cease.

Thus the task for the new members of parliament from the Czech Social Democratic Party has to be the defence of the position of working people on the unified market of the European Union. At the same time our MEPs should not forget that the EU is not an ideal, it is after all created by people. And therefore they should be among the critics of the surplus production of directives. It is necessary to support not only the restraint of the production of directives, but also to control the implementation of those that have been adopted because it is true that a number of member countries are rather indifferent as for their

implementation. As it came out at the end of the last year, our republic belongs among them, its sovereign president vetoed the Anti-discrimination Law. I wass pleased when I learned that we will be punished if we do not adopt this law in the coming days. We became members of an elite club and therefore we must obey the rules which we had accepted before our admission. The Czech Social Democratic Party voters are unfortunately very lax supporters of our membership in the EU and thus it is necessary to explain to them the benefits of our membership. This will be the aim of our election campaign after which I hope we will not end up like the last time.

The benefits of the European Union are undeniable but as you say, it is necessary to keep explaining them to our citizens. Could you tell us how can the socialdemocratic delegation in the European Parliament help the amelioration of the life of Czech entrepreneurs?

It should mainly support a unified approach to all entrepreneurs, no matter if they come from a new member coun co untrtryy or an an ol oldd on onee. Her Heree, in in co cont ntra rast st to to th thee so soci cial al sphere, which is jealously guarded by member countries referring to the principle of subsidiarity, the European Union is absolutely free in its decisions. We support every initiative of our employers’ unions in the Parliament.

Let us return to the directives, are really all of them useful?

Of course they are. We have to know how important portant the directives are: there are those dealing with the defence of consumers, including the system of warning against dangerous products, imagine the progress in the reduction of the payments for the so-called “roaming”, the efforts of the EU to ensure that all its citizens drink clear water, environmental issues, the foundation of the European Globalization Fund that has to solve the consequences of crashes or delocalisation and a therefore the resulting problems for cities where th the companies used to be.

That is true, of course. But do you think it is necessary to approach all such issues by directives obligatory for 27 countries? Isn’t it sometimes more effective to approach the same issue on the national or even regional level?

It iis th the Lisbon b TTreaty t y thatt wililll increase tthhe auth thoritit y of national parliaments and will enable them to say NO to some intentions of the Commission; it has to be viewed as a benefit from this point of view. That is why I do not understand the campaign against it. The principle of subsidiarity is the answer to the third sentence of your question. If a member country refers to the principle of subsidiarity, the EU cannot affect it in any way.

Thank you very much for the interview. My last question: are you going to stand for election to the European Parliament?

Yes, in the second electoral term I can draw on the experience I have gathered during the first five years and I can help new members of our delegation. I believe that we will win the elections and we will contribute to the highest standards of the activities of the European Parliament.

By Michal Kadera I CEBRE – Czech Business Representation

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EU in Recession, Banks Are Cutting Interest Rates The economies in the eurozone one are in recession r and their GDP witnessed a real downturn in the 3rd quarter. This was confirmed firmed by the Eurostat report. r Other non-euro countries in both the western and eastern parts of the EU are also facing a financial and economic crisis. So farr however, there is no common solution to deal with the problem. Last Tuesday, the EU’s finance ministers half-heartedly gave their support to the European Commission’s plan for the revitalization of the economy while stripping out references to a 200 billion billio euro figure, an amount needed according ccording to Brussels Bru to this purpose. They also refused efused to fo follow the example of Great Britain and to cut taxes taxes. The only decision they reached was as to increase the capital ca of the European Investment ent Bank from 65 to 230 billion euros.

Thee ba Th bank nk pro provi vide dees fifina nanc ncin ingg fo forr EU pro proje ject ctss an andd it should also givee financial fi support the implementation of the Commission’s plan. On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its interest rates by 0.75%. The Bank of England and the Swedish Central Bank took a similar step. Thee objective obje of these th cuts is to revive interbank lending ng and granting grantii credit in the EU, which are essential for any eco economic upturn.

However, even the recent ecent measures taken by the banks will likely be unable to reverse the current economic downturn, as the he head he of the ECB, JeanC au Cl aude de Trich c et et,, haas indi d ca cate ated ted. d “Booth t glooba bal de demaandd and euro area demand are re likely to be dampened for a protracted period of time,” Trichet stated.

COMMENT: A New Attempt on the Part of the Banks The ECB has already once reached for a harmonized reduction in rates - more than a month ago, when also the US Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world participated in this effort, which did not produce any measurable changes. The most recent actions will likely have the same effect unless

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it is followed by other measures taken by the EU and its member states – however, even then any hope for a speedy economic recovery will likely be slim.

The Czech President Clashes with the EU Parliament, Leaves the ODS Last Friday’s meeting between the Czech President Václav Klaus and the leadership of the European Parliament ended in an open brawl. The office of the Czech President blamed the “provocative questions” asked by the Green Party member Daniel Cohn-Bendit for the clash. The President’s office also released a record of the interview. One of the members of the European Parliament’s delegation attending the meeting, Irena Belohorská, however claims that this transcript of the interview was doctored and that it does not accurately portray the atmosphere at the meeting. “It’s almost an accurate transcript but not entirely. Not everything that took plac pl acee is the there re and and the the par partt wh wher eree (t(the he Pre Presi side dent nt)) crossed the line is missing,” she stated. Belohorská was also critical of Klaus’ attitude and said that “he is perhaps not used to being tolerant of other people’s opinions because he has been in the office of president for too long”. On Saturday, Klaus announced that he was leaving the ODS political party of which he was the honorary chairman. He explained his decision by saying that he no longer er identified himself with the position of the party on a whole rangee of issues. ra sue One of such issues iss the Lisbo Lisbon Treaty, eaaty ty, wh which ch Kl Klau auss is veh vehem emen entltlyy op oppo pposed p to, wh whililee the leade dership of the ODS has come around to t the posit sition that the document needs to be ap approved. oved. The Economist magazine has as written w that Klaus has already “done a great deal Kl ea of harm” to the Czech Presidency of the EU and it has accused him of “outspoken rudeness”, which damages the tradition of European liberalism.

COMMENT: Bad Signs As demonstrated duringg last Fridayy’s meetingg at Prague Castle, President Klaus has become the target of criticism due to his attitude towards the EU. Klaus was unable (and perhaps unwilling) to respond

to this criticism without creating a scandal. His Saturday’s leaving of the ODS, a political party which he was one of the founders of years ago, will likely only lead to more worries among the partners of the Czech Republic that with this latest move, Klaus has basically untied his hands so that he can take on an even more extreme position with respect to the EU. These are bad signs hanging over the upcoming Czec Cz echh EU Pre Presi side denc ncyy, for for whi which ch the the cou count ntry ry’ss pre presi sident is becoming an increasingly bigger problem.

The Commission Proposes an Eastern Partnership The European Commission presented its proposal for the so-called Eastern Partnership, which is designed to further extend the EU ties to six Eastern European countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldavia and the Ukraine. Although none of these countries has been offered EU membership sh ip, th thee Un Unio ionn ha hass pr prop opos posed osed ed additio aadd ddititio iona nall fifina nanc ncia iall assistance for these countries untries (a 600 million euro aid package by 2013, 3, instead oof the original 250 million), along with th hhopee for the t establishment of a free trade zone, one, a more relaxed visa policy and the signing of association agreements. agreement In exchange for this assistance, the six countries involved, including Belarus, will ill however have to start implementing European standards on the protection of human rights and they will have to cooperate with the international institutions acting as watchdogs do gs iinn th this is aare rea. a. TThe he EEU U al also so w wan ants ts ttoo fu furt rthe herr ex exte tend nd partnerships with these countries in the energy area and to financially participate in the upgrading of gas pipelines, particularly in the Ukraine.

COMMENT: A Job for the Czech Presidency Although the Commission’s proposal still has to be approved by all members of the EU, it is likely to receive a green light at this week’s summit of the European Council. This means that when the Czechs take over the steeringg wheel of the EU on Januaryy 1st, it will be up to them to determine how quickly the ideas put forward by the Commission are to become a reality.

www.europlatform.cz europlatform@europlatform.cz

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EUROPE WITHOUT BARRIERS The Czech Republic will be leading the EU in difficult times from January to June 2009. Following the upcoming European Parliament elections, the Czech Presidency will start the process of appointing a new European Commission. The institutional framework of the Union, particularly the destiny of the Lisbon Treaty, will be another important issue.

The recent dramatic events in Georgia, turbulent financial markets and economic slowdown will also impact the Czech Presidency of the Council.

In symbolic terms, the Czech Presidency will be held 5 years after the largest enlargement in the EU history, 20 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, 30 years after the first European Parliament elections and 60 years after the foundation of NATO. The overarching motto – Europe without Barriers – can be understood in many ways. The main meaning is Europe removing barriers to a single market, unleashing the potential of an economy of half a billion consumers, of free movement of services, labour, goods, of information and knowledge.

The Czech Presidency priorities nicely group under three headings, the three E’s: Economy, External Relations and Energy.

ECONOMY The European Union nion has h assumed assum a leadership in the global debate on how to tackle the financial meltdown. Together ether with the United States and other G20 countries tries the European Un Union has acted quickly and firmly to identify ntify the causes. causes The remedy requiress re re refo form rmss of the thee wor orld or ld fin f inan anci cial al aarc rchi hite tect ctur uree.

It will be up too th the Czech Presidency to chair a debate within the EU on what measures to take to restore confidence on financial markets and mitigate the economic slowdown. Coordination among the 27 member states is essential al to shift from sh short-term measures to long-term strategies egies designed to prevent a recurrence of the global credit redit crunch in the future.

The Czech Republic subscribes to the principles agreed on during the Washington summit summ of G20 on November 15. These include ude mainly a thorough th supervision of rating agencies ies aand creating new rules off conduct which shouldd pprevent an excessive risk taking on financial markets. Even though the economic outlook is bleak, the Czech Republic preferss to avoid unnecessary protectionism and excessivee reguregu lation that might stifle competition and increase the administrative burden to businesses and citizens.

The Czech Presidency will exert major efforts to finalize the draft directives on banks (the so-called CRD) and insurance companies (Solvency II). Councils of ministers under the Czech leadership should also address the economic implications of ageing populations, related longg term impacts on state budggets and changes to the structure of public expenditure across the EU. The Czech Republic has put an emphasis on the economic pillar of the Lisbon strategy to restore the economic growth and create new jobs. The current economic situation highlights the necessity to undertake structural reforms, strive for truly functioning

single market an and for example to facilitate innovat vation. va ENERGY Thee seco second E stands for energy; a secure, sustainable and competitive energy sector is a challenge for the me member states.

The French Presidency has achieved a major success in this area. The French secured a consensus of the heads of states on the Climate and Energy gy package at the December European Council. This united response constitutes an important tool for negotiations with developing countries before the Copenhagen summit in December 2009.

The Czech approach towards achieving energy security consists of three steps. Firstly, there is a need for a forward-looking energy supply and demand analysis across the EU. Such analysis, anticipated already in the 2007–2009 Spring European Council Action Plan, would allow for a strategic reflection for polilicy-makers k andd priivate investors. Secondl S dly, thhere is the issue of construction, interconnection and improvement of energy networks. The Czech Presidency will help determine a lack of capacity and missing interconnections which can be remedied as necessary. Thirdly, the diversification of supply routes and energy sources is paramount. The Czech Presidency will continue in a dialogue with existing trade partners and future new suppliers. The Czechs plan to conduct a summit on the southern gas corridor with Azerbaijan and Turkey, for example.

In llegiisllatitive tterms, th the C zechh Presid idency wililll sttrive i for the conclusion in the second reading of the energy internal market package, which would include – among others – a solution for cross-border regulations, incentives for energy infrastructure development and future investments.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS The Czech Republic considers the enlargement to be one of the most successful policies of the EU which hich has brought about economic stability and develop developopment, democr democracy and the rule of law in Europe. In oro der to highl h hlig light ht tthe he EEU U en enla larg rgem emen entt an aandd to markk tth thee fifth anni niversary of the most prominent enlargement in the hist story of the EU, the Czech Presidency idency will hold an international internati conference “5 Years After” After in Prague on 2 March 2009.

Under the Czech Presidency, we hope to achieve a significant progress in the accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia. The accession talks with Croatia will be entering the final stage next year provided that Croatia achieves the required reforms.

The Czech Republic will also focus on other countries of the Western Balkans. In this context, one of the priorities is Visa facilitation for the citizens of the Western Balkan countries.

Understandably, the Czech Presidency will strive to develop an Eastern Dimension, or an Eastern Partnership, as a way of reaching out to the countries which are still wavering between democracy and autocratic regimes. The ambition is to conclude the

Milena Vicenová

Photo: Mr. Matula

Eastern Partnership project within next six months.

Countries such as Ukraine are in a buffer zone and they need to be offered a choice. They should be given an opportunity to establish closer relations with the EU. Another keyy foreiggn affairs issue duringg the Czech Presidency will be the transatlantic nsatlantic relations. relat Setting an agenda for the transatlantic atlantic part partnership should not be an isolated EU activity, c titvityy, but buut a joint EU and US exercise. The Czech ch Republic hass offered o to host an informal meeting ting between the EU-27 and the new American President in sprin spring 2009 on the occasion of President Obama’s first firs visit to Europe, where the agenda of the transatlantic sa relationship can be discussed.

The current progress in bilateral negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and South Kore Ko reaa gi give vess bo both th ppar artn tner erss a ta tang ngib ible le ppro rosp spec ectt of concluding early. The summit EU–South Korea, which will take place during the Czech Presidency, represents therefore an opportunity to launch a new era in the EU–South Korean relations. In Prague, there will be a ministerial meeting held between the EU and the Rio Group on 13th May 2009 with over 50 government representatives attending. More meetings are planned with ministers from Chile, Mexico, the Andean Community, Central America and MERCOSUR. In total the Czech Republic’s Presidency will organize 2 200 of meetings on all levels.

The list of tasks which the Czech Republic has put forward is much longer. Our ambition is to become an efficient facilitator among the European nations.

Milena Vicenová I Ambassador to the EU

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THE “NEW MARKET”

BRINGS OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE BANKING – ESSENTIAL FACTOR “TRUST” The market has gone through a “tsunami” that we never have experienced and we don’ do n t kn know ow if if it is is ov over er.. It is is na natu tura rall th that at you ask yourself: Can we trust the financial system with its pro-tective ve regu regulations? tion ti How safe is my bank? Are my investments investm managed at the right place/institute? /institute In the existing difficult ficult situation the client’s c regular contact with the bank is growing in importance as well as the banks ba ability to give confidence. We have to follow o the appearing economic changes and reassure the client what impact the new circumstance has and the action that has to be taken. Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S.A. can as a competent and well established is ed international interna private bank meet thesee de demands ands from the client.

The volatile markets rkets do bbring a lot of opportunities for the he investor and an the financial institute that at can manag manage the situation. sit

GLOBAL UNCERTAINT Y AND CHANGES The situation is characterised of a missing trust among the investors and a lot of uncertainty regarding the financial ncial markets future development. The downturn nturn started starte already a year ago and was seenn by a lot of investors as a short isolatedd change. Instead Inste we have seen a rapid developin eveloping global fina financial and economic crisis, a crisis sis w with deep impact on inve in vest stor orss an andd th thee fu futu ture re sit situa uatition on of of th thee fifina nanncial market. The impact a of the financial crisis can now also be seen in the non-financial cial market. The private fortunes in the world ld will undoubtedly be affected by this downturn.

The economic development will slow down and the private wealth will at least for some time be less. In mid and long term perspective we do have a more optimistic view. Today there are new “drivers” that have been nonexisting under the former down turns. The new economies in the world want to take part in the consumption that we in Europe and US since long got used to. A lot of the countries in these new economies still have and will probably have a strong growth in GDP. The demand

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will open up for new trade consisting of both products and services, developing new trade patt pa tter erns ns iinn th thee wo worl rld. d. IInf nfra rast stru ruct ctur uree pr proj ojec ects ts world wide will be another “driver” in the future. With a great proba-bility we will see a change in pricing of products and services globally and a larger migration between countries. These changes will bring new opportunities.

The capital flow to the new economies, as the BRIC countries, is building up new high net worth individuals but also a new large middle class that want to consume and get richer. Europe and US will still for a certain time remain with the largest amount of high net worth individuals belonging to families who have build their fortunes since generations.

ASPECTS FOR THE INVESTMENT STRATEGY Looking beyond the edge the emergency aid will not solve all problems for the financial system. The economic driving forces in almost all industrial states are somewhat paralysed and even the emerging markets that have recently demonstrated extraordinary growth are slowing down. This is not necessarily negative.

In a normal cycle it is remedied by falling interest rates, recovering investments me and the resultant rise in employment. nt. But ar aree we in a normal nor cycle? In the fragility gility of the th financial anc n l sy syst s stem em, th ther eree is a fea fear arr th that moneta t ar aryy impetuus must first be used ed to relieve banks banks’ balancee sheets and will not fully reach the real economy bbecause of cautious lending. end On the other hand the crisis has not hitit all financial institutions with the same force. Banks with stable capital bases, mainly from Europe and even Japan, will try to use their positions of relative strength to increase their market share. We are optimistic that even the latest massive upthrows will not lead to a long term credit crunch.

In this perspective the chances of a global economic recovery in the coming year do not look bad. Monetary policy remains or is to become accommodating and lower com-

Director, Dresdner Bank Luxembourg

modity prices will help the consumer. However stabilisation in the US real estate market is esse es sent ntia iall fo forr a de defifini nititive ve return ret retur urnn to gro growt wthh an andd this does not look likely kely in the fforeseeable future. Therefore we remainn in a bumpy road determined more than oth otherwise thee would be normal on political decisions. Anyhow, the current defensive positioning ositio of large institutional investors is op opening up considerable potential, as long th the real economy and capital markets are able to recover the essential factor: TRUST.

By Jörgen Hoolmé I Director, Dresdner Bank Luxembourg S.A, International

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Facade of the Bohemian National Hall during the grand opening with musicians and dancers performing from the windows

international event

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

GRAND OPENING of the Bohemian National Hall in New York more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Jan Hamáček, Member of the Parliament of CR, Head of the Lower House Foreign Committee and H.E. Petr Kolář, Czech Ambassador to the United States

Joseph Balaz, President of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, Mrs. Susan Lucak, President of Dvorak Heritage Association, Mrs. Ája Vrzáňová, Member of BBLA and Mrs. Norma Zabka, President of Sokol NY

Interior of the Bohemian National Hall

Patrik Eliáš, Hockey Player, New Jersey Devils NHL with wife

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From left: Jan Švejnar and Jiří Čunek on the roof of the Bohemian National Hall

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celebration event

A special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd. for making this reportage possible

Speech of the International Lions President Mr. Albert F. Brandel during the ceremony in the Town Hall

Celebration th of the 60 Anniversary of European Lionism

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From left: Joseph Drebitko, CEO of ACTIV a.s., Mrs. Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd., Hubert Robert, President of Lions Club Paris, Mrs. Iva Drebitko, Lions Club Prague Eagle and President, TRIGA and George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd.

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From left: Joseph Drebitko, CEO of ACTIV a.s. and Mrs. Iva Drebitko, Lions Club Prague Eagle and standing Yves Delacretaz, Lions Club of Lyon

Mr. Hubert Robert, President of Lions Club Paris Doyen de France

On the right: Mrs. Nicole Fontaine, EU Deputy, former Minister of Industry and former President of the EU Parliament International Lions Club Charter

Paris Town Hall

Paris Eiffel Tower view from Victor Hugo Palace

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY In 1948 the International Lions Clubs Association, created in 1917 in Chicago, USA, came to Europe. The first three European Lions Clubs were founded in Geneva, Paris and Stockholm. On 21st November, 2008, in Paris, they celebrated together with about 400 other members from various European Lions Clubs their 60th anniversary of the foundation. All guests were received in the prestigious Grand Salon of Paris Town Hall, heard welcome messages from Mr. JoseManuel BARROSO, President of the EU Parliament, Mr. Bertrand DELANOE, Mayor of Paris, and were received by the International Lions President Albert BRANDEL, heard a welcome message from Mrs. Nicole FONTAINE, Deputy of EU Parliament, former Minister of Industry and former EU Parliament President. The opening ceremony in the Town Hall was followed by a sumptuous gala dinner on the premises of the Marriott Rive Gauche hotel Ball Room.

4 members represented Czech Republic Lionism: Mr. and Mrs Joseph DREBITKO and Mr. and Mrs. George PAROBEK, all from Prague Lions Club Eagle.

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Prague Lions Representatives From left: Mrs. Šárka Parobek and Mrs. Iva Drebitko with a Czech flag

From left: Mrs. Šárka Parobek, Hubert Robert, President of Lions Club Paris and George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd.

Lions celebration flags

Dr. Jean Behar, International Lions President and Mrs. Nicole Fontaine, EU Deputy, former President of the EU Parliament

Tenor Patrick Garayat

Hubert Robert, President of Lions Club Paris, Mrs. Casalonga, wife of the President & Founder of Paris Lionism

From left: Mrs. Anne Marie Queitsch, wife of GM Marriott Hotel Paris, Mrs. Annika Casalonga, wife of Member of Doyen de France, Iva Drebitko, Lions Club Prague Eagle and President, TRIGA, Rupprecht Queitsch, General Manager, Marriott Hotel Paris, Mrs. Casalonga, wife of Alain Casalonga, Founder of the Lionism in Paris, her son Arnaud Casalonga, Member of Doyen de France, Joseph Drebitko, Lions Club Prague Eagle, Mrs. Šárka Parobek, Lions Club Prague Eagle

114 General meeting Paris Town Hall, main ball room

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From left: Rupprecht Queitsch, General Manager, Marriott Hotel Paris Rive Gauche, with wife Anne Marie and Mrs. Iva Drebitko, Lions Club Prague Eagle and President, TRIGA

14.1.2009 17:29:58

AFoCR Hosts Star Spangled Gala in Houston

Awards Presented to Pioneering Astronauts Lovell and Cernan

AFoCR’s gala dinner, held in Houston, Texas on November 12th, was a significant success, graced with a star-studded group of speakers and honorees. Nearly 300 people attended from across the country and the Czech Republic. The main goal of the gala was to kick off the effort to raise the funds to rebuild the Woodrow Wilson Monument at Prague’s main train station, and substantial funds were raised. Mayor Bill White of Houston, the seventh largest city in the U.S. that was hit hard by two recent devastating storms, Katrina and Ike, welcomed the distinguished audience. Former President George H.W. Bush praised the Mayor as “truly a man for all seasons.” President Bush called for a redoubling of Czech and American efforts “to strengthen our alliance and promote the common values that we share.” He then presented AFoCR’s Civil Society Vision Awards to two patriots of Czech and Slovak heritage who more than 40 years ago “pushed back the horizon of discovery” as American astronauts. In an emotional acceptance, Capt. Eugene Cernan (USN, Ret.) said that he had become what he had because of “what my great grandparents and grandparents believed they could be. I am the result of the dream that they had.” He gave credit as well to “the American spirit and the American commitment, and the American belief in doing what most people thought was impossible, ...so that today I can call the moon my home.” He told of taking his 16-year old granddaughter to Prague last June where she met people who had been the same age during the Velvet Revolution. “They explained to her what the significance and the importance of freedom is all about.” Capt. James Lovell (USN, Ret.) recounted two incidents from 1968.

Then he could not go to Czechoslovakia because of the Soviet invasion, but when he visited his relatives after the fall of the Berlin wall, they “were finally free.” He also recalled his space flight around the moon that same year, and as he gazed at Earth from space, “I could put the Earth behind my thumb, and everything I had ever known, loved ones, my country, the world, was behind my thumb.” He concluded that we as a nation now are striving “to make a strong, universal group and not just separate countries.”

ic version and electr on mor e photos w.leadersmagazine.cz ww available on

t n e v e l a n o i t a n r inte

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Former President Bush Sr. and Mrs. Bush greet the attendees Astronaut Capt. Gene Cernan (ret.) and H.E. Bill Cabaniss, former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Astronaut Capt. Jim Lovell (ret.) and President Bush Sr.

H. E. Petr Kolář, Czech Ambassador to the United States, Mrs. Kolář and former President Bush Sr.

Neil Bush, son of President Bush and Mrs. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State

Capt. Gene Cernan (ret.) receiving the Civil Society Vision Award from former President Bush Sr. with AFoCR Chairman Fred Malek looking on

From left: Bill White, Mayor of the City of Houston and Tom Dine, President of AFoCR

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a previous recipient of the Civil Society Vision Award, offered a toast to the memories and legacies of Woodrow Wilson and Tomáš Masaryk as well as to the enduring friendship between the peoples of the Czech Republic and the United States. Picking up on James Lovell’s theme of universality, she noted that Masaryk had “wanted more than an independent Czechoslovakia. He wanted to build a nation that, like the U.S., would inspire people everywhere who believed in justice and loved freedom. Tonight these leaders have proven that the sons and daughters of George Washington could make common cause with the descendents of Jan Hus.” She concluded, “Our collective job in the years to come will be to support democracy in order to make the world safe.” The Co-Host of 116evening with President Bush, Czech President Vaclav Klaus, sent a video message for the occasion. He described the effort to raise funds and reestablish the Wilson the Monument in its rightful spot in Prague after its destruction by the Nazis in 1941 “a meaningful cause.” He said, “I support this project which will further extend the strong historic bonds which exist between our two nations and countries.” Czech Ambassador to the United States H.E. Petr Kolář gave a rousing talk on the extraordinary closeness and strength of the Prague-Washington relationship and between the two peoples as represented by the evening’s audience and the work of AFoCR.

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Tom Dine, President of AFoCR with wife

Astronaut Capt. Gene Cernan (ret.) and Miss Czech USA

From left: Joseph Balaz, President of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), former Owner of the Bohemian National Hall in NY and H.E. Petr Kolรกล , Czech Ambassador to the United States with wife

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Former President Bush sr. delivering remarks

Astronaut Capt. Jim Lovell (ret.), Mrs. Cernan, Neil Bush (son of President Bush), Mrs. Bush and Astronaut Capt. Gene Cernan (ret.)

14.1.2009 18:05:00

culture event

From left: Ondřej Černý, Director of National Theatre, Václav Havel, Playwriter, former President of the Czech Republic, and Ivo Mathé, Rector of AMU (Academy of Performing Arts in Prague)

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

On 18th–20th November, 2008, the National Theatre celebrated the 125th anniversary of its opening in 1883.

National Theatre Celebrated!

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From left: Student of the Prague Conservatory of Jan Deyl for Visual Disabled and Countess Mathilda Nostitzová

14.1.2009 17:41:23

From left: Countess Mathilda Nostitzová and Mrs. P. Straková, Conservator, National Theatre

JUDr. Dominika KolowratKrakovská

The celebrations took three days and like 125 years ago, also public was invited to participate in them. During the celebrations the reconstructed statue of the “triga” was unveiled and a new so-called haptic path for the visually impaired visitors was opened, so they are now able to enjoy the historical excursion through the National Theatre. The patroness of the path is Countess Mathilda Nostitzová. During the gala reception the symbolic 1 Crown for the rent was presented to Mrs. Dominika Kolowrat-Krakovská for her generous loan of the Kolowratský Palace for the needs of the National Theatre.

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From left: Václav Jehlička, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic and Ondřej Černý, Director of National Theatre

Countess Mathilda Nostitzová and Josef Stiborský, President of SONS (Czech Blind United)

From left: Václav Jehlička, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic and Ondřej Černý, Director of National Theatre

14.1.2009 17:41:47

culture event

From left: Ondřej Černý, Director of National Theatre, Mrs. Hadar Galron, Author of the Play „Mikveh“, and H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

On 4th December, 2008, the Estates Theatre witnessed the Czech premiere of the play MIKVE by a contemporary Israeli dramatist Hadar Galron, directed by Michal Dočekal, in which the space of the ritual bath becomes the place of conflicts between various approaches to faith and life. The performance was held under the auspices of H.E. Yaakov Levy, the Ambassador of Israel.

Czech Premiere

From left: Bohdan Holomíček, Photographer, Olga Sommerová, Director, Doc. Mgr. Jan Hančil, Dean, DAMU

From the performance: Petra Špalková and Iva Janžurová

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From the performance: Jana Boušková and Magdaléna Borová

RNDr. Martin Grigar, Chairman of the Board, AutoCont CZ a.s. with wife

14.1.2009 17:42:13

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

culture event

December of the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK

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Concert of the cycle Touching Music, Ilja Šmíd, Director FOK, Prague

16.1.2009 10:42:29

Management of FOK after the concert of Hannu Lintu, from right: Mrs. Linda Hrůzová, Orchestra Manager, Mrs. Pavla Klenorová, Director Assistant, Petr Daněk, Programme Director, Mrs. Iva Daňková, Jaroslav Šefrna, Manager of the Concert Department, Church of St. Simon and St. Jude and Mrs. Eliška Froschová Stehlíková, PR and Marketing Manager

Jiří Kout, Chief Conductor, FOK and Mrs. Arabella at the rehearsal

Jiří Kout, Chief Conductor, FOK and Petr Daněk, Programme Director, FOK

Hannu Lintu On 3rd December, the Finnish international star, the highly acclaimed conductor Hannu Lintu stood for the first time in front of Czech audience.

Together with the Prague Symphony Orchestra he conducted Honegger’s Liturgical Symphony and Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony.

Concert of the cycle Touching Music, Svatopluk Čech jr., Drummer

Hannu Lintu, Conductor at the rehearsal

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Concert of the cycle Touching Music, Mrs. Markéta Mátlová, Soprano

Concert of the cycle Touching Music, Mrs. Alena Hellerová, Soprano and Josef Zedník, Tenor

Arabella Steinbacher On 10th and 11th December the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK welcomed an outstanding soloist, a young and successful German violinist Arabella Steinbacher. Arabella is 27 years young and has played with a number of excellent orchestras.

She cooperated on the programme of her Prague concert with the chief conductor of the FOK, Jiří Kout, and she chose Prokofiev’s Concert for Violin and Orchestra. Besides this piece, also Haydn’s Symphony No. 82, “The Bear”, and the popular Italian Symphony

by Felix MendelssohnBartholdy were performed.

Mrs. Arabella Steinbacher at the concert

Concerts for children and their parents The Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK has been educating young audiences in music for a long time. On 6th December, 2008, it presented the second concert of the cycle Touching Music with the sub-title Why is the lady shrieking so much?, during which children got acquainted playfully with the most famous opera arias

by W. A. Mozart, B. Smetana and A. Dvořák. During these concerts in the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House, where the orchestra is literally encircled by children, and during the interval they can play various musical instruments and talk to the members of the orchestra.

321 Concert of the cycle Touching Music, Ilja Šmíd, Director FOK, Prague

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Photos: Dagmar Kneřová

14.1.2009 17:43:42

diplomatic/charity event

Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic and Mrs. Taghizadeh, wife of the Ambassador of Azerbaijan

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

On Sunday, November 30, Hilton Prague hosted already for the 8th time the traditional International Christmas Bazaar organized by the Diplomatic Spouses’ Association.

The Hilton Prague Congress Hall changed into a bazaar place with stands of 48 embassies and 3 international and 8 charity organizations, which were offering traditional products of their countries.

International Christmas Bazaar at the Hilton Prague

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From left: H.E. Ms. N. Dube, Ambassador of South Africa and Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic

14.1.2009 16:51:55

From left: H.E. Jose Luis Bernal, Ambassador of Mexico with wife and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

H.E. Nadra Sayaf, Ambassador of Syria, in the middle of the stand of Syria

H.E. Seong-Yong Cho, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea with wife and volunteers of the stand of Korea

H.E. Huo Yuzhen, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in the middle with enthusiastic volunteers behind the stand of China

From left: H.E. Carmelita Rodrigues Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines, H.E. Alexey Fedotov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation and H.E. Mrs. Eve-Kulli Kala, former Ambassador of Estonia to the Czech Republic

Over 10.000 tickets were sold at CZK 50 a piece, which were redeemable in the afternoon lottery with more than 90 prizes of a total value of over 1 million CZK. The festive ribbon cutting was traditionally done by the first lady Mrs. Livia Klausová who visited all the stands while doing her shopping. All proceeds from the sale of tickets, gifts and cash donations will benefit Czech charity organizations.Diplomatic Spouses Association of Prague was founded in 1997 and it is a non-profit organization with more then 60 members. It organizes cultural and social events and supports various charity organizations and projects in the Czech Republic.

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From left: Mrs. Daiga Bondare, Bazaar Coordinator and wife of the Counselor of the Embassy of Latvia, Mrs. Alexandria Graber, wife of the Ambassador of the USA, Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town and Mrs. Polyxeni Vlachopoulou-Antoniadis, President of DSA (Diplomatic Spouses Association) and wife of the Ambassador of Cyprus

14.1.2009 16:52:29

culture event

From right: Milan Ganik, Managing Director, Central Park Praha, s.r.o. and Miro Smolák, Director, MIRO Gallery Prague

MIRO Gallery Prague

Exhibition: Frank Stella (*1936) „Sculptures“ K . 177,, 200 K. 0 06 st ai st ainl n es nl e s st s ee e l an a d caast alu lumi miinuum 388.11 x 61 x 3333 cm pric pr ice: ic e: 220 220 20.0 .000 .0 0 ,–– USD 00 S (++1199 % VVAT (+19 AT,, re AT resp esp sp. p. 7 % VA V T))

From right: PhDr. PhMr. Štefan Medzihorský, Podnikatelský Institut PYRAMIDA, s.r.o. and Dr. Jozef Gáfrik, Journalist, Hospodářské noviny, Bratislava

From right: Albert Oesterreicher, Orion capital Management, Mrs. Irena Oesterreicher, Wellness Lifestyle and Ing. Helena Leisztner, Artist, Design-Living Art

Leoš Svárovský, Conductor, with wife Martina

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From left: Konstantin Kinol, Petroart Trade, s.r.o., Mrs. Jelena Kinol, General Director, Petroart Trade, s.r.o. and Gagik Manoukian, Artist, Painter

14.1.2009 16:47:00

From left: Miroslav Pošvic, Artist – Painter, MUDr. Tomáš Rektor, Psychiatrist, Leoš Svárovský, Conductor, with son Jakub and wife Martina, Varhan Orchestrovič Bauer, Composer and Conductor and Mrs. Barbara Trachtulcová, Psychologist

culture event

Exhibition: André Masson (1896-1987) „Terre Erotique“ - Graphic Cycle

From left: Ivan Licharski, Chairman of the Czech-Turkish Committee, Jozef Jarabinský, Football Coach and Josef Nálepa, Sculptor

From right: Stanislav Vaněk, Director, Czech TV and Miro Smolák, Director, MIRO Gallery Prague

H.E. Ochir Enkhtur, Ambassador of Mongolia in Prague

From left: Valery Nikolaevich Shchetinin, General Consulate of the Russian Federation, Karlovy Vary, with wife and Miro Smolák, Director, MIRO Gallery Prague

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From right: MUDr. Martin Papáč, Military Hospital Prague Střešovice, Miro Smolák, Director, MIRO Gallery Prague and Miss Papáč

14.1.2009 16:47:38

Dominik Mareš (*1972) ● Jakub Špaňhel (*1976) ● Aleš Lamr (*1943) ● Joska Skalník (*1948) ● Radomír Leszczynski (*1945) ● Miroslav Pošvic (*1959) ● Čestmír Suška (*1952) ● Boris Jirků (*1955) ● Jakub Stretti (*1967) ● Karel Vysušil (*1926) ● Josef Wagner (*1938) ● Václav Jíra (*1939) ● Emanuel Ranný (*1943) ● František Hodonský (*1945) ● Ivan Ouhel (*1945) ● Pavel Šmíd (*1964) ● Josef Bolf (*1971) ● Martin Šárovec (*1977) ● Jiří Georg Dokoupil (*1954) ● Jiří Kornatovský (*1952) ● Jaroslav Róna (*1957) ● Jiří Anderle (*1936) ● Karel Balcar (*1966) ● Maria Varvodičová (*1974) ● Zuzana Ryšánková (*1975) ● Michael Rittstein (*1949) ● Václav Benedikt (*1952) ● Vanesa Hardi (*1971)

culture event

Exhibition

From right: H.E. Bedřich Kopecký, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Kazakhstan, Ph.D., Natalia Grishagina, General Director, Public Relations & Consulting, Central Asia, Bekezhan B. Tokkozhaev, General Director, “DAUIL”, Ltd., Member of the Political Board and Advisor of President Nazarbajev and Miro Smolák, Director of the MIRO Gallery and Organiser of the Exhibition

CZECH CONTEMPORARY ART – PARALLEL LINES II The Kazakh National Academy of Music, Astana, Kazakhstan more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: H.E. Bedřich Kopecký, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Kazakhstan and Uzakbai R. Aytzhanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Atameken Holding with the lithography by the Czech Artist Karel Vysušil

From left: H.E. Dušan Podhorský, Ambassador of Slovakia to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with guests Mrs. Dinara Kashaganova, Film Actress with the painting by the Czech Painter Zuzana Ryšánková

From left: Alexander Kurbanov, Director of Representative in Kazakhstan, KZET, a.s. Travel Agency, Jan Žižka, Managing Director KZ EURUS TRAVEL s.r.o., Prague, Jiří Pavlica, Violin Player and Chief of the Music Group “Hradišťan”, Mrs. Larisa I. Romanovskaja, Opera Singer and Director of the Music school “ Elim aú” in Almata and Mrs. Ivanna Kharlamova, Manager of Tourism, KZET, a.s. Travel Agency

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From left: František Mach, Counsellor, Embassy of the Czech Republic, Office in Almaty, Mrs. Svetlana Shabanova, Director of the “Esterhazy Coffee House” Network in Kazakhstan and Andrey S. Chulkin, Financial Director of the “Esterhazy Coffee House”

16.1.2009 11:29:43

H.E. Ivan Hotěk, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Bangkok

culture event

Exhibition CZECH CONTEMPORARY ART – PARALLEL LINES II

Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok

From left: Ladislav Šalanský, General Director, LEV k.s., Prague, Main Organizer of the Czech Days in Bangkok and the Exhibition, PhDr. Milan Sedláček, Main Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prague, H.E. Ivan Hotěk, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Bangkok with the catalogue of the Art Exhibition

From left: H.E. Singye Dorjee, Ambassador of Bhutan to Thailand and H.E. Vasil Pytel, Ambassador of Slovakia to Thailand Peter Novak, General Director, Coca-Cola Southeast & West Asia, with wife

From left: Apichat Sirithaporn, Military Commander, South Provinces, Thailand, Miro Smolák, Director of the MIRO Gallery and Main Organiser of the Art Exhibition and General Patanachai Navisthrira, Ministery of Defence, Thailand

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From left: Danny McCafferty, General Manager, Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok, Mrs. Pikulkeaw Krairiksh, Chairperson, Foreign Committee of the Senate Thailand, H.E. Ivan Hotěk, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Bangkok and Apinan Pavanarith, Entrepreneur

14.1.2009 16:49:19

christmas event

FUJINON (EUROPE) Company from FUJIFILM Group, medical devices producer, organized for their customers a Christmas party at the Avion hotel in Prague on December 5th, 2008. The latest news in medical technology introduced recently by FUJINON on the market was presented during this event. New gastroscopes and bronchoscopes together with image processing devices with high resolution (HDTV) were presented. FUJINON also informed their customers that from summer 2008 company is forming a new European Service Centre in Prague with planned capacity of repairs of several hundreds of scopes per month.

This centre already repairs medical devices for several European countries and in 2009 its capacity will increase.

Ing. Miloslav Křížek, Director, Fujinon (Europe) GmbH, Branch Office Prague

Christmas Party 2008 more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: MUDr. Zdeněk Antoš, 2nd Internal Clinic, Thomayer Hospital Praha and MUDr. Vratislav Řehák, Remedis Praha

From left: Mrs. Pšenicová and Mrs. Ledererová

Ing. Urbánek, St. Anna Sanatorium

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MUDr. Viera Křížová, Nemocnice na Homolce and Prof. MUDr. Jiří Nevoral, CSc., Pediatric Clinic, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and Motol Hospital

From left: Mgr. Jiří Urválek, Sales Representative, Fujinon and Doc. Ing. Jiří Hozman, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Pedagogic Activity, Head of the Department, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague & Chairman, Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics

14.1.2009 17:50:50

From left: Doc. Ing. Jiří Hozman, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Pedagogic Activity, Head of the Department, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague & Chairman, Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics and Ing. Jiří Masopust, Service Manager, European Service Center Fujinon

From left: Ing. Jiří Masopust, Service Manager, European Service Center Fujinon, Takashi Kumekawa, Director, European Service Center Fujinon and Hidetoshi Kimura, President, Fujinon (Europe)

MUDr. Jungwirth and MUDr. Krekulová

From left: Ing. Miloslav Křížek, Director, Fujinon (Europe) GmbH, Branch Office Prague, Ing. Romana Tlustá, Forsapi and Prof. Dr. Zdeněk Mařatka

During the event the guests saw an Art Fashion Show of a fashion designer Mrs. Helena LEISZTNER whose fashion shows include paintings, photographs, graphics, live logos etc.

The result is a multimedia show and the author has won many awards both here and abroad for her original activities. The show of extravagant models attracted deserved attention and this time it focused on the company logo, products and Japanese flowers. During the evening we could meet a lot of famous model, among whose we can name the Czech Miss 2006 Renata Langmannová and the Finalist of the Czech Miss 2006 Ada Lipoldová.

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From left: MUDr. Jan Kykal, Hospital Říčany with wife and MUDr. Anna Jungwirthová, St. Anna Sanatorium

From left: Ing. Miloslav Křížek, Director, Fujinon (Europe) GmbH, Branch Office Prague, Hidetoshi Kimura, President, Fujinon (Europe) and Mrs. Helena Kroftová-Leisztner, Designer-Living Art with her creations and models

14.1.2009 17:51:18

prague castle event

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Emil Viklický, Piano, Hendrik Meurkens, Mouth Organ and Steve Houben, Flute and Saxofon

Jazz at the Castle with Emil Viklický 60 From left: Karel Wagner, famous Composer, Ing. Zdeněk Pelc, President and CEO, Digital Media, PhDr. Martin Kratochvíl, President of Golem Club, Ing. Ivan Vodička, General Director, Česká pojišťovna and Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic

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14.1.2009 17:56:00

From left: Igor Otčenáš, former Director of Slovak Institute with wife, MUDr. Michael Vít MD, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief Hygiene Inspector and Pavel Číčel, Presbyter, Evangelická církev augsburského vyznání in CR

From left: Richard Weller, Drummer in Emil Viklický Band, Mrs. Elena Suchánková, Jazz Singer and Emil Viklický, Pianist and Composer From left: Pavel Smetáček, Band Leader, Traditional Jazz studio and Mirko Lachman

From left: Miroslav Macek, former Deputy Chairman of ODS, Mr. Vychodil´s daughter and Mgr. Luděk Vychodil, Deputy General Director, Czech Invest

From left: PhDr. Martin Kratochvíl, President of Golem Club, Ing. Ivan Vodička, General Director, Česká pojišťovna and Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic

From left: Ing. František Kulovaný, Managing Director, Baest with wife

From left: Jiří Stivín, Musician, guest, Ing. Zdeněk Pelc, President and CEO, Digital Media, Prof. JUDr. Jan Kříž, Lawyer, University Professor, Partner of Kříž & Bělina and Mrs. Pelcová

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14.1.2009 17:56:30

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

christmas event The Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Prague arranged a traditional celebration of the day of St. Lucia at Hilton Prague.

It is the traditional opening of the Christmas holiday season celebrated in Nordic countries and wherever Scandinavians gather.

The local celebration features a resplendent board of Nordic classics, including glögg, peppar-kakor traditional gingerbread cookies, Christmas ham, herring, smoked salmon, and Jansson´s temptation – a wonderful delicacy of anchovies, potatoes and onions.

Nordic Chamber of Commerce

H.E. Catherine von Heidenstam, Ambassador of Sweden

Traditional St. Lucia Party more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

Mr. Michal Ledroit, Managing Director, Bosal CR & Mrs. Dagmar Ledroit with family

Stefan Lager, President, Nordic Chamber of Commerce with family

From left: Josef Hlavička, Partner, Havel & Holásek Attorneys-at-Law, Ian Koval, Havel & Holásek Attorneys-at-Law and Mrs. Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber of Commerce

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Chidren and Santa Claus

Stefan Lager, President, Nordic Chamber of Commerce

16.1.2009 11:39:00

Change of the instruments: Jaroslav Svěcený with camera and Jadran Šetlík with Stradivari´s violin

culture event Exhibition of the photographer Jadran Šetlík at the Cathedral of St. Wenceslas in Opava

The fine art photographer Jadran Šetlík presents a new and truly unique project named a Gala-evening with Portraits and Violin in which he takes part with his long-time friend, violin virtuoso Jaroslav Svěcený. The originality of the presentation lies in the fact that Jaroslav Svěcený’s concert is accompanied by Šetlík’s photographic portraits in which he uses various historical instruments – violins made during three centuries. (Antonio Stradivari started to build the oldest one in 1707, which was finished by Giuseppe Fiorini in 1907 in Cremona.) The virtuoso explains in a catching way the history of the instruments to the audience and then in a short concert he presents their unique sound. The artistic sensation and experience are therefore very emotively and suggestively multiplied by the accord of his portrait and the sound of the violin.

Jadran Šetlík, Jaroslav Svěcený: The master sort of symbolically comes out of his portrait: the tones of a beautiful instrument and bravura gests of the artist, who is a virtuoso, touch and thrill the widest audience.

Gala-evening with Portraits and Violin

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Andreas Simek, Deutsche Bank and Vladimír Jermakov, Vemex

Audience

Mrs. Petra Doležalová, Volvo Auto Czech, s.r.o.

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From left: Zbyněk Staňura, Lord Mayor of the City of Opava, Mrs. Tošenovská, Evžen Tošenovský, former Governor of Moravian-Silesian Region, Jaroslav Svěcený and Jadran Šetlík

From left: Štefan Koman, Mrs. Tatiana Tutová, Mrs. Tamara Nestierenkova and Hugo Kysilka

14.1.2009 17:26:24

culture event On Tuesday 9th December journalists and wide Czech public were presented with the book published by the Endowment Fund Eleutheria (www.eleutheria.cz); which wants to present artists of this period and thus introduce the public to the artistic part and history of visual arts of this period, which is an integral part of Czech history. The book presentation was held at the Italian Embassy.

The book was published in three languages: Czech, English and Italian.

It is accompanied by illustrations showing 100 photographs of paintings and sculptures of the collection of the Endowment Fund Eleutheria.

The book deals with visual arts in the era of Socialist Realism in Czechoslovakia between 1948 and 1989.

Ottaviano Maria Razetto, Architect and Mrs. Genny Radicati, wife of H.E. Giorgio Radicati, former Ambassador of Italy to the Czech Republic

The authors of the book are: Francesco Augusto Razetto (President of the Endowment Fund Eleutheria and the author of the project and idea); Ottaviano Maria Razetto; Genny Di Bert; Terezie Petišková

SOCIALIST REALISM Czechoslovakia 1948–1989

The book is the first achievement of the Endowment Fund Eleutheria, which was created in March 2008 and its aim is to support visual arts in the Czech Republic. It wants to support young artists and sponsor study projects. Its basic aim is to open a gallery in the centre of Prague and present the collection of its Endowment Fund, specializing in the “touching” theme of Socialist visual arts.

In 2009 the Fund prepares to organize an exhibition of paintings and sculptures in Rome and in December they plan to hold an exhibition in New York.

In spring of 2010 the Fund wants to open the gallery in Prague.

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From left: Francesco Augusto Razetto, President of Eleutheria, Owner, Architectural Consulting, and owner of the paintings, H.E. Fabio Pigliapoco, Ambassador of Italy, and Mrs. Genny Radicati, wife of H.E. Giorgio Radicati, former Ambassador of Italy to the Czech Republic

14.1.2009 17:49:33

H.E. Leda Lucia Camargo, Ambassador of Brasil, and H.E. Giorgio Radicati, Ambassador OSCE, Mission to Skopje

From left: Antonio Ciullo, Mrs. Eva JehliÄ?kovĂĄ and Boit Bruno Giambagli

From left: Roberto Massa and Rag. Angelo Barni, Partner, Savino & Partners

From left: Mrs. Michaele Juppova, Dr. Manfred Ebensberg, Ebensberger Project Management, and Dr. Dieter Schramm, Schramm & Tschurtschenthaler, Law Company

From left: Mgr. Robert Pergl, Managing Partner, Dana, Pergl & Partners Attorneys at Law, Peter Reichepper and Tom Samili

Giorgio Bonelli, Owner of Alchymist Grand Hotel and Spa, Residence Nosticova and Bar One

From left: H.E. Fabio Pigliapoco, Ambassador of Italy, with wife Mrs. Pigliapoco and Francesco Augusto Razetto, President of Eleutheria, Owner, Architectural Consulting, and owner of the paintings

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more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

137

16.1.2009 11:44:40

diplomatic/farewell event

TomĂĄĹĄ Chalupa, Mayor of Prague 6 and H.E. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines

In honor of H.E. Mrs. Salas, the longest serving ambassador in the Czech Republic (over 8 years) many friends and colleagues came and bade farewell to one of the most popular ambassadors in the Czech Republic.

Including this magazine which will miss very much this lovely lady.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Farewell Reception

for H.E. Mrs. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas

138

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H.E. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines with Embassy staff

14.1.2009 17:57:24

From left: Mrs. Eliška Fučíková, H.E. Linda Duffield, Ambassador of the United Kingdom and Mrs. Geraldine Mucha, Mucha Foundation

From left: H.E. Belaïd Hadjem, Ambassador of Algeria and H.E. Donal Hamill, Ambassador of Ireland H.E. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines and H.E. Achilleas Antoniadis, Ambassador of Cyprus

From left: H.E. Alberto Salas, Ambassador of Peru, H.E. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines and H.E. Thanarat Thanaputti, Ambassador of Thailand

H.E. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines and Most Reverend Diego Causero, Titular Archbishop of Grado, Apostolic Nuncio

H.E. Helmut Elfenkämper, Ambassador of Germany and H. E. Dinkar Prakash Srivastava, Ambassador of India

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: Jiří Weigl, Head of the President Office, H.E. Carmelita Rodriguez Salas, Ambassador of the Philippines, Ing. arch. Iva Drebitko, President of TRIGA and Sanjiv Suri, President of Zátiší Group

14.1.2009 17:57:53

diplomatic event

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

National Day of Thailand From left: H.E. Thanarat Thanaputti, Ambassador of Thailand, Miloslav Vlček, President, Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament, and Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic

and Celebrating 81st Birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Four beautiful and lovely ladies – from left: wife of the Ambassador of Korea, wife of the Ambassador of Indonesia, wife of the Ambassador of Malaysia and wife of the Ambassador of Pakistan

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more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

14.1.2009 17:33:04

From left: MUDr. Jamal Karra CSc., D.D.S, MS, Senior Consultant, Betlémská Dental Center, with wife, H.E. Thanarat Thanaputti, Ambassador of Thailand, and Mrs. Inger M. Melhuus Raeder, wife of the Norwegian Ambassador

From left: H.E. Chikahito Harada, Ambassador of Japan, with wife and H.E. Seong Yong, Cho, Ambassador of Korea Miloslav Soušek, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Parliament of the CR

From left: Dr. Alexej Litvín, Director, Asiana Global Travel Service, Mrs. Šárka Litvínová, Executive Director, Asiana Global Travel Service, H.E. Alexey L. Fedotov, Ambassador of Russia

From left: H.E. Leda Lucia Camargo, Ambassador of Brazil, and H.E. Alberto Salas Barahona, Ambassador of Peru

H.E. Salman Ahmad, Ambassador of Malaysia, with wife Karina

From left: Mirko Lachman, H.E. Richard Graber, Ambassador of USA, H.E. Thanarat Thanaputti, Ambassador of Thailand, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Woon-ki Lyeo, Embassy of Korea, with wife

Mrs. Geraldine Mucha

Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic, and H.E. Thanarat Thanaputti, Ambassador of Thailand

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From left: Filip Škába, MBA, Branch Manager of Hyundai, Prague Office, with wife, Mrs. Miloslava Beková and František Bek

14.1.2009 17:33:31

diplomatic event

H.E. Chikahito Harada, Ambassador of Japan with wife Atsuko

Japan National Day at Hilton Prague

142

PLM_0901_events___3.indd 142

From left: H.E. Chikahito Harada, Ambassador of Japan with his speech and Miloslav VlÄ?ek, President, Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the CR

14.1.2009 17:31:32

From left: Mrs. Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd., George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Ltd., Mrs. Iva Drebitko, President, TRIGA and H.E. Rachid Kaitouni, Ambassador of Morocco

From left: H.E. Chikahito Harada, Ambassador of Japan, Miloslav Vlček, President, Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the CR and Mrs. Atsuko Harada, wife of the Ambassador of Japan From left: Nobuki Omi, Managing Director, Kaga Europe, and Yasuro Onoue, Branch Manager, Three Bond

From left: H.E. Richard Graber, Ambassador of the USA, H.E. Nomsa Dube, Ambassador of South Africa, Mrs. Alexandria Graber and H.E. Peter Raeder, Ambassador of Norway

From left: Adam Černý, Senior Editor, Hospodářské noviny, Dr. Vladimír Plesník, Chief of Foreign Department, Právo and Jiří Roskot, Foreign Desk, Právo

Petr Bareš, Managing Director, Iguassu Software Systems and Mrs. Ai Tumala

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

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From left: Alexandra Rudyšarová, General Director, Czech Invest, Josef Lébl, Advisor to General Manager, Czech Invest, H.E. Chikahito Harada, Ambassador of Japan and Mrs. Atsuko Harada, wife of the Ambassador of Japan

14.1.2009 17:32:07

diplomatic event

From left: Mrs. Inese Kučere, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Latvia, Edgars Bondars, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission of Embassy of Latvia and H.E. Argita Daudze, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia

TH

90 ANNIVERSARY

of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia Embassy of the Republic of Latvia

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE PLM_0901_events__2.indd 144

14.1.2009 16:50:19

From left: Peter Formánek, President of Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Formánek, H.E. Richard Graber, Ambassador of the USA and Mrs. Alexandria Graber, wife of Ambassador of the USA

Prof. Dr. Zuzana Lehmanová, Head of the Center, Jan Masaryk Centre of International Studies, University of Economics, Prague and H.E. Dr. Zdravko Popov, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria

From left: H.E. Nomsa Dube, Ambassador of South Africa and H.E. Leda Lucia Camargo, Ambassador of Brasil

From left: Col. Athanasios Kalogiannis, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Greece, Col. Eduardo Palomo Blanco, Spanish Defence, Military and Air Attaché and Major General Josef Prokš, 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff (ACR)

H.E. Catherine von Heidenstam, Ambassador of Sweden and H.E. Osvaldas Čiukšys, Ambassador of Lithuania

From left: František Mikeš, First Deputy Minister of Culture, H.E. PhDr. Huo Yuzhen, Ambassador of China and H.E. Margot Klestil-Löffler, Ambassador of Austria

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

PLM_0901_events__2.indd 145

From left: H.E. Alexey Fedotov, Ambassador of Russia, H.E. Argita Daudze, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia and MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, President of the Senate of the CR

14.1.2009 16:50:48

prague castle event

Mrs. Eva Pilarová, Singer and Vítek Fiala, Contrabass

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

with Eva Pilarová

Jazz at the Castle Jiří Hlaváček, Clarinet, Art Director

From left: H.E. Huo Yuzhen, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Mrs. Livia Klausová, wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and H.E. Jan Pastwa, Ambassador of Poland with his wife

4 star Army General Pavel Štefka (ret.) with Mrs. Dagmar Raupachová, Advocate, ČernýRaupachová Law Office

Miroslav Macek with a friend

Jiří Stivín, Musician with wife

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more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Mr. Jaroslav Jurečka, Conception and Development Manager, with wife and Ondřej Hejma, Musician

14.1.2009 16:26:35

LEADERS MAGAZINE now available in Brussels

COVERING C OVERING TOP CZECH EVENTS

For Full Photocoverage Go To w w w.leadersmagazine.cz/photogallery

Leaders Magazine® focuses on lifestyle, interviews, business, culture and luxury products and covers many important and interesting events. Our readers are people from diplomatic society, government officials, decision makers in business, Czech citizens with higher income and tourists. The targeted distribution is cca 20 000 copies including 1400 pcs to the top EU officials in Brussels.

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