Prague Leaders Magazine Issue 05/2011

NO 5/2011

www.leadersmagazine.cz

195,- CZK

m a g a z i n e

Leaders Magazine No 5/2011

incl. electronic version

now available in Brussels

Zdeněk Pelc, CEO of GZ Digital Media a.s.

Photo: Randi Sokoloff

I Am Not Afraid Of Crisis Diplomatic Event

Diplomatic Event

Interview

Culture Event

Prague Castle Event

Reception

National Day of Slovakia

No Compromise

CZECH 100 BEST

Jazz at the Castle

An interview with Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia...

The Albatross Cup was the third golf tournament of the Czech 100 Best Grand Golf Prix series. As its name suggests the tournament was...

for All Czech Ambassadors at the Senate On Tuesday, August 30, the Waldstein Garden hosted the annual meeting of Senators with the heads of the Czech diplomatic missions... 

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page 34

on the Way of Development

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page 56

GRAND GOLF PRIX TOUR – ALBATROSS CUP 2011

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page 100

with Milan Svoboda Sextet

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page 132

9/23/2011 12:30:29 PM

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22.9.2011 18:02:35

A masterpiece only gains in value over time: like Mozart ´s music - and his stamps.

The Czech Post is introducing a new edition of art stamps with a M Mozart design.

These stamps can be used for sending letters or postcards to Europe or kept as a great souvenir that will grow in value.

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PLM2009_234x325excentrPrava.qxd

14.7.2009

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publishers note & contents

Dear Readers,

events 24

Another summer has passed, mixed with nice and sunny temperatures, as well as unusually cold and rainy perio errio iods ds. ds My wish is that you Dear ar Rea eade ders de rs hav avee had a relaxing, ni nice ce and nd cosyy titime me witithh your near an andd deear ar,, an andd at the same time rec echa harg ha rged rg ed you our batterriees fo forr titime mess me to com ome. e. Pea eace ce of mind ndd is pr prob obab ob ably ab lyy verr y much mu ch neede dedd inn the de hese s tim mes of unnce certaain inty ty,, an ty andd the wo wor r yi ying ng eco cono nomi no micc mi prob pr obble lems ems m that ling ngger er ahe head ad of us ad u.

Wee aree ver e y pr prou oudd and happpy thhatt we ou have ha ve Zde deně někk Pe ně P lc, CEO of GZ Di Digi g ta gi tall Meedi d a a.s., on o our urr fro ront nt pag agee toogetherr with a ver eryy in inte tere te reest rest stinng in inte terv te rviiew. He is rv i the lonnge gest st ser e viing mannager in the Czec Cz echh Re Repu publ blic bl ic. He is a ma ic man wh whoo lilikkes es to cha halllllen llen enge ge cririse sess, oveerc rcom ome th ome them em m, andd co conq nque nq uerr th ue them. Hiss co comp mpan mp anyy is now pro an rodduccing and selliing ng, am mon ongg ot othe her he suucc cces essf es sfull productt s, 6 milillililion vinnyl recordss perr yea sf earr,r, mos ostltlty to the USA SA,, upp frfrom om thee midd-990’ 0’ss vi viny nyll prod ny oduc od ucttion of 200, uc 0,00 0, 0000 pc 00 pcs/ s/ye s/ year. ye Othe herr fa he fasc scin sc i attin in ing and in inttereest stin ingg in in inte terv te rvie rv iews in th ie this i iss sue of Lead adeers ad Maga Ma gazizizine ga n are witth th ne t e Moons ns.. Do Domi mini mi nikk Duukaa, Archbishop ni op and nd Cze zech ch Pririma mate ma te;; te Prof Pr o es essorr JUD Dr. Milililan an Bak akeš eš;; Professoor MUDr eš D . Lubošš Pe Pettruž užel elka el ka, a, Presid Pr den entt of thhe On Oncoolo logi gicc Cl gi Clin inic in ic of th the Generall Univer ersi er sity si ty Hos ospi pita pi tall and Fi ta Firs r t Meddical rs Facu Fa cultltltyy of the cu he Charles Uni nive vers ve r ity; y; JUD UDr.r. Jan Svá váče ček, Chairman of the če he Pra ragu gue gu Muni Mu niciipa pall Co Court; the worldwi wide wi de renow ownned Jazz Music ow us ciaan and Comp mpooser Emi mp mill Viklickýý; Ms Ms. An Andr d ea Kal dr aliv i oddov iv o á, á a leading meez zo-ssop opra rano ra no and Sol oloi o st oi s of the Prrag ague ue Sta tate Opera; Mr. Paave vell Kryštof,f, Dep eput utyy Mi Mini n ster off Interior; Mr. Jo Mr Jovo vo Savič, Ow Owne ner of the ver eryy popu pula larr re rest stau aura rannt chain in Kog o o; Mr. Sanjiv Surir, Ow Su Owner of the lea eadi ding ng cat ater erin ingg co comp mpan a y Zá Zátiší, as well as sev everal topp clas asss reestauraant ntss; Mr. Ren e e Be Beaauchamp, thee ver ery likeable and harrdw dwor orki king ng Geeneraal Ma Mana nage gerr of Fou our Se Seasons Hotel;; Mr. Emi mirr Ku Kust stur uric icaa, the wor orld ld‘s fore fo remo most st Serbbiaan Directoor an andd Musici cian an;; an andd Dr Dr. Peterr Ho Hodeček, CEO off AVE CZ to mention a few ew..

Dear Reaade ders rs, we als lsoo ha have ve a ver eryy inte terresting 10 pag age co country report rt of Geor Ge o gia, whe here re you can fin indd intervieews by yo y ur publishherr witth th thee Pr Pres esid iden entt of Geo eorg rgia ia,, Mr. Mik ikhe heil Saakashvili; Mr Mr. Ka Kakh khaa Bend nduk ukid idze ze, fo form rmer e Minissteer of Economic Devellopment, andd now Founder and Chairman of The Free University of Tbilisi; Mr. Ivane Merabishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia; Mr. Gigi Ugulava, Lord Mayor of Tbilisi; H.E Nino Nakashidze, Ambassador of Georgia to the Czech Republic; and H.E. Ivan Jestřáb, Czech Ambassador to Georgia.

Despite a rather low number of events due to summer vacations, we are pleased to have coverage from Slovakia National Day; Ukraine National Day; the 60th birthday of H.E. Jan Koukal and Miro Smolák; the German-Czech Chamber’s boat trip; the PGA Czech Open Golf Tournament at Prosper Golf Resort in Čeladná; the Comenius Round Table with three Governors; the Comenius 100 Best Golf Tournament; All Czech Ambassadors together at the Senate; Klub plynárenských podnikatelů ČR, traditional conference Myy dog M dooogg Rhea Rhea Rh ea in Ostrava; plus many other articles from contributors.

Dear Readers, I think you will notice that Leaders Magazine has improved a lot in quality and design, and that we have an excellent balance in our reportage from the top levels in Politics, Business, Culture, Education etc., and it is our goal to continue to bring you an even better magazine in the future. I wish you all a very pleasant autumn, and hopefully you are successful in finding a lot of mushrooms as well.

38 41 48 72 84 90 98 100 114 126

Round Table of Comenius with Governors of Regions: South Moravia, South Bohemia and Ústí Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador First EFA Certificates Issued in September PGA European Tour Czech Open at Prosper Golf Resort Čeladná Summer CFO Club: The Travel Industry – Situation and Outlook International Energy Club (IEC) Ostrava 2011 H.E. Jan Koukal's 60th Anniversary August Boat Ride of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce Czech 100 Best Grand Golf Prix Tour – Albatross Cup 2011 Synot Tip Strengthens its Activities in Football!!

Miro Smolák Celebrates his 60th Birthday

diplomatic events 14 16 34 50

The President Received Czech Ambassadors Reception for All Czech Ambassadors at the Senate National Day of Slovakia Ukrainian National Day and Celebration of its 20 Years of Independence

page 90 H.E. Jan Koukal's 60th Anniversary

culture events 42 132 136 137

Hong Kong Contemporary Dancers’ Debut in Berlin at Asia-Pacific Weeks 2011 Jazz at the Castle with Milan Svoboda Sextet End of the Season 2010/2 / 011,, National Theatre Gala Evening of the National Theatre Maecenas Club Smetana’s Litomyšl Opera, National Theatre Opening of the Season 2011/2012, National Theatre

118–119

120–121

Benk nkee Aikell I nk benke.aiike kellll@ @leadersmaagazi zine zi nee.c .cz www. ww w le lead ader ersm smag agazzin ine. e.cz cz

6

Lead Le adeers Ma ad Maga g ziine V/2 /201 011 01 page 50 – Ukrainian National Day...

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contents interviews

contributors

10

More and More Consumers Are Getting Back to Vinyl A talk with Zdeněk Pelc, CEO of GZ Digital Media a.s.

15 40 53 65

12

We Managed to Find Consensus and Willingness of Co-operation Among Churches A talk with Mons. Dominik Duka, Prague Archbishop and the Czech Primate

70 76

20

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Czech Justice a Bitter-sweet Tale of Growing Up An interview with Jan Sváček, Chairman of the Prague Municipal Court

88

page 62 – A talk with Andrea Kalivodová

96

22

How to Fight Cancer? Responsibly An interview with Luboš Petruželka, Head of the Oncologic Clinic of the General University Hospital and First Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague

111 112

28

Progress Through Innovation An interview with Rene Beauchamp, General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel in Prague

116

30

Kogo: Less Is More An interview with Jovo Savič, Owner of the restaurant chain Kogo

44

The Twilight of Landfills An interview with Dr. Peter Hodeček, CEO of AVE CZ

46

The Illegal Drug Market is Going to Grow A talk with Martin Beneš, Head of the State Institute for Drug Control

56

No Compromise on the Way of Development An interview with Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia

58

We Changed Everything An interview with Ivane Merabishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia

60

There is Still Much More to Do An interview with Gigi Ugulava, Mayor of Tbilisi

62

Father of Economic Reforms An interview with Kakha Bendukidze, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Free University of Tbilisi – the leading private university in Georgia and former Minist ster of Economic Development

63

H.E. Nina Nakashidze, Ambassador of Georgia/An interview with H.E. Ivan Jestřáb, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Georgia

64

Opera Should Be Fun A talk lk witithh Anddrea Kalilivodová d á, the leadi dingg Czechh mezzo-soprano andd solloiistt of the Prague State Opera

66

The Fat, Good Old Times Are History at the Ministry of Interior An interview with Pavel Kryštof, Deputy Minister of Interior

68

The Fight for Innovation Puts Brno in An interview with Jaroslav Škrabálek, Executive Officer of ACEMCEE, the Organizer of the International Conference for mobile technology MOBERA

74

More Financial Regulation, a Better World?

An interview with Milan Bakeš, founder of Bakeš & Partners law firm

80

Czech Republic and its Involvement in International Organizations A talk with Vlastimil Tesař, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

82

I Got a Taste of Radiation A talk with Antonín Kratochvíl, leading Czech and world Photographer

104

I Want my Movies to Be Like Therapy A talk with Emir Kusturica, the world’s foremost Serbian Director and Musician

106

Inspiration is the Most Strange Thing An int nter ervi view ew witithh Em Emilil Vik iklilick ckýý, wor orld ldwi wide de ren enow owne nedd Ja Jazz zz Mus usic icia iann an andd Co Comp mpos oser er

109

Super Premium Coffee Arrives to Prague An interview with Alberto de la Cruz, Chairman of Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters

117

135

Do we Think with our Brain?/Ivan ?

Pilný Back to Classicism/Cristina Muntean Corruption: an Uneasily Combatable Hydra/Emanuel Šíp Experiential Marketing – a Sensory Carnival/ Emil Jimenez, Brendan Donnellan How to Make a Million/Jan Mühlfeit Of Profits, Happiness, Integrity & Responsible Capitalism/Sanjiv Suri Business May Be Your Life – But – Life Is Your Business Part XII: Power Performance Reviews A, B/ James A. Cusumano Turning Performance Reviews into Performance Previews/Karin Genton The Day of Reckoning/ELAI Salzburg, the Capital of the Music Festivals/Iva Drebitko Promoting Science and Research Is the Only Way to Prosperity/Evžen Tošenovský The Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s 22nd Annual Czech Language Course Has had Another Successful Year/ČSÚZ Corporate Storytelling in One Photograph/David Henderson

page 112– Salzburg

EU matters 122 123 124 125

Debate Debat on Taxes: the Single European Vat – a Dream of European Businesses Back in Belgium Yet Another Challenge?

Business News Nuclear Ban Raises Need for EU Power Grid: Commission page 136 National Theatre

23.9.2011 12:14:02

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

Total circulation: cca 18.000 bi-monthly including electronic version.

Readership total: cca 500.000 Leaders Magazine is sent as a compliment to: Those who are the most influential, powerful and affluent readers in the Czech Republic. To representatives of the businesssphere, diplomatic corps and too top to p to goverment and mayor’s officiials. als. al On the board of the ČSAA bu busineess class & VIP loungees of Pra ragu guee gu aiport. We are also coop oper op erat er atiingg with at Prague City Ha H ll,, Cz Czech Innve vest st, st Czech Centre ree, Th Thee Czechh Me Medi dica di cal ca Chamber, alll Cha hamb mber mb erss of Commeer-er ce, Fo ce Foru ruum Fr Fran anco an coph co phon ph one on ne Af Affa fair ires es, es Česká Ma Mana naže na žers že rskká Aso rs soci ciac ci a e, CMC Gradua uate ua te Sch choool of Busin ines in ess, Unies vers rsitity rs ty of New Yor orkk inn Pra or ragu gue, gu e, Anglo Amer Am erican Schhoo er ooll, Uni niversity of Pitts ittts tsburg bu rggh,, CEE EELI LI Ins nstittu tute, Lion onns Cl Club ubs, ub s, R ta Ro tary ry Clu lubs, Thhe Pr Prag ague ag ue Soc ocie ietty forr ie Intt. Coo In ooperatiion on,, CZ CZEC ECH TO EC TOP 100, Czecch 10 100 0 Be Best st, CEBRE, Eurotelest graph, The Senate, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Ano pro Evropu andd many an ny mor oree.

For sale in Luxor Bookstore at Václavské náměstí.

Leadeerss Magazine ne iss av avai aillablee in all roomss off the hese se top star fine hotels andd th thei eirr re rest stau aura rants: (tel (t elepphone num umbe ber for rese serr vattio ion) n)

Aria Hotel Coda restaurant

225 334 791

Prague Marriott Hotel Brasserie restaurant 222 888 888

Crowne Plaza Harvest Restaurant

224 393 3 692

Radiiss sson on SAS Alccro ron Hotel La Rotonde 222 820 000

Grand Hotel Bohemiaa U Prašné brány ny 234 34 4 608 111 Hilton Pra raguee Czec Cz ecchH hHou ouse ou se Grill & Rotititiss Ro sser ss erie er ie

224 842 700

Hiltonn Pra ragu guee Ol gu O d To Town Rest Re stau st aurant au 221 822 303 Holiida Ho dayy Innn Pr P ag ague ue Cong Co ngre ng ress re ss Cen entter en Esprit Es

61 175 175 030 17 03 03

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251 017 133

Hote Ho tel In te Intercontineent ntal Pra raha ha Zlaatá Pr Prah a a 296 29 6 63 6 1 11 111 Hote Ho tel Pa te Pala lace la c Praaha ce h Gour Go urmet Cl ur Club ub

224 093 111

Rest Re stau st aura au rant ra n Alccron nt

22 22 82 820 0 00 000 0

Rezidenc n e Lu nc Lund ndbo nd borg bo rg Prah Pr ahaa ah 257 011 91 25 11 Alchym ymisst Rezide ym Re de Re denc ncee No nc Nost sticcov stic ovaa Alch Al chym ch ymis ym istt Cl is Club ub Rest staaurant 257 01 11 670 Top Hotel Prah Top To ahaa ah Resttau aura rant ra nt Boh ohem emiiatopp em Rece Re cepc ce pcee pc 267 284 4 111 1 Audi Au d en di ence cee Deeci c si s on mak aker erss in the he field ldss of busi sine ness ne ss, public rel ss elattions el ns,, innde ns dependen ent pr en prof ofes of essi es sion si onss an on andd di dipl plom pl omaom cyy, go gove vern ve rnme rn mentt offi f cials, looca call offififici of ciaals.

Hotel Resideence Ho Alch Al c ymistt Gr ch Gran andd Ho an Hote tell te & Sp Spaa 257 286 011 224 302 150

Kemppins inski – Hybe Hybernská ká Hybe Hy bernnsk skáá 12, 110 11 0 00 00, Praha 1 hooteel & re r stauraant

226 226 111 11

Le Palaiss Ho Hote tell Prrag aguue Le Pap apillonn

234 63 34 61 11

Youu can fifind Yo nd the Maggaz azine in the hese se fine rest staaura rant nts: s: (te tele leph phon onee nu numb m er for reservvatiton on)) Ambien Ambi ente te – Ris istorantte Pasta Fresca 224 230 244 Ambiente – The Living Restaurants 222 727 851 Aromi 222 713 222 Azteca 257 327 389 Bar Restaurace Bílkova 13 224 829 254 Barock Bar & Café 222 329 221 Bellevue 800 123 553 Bugsy’s Bar 222 329 943 Cafe La Veranda 224 814 733 Cafe Savoy 257 329 860 Cafe De Paris 603 160 718 Casanova 257 535 127 Clementinum 224 813 892 Casa Andina 224 815 996 Dům vína U závoje 226 006 120 Francouzská restaurace v Obecním domě 222 002 745 Giardino Enot En otec ecaa co conn Cu Cuci cina na 222 513 427 Herg He rget etov ovaa Ci Cihe helna 257 25 7 535 53 534 4 Icchn hnusa – Pl Plas aská 5 Prrah ahaa 5 605 52 525 5 74 748 8 Kamp Ka mpaa Pa mp P rk 257 532 2 685 85–6 6 K vá Ka várna v Obbecním m domě mě 222 002 764 King ng Sol olom omoon 224 24 818 752 Kogoo – Hav avel elsk skáá 224 22 4 21 214 4 54 43

Kogo – Kogo Slovanský dům

221 451 259

La Perle de Prague 221 984 166 Lamborghini PastaCaffé (Vězeňská) 224 813 257 Lamborghini PastaCaffé (Vodičkova) 222 231 869 Lary Fary 222 320 154 Le Café Colonial 224 818 322 Les Moules 222 315 022 Luka Lu Restaurant 257 212 388 Lví Dvůr 224 372 361 mama lucy 222 327 207 Marco Polo IV 224 819 668 Metamorphis 221 771 068 Mirellie Mediterranean Restaurant Korunní 783/23 Praha 2 222 521 814 V.P. Čkalova 502/14, Praha 6 222 959 999 Nost No stre ress s ca cafe f gal alle lery ry 222 317 7 004 Orange Moo oonn O teria Da Claara Os

22 22 32 25 11 119 9 271 726 548 77 76 41 4 8 55 59

Pálflff fy Pallácc Pá Parnass Passeppartoout Prav Pr avda da

257 530 522 224 216 244 222 51 513 3 34 340 0 222 326 203 0

Rest Re staura race Hanilil

222 715 867 67

Contributors: James A. Cusumano, Brendan Donnellan, Iva Drebitko, Joseph Drebitko, Karin Genton-L’Epée, EurActiv, European Leadership & Academic Institute, David Henderson, Pavlína Holancová, Martina Hošková, Filip Hubáček, Emil Jimenez, Zuzana Kasáková, Cristina Muntean, Jan Mühlfeit, Ivan Pilný, Jan Řežáb, Věra Řiháčková, Sanjiv Suri, Emanuel Šíp, Evžen Tošenovský Marketing/Advertising: Lynn Tourkiová, Max Salamatin, Shalva Sikharulidze Marketing & Editorial Director Vladimíra Václavíková EU Matters: CEBRE Czech Business Representation, CESES, Europlatform Photographers: Cecil Brathwaite, Iva Drebitko, Brian Fleming, Irina Gulina, Jiří Herman, Jakub Hněvkovský, Martin Janas, Zuzana Jirásková, Jakub Joachim, Jan Kamenář, Zuzana Klimková, Martin Kovář, Roman Nieč, Michaela Oráčová, Paul Pacey, Filip Pokorný, Khatia Psuturi, Václav S. Sadílek, Marie Schmerková, Hana Smejkalová, Randi Sokoloff, Petr Soukup, Jakub Stadler, Petr Sznapka, Vladimír Weiss, Jan Zikeš

Hote Ho tell Sa te Savooy, Restauracce Hradčaanyy

Publisher: Benke Aikell

Reesttauura rant bar Pod křídlem 224 951 741–2 Restaurant Michal 222 222 630 Restaurant Rybí trh 224 895 447 Restaurant U maltézských rytířů 257 533 666 Rio’s Vyšehrad 224 922 156 Ristorante Amici Miei 224 816 688 Ristorante Da Emanuel 224 312 934 Rusalka 224 934 109 Sahara Café/ Restaurant 774 557 763 Restaurant Kamenný most 224 097 100 U malířů U modré kachničky U Modrého Hroznu U zlaté hrušky U Závoje

257 530 000 257 320 308 222 221 185 220 514 778 226 006 122

Zá ší Res Zátiší e ta taur uran ant Z hrad Za hradaa v Op Opeř eřee Zele Ze lená ná zah ahra rada da – Šmiilovského 12 Šm 12, Praaha 2 Pr

2 2 22 22 21 15 155 5 224 22 4 23 239 9 68 685 5

222 51 22 518 8 15 159 9

Subscription service: Leaders Magazine, CEPONA, s.r.o.

Lužická 32, 120 00 Praha 2 We appreciate your opinions of Leaders Magazine.

Please send them to: Leaders Magazine Moravská 14, 120 00 Praha 2 tel.: 224 255 277 fax: 224 256 172 e-mail: info@leadersmagazine.cz www.leadersmagazine.cz Leaders Magazine comes out bi-monthly.

Licence: MK ČR E 13147 No reproduction is permitted in whole or part without the express consent of Leaders Magazine.

The advertiser is responsible for the advertising contents.

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors or persons interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or Leaders Magazine.

All editorial material and photos in Leaders Magazine is digitally stored and may be republished by Leaders Magazine either in printed form or in various digital media. All correspondence to Leaders Magazine may be published.

Graphic design and printing: D&S Design Prague, s.r.o. tel.: 274 774 131 prague@bigformat.cz www.bigformat.cz

Leaders Magazine is member of

info.indd 8

23.9.2011 10:51:09

Leaders Magazine Advisory Board The positive sitive si itive reputation reput rep of Leaders Magazine continues to grow, however we realize that we must u maintain ust aintai ta to improve and learn, particularly during these times of dynamic change.

That at is why w w we have decided to set up an Advisory Board for the magazine. I am convinced that creating crea eati ating ng a pla platform of high profile individuals will be an excellent opportunity for the magazine to acquire a uire new iideas and define new directions of future development.

Benke B ennke A Aikel ikeell Your Yo our P Publisher ublissh There e e aare on onlyy few f projects started in the Czech Republic by foreigners which I consider as useful to this t country as Leaders Magazine. The magazine has brought to the Czech Republic the completely new concept of making important people – the decision makers Republ be tthey Czech or foreigners – visible and worthy of positive admiration.

Ass you might know this is something not very common and perhaps even not very natural in the Czech Republic. It is therefore all the more of an achievement to start and ra successfully develop a project such as Leaders Magazine. I understand fully the intention of Benke Aikell, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, to progress further with Leaders Magazine, and for this purpose to form a team of experienced Czech citizens of different backgrounds to create a consulting body which would bring this project to an even higher level.

Ing. Karel Muzikář, CSc. President P e of Comenius I wa was pleased le to be invited by Benke Aikell to cooperate on the preparation of the Advisory Board pr project. I personally see one of the main goals of the project in creation of a positive environment env envir ronm nm for networking, exchange of views, presentation of new ideas, experiences, proposals propo opo posaals or suggestions. posa I am m cconvi convinced onv that the formation of a platform of highly profiled personalities and potential discussion di discu ussiio of different topics in very informal setting will be useful for both sides – for the magazine ne as a well as for the members of the Advisory Board.

Inng. Pet Ing. Petr Kubernát Director Direc cto of Pekos s.r.o.

Consulting Cons n and Training Company ADVISORY BOARD COMITTEE Beennke Aikell, Publisher, Leaders Magazine Benke B Ing. ng Pe Petr Kubernát, Director, PEKOS s.r.o. and former Czech Ambassador to the Netherlands Ing. ng. Karel K Muzikář, zik CSc., President, COMENIUS HONORARY MEMBERS ABROAD AND GOODWILL AMBASSADORS H E Mr. William J. Cabaniss, former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic H.E. Vincent nc J. Derudder, Secretary General, The European Federation of Financial Advisers and Financial Intermediaries an Frank J. Devlyn, Rotary International President 2000–2001 and Rotary Foundation Chairman 2005–2006 H.E. Mr. Alexey L. Fedotov, former Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Czech Republic H.E. Mr. Richard Graber, former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic H.E. Athar Mahmood, former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Czech Republic H.E. Dr. Zdravko Popov, former Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Czech Republic H.E. Mati Vaarmann, former Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Czech Republic Ája Vrzáňová, Czech World Champion in Figure-skating, Sport Legend H.E. Huo Yuzhen, former Ambassador of the People´s Republic of China to the Czech Republic

interviews.indd 9

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS PhDr. Zdeněk Čáp, Managing Partner, Equity Solutions s. r. o. o Josef Drebitko, CEO, D&COMM Prof. Ing. Jiří Fárek, CSc., Professor, Technická Univerzita Liberec and former First Deputy Mayor, City of Prague 6 Ing. Peter P. Formánek, President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic Mgr. Marta Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ Michal Heřman, General Manager, Star Communications Václav Hudeček, Violinist Plk. Mgr. Vladislav Husák, Deputy Police President, Policejní lic prezidium ČR JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Law Firm JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra & spol.

Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., CNB Bank Board Member and Chief Executive Director Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister M r and an current current member of numerous international boards r Ing. Peter Jusko, MBA, Partner, London Market ett Ing. Petr Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry stry ooff Agriculture Agric A ricultuure of the CR and former Minister of Environment nment Ing. Josef Kreuter, CSc., former Czech Ambassador ss r to t the the EU EU Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Partner, Law Firm Kříž a Bělina s.r.o.

Ing. Jaroslav Kubišta, Secretary, Lions Club Prague Eagle agle Genmjr. JUDr. Lubomír Kvíčala, former Director of the Department of Protection of Constitutional Officials, fic Police of the Czech Republic Ing. Vladimír Laštůvka, former M.P. Ing. Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation rp Ing. Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, ard Česká pošta a. s. and former Czech Ambassador to OECD George Parobek, Managing Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Doc. Ing. Antonín Peltrám, CSc., Director IEI, Bankovní institut vysoká škola, a.s.

Doc. Ing. Václav Petříček, CSc., Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber SNS Ing. Jozef Piga, Member of the Supervisory Board, Omnipol a.s.

Ing. Lucie Pilipová, Partner, Via Perfecta, s.r.o.

Ing. Ivan Pilný, President, TUESDAY Business Network JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, former Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs MUDr. Richard Sequens, PhD., Head of Surgical Gastroenterology Center, Nemocnice Milosrdných sester sv. Karla Boromejského v Praze and former Senator PhDr Ph Dr. Mg MgAA . Mir iros osla lavv Sm Smol olák ák, Ow Owne nerr, Gal aler erie ie MIR IRO O Mgr. Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises spol. s r. o.

Brigadier General Ing. Andor Šándor (ret.), Consultant antt PhDr. Jaroslav Šedivý CSc., former Ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs JUDr. Josef Šesták, Lawyer Ing. Radomír Šimek, President, German-Czech Chamber ambe of Industry and Commerce Bc. Vladimír Šiška, MBA, 1stt Deputy Minister, Ministry stry of Labour and Social Affairs Jaromír Šlápota, President, Československý ústav zahraniční aniční Ing. Pavel Štefka, MSc, 4-star General (ret.), Chief of Defence and Special Programs, Tatra Ing. Helena Švédová, Director, Department of Trade Administration, Czech Export Bank Ing. Josef Tauber, Executive Director, Czech Banking Association Ing. Jiří Vávra, Vice Chairman, STROJEXPORT, a.s.

JUDr. Petr Vyroubal, Partner, Law Firm Vyroubal Krajhanzl Školout

22.9.2011 18:00:56

A talk with Zdeněk Pelc, CEO of GZ Digital Media a.s.

More and More Consumers Are

Getting Back to Vinyl Ing. Zdeněk Pelc, CSc. is the longest-serving manager in the Czech Republic. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Prague. He also studied at the St. Galen University in Boston and at the Harvard Business School. Zdeněk Pelc became, among other things, Manager of the Year 2000. He is also one of the founders of a strategic management club, the Harvard Club in the Czech Republic. Zdeněk Pelc has been the CEO of GZ Digital Media a.s. since 1983, and since 1995 the president of the board as well. The history of this company goes back to 1949 when the first vinyl record was made. Then, in 1988 the Company produced the first CD in Central Europe, and in 2001 the first DVD disc in Central Europe as well.

At present, GZ Digital Media a.s. makes about 100 million optical carriers a year.

Ing. Zdeněk Pelc CSc, CEO, GZ Digital Media a.s.in the middle with Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and Karel Vágner, Producer, Composer, and CEO of Multisonic a.s. at Jazz at the Castle

Photos: Archive

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23.9.2011 10:53:43

As one of the few top Czech managers, you joined the company’s management long before 1989, and you are still with this company today. Do you consider it to be an advantage?

I have been the CEO of GZ Digital Media for 29 years. I obviously do not find it especially beneficial, as both the company and I had to undergo essential changes in order to remain competitive. titi O On th the other th hhand, d a ttypical i l modern phenomenon is that a majority of people believe they can be the head of anything without any detailed knowledge (often typical of politicians), which is a terrible mistake.

Did you have to significantly change your managerial skills and customs?

Of course, in the beginning the priority emphasis was put on production, later on sales, and presently on finance. All of these changes were accompanied by personnel problems, a simply never ending process. I found it very helpful studying at Harvard in Boston where I completed a three-year course, the so-called “owner/president management programme”.

How has GZ Digital Media been changed by the entry of the American investor?

Private American capital joined our company at the end of 1997, purchasing 100 % of the shares. The investor group was led by Ken Brody, former President of Goldman Sachs and later the governor of New York, and the Export Import Bank. By the way, Ken also helped the Czech government with the financing of Temelín. It was a huge change for me, transitioning from small Czech conditions to the large financial world. Ken Brody is a very generous man, yet with him you need to show results, otherwise his attitude would be perhaps much

worse. Luckily we had those results. Ken still keeps saying that we were one of his most successful acquisitions. I obviously did not gain his confidence immediately, yet after about two years I had a free hand in managing and building a business. For the first time I really felt like a real director who could implement his plans. Of course, the responsibility was burdensome, not only to shareholders but also l employees l off the th company, who h always l supported me.

How do you manage to cope with the economic crisis?

I do not like economic crises as a citizen, yet I love them as a businessman. They bring more great opportunities than during normal times.

In the times of crises, each company is looking for ways to save costs as sales decline. Of course, this also applies to large multinational companies, which are impossible to approach in normal times. This becomes possible during a crisis, obviously provided that you have something to offer as far as 100% quality, superior service, flexibility and cost savings.

However, these things cannot be built in a time of crisis. It is a long process, yet a capable management is always ready.

The company recently celebrated 60 years since the production of the first vinyl record.

GZ Digital Media, in this respect, has proven that it is presently experiencing a great boom. How do you explain this?

This year the company celebrated 60 years since its foundation and the production of the first album. To the surprise of all, the vinyl record still holds a certain position in the market.

It was not always so; in the mid-90’s vinyl production was close to zero (200 thousand pcs/

year). Unlike other companies, we did not liquidate the production, and slowly began to break into declining foreign markets where there was tough competition. At present, we produce over 6 million pcs of vinyl records per year, and thus we are the largest manufacturer in the world. To the US alone we have been sending about 6 tonnes each week. This is not just a matter of DJs and their sound effects at discos. M More andd more consumers, who h llove music, are getting back to vinyl for its pleasant sound.

The development of new technologies is unstoppable. In what way does it influence your branch?

New technologies affect virtually every manufacturing industry, including our branch.

Unfortunately they affect the “vinyl industry” mainly negatively. The internet promotes more and more “TV on demand” or music downloads.

Yet, there is no point in crying over spilled milk.

A capable management must be able to anticipate these changes and adapt to them. That is why the present turnover and profit focus of our company, although it is generally perceived as a producer of music and film records, stands apart from the original focus. Today we profile ourselves as a supplier of prints and packaging aimed at the IT industry of both hardware and software companies. Everyone just needs to apply the right strategy, but that again is related to the experience, knowledge and diligence of any company’s management.

By Pavlína Holancová I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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interview

Mons. Dominik Duka, Prague Archbishop and the Czech Primate Photo: VladimĂ­r Weiss

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23.9.2011 10:54:24

A talk with Mons. Dominik Duka, Prague Archbishop and the Czech Primate

WE MANAGED TO FIND Consensus and Willingness of Co-operation among Churches

Mons. Dominik Duka OP (born in 1943 in Hradec Králové) is the 36th Prague Archbishop, Metropolitan and the Czech Primate (appointed February 13, 2010). On the 22nd of June 1970 he received his priestly ordination. After the withdrawal of state approval he worked for 15 years in Pilsen Škoda. For illegal activity he was sentenced to prison for fifteen months. He was Provincial of the Dominicans Czech province (1986–1998) and the 24th Bishop of Hradec Králové (1998–2010). In April 2010 he was elected chairman of the Czech Bishops’ Conference.

What was the biggest influence on your decision for the priesthood and the spiritual path?

I was born at a time when faith was, in most families, still a natural environment. Not that this was necessarily guided by the Catechism, but my childhood shaped the confrontations of faith and of life’s various tests. My father returned from World War II with great fanfare, but then the communists locked him up. From this situation I realized that faith plays a huge role, and I saw that people who take faith seriously remain steadfast. Thus, I chose the spiritual path when I was fourteen years old. After all my boyish dreams of being a pilot, sailor, and gamekeeper, I had the idea to become a priest. And the idea stayed and grew with me.

During communism, you remained a priest in the underground. Can you say whether that was more complicated than after the fall of the totalitarian regime?

In the underground, you can distinguish what is a façade, what is a crutch, and what is essential.

Whether this means clothes, space, or ways of addressing people, when it all disappears the essence of things remain. If a man lives with a certain risk, he feels much more that his prayer is not in vain. vain In con contrast to freedom, one lets himself be caugght more easily by externalities. In particular, we spent much of our lives in the underground creating certain visions and dreams that were always accomplished well. Yet, in freedom this is much more difficult, and despite many efforts and much support, the results sometimes would not appear at all.

In this respect, do you agree with the view that the Church in our country missed an opportunity to reflect on its role after the fall of communism?

The first year after the fall of the regime I said that the Church had failed. In this way, I did not mean that the Church failed as an internal spiritual environment, but that we had not fulfilled all the big hopes and expectations in the eyes of people. When I look at it from a distance, we accomplished more than we had ever hoped. I mean the restoration of religious education in particular, as well as charity institutions; with these things we really started from scratch. Furthermore, I am speaking of the restoration of institutional structures, both diocesan and monastic. And one day when someone writes the history, they might wonder how it all succeeded in such a short period of twenty years.

Yet, how do you perceive the fact that the number of people avowing to the Catholic Church is falling in the Czech Republic?

We must honestly admit that the 20th century was a very turbulent century for the Catholic Church in our country. After World War I Czech Catholics lost nearlyy a quarter of their people, who left the Catholic Church and joined the Church of Czechoslovakia. Then came World War II, when many people remained in the concentration camps, citizens of German nationality were expelled, and we lost another quarter of Catholics at that time. By 1946 we were reduced to almost half the size. Then came two waves of exile, and the violently imposed atheism by communists. On the contrary, up until 1956 a large part of the nation clung to the Church, and I’d dare say that never were there so many people in churches as in the years 1951–1956. But then came the resignation, a great loss of hope, and churches began to empty and close.

And after the revolution?

After 1989, a new phenomenon emerged. This happened chiefly in large cities, where university students also avowed to us. Many received the baptism as adults, yet when they began to return home they were not accepted. accepted The statistics of 2011 are going to be veryy proobl blem emat atic ic.. Ca Cath thol olic ic Wee eekl klyy Ma Maga gazi zine ne did a survey which showed that about one-third of Catholics refused to participate in the census. But we know that the number of worshipers is stable. And what is more, after the last visit of Pope Benedict XVI., the situation has improved. This year on Holy Saturday, we only baptized here in Prague over 250 adults. We now mostly struggle with an issue we have not mastered since 1989 – religious teaching and education.

Could you explain, in this context, what a new evangelization of Europe implies, as declared by Pope Benedict XVI.?

There have been several stages of evangelization in terms of religious history. The new evangelization can be understood as a way of addressing society with real freedom. We want to reach people, but not under conditions that prevent them from choosing the Roman Catholic Church freely. At the same time, we want to promote a form apppropr p iate to the current educational and cultural environment. In this regard, we must sadly admit that the great development of new technologies and new knowledge has taken us somewhat by surprise.

How satisfied are you with the final form of the bill on the partial settlement of relations between Church and State?

No economic model means a complete freedom for the Church; only God has absolute freedom. I am glad that at the f in inal al dea eall wa wass ac acco comp mplilish shed ed. We man anag aged ed to find consensus and willingness of cooperation among Churches, and we have created a unity that is truly unique. Christian Churches, along with the Federation of Jewish communities, found a common ground, found responsibility, and found a willingness to share and collaborate on an economic basis. Secondly, Churches, as a large segment of society, have managed to understand that they are on the same boat.

Churches need a run-period in order to build a system and take property from the state. At the very moment we start to administrate this, we become taxpayers as well, ie. we are going to contribute more to the budget.

Furthermore, regarding assets that remain in the hands of cities, towns, counties, regions and other private individuals, the abolition of the blocking clauses gives a great opportunity to manage the property on an investment basis, and otherwise very effectively.

This year, celebrations of the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Agnes of Bohemia took place.

What did the year of St. Agnes of Bohemia bring you?

The entire Jubilee year showed a large consensus within society, and an understanding of social issues.

In both chambers of parliament, seminars and conferences were held, and we were surprised that even right-wing politicians were people who participated in knowledgeable lectures on social policy. For me it was a surprise how this princess, who was a nun, but also a woman with an important social role, appealed to our school children. Students this spring frequently participated in a painting competition which continues now in the fall. There will also be a grand exhibition, “St. Agnes of Bohemia – Princess and the Nun”, which will be opened in the Convent of St. Agnes in November. Thus, I am very pleased that our society does not forget the legacy of St. Agnes of Bohemia.

By Pavlína Holancová I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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diplomatic event

THE PRESIDENT

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

President Vรกclav Klaus received on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at the Prague Castle the Ambassadors and other heads of the Czech diplomatic missions abroad.

Received Czech Ambassadors

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

23.9.2011 11:38:15

Do we Think with our Brain?

Lord Byron: How little do we know that which we are!

Sorting out our thoughts, and moving logically towards our objectives may not be as easy as it seems.

Our judgement often strays into illogical traps. More often than not, we tend to draw hasty conclusions from incomplete information. Sometimes we tend to “read” the ideas of another person hastily, and then interpret them incorrectly.

Psychologists have long since uncovered and decoded these standard errors, which are quite common in both our business and personal lives.

Frequently, we find ourselves strayed by illfounded theories, false beliefs and inaccurate assumptions. There is nothing wrong with these theories themselves – on the contrary! They allow us to operate effectively in the dynamic world that surrounds us. If, however, we rush to accept these theories, a situation occurs that was once described by Francis Bacon as: “The human understanding, when it has adopted an opinion… draws on all other things to support it.“ Judgment then often slips into prejudice.

Everything that does not support our numerous pre-conceptions is then pushed to the sidelines, meaning: we tend to bend or destroy information that does not correspond to our preconceptions.

How can we prevent this? Rather than searching for information that confirms our opinion, let us look for those that contradict it. If we find such facts, let us change our opinion rather than adjusting and adapting the facts. Let us be objective, rather than blindly trusting the information that is most readily available. Let us not try to stubbornly defend our original opinion, but give us a chance to absorb new information.

Quite often we base our opinion on a first impression. While this may be correct in some cases, it also has the potential to mislead us. As a solution, let us suggest leaving yourself with some time to think more about the issue at hand; be it workrelated, stress, personal, etc. – let’s forget about responding with one that is instinctual or emotional, and try to consider responding to questions from a more distant perspective. It is important that we verify our opinion with the people and sources we trust.

It seems that there are far too many situations where we are deceived by a general opinion. We trust that people who benefit from the “general opinion” tend to create something of a “halo effect”.

Sometimes, we tend to get uncritically impressed by someone´s rhetorical or presentation skills. Our opinion of such presenters is often affected by pseudo-scientific knowledge that we cannot sufficiently verify. It should be further noted

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

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that people likely behave less-favourably when they are outside of an “Interview“ context. What we see should be checked against reality and not necessarily mixed up with our expectations.

“Statistical analysis” is yet another tool that can fool us. This is captured by Disrtaeli’s famous quote: “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

Or, we can remind ourselves of Churchill’s famous quote: “I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself.”

What our politicians do with statistics will not be commented on here. The rules of big numbers, comparisons of the incomparable, predictions

based on historical data or correlation – they do not always apply. It seems that using one’s wits is not as easy as it might look. The important thing is to learn from our mistakes in judgment as quickly as they occur.

By Ivan Pilný I President of Tuesday Business Network Former Chairman of Czech Telecom This article is an extract from the new book by Ivan Pilný – “Příště spadni líp”, Computer Press. český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

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23.9.2011 10:55:20

diplomatic event

Alena Gajdůšková, Vice-President, Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

On Tuesday, August 30, the Waldstein Garden hosted the annual meeting of Senators with the heads of the Czech diplomatic missions abroad. The meeting was held as a part of the regular week-long consultation of Czech diplomats at the MFA. VicePresident of the Senate, Alena Gajdůšková, welcomed the diplomats on behalf of the President of the Senate, Milan Štěch. Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel Schwarzenberg, also took part in the meeting.

Reception FOR ALL CZECH

AMBASSADORS AT THE SENATE Mrs. Gajdůšková opened the meeting by thanking the ambassadors for their hard work of presenting the Czech Republic throughout the world, especially now when their situation is not easy because some embassies have been closed down, or made to restrict their activities. The main goal of the meeting was to coordinate parliamentary diplomacy as an important part of Czech foreign policy. Parliamentary diplomacy helps to shape the positive image of the Czech Republic abroad, and contributes to expanding and deepening political, cultural and business contacts between the state, Czech business subjects and their partners, and thus supports the economic development of the Czech Republic.

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From left: Pavel Lebeda, Senator, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Member of the Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad, Alena Gajdůšková, Vice-President, Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic, Alena Doležalová, Staff Member of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Committee, Senate, and Petr Fleischmann, Counsellor, Staff Member of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Committee, Senate

23.9.2011 11:14:20

From left: H.E. Václav Hubinger, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Turkey, Tomáš Grulich, Senator, Chairperson of the Standing Senate Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad, Senate, and H.E. Zdeněk Lyčka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Denmark

From left: Přemysl Sobotka, 1st Vice-President, Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic, and Miroslav Nenutil, Senator

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

Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Jaroslav Kantůrek, Consul General, Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Hong Kong and Macao

The upper chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic not only has an important position in approving international treaties, but also belongs to the most active national parliaments in dealing with EU matters, and thus significantly participates in the EU legislation making process. Senators also discussed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs the new concept of Czech foreign policy.

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H.E. Marie Chatardová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France and Luděk Sefzig, Senator, Chairman of the Committee for European Union Affairs

From left: Juraj Chmiel, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic and Karel Dobeš, Government Commissioner, Ministry of Transport, Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Jan Kára, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Sweden, H.E. Stepan Zajac, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Argentina, H.E. Miroslav Křenek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ghana, and H.E. Zdeněk Kubánek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Chile

23.9.2011 13:20:13

From left: Jiří Dienstbier, Senator and H.E. Petr Kolář, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Russian Federation

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Austria and Benke Aikell, your Publisher From left: Jan Hajda, Chairman of the Committee on National Economy, Agriculture and Transport, Senate and H.E. Lubomír Hladík, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

H.E. Eva Filipi, Ambassador ot the Czech Republic to the Syrian Arab Republic and Marek Skolil, Director General, Economic Cooperation & Promotion Abroad Section, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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From left: H.E. Martin Povejšil, Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to NATO in Brussels, František Černý, Prague Literature House, and H.E. Tomáš Kafka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ireland

From left: Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, H.E. Josef Havlas, Chargé d´Affaires to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Alena Gajdůšková, VicePresident, Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic

23.9.2011 11:17:44

From left: H.E. Karel Žebrakovský, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Canada, H.E. Michael Žantovský, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to UK, and Jan Kohout, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

From left: Jozef Regec, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Senate and Aleš Fojtík, Counsellor Minister, Senior Analyst, Department for Strategic Planning and Analysis, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From left: Alexandr Vondra, Minister of Defence and Senator and Milan Horáček, Heinrich Böll Stiftung

From left: H.E. Petr Gandalovič, new Ambassador of the Czech Republic to USA and Alena Gajdůšková, VicePresident, Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic

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From left: Marek Skolil, Director General, Economic Cooperation & Promotion Abroad Section, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Tomáš Boček, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe, and H.E. Tomáš Pojar, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Israel

23.9.2011 15:13:19

interview

Jan Sváček has been the chairman of the Prague Municipal Court since April 1999, and during that time he has even been known to admit that it might be time for some change. For the last 12 years he has observed and influenced the structural changes of the Czech justice system. In this game, what often seems to be a victory can turn out to be a partial failure – like the case of “system computerization” which, he says, brought more work than it eliminated. On the other hand, more law students have since increased their contact with the real world of the Czech justice system, and that, he asserts, is a success.

“The Czech legal system is very specific, if we’re looking at how complicated it is.”

Jan Sváček Chairman of the Prague Municipal Court Photo: Vladimír Weiss

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23.9.2011 10:55:50

An interviiew wiithh Jan Sváččekk, Chairman of the Prague Municipal Court

CZECH JUSTICE A BITTER-SWEET TALE OF GROWING UP What are the most important changes that you observed in the Czech justice system for the last 12 years?

When I joined the Prague court in 1999 there were 300 judges. Now there are 560 judges. I had three vicepresidents at that time, now I have eight – this institution has been growing very fast. One of the reasons is the increasing number of civil and criminal complaints, but there have also been legal changes in the system. For example, the Prague Court was merged with the former regional commercial court, which led to an important change: the foundation of the Prague administrative court. Now the Prague Court is sitting in three buildings; at Karlovo náměstí, the commercial court on Slezská street, and the administrative court on Hybernská street. This scope of activities is to a certain extent given by the fact that we are in Prague and the number of complaints filed here is atypical. We are basically dealing with one fourth of the whole country’s trial agenda.

The Czech legal environment is becoming more and more litigious. Do you observe the same trend?

I do, and I don’t think it’s good. We can see the following thinking in other European countries: let’s do everything so that things don’t end up in court because justice is expensive. I could say that in the Czech Republic it’s exactly the opposite – let’s put everything to the court.

This isn’t good because many things could be solved otherwise – more efficiently, faster and cheaper – and then judges would have time for the issues that truly enquire their attention.

Why do we have such a trend in the Czech Republic that goes against European tendencies?

It’s a question of legal setting. In the Czech Republic the agendas that require court investigation are growing.

For example, I had a chance to observe that in the United States there are numerous state or non-state institutions that are in charge of handling certain things that don’t need to be addressed by judges directly. We are talking about small commercial property litigations, or maybe family or commercial issues. Unfortunately in our case, every year the Parliament is adding new laws that ask judges to undertake more and more assignments – then you end up with a legal and justice system that isn’t very transparent. I hope this trend will end soon. This is, of course, a question for the MPs who are suggesting these laws, as well as for the government that approves them.

You mention the complications of the Czech legal system. Have you seen some improvement in the last 12 years?

Yes, in many cases. For example, the large progress in the computerization of the system. I would say that

(in general) it’s been very helpful, but that’s not always the rule. For example, we implemented certain forms of electronic management for judges. Because the process wasn’t finished, we ended up having more work than before. More concretely, a lawyer must file a claim in an electronic format, while we have still a paper registry.

Therefore, we need to print that claim, conduct the judgment process in a paper format, then get it back in an electronic format – scan the outcome and send it to the lawyer. We are having a sort of half-system. This issue can’t be solved before we have electronic registers as well. We tried to measure the impact of this situation recently and we realized that after the implementation of the computerized system, the volume of work with one legal claim increased by one third. This is really bad.

How do the cuts in the Czech budget impact your institution?

It’s about money, and this is a big problem for us. In the Czech Republic the number of judges and administrative staff are created like this: the justice minister gets a budget to split among the courts, state offices, and prisons. What remains is how much money we have for our judges and administrative staff, and we decide our headcount based on that. This is bad. When I look at my favorite Dutch example, the highest authority in the justice system is counting the number of judges according to the number of claims from the last year. Then they file the number to the Parliament and make a financial request that the MPs usually approve. When we have that, then we can talk about an efficient justice system.

We have a different setting and it’s a pity because justice isn’t a governmental department, as it’s often considered. Justice is one of the three independent powers in a state, and that is how it should be dealt with.

Did you notice any political pressure on justice lately?

I would split the judges’ independence into two parts.

If we are talking about the decision-making independence, I am convinced that judges are absolutely independent and no politician can put pressure on them. If one judge collapses under the pressure of the media, politicians, and so on – it’s not a systemic mistake; it’s an individual failure. If we are looking at the institutional independence, then of course we feel the political pressure. It’s not just with regards to money sharing, it’s also the fact that the government – as the executive power – has a decisive word in the selection of judges and the appointment of the court’s administrative staff. We do feel the pressure. We are aware that it’s bad and we’d like to get rid of it.

How long does an average case take in your court?

At the Prague Court – where we are dealing mostly with appeals – it’s a matter of months. The problem is in the case of first degree procedures, where the trial can take years. This is also valid for criminal trials. The Czech legal system is quite specific, if we’re looking at how complicated it is. In a civil trial, one party will always want the trial to end as soon as possible, while the other party would not mind if the trial lasts forever. The civil code is set up in such a way that, if a lawyer promises a client that he’ll do everything to prolong a trial for a few years, he has high chances he’ll make it. This is what the system allows; so then we can’t be surprised if a court judgment lasts for a very long time.

What is the way out of this situation?

This is a very difficult question. If I am to simplify things at extreme, I would say that there are two steps.

First: pass on the agenda (that shouldn’t be necessarily) regarding the competence of judges to somebody else.

Second, take the judging burden from the judges: currently, a Czech judge is half a judge and half an administrative person. Right now we have 560 judges in Prague and 90 assistants, so a judge’s work is very expensive. If we manage tto pass some off th the workk th thatt jjudges d are now undertaking to quality administrative staff, then judge’s work could be much faster and much more efficient.

What should a normal citizen expect from the Czech justice system in the future?

As a citizen, I would expect that justice will be fast and cheap. I believe that we will succeed in that direction and that the judicial, Parliament, and other governmental institutions are becoming aware of the fact that justice is here so that people can obtain it quickly and in good quality. I assume that this is what every person in this country is looking for.

If you were to mention one success from your work last year, what would that be?

I was very unhappy with the apparent disconnection between the judicial and the academic sphere. Law students would commit themselves to the law school for five years and have a minimal contact with practical work. In 2003 I had a chance to see a different system in the United States, so I came back to the Czech Republic and started talking with the Dean of Prague Law School about it. We managed to find a solution, and now we have students who come constantly for practical internships in our courts. We receive roughly 100 students each semester in Prague, and it’s utterly beneficial for both parties. I’m very happy we managed to bring this to Prague.

By Cristina Muntean I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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An interview with Luboš Petruželka, Head off the Oncologic Clinic of the General University Hospital and First Medical Faculty of thee Charles University in Prague

HOW TO FIGHT CANCER?

RESPONSIBLY Photo: Vladimír Weiss

The Czech Republic hoolds an unfortunate first place among countries with a high ratee of bowel and rectum cancer. This is caused by an unhealthy lifeestyle and lack of sufficient physical activity, says Luboš Petruželka, head of the Oncologic Clinic of the General University Hospital and First Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague. Petruželka also holds the position of head of the Institute for Oncologic Radiation of the Bulovka University Hospital in Prague. Even though the number of cases identified with cancer is constantly growing, Petruželka sees big hope in the timelier discovery of illnesses, and also in cancer research, where the Czech Republic should invest much morre money, he argues.

When you look back at your work over the last ten years, what major changes do you observe?

It’s certainly the he acceleration of new developments in med edic icine. Another thing is that we have more pat atients. This is caused by a general trennd – that the number of cancer patients is growing in developed countries every year. The growth is by 2% to 5% on average. It also depends on the type of diagnosis. We’re living the paradox of improving healthcare. More people are growing old; therefore they arrive to the moment when they’re more exposed to tumorss. We also have more patients in intensive car are. This is given by the fact that curing resul ults ts are better.

It means we have many more pat atiients in intensive care, and who before wouuld ldn’t have lived so long because of the lack of medicine. The science of

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medicine is advancing really quickly even though in oncology it’s not always that visible.

What other changes do you notice?

Healthcare has fundamentally changed. Now we’re talking about personalized healthcare.

Each Ea c patient is looked at from the perspective of his ow wn personality, disease and all of the surrounding ele lements that relate to that – economical, family baack ckground and so on. We’re not there yet, but the cur ure should be tailor-made for each patient based on hi hiss overall condition, and the type of tumor he’s sufferiring ng from.

We should be able to identtififyy the genetic chhan anges at the molecular level, so tha hat we can recomm men e d medicine that would be highl hlyy targeted. For the moment, however, this is quite fa farr from the realityy. We W aren’t capable of targeting the medicine precise sely ly at this point. However, the push for personalizedd he h althcare brings the need for more specialists thhat are focused on concrete issues in the field of radi dioo diagnosis, and methods of visual identification. Mo Molecular biology, surgeons and oncologists are sppec ecialized; therefore we are now facing the need foor cross-field teams. We are heading towards personalized, individualized multidisciplinary oncology, which requires that various specialists come together and deal with individual patients together.

We are talking about individual care. Finding out that you’re sick with cancer is a hard moment for everybody. How do you share that diagnosis with a patient?

The first thing is that, compared to before 1989, the approach towards patients has fundamentally changed in the favor of patients.

Even I remember the time when cancer diagnosis was hidden from patients. They didn’t have access to their medical records and it was a mistake if they ever found out what they were suffering from. This brought a huge uncertainty, as thee patient was uncertain about the outcome th of thee tre r atment. Now, the first thing we do is to share the di diagnostic, which takes place at different levels. T he patient is checked, and during the general check he he/s /she undergoes a so-called biopsy, which is a colleect ction of tissue samples from the tumor. This sampl plee shows whether cancer is confirmed, and then itit’ss a matter of how to share that with the patient. Th Thee oncologist is responsible for sharing the diagnosi siss and for setting up further curing steps, together wiith the patient. Sharing the diagnosis must be adapted to the type of relationship with the patient, his or her age, education and everything.

Sharing the diagnosis and communication with thee patient, this is art. This is why medical faculth ties are teaching it, but the doctor must obtain some pract ctic i al experience, because trust with the patient is the basis for everything.

How should a person react when learning that they have cancer?

If we are talking ab about cancer diagnosis or tumor identification, thee mo m st important is the communication with the doc octo t r and trust in the cure. The patients should have the h possibility of expressing their point of view, andd int n ervene in the decision-making process in their ca case.

For sure they shouldn’t leave the issue for themselves. Family support is essential because cancer isn’t the illness of one person, it affects the entire family. It’s important to listen to the possibilities. One thing is to share the diagnosis, another thing is to share the prognosis – how the disease will advance, which is much more difficult. Everything is very individual.

It’s clear from your former interviews that you are placing a high significance on prevention. People should attend regular medical checks. What should a healthy person do to prevent cancer?

There aree tw two or three steps in prevention. The first thing is thee prevention of the appearance of tumors. Of coursee, tu t mors are illnesses that appear at the level of gennes e . A change of information occurs that the organis ism m fails to prevent.

H wever, it’s possible to take ste Ho teps ps regarding our lilife f style that would reduce the risk sk at maximum.

What steps would you recommend?

Sufficient physi sica c l activity, a healthy regime, and not smoking. It’s al already visible that countries that limited smokingg have faced a significant decrease of lung tumors. Wh When we speak of skin tumors, some exaggerated su sunn exposure can be a trigger for such tumors. Anothe herr issue that has been much discussed recently is the h connection between brain tumors and the use of cell phones. However, that’s hard to prove for the moment. I strongly believe that everything should be done wisely and without exaggeration.

Are there any other steps towards prevention that you would recommend?

The next step is secondary prevention – identification of the patient in the clinically blind stadium, when the disease has shown no signs yet. This is called screening – going for checks that would identify the disease even before it shows any signs of activity. This is, of course, valid for types of cancer that occur often and where visual or laboratory methods exist. For example, it’s possible to conduct screening in the case of tumors of the bowel and rectum. The C ech Republic is holding an unfortunate first Cz plac ace, e together with Hungary, with regards to the appearan ance of tumors of the bowel and rectum.

What’s moree su s rprising is the fact that many patients’ tumors are discovered in the very last phase when even surg rger e y can’t help them.

Why are the Czech Republic and Hungary in first place for this type of cancer? Is this connected to the specific meals in these countries?

“Sharing a diagnostic and comm munication with a patient – that’s art.”

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The lifestyle is one thing: meal composition, ingredients for side-dishes, vegetables – the consumption of vegetables is far lower than it should be. Also the consumption of various salami, smoked meat and so forth contributes to that. The lack of physical activity, some physical exercise, everything contributes to worsen ng that lifestyle. ni Every year we’re discovering new medicine.

However, we still don’t have a universal cure for cancer. How come we’re failing for so long?

I don’t think this is is failure. The problem is that in the past cancer has as been perceived as one disease. This isn’t the casee. We W are talking about thousands of types of diseasee th t at affect various organs and behave completeely different.

I don’t assume that this is because of hum uman incapacity, but it’s more about the fact that canc ncer e evolves with time and it can behave in one way in an early stage, and in a completely different way in a later stage. The only rule that applies everywhere is that a timely discovery can save the patient.

What role is played by the body in the curing process, and what role by the mental and spiritual condition?

The psychological condition plays a very important role. We can say that we’re curing the patient in a complex manner, not just his body. pa If the he patient doesn’t believe in the cure, same as when th the doctor doesn’t believe in the cure, it can affect the he whole process negatively. There are also patients wh who doubt the cure and look for help elsewhere. If this he helps them and improves their psychological condititio ion, I have nothing against it.

What are your expectations for the future, if we’re looking five to ten years ahead? What significant changes in cancer treatment do you expect?

The trends are in timely identification – finding the signs and chang nges e at the gene level that would predefine the possibbilility of the appearance of cancerous tumors. Thhis will be done based on new molecular and other met etho h ds that would be obtained from blood collection. T hi h s is, however, very far away. However, making effort rtss to get there is the best way. What is very important is that we should all support cancer research. We can’t wait only for what’s being discovered abroad. Each country should have its own research center because research means learning for the local doctors. It’s not just about finding new cures, but also learning how it works. I truly believe we shouldn’t ignore the importance of this aspect when dealing with cancer.

By Cristina Muntean I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine i V/201 V 1

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networking/discussion event

Special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy and Laic Aktiengesellschaft for making this reportage possible

This “Round Table of Comenius“ took place on September 15, and its VIP guests were the Governors of Regions: South Moravia – MICHAL HAŠEK, South Bohemia – JIŘÍ ZIMOLA and Ústí – JANA VAŇHOVÁ. Michal Hašek is also the first Deputy Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party and President of the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic.

From left: Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Jana Vaňhová, Governor, Ústí Region, Karel Muzikář, President Comenius, and Miroslav Jansta, Managing Partner, AK Jansta & Kostka

Partners of the event were companies ČEZ, IBM and NOEN, all represented by their top managers.

Round Table of Comenius with Governors of Regions: South Moravia, South Bohemia and Ústí The governors introduced their regions at the beginning of the evening and pointed out the values and achievements of these three areas. It was also said that the problems of the regions are different, therefore the needs of the regions differ as well. During the lively debate with the participants the governors did not forget to mention the issues of renewable energy. Another topic discussed was education, specifically the need of well apprenticed workmen for the companies and that the number of university graduated people is unnecessarily too high on the other hand.

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

From left: Fawad Nadri, President, Czech-Afghan Chamber of Commerce, Michal Hašek, Governor, South Moravian Region, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

23.9.2011 11:31:52

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

networking/discussion event

From left: Vlastislav Bříza, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Head Manager for Strategic Projects, KOH-INOOR HOLDING and Albín Sybera, General Director, Sybera Enterprises

From left: Tomáš Drahoňovský, Account Executive, Local Government, Dell Computer, Michal Hátle, CEO, T-Systems Czech, Jaromír Císař, Partner, Císař, Češka, Smutný a spol., and Soňa Van Deelen, General Director, Union of Czech and Moravian Production Co-operatives

From left: Jan Horák, Director and Executive Head, USK, Jan Oberman, Managing Director, Korado Consulting, Lucie Orgoníková, Executive Head, Orgmedia, Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Karel Muzikář, President Comenius

From left: Jan Sixta, Deputy Minister for Public Investment and Legislation, Ministry for Regional Development and Petr Hotovec, Director, Zenova Services Jiří Zimola, Governor, South Bohemian Region

From left: Radka Bučilová, Director, State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, Jana Bohutínská, Editor in Chief, Be the Best, Albín Sybera Jr., Advisor to the Director, State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, and Vlasta Holéciová, Editor in Chief, Komora

Renata Telínová, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Scanservice and Jaroslav Šafránek, Key Account Manager, S&T CZ

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From left: Jan Sixta, Deputy Minister for Public Investment and Legislation, Ministry for Regional Development and Boris Halata, Manager, Advisory, KPMG ČR

From left: Jan Horák, CEO, USK, Zdeněk Pelc, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, GZ Digital Media, and Miloslava Procházková, Co-owner, Avanti

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networking/discussion event

Special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy and Laic Aktiengesellschaft for making this reportage possible

From left: Michal Hašek, Governor, South Moravian Region and Karel Muzikář, President Comenius

Miloslava Procházková, Co-owner, Avanti and Jiří Vacek, Co-owner, Avanti

Martin Wagner, Sales Director, IBM ČR

From left: Vladimír Jaroš, Director, Group NEON and Zdeněk Pelc, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, GZ Digital Media

From left: Jan Klas, General Director, Air Navigation Services, Jiří Vacek, Co-owner, Avanti, and Vladimír Jaroš, Director, Group NEON

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

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT Comenius.indd 26

From left: Jan Tašek, Executive Head and Co-owner, ASE, Jiří Zimola, Governor, South Bohemian Region, Jana Vaňhová, Governor, Ústí Region, and Karel Muzikář, President Comenius

23.9.2011 13:55:38

53. mezináro odní strojíírenský veletrrh www.bvv.cz/msv

069

6. mezináro odní veletrh dopraavy a logiistiky www.bvv.cz/translog

3.–7. 10. 2011

5.–6. 10., pavilon D

Brno – Výstaviště

Nejdůležitější událost českého průmyslu – inovace a trendy v klíčových oborech: strojírenství, elektrotechnika, energetika, automatizace, plasty, doprava, manipulace, skladování, balení a logistika.

Zaregistrujte se před svou návštěvou veletrhu, ušetříte čas a peníze!!

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Veletrhy Brno, a.s.

Výstaviště 1 647 00 Brno tel.: +420 541 152 926 fax: +420 541 153 044 e-mail: msv@bvv.cz translog@bvv.cz www.bvv.cz/msv www.bvv.cz/translog

Systém CESR spolehlivě ochrání vaše podnikání před nespolehlivými obchodními partnery.

The CESR system will reliably protect your business against unreliable business partners.

Rating českých ekonomických subjektů jednoznačně ukáže, na co si u dané společnosti dávat pozor a jaká rizika při spolupráci s ní očekávat

Rating of Czech economical subjects it will show unambiguously what to be aware of in particular company and what risks can be expected when cooperating with it

Hlídání insolvence program u zadaných subjektů sleduje, zda nebyl podán návrh na zahájení insolvenčního řízení, a informuje o všech změnách

Insolvency watch a program checking selected subjects for information whether an insolvency proceedings was not started against them, and informs about all changes

Hlídání změn v obchodním rejstříku program sleduje zadané subjekty v obchodním a živnostenském rejstříku a e-mailem zasílá informace o zjištěných změnách - např. likvidaci

Watching for the changes in business register a program watching selected subjects in business and trade register, and sends e-mails about noticed changes – e.g. liquidation

Registr dlužníků zadejte do systému své problematické dlužníky a dluhy se až do splacení promítnou do jejich ratingu

Register of debtors input your problematic debtors here and their debts will affect their rating until they are paid

Adresář subjektů kompletní adresář českých ekonomických subjektů, v němž lze vyhledávat podle regionu, oboru, obratu apod.

List of subject a complete list of Czech economical subjects, where one can search by region, field, turnover, etc.

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22.9.2011 17:58:41

An interview with Rene Beauchamp, General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel in Prague

Progress through Innovation Rene Beauchamp was appointed general manager of Four Seasons, a five-star hotel located in the heart of old Prague, almost nine years ago. Altogether, he spent 31 years in the international Four Seasons Hotels chain and Beauchamp has seen it all: the good years of Prague’s growth, when new four and five-star hotels were launched regularly, and the tough times of this recent economic crisis. Even though the hotel needed to implement certain measures during that time, such as staff swaps to retain profitability, the focus has always been the same: to never compromise on the quality, and to come up with creative solutions worth the money, he says. On the other hand, Four Seasons has taken advantage of the crisis to refurbish its property. When the good times return, we want to be in our best condition, Beauchamp says.

Photos: Vladimír Weiss

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How did Four Seasons experience the economic crisis that affected the Czech Republic in 2008–2010?

Like everyone else we have been affected, however, we have not compromised on quality. That was very, very important for us. Four Seasons Hotels have been known for high standards and quality of service, and the main goal was to maintain that and make sure to always keep the quality alive in the hotel. In some cases, some of our properties abroad needed staff during that period, and we transferred a few people there. We have also found ways to combine positions in different areas of the hotel rather than eliminating positions. Positions were not replaced as people left.

That’s how we’ve managed to stay ahead. From a revenue standpoint, we concentrated our efforts and looked at untapped markets and diversified our portfolio. We thought of markets that we hadn’t worked with before, and we were surprised that there were a lot of uncovered markets with strong interest in our hotel and destination.

That’s how we’ve maintained our position during that period.

What are the main untapped markets you started focusing on?

The Middle East is one that is emerging and is very interested in Prague, and we are seeing growth from that region as well. We also feel that Asia is another area with a tremendous interest.

Korea and Japan are two markets that will continue to grow as time goes by.

Is the crisis over?

No, not quite yet unfortunately. I wish it would be a definitive yes. I think that we have to work differently today. People are savvy and have learnt a lot from this crisis. People know the value of their money and now they spend it differently.

They don’t spend it as lavishly today as they used to in the past. People are looking for value, and they are looking for quality and unique experiences as well. I think that’s going to be a key for the future.

What have you personally learnt from the crisis, or during the crisis?

That you can always find ways to make things work. In times of crisis you have to think differently and be creative with your approach. Where there’s a will, there is a way. The team here really contributed to making it through this difficult period and they came up with great ideas. You have to rely on your team a lot throughout such periods.

Where exactly did you transfer your staff from Prague when that measure was needed?

The interest varied. Europe was definitely one of the favorite destinations. Some of our staff went to our newly opened Hotel in London Park Lane to assist during the pre and post-opening, and we even sent some team members to our hotels in Singapore and London on a cross-exposure program. Our staff is very curious and they want to learn. This has worked very well for us.

“You can always find ways to make things work.”

What are you preparing yourself for right now?

From a marketing standpoint, we continue to solicit uncovered and emerging markets, and we are looking at different types of business that we were not necessarily looking at before. We are also taking advantage of this period to renovate our hotel. We have been doing that for the past year and a half and we will complete most of our program by May 2012.

2012 We are also embarking on an exciting project with the renovation of our Allegro Restaurant in November until February 2012. When the crisis is over, our product will be at its best and ready to take on the next challenge.

We are and want to stay the leader in this city with the best location.

With regards to events taking place in your hotel, do you feel a difference in the organizers’ profile compared to the period before the crisis?

No, I think it’s just far more competitive nowadays. You have a lot of organizers who are more competitive in their approach, and you try to be creative. We always strive to offer something different, very creative and with great value as well.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, people are not spending as lavishly as they did before. They do want to make sure they receive value for their money.

So we try to do that and offer services that are creative and competitive.

Can you tell me something that you’re offering to an event organizer that is different now compared to before the crisis?

I think we’ve always been known for our creativity, and for offering things that are unique. We’ve always been known to open doors that maybe other organizations are not able to. We try to create events that are unique and different for our clients.

This is not different than before, we’ve just been more cautious on what value we offer. I think that’s the focus.

Prior to the crisis we were talking about the large number of four and five-star hotels being launched on the Czech market. The competition reached its peak exactly when the crisis hit Prague. What are your expectations for future developments in terms of competition?

The city has grown and changed tremendously.

There’s been an influx of new five-star hotels coming to the market during the last three or four years. It is great because it is also changing the destination, as it will attract a new type of client destination as well. I think the city will benefit a lot from them.

We just have to make sure that we continue to promote the city and offer events, exhibitions and cultural events that will stimulate and attract that type of client, and I think the city has to continue to contribute and do a lot of that. This is crucial for the development of the city.

What kind of cultural events would be the key for the development of your target audience?

I think the perfect example was the Cartier jewel exhibition at the Prague Castle last year. This was fantastic. This is the type of event the city needs, because it is not only for the local market, it will also attract an international type of client. Another example is the Modigliani exhibition in January– February this year, which was beautiful. This is something not only for the local market; the international market was very interested in seeing that, too.

So I think we have to continue promoting that.

The city has so much art, so much culture. Look at the [Prague Spring] music festival in May. Fantastic, it’s sold out every night. But we have to continue to create new events like that. That will attract an international clientele to all hotels.

We need to support and share in the efforts to ensure the success of our future.

By Cristina Muntean I

Leaders Magazine i V/201 V 1

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23.9.2011 15:29:34

An interview with Jovo Savič, Owner of the restaurant chain Kogo

KOGO: LESS IS MORE Jovo Savič opened the first Kogo restaurant in Prague in 1995. In Croatian the word “koggo” refers to a coo ookk on a boa oatt th that at nat atur ural ally ly speciialilizes in sea food and meals with sea specialties. Currently Savič owns three restaurants – Kogo Slovanský dům, Kogo in the Golf Resort Albatross, and the old Kogo Havelská in the Old Town that he manages together with his partner. Jovo Savič is available daily for his hosts in the Kogo Slovanský dům restaurant, which is operating for more than 10 years and which specializes in Mediterranean.

The Kogo restaurant in the first class Golf Resort Albatross is now in the middle of its second season of existence.

What news are you preparing? Would you like to launch further restaurants under the Kogo brand?

At a certain moment in the past, restaurant expansion was quite trendy, so we wanted to join the trend as well. This wasn’t motivated by greed or because we wanted more money. We all work for mone mo neyy, but on th thee ot othe herr ha hand nd I rea ealilize zedd th that at hav avin ingg four to six restaurants is useless. Today, in the light of the economic troubles, it’s really not a good idea.

One needs to focus on what he has and do it at his best. So, I am not considering expansion for the

future. If we do go into something, it will most probably be some smaller projects. In Kogo Golf Resort Albatross we are now experiencing our second season, and I can say that after the first season we managed to stabilize the menu at a level that would be most satisfactory for the club members. Based on a questitionnaire, i we brought in more Czech meals and refreshments on the playground, such as filled baguettes. Currently, I am also focusing on improvements for the current locations – some quick cosmetic improvements.

“I am giving everything I have here: my heart, my soul, my body – everything.”

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What exactly do you have in mind?

For example, in Kogo Slovanský dům we have a bar.

We would like to transform it into a true wine bar, where people could go and taste the best wines in the world. During certain evenings we could also host presentations of champagne and other qualityy wines.

The whole bar concept isn’t now only about wine. It’s rather a mix. That’s exactly why I want to have a truly typical wine bar that would feature numerous types of wine so that clients are satisfied. I have already reached an agreement with several wine producers Pho Ph hotos tos: o : VVlad laddim imír Weis imí e sss

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from the Czech Republic and Italy who would like to join the project and introduce their wines to the market. Wine will come from the Czech Republic, Italy, France, but also from Australia and so on. I think it could also be useful for our guests to become familiar with the cultures of these regions.

Who will be the targeted clientele of your wine bar?

Currently Kogo Slovanský dům has an excellent clientele and we’d like to stick with it. Our target group is known – those who sit here for lunch or dinner represent a certain lifestyle. It’s better to work with a certain layer of people who aren’t only economically strong, but also understand what we offer. On the other hand, each guest is a good guest.

Will the wine bar have a different name or will it be a part of Kogo Slovanský dům?

It will be a part of the restaurant. [Kogo Slovanský dům] will be like a large house where one can go for an aperitif before dinner, a good cognac after dinner, continue with the wine he served over dinner in case he liked it, or taste different wines, if that’s what the host wants.

What exactly does the word “kogo” mean?

In Croatia “kogo” is the name of a cook who works on a boat. However, I’ve noticed that also in some parts of Italy they use the word kogo for the same work. I think it comes from the old language and tradition of our lands.

It means that you found yourself in this tradition and you based the principles of your restaurant on it. If you were to describe the spirit of your restaurants, what would you say?

It’s hard to say. What I can easily say is that the spirit is me, me because I am here every day, day I take care of operations, wine, fish, meat, everything that needs to be done so that the restaurant functions. I am spending a huge amount of time here. I am basically here from half past seven in the morning to midnight at the disposition of our guests, waiters, cooks, cleaning staff and so on. That’s exactly why I don’t want to have more restaurants. If you want to have a truly good restaurant, you can’t fly around among your operations. You don’t get anything by doing that.t Howeve verr, whe henn yo youu wo work rk at th thee sa same me pla lace ce, yo youu can focus on it. Guests see this and appreciate it.

So, the spirit of your restaurant is you because you are putting your spirit at stake into your business.

I am putting at stake everything – my soul, my heart, my body – everything.

Let’s go back to your target clientele. Kogo Slovanský dům has become a sort of promenade for influential people, from lawyers, businessmen, politicians and lobbyists. How does this help you with your business?

Each person is trying to get what’s best on the market. Here we do everything so that we can attract the largest number of clients possible, to retain old customers and attract new ones. We do our best so that our restaurant can stand at a certain level. How do we do that? Well, we focus on various things that go from the restaurant to the purchase of ingredients, food preparation, service, hygiene, environment and everything else connected to it. We really do our best

so that people can feel good in here. The circle of our clients is growing by the day and we’re full most of the time.

You didn’t answer my question about the impact of influential people on your business. Does this potent target group help you in any way?

Influential people choose better places. I don’t want to offend anyone, but rich people have a certain life standard and know the value of things. A Louis Vuitton or Dior purse costs more than another one.

So, each individual is trying to find his place, and this is also valid for the place where he sits for lunch, where he celebrates his birthday, where he holds a press conference and where they can expect a branded quality of food and service.

Are you preparing some menu changes for this autumn?

If we speak about our cuisine, we have changes every day. This is influenced by the choice of ingredients such as fish and meat that we receive twice a week from Italy. The menu changes according to what’s available on the market. There is change every day. We also have a stable menu, but this will also be improved. The rest of our meals – our daily specialties – truly depend on what we purchase from Italy.

How many guests do you have on average per day at Kogo Slovanský Dům?

The restaurant capacity together with the bar reac re ache hess so some me 200 gue uest stss, and the pla lace ce get etss fu fullll several times a day. When it’s summer and we have the terrace open, we increase our capacity by some 200 more seats where guests can go for a coffee, wine, aperitifs, lunch or dinner. It depends a lot on the weather. When it’s nice weather the garden is full, when it’s cold and rainy we can feel it immediately.

The best is when it is some 20 to 22 degrees, this is ideal for Prague.

What are your major challenges in the Czech Republic?

Basically, two things. The first one is the staff and its competence. The second is the purchase of quality ingredients. These are the two things that give a lot of headaches to all hotel and restaurant managers in this country. The Czech Republic doesn’t have yet such a hospitality cult as they do in France, Italy or SSpain, i where h they h really ll put their h i soull in i their h i work. k Today, being a good cook is a profession that is much appreciated in Italy, and people respect them infinitely. They are also very well paid for what they do.

Cooks in the Czech Republic don’t enjoy the same prestige yet. They think that being a cook means nothing special. However, I can see that this is changing. Young Czech cooks go to Italy, France, London to work and learn, and they are interested in getting better. The situation is improving by the day. However, we nee eedd on onee ex exce cellllen entt ho hote tell sc scho hool ol in Pr Prag ague ue tha hatt would train proper cooks and waiters.

How about the purchase of ingredients, why is it such a challenge?

This one will be hard to fix. It will take a long time until we’ll be able to buy everything here we need for our operations. For example fish; it is clear that we need to bring it from somewhere else. However, there are other things that could be improved, such as meat – better beef, better pork, mainly healthier.

We should start feeding the animals better, not the way that we stuff a chicken in three days, and then we roast it. This doesn’t work. French cultivate andd operate large farms so that they can have quality ingredients. We should do the same, to enjoy a better quality of life in the Czech Republic as well.

By Cristina Muntean I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine i V/201 V 1

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FELICITA IMAGE CREATIONS: Your Customised Image – from Clothes to Handmade Watches

Ivančic, who created collections that were presented in London, Paris, Moscow and St. Petersburg, using the woollen materials of Novitex Fashion brand.

The precision cuts, exact elaboration, and a number of special “handy features” will hide any shortcomings and ensure true glamour and practicality for the wearer. These cuts include such intricacies as nontraditional pockets, so that you can have your mobilephone at hand without unsightly bulges; tailoring solutions are provided by Mr. Jaroslav Mejta for gentlemen and by Mrs. Zdeňka Konečná for ladies. The clientele of the studio is very wide, ranging from members of the current and previous governments to significant personalities of Czech cultural, social and sporting life.

One of the most recent orders certainly worth mentioning was from the Czech Olympic Club.

Club Olympic champions and medallists such as Dana Zátopková, Martin Doktor, Imrich Bugár, Oldřich Svojanovský and Jiří Raška represent the Czech Republic at Olympics related social events while dressed in suits from the Felicita Image Creations studio.

Jewellery offered by the Felicita Image Creations studio t di comes from f the th Czech C h bbrandd PPrimossa, i chosen h especially for its originality, with which the founder and director of Felicita Image Creations, Mrs. Eva Rybková, fell in love several years ago. Mrs. Rybková is equally enamoured with the great flexibility and assortment that this traditional manufacturer offers.

Stylists at the studio will select for you jewellery either from the current collection, or you can have your jewellery custom made from men’s tie clips and cuff links to complex or simple and stylistically pure necklaces that fit any particular neckline or cleavage.

The exceptional social events attended by leaders from our site are also accompanied by exceptional clothing, as well as all the necessary accessories that are, of course, exceptional. Since we attend these events to enjoy them, all the exceptionalities (i.e. clothing, footwear and accessories) should meet three conditions in particular – they should provide exceptional comfort, assure you that you look great, and make you feel as good as you look. For this reason many of our readers strive for uniqueness by visiting fashion studios, not because the luxury clothing of selected brands is not luxury enough, but simply because it is not CUSTOM MADE to fit one’s particular style. Often, therefore, luxury brands do not meet the criteria

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of comfort and convenience, especially in cases where it is not worth making a compromise. From this concept stems the fashion house Felicita Image Creations, which offers exceptional men and women an A to Z service of tailor made garments that perfectly match the client’s personality. Felicita Image Creations includes a selection of clothing as well as jewellery accessories, and now newly custom made watches.

The foundation of this studio is the precise processing of wool fabrics with elastane and silk from their own Czech production and Italian brands. Some concepts were designed for the studio by leading Czech fashion designers, such as Beata Rajská and Pavel

23.9.2011 11:36:27

The cherry on top of all that atelier Image Creations offers is handmade watches that are, once again, custom made to your taste and style. There are truly not many watchmakers in the Czech Republic that produce handmade watches. Felicita Image Creations has chosen to cooperate with the exceptionally talented young watchmaker Martin Brož from Prague, who has already achieved extraordinary success during his short career. Last year, for example, he presented his work at the prestigious watch making exhibition on the history of Prague’s astronomical clock, and soon he will exhibit his original handmade clockworks at the Watch and Jewels Exhibition taking place in Prague this autumn.

One of Martin Brož’s latest creations is a very elegant, snow-white men´s watch, which you can also see on our site. The set is supplied not only with a white leather strap with black calf leather lining, but also with an additional black strap. Both straps are finished with a steel clip and hand-engraved with “Martin Broz Prague” gravure. A new owner can then easily alternate the straps according to a mood, or to the colour of a suit or shirt. The forty-two millimetres polished steel case protects a redesigned mechanical calibre ETA6497 Unitas of this luxury machine, whose bridges were hand-carved into the shape of small and large bubbles. The area and the individual components were, of course, rhodiated, with one exception – the toothed flywheel rim. That has remained unchanged. The cunning eyes of an observer would capture a truly unique rendition of a microregulation, l ti or a swanneck, k which hi h cannott be b found f d on ETA Unitas clockworks so easily. Proof of the watchmaker´s own handiwork is his engraved signature on the bridge of the watch. The rebuilt mechanical clockwork with manual winding indicates the time with just one rhodium hand, which orbits the dial traditionally once every twelve hours. On its white surface you can then observe the hourly indices and small pieces that divide the time into fiveminute segments, and the fact that every fifteen minutes is highlighted. Lastly, on the elongated and pointed counterbalance hand you can find indication of the hour segments in an anticlockwise direction – for better orientation.

For another client of Felicita Image Creations, whose lifelong love was for powerful locomotives, Martin Brož created a nostalgically beautiful massive watch in the style of a blue-red locomotive Albatros. And what will yours be like?

Felicita Image Creations studio has a pan-European scope. Our showroom is located on Prague’s Wenceslas Square; however, our stylists will visit your home or offi f fice, att a timee sp spec ecififie iedd by you ou, so tha hatt yo youu can truly enjoy your new customised image from A to Z. If starting from A, then you start by making a choice.

We know that your time is precious. Enjoy it. email: info@felicitaimage.cz I Tel: 777 720 887, 565 321 646 Exclusive discounts for readers of Leaders Magazine: CZK 5,000 from the contract price off CZK 20,000 and above; CZK 10,000 from contract price off CZK 50,000 and above; CZK 25,000 from contract price off CZK 100,000 and above Price deductions for new orders are valid until the end of October, 2011 with the submission of this article from Leaders Magazine.

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23.9.2011 11:36:49

diplomatic event

Special thanks to OMNIPOL a.s. for making this reportage possible

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Mrs. Henneman, H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia and H.E. Jan C. Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands

National Day of Slovakia

From left: H.E. Jose Luis Bernal, Mexican Ambassador with his wife and Prof. Ing. Jiří Drahoš, DrSc., dr. h. c., Chairman, AVČR with his wife

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Vladislav Kučík, Director, Writer and PhDr. Dana Čapková, Executive Head, PB - Vyšší odborná škola

From left: H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia and H.E. Detlef Lingemann, new Ambassador of Germany

From left: Prof. Ing. Michal Mejstřík, CSc. and Ing. Jiří Weigl, CSc., Chancellor, Office of the President of the CR

23.9.2011 11:22:23

From left: H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel and PhDr. MgA. Miro Smolák, Owner and Director of MIRO Gallery

From left: Lucie Smatanová, Model, Ing. Vladislav Stanko, Managing Director, Czechoslovakia Real, s.r.o., and Andrea Verešová, Model

Mrs. Eisen, wife of the US Ambassador and H.E. Celia Sandra Botha, Ambassador of South Africa

From left: Ing. Oldřich Lomecký, Mayor of Prague 1 and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

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

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From left: H.E. George Monteiro Prata, Ambassador of Brazil with his wife and H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada

From left: H.E. Sian Christina MacLeod, Ambassador of Great Britain, Mrs. Livia Klausová, First Lady of the CR, and Jindřich Forejt, Director of Protocol, Office of the President of the CR

23.9.2011 11:23:32

From left: MUDr. Ján Lešták, CSc., Eyecentrum with his partner, Pavel Číčel, Sales Representative, ZFP Akademy, René Sion, General Manager, Alois Dallmayr AutomatenService s.r.o., and PhDr. MgA. Miro Smolák, Owner and Director of MIRO Gallery

PhDr. Dana Čapková, Executive Head, PB – Vyšší odborná škola and Petr Kužel, MBA, President, Chamber of Commerce of the CR Sharar Shelef, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Israel and Petra Mohylová, Public Diplomacy, Embassy of Israel

From left: Mrs. Livia Klausová, First Lady of the CR and Mrs. Deana Jakubisková, Actress and Film Producer

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From left: Ing. Zuzana Nacházelová, Authorized Representative, Impasto a.s., H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia, and Ing. Helena Mikešová, Deník

From left: Petr Nečas, Prime Minister of the CR and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

23.9.2011 15:47:01

From left: PhDr. MgA. Miro Smolák, Owner and Director, MIRO Gallery, Peter Kovarčík, CEO, Czech Teleaxis s.r.o., and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Dr. Ingo von Voss, Minister Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Prague and Joseph Pennington, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the USA

Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., Bank Board Member and Chief Executive Director, CNB and Ing. Soňa van Deelenová, General Director, SČMVD

From left: Luděk Sefzig, Chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs, Senate of the CR, H.E. Daniela Anda Grigore Gitman, Ambassador of Romania, H.E. Nina Nakashidze, Ambassador of Georgia, and H.E. Ivan Grytsak, Ambassador of Ukraine

From left: Mrs. Brňo, wife of Ambassador of Slovakia, Mrs. Livia Klausová, First Lady of the CR, and Mrs. Alena Gajdůšková, 1st Vice President of Senate

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23.9.2011 11:28:41

networking/charity

Photos: Petr Soukup

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Lions Club

From left: Ing. František Chaloupecký, President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Ing. Jiří Hrabovský, Director, Ewing Public Relations, s.r.o. and Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor of LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

Prague Bohemia Ambassador Guest of Honor: Ing. Jiří Hrabovský, Director, Ewing Public Relations, s.r.o.

Topic: “Media Influence on Society”

From left: Ing. Jiří Novotný, CSc., MBA, Financial Director, Ing. Jaroslav Hořák, Enterpreneur, RNDr. Pavel Kalášek, Consultant and former CEO of Hewlett Packard (standing), Oldřich Hořák, Owner of Hotel Bílá Růže in Poděbrady, and Ing. Jaromír Kaulfus, Enterpreneur

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23.9.2011 11:12:28

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, receiving a special diplom, Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, Secretary of LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, JUDr. PhDr. and Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor of LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

From left: Ing. Jiří Hrabovský, Director, Ewing Public Relations, s.r.o. and Mgr. Karel Plzák, Enterpreneur

From left: Ing. Jaromír Kaulfus, Enterpreneur, PhDr. Ladislav Říha, Owner, CK RI-Tours and former President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, and Ing. Ladislav Bouček, CSc., Enterpreneur and former Governor LCI D 122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

From left: Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, Secretary of LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor of LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, and Ing. František Chaloupecký, President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: PhDr. Martin Komárek, Chief Commentator, MF Dnes and JUDr. Petr Lachnit, Deputy Mayor

From left: Ing. arch. Petr Bílek, Architect´s Studio Bílek Associates, spol. s r. o. and Ing. Jiří Hrabovský, Director, Ewing Public Relations, s.r.o.

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

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From left: MUDr. Jiří Pekárek, former President, Czech Dental Chamber, Ing. Ladislav Vaško, Commercial Director, and Ing. Antonín Novotný, CEO, CSI

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23.9.2011 11:12:49

BACK TO CLASSICISM After an unusually busy summer I decided to take a week off and go for a training camp in Croatia. I was hoping that physical exercise would oxygenate my brain and help me see things clearly again. A year of sixteenhour work days had started to take a toll on my creativityy, quality of laabor outtcome, healtth and my personal life.

I arrived to Croatia hungry for a gulp of energy and clarity. Later I realized I was in a quest for balance.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t the only one with the same goal in the camp. “I’ve recently received a Gold card for a local sports club. They measured my physical condition and told me I’ve got too much muscle mass, and that particularly my legs are too strong. Because of that I am not using other groups of muscles that I should employ during exercise exercise. I’ve lost my balance,” a good friend told me, a tae-bo trainer who conducts her own lessons twice a week. I was surprised by her statement. One would say that somebody who trains regularly is closer to mental and physical balance than many of us who forget ourselves in our offices.

However, even with physical activity, you can lose your balance if you focus your energy too much on one part of your body. You are the

Cristina Muntean is a media adviser with more than 12 years’ experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media.

Between 2005–10 Cristina worked for the English-language economic magazine Czech Business Weeklyy (CBW) in Prague.

During this time she wrote more than 3,000 news articles, features and interviews. Cristina graduated in journalism from the University of Bucharest, Romania.

She also holds a master’s degree in project management. On June 2011 Cristina was elected president of the Czech PR Klub.

Currently, she provides media training, coaching and advisory to managers, communication specialists and public officials across Central and Eastern Europe.

Cristina speaks Romanian, French, English and Czech and can be reached at cm@ mediaed.cz.

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result of where you direct your energy, the old saying goes. So, who are we?

HARD TO GET, EASY TO LOSE The discussion with my friend made me realize two things. Balance is a lifelong work and achievement. It’s a matter of aw war a enesss an andd constant con onsc scio ious u efffor ortt to pour the right ingred gr edie iennts in the right quantity to keep things on the right track. Last year I thought I had found my balance. I was wrong. I thought my balance would stay with me without effort.

After prioritizing work since September 2010, I smoothly arrived to the point where I had to look at myself in disbelief, acknowledge the loss I was experiencing, and ask myself: f: how on Earth did I get here? In shor ortt: balance needs constant consideratition on and pro-active time investment. Wee ne need balance between our body, soul,, br braain and heart. Otherwise it’s the life thatt lilives us, not the other way round.

BACK TO CLASSICISM Thee second conclusion is that, in some sort of convoluted way, we’re going back to classicism.. What was the fundamental principle of claassicism? Focus: one thought at a time, in onne place and in one segment of time.

Intoxicaate ted by the amount of information we receive andd mu m st process daily, we go back to the simplicity and eleegance of classicism. The most painful tragedies es of classic literature were solved with a stoic view w of the world, and the understanding that we need to flfow with the water and accept what we cannot chhan ange ge.

Conscious of our duties, we need to accept our limits - of our body, mind, and spirit – and live with it. It won’t make us less worthy of respect and love. It won’t mean we are failures.

The winner of today is the stoic leader who understands the need for balance and acts basedd on o focus and lean principles. It’s a lifelong missionn and work, k but somehow ow,, deep inside, I feel it’s worth the effort.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR COMMUNICATION? When I talk to fellow reporters for media audits that I conduct for my clients, there is one thing that constantly comes up. “We need to receive information regularly. Press releases are good as long as they have a story and context. On the other hand, we need personal contact, physical meetings with the

Photo: Jakub Stadler

company representatives and informal talk.

We need to understand what’s going on in the life of a company on a regular basis,” reporters say.

The basis of any relationship is trust, regular contact and support support. To build trust trust, you need to know each other face to face.

To ensure regular contact, it’s not enough to cannon fluffy product press releases twice a week, then for two weeks nothing. Direct phone calls of pure human interest and informal meetings are highly recommended to bring balance into your media relations. Last b t not least, when reporters need something, bu you neeed to be able to support them consistently and tim imel ely, y, with the right materials and information at the rig ight ht moment. Those companies that believe in the pow wer of media relations and receive most coverage ar aree th thos o e who invest in long-term personal relationships with media reps. It’s not just about pushing a st stor oryy th through. It’s about pitching the reporter a goodd st stor oryy id ideea eve venn wh wheen it doesn’t expose you directly. It’s about giving ing and receiving, constantly. Quality media relations are a matter of balance.

Maybe I should go to Croatia more often.

By Cristina Muntean ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

23.9.2011 15:50:26

The European certificate for financial advisors EFA was introduced in the Czech Republic by AFIZ and Partners in September 2010. Now the project steps into a new phase, since the first group of applicants will pass the certificate exams by EFPA Czech Republic on September 26th. The exam consists of both oral and written part with questions covering the whole field of knowledge of the financial market. Most applicants passed a yearlong preparatory course for EFA, which started in September 2010.

Petr Borkovec, Head of Distribution, Partners, was the first speaker of this year‘s preparatory course with his topic on financial planning

event IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

First EFA Certificates Issued in September Thhe aaiim of T of thee cou ours urs rse, e, whi hich ch is or orga g niize ga zedd by by thee f in inan ancciial al addvvis vis isor isor or y fi f irm rm Par arrtn tners tn ers, is to er to suupppo ppo p rrtt exc xcel ellleent nt f in inan inan ancial anci cciial al adv dvis isor ors an ors and pprrov ovid idde th t em e wititth deep kno nowl wled leddge of allll asp of speecctss of th the fi f inanc fina nanc na ncia ncia ial al m maark rket. rket ett. On On Sep epte te m mbber er 8th th 201 011, 11, 1, a neew w class lass la ss of th the co c ur urssee was urse as ina naugguurrate naug ateedd. E at EFFPA PA Eur urop ope is is a topp profe roffeessio ro ssion ss iona io nal al as asso soocciiattio soci ionn of f in inan annci cial al advi ad viso viso sors rs act c ivve in in mos o st E Euur urope rrooppeean an sta tate tes th thaatt edduuucca tha cate tes ad tes advviiso sors sors rs anndd issssues ues cert ue cert ce rtifif icat icat ic attes es EFA es FA (E Euuro uro roppeean an Fin inanci inan aannci cial al Adv dvis dvis isor or) an and EF EFP (E (Eur urop opea pea eann Fi Fina nanc ancia iall Pl P an anner) r).

The class of 2012 on the first day of the second year of the preparatory course for EFA organized by the financial-advisory firm Partners. In the front: Professor Oldřich Rejnuš, the author of Financial Markets published by Key Publishing in 2010, is one of the teachers of the course.

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culture

HONG KONG CONTEMPORARY DANCERS’ DEBUT IN BERLIN AT ASIA-PACIFIC WEEKS 2011 A record-breaking audience of 1600 flocked to one of Berlin’s major historic theatres, Admiralspalast, on 8 September 2011 for a dance performance staged by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC). Sponsored and organised by Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), Berlin, marking the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Weeks (APW) 2011, the acclaimed performance shows that Hong Kong is also a cultural and creative centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

The APW is a biennial event organised by the Berlin State Government. This year it aims to raise public awareness of the importance

of clean water and an adequate diet to address the issues of undersupply and overproduction, as well as harmony between tradition and modern technology.

The dance performance, preceded by a reception, was received by a thundering applause and standing ovation from an audience of 1600 consisting of German senior government officials, members of the German Parliament, ambassadors, major stakeholders in the business sector, in particular, the creative industries, as well as scholars and artists. About 60 representatives from the German and Chinese media also attended the event.

ABOUT HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE, BERLIN HKETO, Berlin is HKSAR Government’s first overseas representative office established since Hong Kong’s reunification with China in 1997. It is the official HKSAR Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as in Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.

More information can be found at www.hketoberlin.gov.hk. I

Mr. Stephen Wong, Director of HKETO, Berlin (back row: centre) with CCDC at HKETO, Berlin

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23.9.2011 11:03:02

Photos from dance performance Silver Rain (copyright: Ringo Chan)

culture

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23.9.2011 11:04:16

An interview witth Dr. Peter Hodeček, CEO of AVE CZ

The Twilight of Landfills Dr. Hodeček graduateed from Vienna University with a doctoral degree. In 1998 he joined the waste managgement concern AVE. Between 1999–2001 he was a regional manager for the Vienna and St. Pölten branches. Since 2001 Mrr. Hodeček has been responsible for the coompany’s strategy and development. His mission in the Czech Republic is the developpment and expansion of AVE CZ, with his perrsonal aspiration to establish AVE CZ as one of the market leaders of the Czech waste management industry.

Photos: Randi Sokoloff

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How do you perceive the waste management field in the Czech Republic? You are the head of one of the market leaders, and you personally have vast experience within the waste management industry. What is the opinion of an expert outsider, on one hand, and a CEO of a leading company on the other?

The Czech waste manaagement market has been undergoing a process of serious change. Especially when we talk of the last seven years, a great change can be seen. And as I lookk to the near future there will be more changes in the upcoming decade. Much of the movement in our induustry has been caused and fueled by the Czech Reppublic joining the EU. Even though some changes coould be seen right after the regime change post-19899, the process sped up after 2004. The present changees make the waste management business very difficcult. If you want to be the leader of the market, you have to react extremely quickly to any developmeent and changes. You also have to follow the political debate and the influences that have a direct impact on your business.

In what way do you expect the market to change in the next decade? And how do you expect AVE’s position to change?

The AVE group entereed the Czech market just a month after the Czech Republic joined the EU seven years ago. In June 20044 we took over the former German company RWE Umwelt that operated in the Czech Republic. In those seven years we multiplied our turn-over seven or eigght times. AVE CZ has been in a growth stage since we entered the market, and there is much more growtth to achieve in the years to come. The important positive thing about the Czech market is that it is open to investors. The waste management business demands large amounts of investment. It is impossiblee for a small local company to enter the market, or for the municipal public owned companies to keep up thee pace with the investments that are necessary.

Any player in the markket needs to have a lot of liquidity to carry on investtments in order to succeed.

In the following couple of years we will witness ownership movements. Smalleer players are going to be overtaken by bigger oness. Cities and municipalities will have to consider the extent to which they will remain in the business as weell. Public companies will be most likely overtaken by private entities. The municipalities will be forced too do this due to the need for investment, especially to manage waste to the extent

Leaders Maggazine V/2011

23.9.2011 11:05:04

that public owned compannies will need to over the next couple of years.

You talk about “investments” “inveest a lot. But what investments are you spe speaking of? Where does com me from, f the need for them come and where should the investments go?

The need for investm mentts that I speak of comes from the state of the Czzech waste management infrastructure, and the final treatment methods. Landfilling is still the most coomm mon way of final treatment in the Czech Republic. It is a very simple and cheap technology. However, thheree is strong pressure from the EU to stop the landff illinng of waste. This goes for both communal and induustrrial waste.

Some countries, succh as a Romania for instance, still landfill almost onee huundred per cent of their waste. By decision of thee European Commission, they should stop this tecchnique of final treatment by 2020. The question is noot whether w to stop landfilling, but how to do it and whatt to do with the waste alternatively. You need to buildd altternative treatment structures. And alternative treeatment structures need money. Actually, they neeed a lot of money. But I would like to stress that this is not a problem for the new member states only. It is a big shame that Greece, Italy, Spain and some paartss of France face a comparable situation, and/or invvestment deficits as the Central and Eastern Euroopeean member states.

How about the measures meaasu and deadlines? Do Um the same apply to all EU member states?

Yes, the same rules andd regulations apply to all member states with sligghtlyy different deadlines. The landfill directive was inntrooduced by the European Commission in 1999. Thhat means twelve years ago!

The directive foresees a number n of steps that will reduce landfilling in ordeer too reach a reduction of biodegradable substancess, too be landfilled down to a maximum of 35 per cent of the 1999 quantity by 2016. Some of the neew member m states negotiated a prolongation until 20220. TThe Czech Republic is one of these countries.

What are the main arguments arg against landfiljustiffica ling? What is the justification for all those investaboout, which will be necessary ments that you talk about, finaal treatment tr in order to find new final approaches?

If you landfill househoold waste w for instance, it contains a lot of organic particles, paper, plastics etc.

Those materials undergoo a biodegradation b process at a landfill. During that process a landfill produces methane gas. The methhanee gas dilutes into the atmosphere. From every single landfill this methane gas dilutes into the air. Thoousands of such landfills exist all over Europe. A norm mal landfill should be covered, and the produced gas g should be sucked out and treated. Germany, Austtria and Switzerland apply such an approach. They havve a gas collection system and gas treatment. But 80 to 90 per cent of the thousands of landfills all over o Europe do not have a gas collection system andd they emit the untreated gas into the atmospheree. Thhe key thing is that methane gas is 20 times more dam maging for the ozone layer than carbon dioxide. Everybody talks of carbon dioxides, about improvingg thhe industry, cutting car emissions and so on. Noobody cares that much about the fatal effect of landdfillling, which destroys the

ozone layer, and that methane gas is one of the most dangerous greenhouse gasses.

You talk of investments that are needed in your industry. What is the approach of the bank sector?

We are still getting over the financial crisis. How willing are the banks in financing your business and investment plans? Where do you get money for investments and your expansion?

You may be right about the cautious approach of the bank sector. However, I have to say that banks are not heavily involved in the waste management industry. The waste management field is a business of huge private concerns and conglomerates, and is often partly state owned. The biggest players generate sufficient revenues for new investments. AVE is a mid-sized company with a turnover of 500 million Euro. But we have a very strong owner Energy AG. Energy AG generates a turnover of 2 billion Euro each year. Thus, we can carry out our investments with part of Energy AG’s cash flow, and we only partly use side-financing via Austrian or local banks. However, we shall need more financing partners that will perceive the new development in the environmental business as a good opportunity for their money; especially in the waste management sector in Central Eastern Europe (CEE).

What are the future challenges for your business?

Our challenge is to apply a more complex approach to environmental business. The environmental sector as such is growing – wind energy, photovoltaic, waste incineration, generating heat from incinerating waste, or generating power etc. The future is to push waste management not only as an environmental issue of getting rid of the waste, but also as a way of generating power. If you incinerate waste you generate heat or electricity. That is our challenge – to show people that we cannot simply landfill any longer, and that waste can be actually used for producing power. And I would go even further. The next step, and a challenge for our industry, is to prepare a specific fuel from the waste, which would fulfill the demands of other industries such as paper mills, the cement industry or the steel industry. To sum it up, our challenge is to take

the final step in movingg from a very simple form of landfills to the productioon of fuel for specific industry purposes.

How do you want to persuade the public that the high chimneys of incinerators behind their houses are better for them than the old landfills that they’ve become used to?

The debate in the Czecch Republic is undergoing the same phase that we haad in Austria ten years ago.

People are used to neighbourhood landfills, but if you decide to stop the landff ill and build a new waste incinerator, you get into a severe clash with the local people. We faced such an upheaval when we built our largest incinerator inn Wels near Linz. Thousands of people protested. Soo we created a sort of environmental advisory or suupervisory board. We invited opponents of the project, Green party members and local inhabitants. The environmental supervisory board was provided withh all the information from local authorities and the innvestor. Slowly, step by step, by providing the public with information, and in a way that educated them aboout our industry, we changed the atmosphere. Nowadays, there are no objections against our plant. We baasically educated the people over a period of time, annd they now understand that a modern waste incinerator is much better for their neighbourhood than an old landfill.

And I have to say one more important thing in answer to your question. Thhe closer you build incinerators, the better it is for people, however strange that may sound. If you produuce heat, for instance, then you need to transport itt to the district heating systems, and the losses arre significant. So the closer you build such a plant thhe better. In Vienna we have three incinerators right inn the city, connected directly to the heating system off Vienna. And we minimalize any losses by maximizinng the benefits of the incinerators operation.

By Filip Hubáček I český překlad naaleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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Martin Beneš, Head of the State Institute for Drug Control Photo: Martin Kovář

The Illegal Drug Market

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A talk with Martin Beneš, Head of the State Institute for Drug Control PharmDr. Martin Beneš is the direccto torr of the Sta tate te Ins nstititu tute te for for Dru rug Control t l (S (SÚ ÚKL)). He gra radu duat ated ed fro rom m th thee Fa Facu cultltyy of Pharmacy off Cha h rles University in Hradec Králové. In 1988 he pa pass ssed ed the first attttes esttatition in pharmacy h and in 2002 the attestation in radiopharmaceuticals. In the early nineties he worked k d as a professional researcher at the Institute of Medical Research in Brno. After its cancellation, he switched to the position of the head pharmacist of the Masaryk Cancer Institute in Brno, where he worked for 14 years. He devoted himself to teaching students of pharmacy and medicin ine, e, was a co-researcher and investigator of many research projects initiated byy industry ry and spe peci cial alty ty onc ncol olog oggy ph p ar arma macy cy,, an andd he help lped ed fac acililititat atee th thee in intr trod oductition off aut utom omat atio ionn an andd co comp mpput uter er sciien ence ce in ph phar harma macy cy. Ma Mart rtin in Benešš is also l a co-ffounder of the International Society on Oncology Pharmacy Practicioners.

According to studies, the volume of the global pharmaceutical market will double within ten years.

In this respect, will we face increased challenges associated with the distribution of drugs?

The pharmaceutical market is already undergoing considerable development. Within ten years, many changes can be expected. One of the challenges of globalization is the increasing threat to the legal market by the flood of counterfeit and illegal drugs. The Czech Republic is successful in fighting the criminalizatition off th the drugg marke kett, tha hank nkss to bot othh th thee ad adva vanc nced ed system protection (the autoregulation of distributors, and regulatory intervention of the State Institute for Drugg Control – SÚKL)), and to the lower attractiveness of the Cze zech ch mar arke kett co comp mpar ared ed to th thee gr grea eate terr EU countries. Consumers´ interest in buying a drug or medical device, regardless of the consequences, will lead to an increase in the percentage of people willing to gamble with their health, and who may buy fakes just for the immediate savings in expenditures. Yet, forgeries and illegality is a global problem already.

Therefore 47 countries of the Council of Europe decided to sign the first international Convention on counterfeiting of drugs and medical devices at the end of last year. Among other challenges, which the global pharmaceutical market is heading toward, is the individualization of pharmacotherapy issues. Early sci-fi ther th erap apyy lilike ke mod odififie iedd ce cellll the hera rapy py, ge gene ne the hera rapy py, an andd others have become a reality. The question is whether our society, concerning economical, psychological and ethical points of view, is able to cope well with the treatment options, given the precipitance of technological development.

Well, in this context, what do you think about the implementation of electronic auctions, and the Ministry of Health running as the key component of healthcare reform in the Czech Republic?

The so-called technical amendment represents a fundamental change, which aims to attract competition in order to acquire savings out off publ bliic insurance more than ever bef efor oree. Dra raft ft leg egis isla latition on on competition within the Czech Republic is going to change, so that fully covered drugs are secured at more favourable conditions for insurance companies. Thus, savings obtained in this way will provide modern medicine to a higher number of patients, or cover more performance at health care facilities. We see positive examples in Sweden and the Netherlands, where in some groups tens of percentages were saved thanks to electronic auctions, and in extreme cases up to 80 percent. The result will be additional savings on the part of patients and health insurers. It should be noted that much of the savings already provide for the reviewing of prices and reimbursement, which have been performed by SÚKL

since 2008. So, further savings are rather er low ow,, ye yett stililll si st sign gnifific ican antt fo forr Cz Czec echh he heal alth th car are. e.

Pharmaceuticals are among the most frequently counterfeited commodities. How do you explain that the trade in counterfeit drugs (including the Czech Republic) is flourishing?

The medium which significantly affects and enables an increased level of illegal and counterfeit medicines is the internet environment. It gives anonymity to the customers, however, there lurks a great danger that cann at bes ca estt re resu sultlt in a “m mer ere” e hea ealtlthh ririsk sk. Pe Peop ople le decide to search for such offers, for they do not have to visit a doctor to obtain a required prescription.

A majority of counterfeit and illegal pharmaceuticals is leg egal ally ly ava vaililab able le onl nlyy by pre resc scriript ptio ionn. T he add ddititio iona nall attraction might be the lower prices of counterfeits.

One should always keep in mind that the use of counterfeits and illegal drugs will most likely have a negative impact on health. From abroad, we know of cases that have resulted in death.

What can SÚKL do to prevent this?

SÚKL is actively fighting this illegal activity in cooperation with other concerned organizations. The main field of activity is informing the public through the campaign Dangerous Drugs (www.nebezpecneleky. cz), which started last year. Its main task was to reach the general public as much as possible, and warn it of thee da th dang nger erss an andd th thre reat atss po pose sedd by illllic icitit dru rugs gs and counterfeits. On the aforementioned web page, visitors are going to find interesting and useful information, for instance a guide aimed at buying the right medication on the internet. Other activities of SÚKL within this area are analytical activities, which include data processing, analysis, and implementation off expert opinions on creating forgeries for each cooperating organization. This activity is extremely important, not only to convict the offenders, but also for offering possible solutions to health complications if someone uses a fake.

In what counterfeits do you find the biggest interest?

Most popular are the so-called lifestyle drugs, medications aimed at erectile dysfunction, at weight-loss (anorexogenics) and at promotion of muscle growth (anabolic steroids). A group of people looking for this medicine on the internet can show the highest risk in this respect, and thus represents a special target within this SÚKL campaign. It does not, however, mean that only counterfeits of these medicals would appear. For example, in the U.S. there are counterfeit drugs to treat cancer, while the African continent market is plagued by counterfeits of antimalarials, antibiotics and painkillers. The rate off markket inffestt atition varies i sig ignifi ificantly, yet generally the counterfeiters are very active, and their activities are definitely not diminishing.

What is your experience regarding the reporting of the side effects of drugs taken by Czech patients?

Can you briefly compare the situation to other EU countries?

We can say that in comparison with other EU countries, the Czech Republic has a high level pharmacovigilance. The newly established EU di rective did not mean anything new for us, for we had already implemented many newly introduced measures before its introduction. Patients have the opportunity to report po rt a dru rug’ g s si side de effffec ectt di dire rect ctly ly,, vi viaa th thee pu publ blic ic por orta tall www.leky.sukl.cz. What is missing so far is the greater involvement of health workers, which, although required by law, is rather below the EU average in terms of the fre requ quen ency cy of re repo porting. g It is a shhame,, because spontaneous reporting is the main source of information on side effects, and enables effective monitoring of the safety of medicines after their market launch.

Even within this area SÚKL is active. We launched a campaign in 2010 aimed at the support of drug safety, which was meant to promote the reporting of side effects, and which eventually succeeded. Yet our main priority remains to increase the reporting of the side effects of drugs.

How has the public information portal launched in 2009 been received, with the main aim to make patients familiar with newly reported drugs on the Czech market?

I would like to be more specific about this. The information portal should primarily inform patients on medicinal products, pharmacies, drug safety and the side effects of drugs. Patients here have a complete database of all pharmaceuticals registered in the Czechh Republ bliic, infformatition on priiciingg andd reimb imbur-r sement, and a database of authorized pharmacies.

They may also find here a form for reporting the side effects of drugs, and may ask professionals for advice (doctors, gynaecologists, paediatricians and sports doctors).

How much traffic does this portal receive?

Thee po Th port rtal al is in wid ides espr prea eadd us use. e. It ha hass ro roug ughl hlyy 16,000 visits a month, and thus has been introducing graphic innovations. This is mainly to keep pace with the times and give visitors pleasant and clear graphics, and expand the field of information offered.

At the end of this year people can look forward to the information leaflet which each month is going to offer an article on a current topic of medicine and health, prepared by professionals in the field, with valid and accurate information.

By Pavlína Holancová I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine i V/201 V 1

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PGA European Tour

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic is welcomed by Mr. Stanislav Pros, Owner of Prosper Golf Resort Čeladná and Quirit Alfa a.s.

Photos: Roman Nieč

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR Czech Open at Prosper Golf Resort Čeladná

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

The PGA European Tour Czech Open Champion 2011, Oliver Fisher, England gets applauds from Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic

27.9.2011 10:55:58

From left: Aleš Buksa, Owner of LR Health & Beauty Systems CR, Slovakia and Ukraine and Quirit Alfa a.s., Pavol Lukša, Deputy, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the CR and Mayor of Čeladná, and Alexander Vondra, Minister of Defence

Miguel Jimenéz, renown Spanish professional Golfer and Designer of Prosper Golf Resort

Miguel Vidaor, Tournament Director, PGA European Tour

Jiří Bartoška, renown Actor and President of Karlovy Vary Film Festival

From left: Alexander Vondra, Minister of Defence and Pavol Lukša, Deputy, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the CR and Mayor of Čeladná unveiling the memory stone in the memory of sergeant Irving D. Katz, USA and other brave American pilots

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diplomatic event Special thanks to KVAZAR PLUS s.r.o. and CEGELEC a.s. for making this reportage possible

H.E. Ivan Grytsak, Ambassador of Ukraine in his welcoming speech

On the 8th of September, Prague’s Hotel Praha hosted a reception to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Ukrainian Independence. The event was attended by deputies and senators and representatives of governments, diplomatic corps, NGOs, scientific and educational institutions, and also by representatives of businesses, the Ukrainian community and the media of the Czech Republic. Guests were welcomed by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Czech Republic H.E. I. Grytsak, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic T. Dub.

Ukrainian National Day and Celebration of its 20 Years of Independence

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

From left: Vladimír Laštůvka, H.E. Nadra Sayaf, Ambassador of Syria, H.E. Belaid Hadjem, Ambassador of Algeria, and Ing. Jaromír Kohlíček, CSc., Deputy, European Parliament

23.9.2011 11:19:09

From left: Alexander Akulinin, Project Manager, Russia and CIS Operation, Comenius, Mgr. Gevorkyan Ruben, Manager, Uniqua, and Gennadiy Bazayev, Director, Ukrajinské kulturně národní centrum

From left: Archbishop Kryštof and Vojtěch Filip, Chairman, KSČM From left: Nasri Karram, General Manager, Hotel Praha, a.s., Michaela Koubová, and Tomáš Červený, Food and Beverage Manager, Hotel Praha a.s.

From left: Tomáš Dub, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Ivan Grytsak, Ambassador of Ukraine

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From left: Stanislav Kudrnáček, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Managing Director, Cegelec a.s., Miloslav Černý, Managing Director, Kvazar Plus s.r.o., and Petr Šafarčík

From left: H.E. Tigran S. Seiranian, Ambassador of Armenia, Joseph Pennington, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the USA, and Mrs. Seiranian

23.9.2011 18:16:29

Performance of Ukrainian folk songs

From left: Mgr. Oksana Vashova, Vice President, World Union of Art, Mrs. Grytsak, wife of the Ukrainian Ambassador, and Natali Ruden, Fashion Designer

Oscar Esparza-Vargas, Minister, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Mexico with his wife From left: H.E. Gabriel Oh, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea and H.E. George Monteiro Prata, Ambassador of Brazil

From left: H.E. Jan C. Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands and Jaroslav Kurfürst, Director, Deapartment of Foreign and Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From left: H.E. Vasily Markovich, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus, H.E. Suren Tsoggerel, Ambassador of Mongolia with his wife on the far left, H.E. Anarbek Karashev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan, and Mrs. Grytsak, wife of the Ukrainian Ambassador

From left: H.E. Ivan Grytsak, Ambassador of Ukraine and Viktor Kajčinec

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From left: Važa Kiknavelidze, Permanent Representative of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the CR and David Mamaladze, Co-owner, Falkon Capital

From left: H.E. Maja Mitrović, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia, H.E. Daniela Anda Grigore Gitman, Ambassador of Romania, and H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey

23.9.2011 11:20:45

CORRUPTION: an Uneasily Combatable Hydra Czech post-velvet political society may have experienced three major stages of development.

In the first, politicians governed business while creating essential market structures; in the second, half-state banks and enterprises governed our Czech politicians; and now, in the third stage, it looks like political lobbyists govern both.

Politics now offers, irrespective of parties or ideas, the same little-comforting picture. While many capable people have left the political sector, some have been sorted out, and some have left disgusted by themselves. Needless to say, top level politicians come and go. While their extraordinary skills are necessary for political survival, political lilife fe is sh shor ortt, and the heyy of ofte tenn le leav avee be besp spat atte tere redd an andd dishonoured. Meanwhile lobbyists remain comfortably in the background. When seen from below, they seem to divide their lives between new “commission” deals, acquisitions of prestigious real estate, yacht cruises, exotic travels and golf tournaments. They have no idea about old-fashioned national interests or public welfare.

This may be nothing out-of-the-ordinary in the Central European region (CEE), nor in the rest of the European countries either. But the dimension matters. In this field every country plays its own game. So to cover the gap between the Czech Republic and the EU-15, it is not enough to have a vivid entrepreneurial sector, or a sober state budget policy (which can of course be praised).

For sustainable investment and competitiveness, political and administrative fair play is also very necessary.

Insiders do not doubt that much of the evil is caused by the system of financing political parties. The cost-side of this system is immense. An election campaign takes place every two years.

State contributions, sponsorships and fees from just a few members are insufficient to cover the expensive party life. And this alone feeds the sector of lobbyists that install “money pipes”, organize specific public orders that sometimes only have negative values, and always collect fat commissions.

In this respect, one must ask what price is to be paid for democracy. A typical pre-election party campaign usually costs between EUR 10–20 million, if not more. The total state contribution to all political parties, including a special fee for the contemporary parliamentary election, was about EUR 40 million in 2010. The government has been brave enough to announce a further reduction

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of that contribution. But should it not be raised instead? Can an expected savings of EUR 1–2 million per year outweigh losses from suspect public tenders and unclear financial operations in the public sector? In a way this situation resembles the way things were with waiters and other restaurant staff under Communism. They had one of the lowest regulate la tedd wa wage gess in the cou ount ntry, as it was expected that they would usually gain the rest from tips and by cheating guests. Of course, as a result, many of them cheated on a large scale – both the guests and the government owner.

Photo: Mr. Šíp´s archive The level of public contribution to political parties, which would liberate politicians from dependence on lobbyists, may be subject to discussion, as well as how it would fit into the existing public savings scheme. Of course, it should be accompanied by many strict rules, e.g. financial limits for election campaigns, complete public accounting (including sponsorships), a regular and published audit, or personal and collective punishment of trespasses up to a judicial dissolution of a political party in the gravest cases of misconduct. Imperfect though they may seem, taken individually these measures might work.

What is disputable is the political will to make them materialize.

Another problem is the state of civic society.

Since the Nazi occupation in 1939, Czech people were taught to be more like subjects than citizens most the time. After an upsurge following the Velvet Revolution it was relatively simple to convince many of them again that politics is a dirty matter, and that it is better for them to care for themselves. Whistleblowers are rare, and the media is very quick to stop an investigation when h thhe case does not move forwardd too quiickl kly.

Still, the state of things is gradually improving.

This can be attested to by a “circling” of initially disadvantaged election candidates, who thus

beat party and lobbyists’ favourites. Groups of voters are also emerging to scrutinize in detail the performance of their deputies and senators, and publish their findings in internet forums.

Also younger people, who are not burdened by the emasculating experience of Communism, are less content with the state of things and more active to find new ways of political participation. And another important role has been executed by the recent financial crisis, which markedly limited the space for profligate public spending.

The fight against corruption is a never ending battle, and the role of Czech civic society is indispensable. In particular, intellectual and business elites of society should take a more active role.

The goal should be to soon reach an average European level of honest politics. If we can achieve an above-average level of honest politics, this would be a bonus for us all.

By Emanuel Šíp Partner Allied Progress Consultants Association český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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23.9.2011 11:07:29

well as member of International Civil Aviation Organizations.

SAKAERONAVIGATSIA Ltd is a state owned Georgian company providing secure civil air navigation services to civil Airlines using airspace and aerodromes of Georgia. The main task of the organization is to maintain a safe environment for dynamically growing air traffic and changing conditions of international air transport. According to its mission, SAKAERONAVIGATSIA Ltd is strongly motivated to modernize its technological equipment in all directions and is participant of several international projects as

The Mission of SAKAERONAVIGATSIA Ltd is the provision of air traffic services and the ensuring of flight safety both in the upper air space of Georgia and in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi TMA-s.

Sakaeronavigatsia – Tbilisi

SAKAERONAVIGATSIA LTD Main Tasks Provision of air traffic control; Flight safety ensuring; Provision of radar, lighting, navigation and communication services for flight operations.

“It has been a privilege to work with SAKAERONAVIGATSIA Ltd to enable them to make their business and processes more efficient.” George Parobek, CEO LAIC.

LAIC are pleased and honoured to sponsor the Reportage of Georgia Independence pendencce Dayy

LAIC AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT LAIC Aktiengesellschaft (LAIC) is an international organization recognized for providing international expertise in the fields of international law and legal matters, international finance, support and general logistics for all the consortium members. LAIC provides together with Group Companies a range of Products and Services specialising in Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Air Traffic Control (ATC). Our Services and Solutions are of a very high and reliable International and Swiss Quality Standards.

In addition to being an ISO 9001

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accredited organisation, ensuring the delivery of quality solutions and services, LAIC is also accredited by the Civil Aviation Authority for the provision of goods and services to organisations within the air navigation services industry. LAIC has a long-standing, proven record of supplying Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems and service provision.

LAIC Aktiengesellschaft started discussions with SAKAERONAVIGATSIA Ltd in August 2008 for LAIC’s ATRAK-BS® Billing & Statistics, a comprehensive system that provides a complete billing and statistics solution for Air Navigation Service Providers. The system is fully compliant with central bodies such as the Central Route Charges Office (CRCO)

of EuroControl and IAT I TA and offers a powerful billing managgement, billing repporting and statistical analysis solutionn in one comprehensive package.

In April 2009 we signed a three year contract to supply ATRAK Flight Billling and Statistics Systeem m.

We visited Georggiaa in April 2010 to fully demonstrate ou our ATRAK – BFFMS (Business and Finanncial Management System). The system has all the standard features needdedd to help manaage customers and suppplliers professionally and ensure an efficient cash flow forr air navigation businessses. At an early date SAKAERONAVIGATS SIAA representativves are coming to Praguue to discuss our proposal and future reequirements in more detail.

Leaders Magazine V/2011

26.9.2011 10:20:10

COUNTRY REPORT

GEORGIA

Old Tbilisi View

COUNTRY FACTS Georgia’s strategic location is an asset to any investor. As a bridge between Europe and Asia, Georgia offers direct access to European, GCC and CIS markets (more than 1 billion consumers).

Georgia is a prime location for centralized market operations in the Black Sea Region and the preferred choice for Regional Headquarters and multicountry distribution centers, contact centers and shared service centers.

I didn’t know much about Georgia before I visited the country early in July. I’ve heard from some magazines about the remarkable changes in Georgia, with strong headlines such as: “Georgia’s Mental Revolution”, by The Economist, “The World According to Misha”, by TIME, and many more. With so much media interest surrounding Georgia, I decided to go there and find out myself how the government managed to achieve their results.

Over the last 30 years Georgia has gone through tough times. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, the state has been totally ruined and no governmental entity has been working properly. The police force was highly criminalized and bribes were common. As the later minister of internal affairs explained, they had to fire almost all policemen and hire new motivated people, who had no memory of being bribed and who are keen to work fairly.

As you know Georgia is located in a very problematic region with a number of conflicts. Georgia itself has 20% of its territory occupied by Russia, as a result of the war in 2008.

Economically the government is trying to make the business environment flexible by implementing the “Freedom Act”, which constitutionally guarantees Georgia’s already existing commitment to a liberal economy. The taxes have been significantly decreased and some of them even removed.

Area Population 2010 Life expectancy Official language Literacy Capital Currency (code) GDP 2010 GDP – Real Growth Rate 2010 Projected 2010 Real GDP Growth Rate GDP – Per Capita 2010 Inflation rate 2010 (average annual) Unemployment rate Total exports 2010 (Mil. USD) Total imports 2010 (Mil. USD) Trade surplus/deficit 2010 (Mil. USD) Exchange rate – USD/GEL 2010 (Period average) Exchange rate – EUR/GEL 2010 (Period average)

69 700 sq km 4,4 mln 76 years Georgian 100% Tbilisi Lari (GEL) US$ 11.7 billion +6.4% +4.9% US$ 2629.0 11.2% 16.3% 1583.3 5095.5 -3512.2 1.7826 2.3644

By Benke Aikell I

COUNTRY REPORT BY LEADERS MAGAZINE

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interview

GEORGIA

Mikheil Saakashvili President of Georgia Photo: President’s Archive

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26.9.2011 12:02:11

GEORGIA

An interview with Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgia on December 21, 1967. After graduating with honors from the prestigious Kiev University Institute of International Relations, he moved to the U.S. to attend Columbia University in New York City as an Edmund S. Muskie Fellow. In 1995 Saakashvili was elected to the Georgia Parliament initiating Georgia’s first merit-based selection of judges.

He also became the first Minister of Justice to address prison reform. On October 12, 2000 he was appointed Minister of Justice of Georgia where he continued to confront and investigate post-soviet Georgian corruption at the highest levels. On January 4th, 2004, as a result of Rose Revolution, Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as the President of Georgia with 96 percent of the votes.

As a member of the previous government, what about it concerned you?

At this time I am the oldest member of the Georgian bureau, with just a few exceptions. It was my last year as a student when the Soviet Union collapsed, and so my entire career was with an independent Georgia. I was a member of the 2nd parliament that independent Georgia elected, and I was the head of the judiciary committee which tried to implement judicial reforms with some groups of reformers. And then there was a period when some members of the group (which was an eclectic group of mostly former communist government officials, headed by former communist leader Shevardnadze) thought we would eventually choose in favor of the reformers. It didn’t work out this way, because what we discovered was that communists never change, no matter their background. So at that moment we had to leave and we went to the opposition, and we snatched out a victory in a very chaotic election system for local elections, and then won the parliamentary elections, the results of which they refused to recognize because it was unthinkable that the opposition would win a parliamentary election at the time. And then we had the Rose Revolution and we took over.

What was the situation in Georgia at that time?

You were the leader of the Rose Revolution; what was the aim of this revolution, and did you have ambitions toward not only state revolution, but also in the minds of the people?

Actually yes. I think the people who went out were fed up with corruption. And they were longing for real democracy or moral democracy, meaning that not only would there be ways to express opinions, but that the government would really listen to them. We had a situation in the 90’s that was chaotic, where you could say anything, but then actually nobody cared. And secondly, people wanted to have a government that was accountable to the people. And for government to really have fair elections, not just for the sake of faking them from time to time…but to understand that you need people’s support in the first place to keep your position.

They generally wanted better lives and a future for their children, which sounds of course surreal, but that is how life is. And they wanted a real state, because we were a failed state run by drug lords, local feudal lords and all sorts of different people. So actually, the good thing was that they brought political forms that were not a lie to anybody. We didn’t take money from any business interests, we didn’t compromise or make broad collations for eclectic elements. We were clearly people who wanted to change everything. Of course when we talk about mental revolution we were in a way, by how we were reincarnated, a revolution, because most of the people who came as reformers weren’t from the

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Georgian elite, but mainly from the outskirts of the capital, or from the rural areas, or they were from poor/lower middle class families. Most of them had western educations, or if not that, certainly western values.

By themselves they did something very different from what we were used to in this post-soviet world, not only in Georgia. Georgia was in a nutshell a calm incarnation for the soviet world. We were the most corrupted and most criminalized out of the most failed states of the former soviet territory, and very easy to manipulate.

Georgia in a way has changed beyond recognition, but it has also created new standards. For instance, 98 percent of Georgians say that six years ago (according to polls) they encountered corruption. The latest polls showed this below 1 percent or half of a percent, which basically means that corruption has disappeared in a place where it was the most rampant. On criminality today, 60 % of organized crime is in Russia or Ukraine or some central eastern European country. While according to recent surveys, Georgia is ranked as Europe’s safest country after Iceland; by far safer than anything in the region. We have 40 % less crime than France and Germany.

What was your vision when you became president of Georgia? Did you have a clear vision?

We wanted to change things very fast. We had a clear vision – we knew that we didn’t have to compromise.

We knew that we didn’t have much time. We knew that we were running against time because people were going to put so many expectations on us, and so inevitably they would be disappointed no matter what results we achieved. So we needed to achieve real results in order to change society, because living in a society that is unchanged would basically mean that reforms would suffocate us. That’s why when you look at Georgia today and seven years ago, there is a striking difference with the way people are – how people dress, the body language, how they interact with each other, their perceptions on life, their perceptions of state institutions...

This is a remarkable change, and Georgia has made a giant leap forward. And in our way it was historically doable because it’s a very old nation, very multiethnic and with many experiences, mostly negative ones. But you learn from your experiences. But you wouldn’t have even thought that things would have changed so fast.

Regarding your country’s business, political and cultural relationships with Czech Republic, ex-President Havel often makes political parallels between Georgia and Czech Republic. What is your viewpoint regarding the similarities in political processes?

Well, President Havel is an amazing human being. And I think if there is one single great person out of all the great moments at the end of the 20th century in Europe, it’s certainly Havel. The reason why he stands out is that

he never lost his sharpness, or his acute sense of reality… never compromised. This is a man who does not get into a self-futile kind of liking as many historical leaders have done. Especially if you’re in this position. And actually this is somebody who had a very acute reaction to the Russian invasion of Georgia. Someone who spoke out the truth. We are grateful to Czechs because the Czechs had adopted a resolution for Georgia, and they have been very supportive of our international organizations. The Czech government has helped us on many levels. The point here is that Havel’s position had very important value for us, because if you are a small nation fighting for your existence, you don’t expect anybody to rush to help you. That’s not what we expected. It’s very important that there is somebody else out there who thinks you’re right. At that point of view, what Havel did was much more important than sending us weapons to fight.

What is your vision for your last term as president?

I think that first of all, there are two and half years to go which is a long period for us relatively. What are the challenges? Well, we are faced with a neighbor that doesn’tt recognize our border or government or our doesn ceasefire agreement. This is technically a very precarious situation. This is an existential issue. Secondly, y the point here isn’t that we have two and half years… what is important is where we are in reforms.

We are moving parliament to the second largest city in Georgia. We are moving to basically move power to parliament, which is right now totally under the president, so to move toward a more euro-centric system.

Which is a big endeavor in our context, but I think it’s going to work. We are implementing a series of radical social and economic reforms that are going to have longstanding significance for many generations, and which will affect the future of Georgia. And this is all going to happen within the next two years, which is also of course important. After that we are going to have a system of government that is much more collective and balanced.

There will be no one leader. Actually the president will keep most powers, but parliament will have the power to form government and to control it. And the government itself might be both a one-party government or of many parties. There are so many ‘ifs’ that it hardly leaves time to think where I’ll be personally.

Do you have any hobbies?

Well whatever I do, call it hobbies. I don’t have useless hobbies as such. I don’t collect butterflies or post stamps.

I am very fascinated by architecture, however. I am very much interested in all kinds of innovation with technology and education. I am all the time searching for them, and searching on the web for what is new and how to apply it here. But no, I have no time for fishing, for example.

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An interview with Ivane Merabishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia

We Changed Everything You have been the minister of the internal affairs for 7 years. Starting from scratch, how would you describe the police for that time?

It was a period when Georgian police were among the most corrupt police. It was a period when Georgia was very highly criminalized. Georgia was still the headquarters for the Soviet Union’s mafia and organized crime. Even today in Russia there is a war between two mafia clans. And it’s been continuing for 5 years, and it’s a war between east and west Georgian mafias.

There was criminality, corruption, influence of mafia, and it was a very hard situation, and sometimes when you study this, it’s very surprising that we were able to change. It’s unbelievable.

Many people think that what you have done is

extraordinary. It’s not easy to change a system like that…

Even Ev en I’m m sur urpr pris ised ed, be beca caus usee we did idn’ n t pl plan an to ac achi hiev evee these results. We were expecting half of these results.

But these things happen. Inside society there was a dream, and we as a society achieved these results.

And I’m very surprised.

How did you start these reforms? What was the key factor that made this change?

What we did was that we changed everything. We changed uniforms, buildings, and of course the people… we changed 80–90 % of employers during a very short period. The present ministry of internal affairs was built from a base of the five agencies (security of int nter erna nall af affa fairirss, etc tc)). Andd there were 85 thhousand

people working in these five agencies. Now we are twenty-seven agencies, and from these twenty-seven ther th eree ar aree 20 tho hous usan andd new peoplle. More thhan 75 thousand people were released or changed.

You also have a sector of constitutional police that deals with corrupt government members…

Our ministry is always fighting corruption in general.

Our prosecution offices have caught more than 100 police men, 40 persecutors, 29 judges, a few members of parliament, and ten heads of departments…

We feel satisfaction to show these results. We have no plan to become world leaders. We want to be normal and Euro-like.

Where did these people go?

Some of them went to business. Sometimes cor-

Photos: Minister’s Archive

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Ministry of Internal Affairs

ruption needs talent, and some people have enough money to do business, and some of them are very happy because the Georgian market for the past 7 years increased three to four times. Some of them are working for other places like personal security and other jobs, and others are still protesting.

These new people who came to the police, who you say are completely modernized… what do you give them? What is the opportunity for them? Why did it become popular to become a policeman?

It’s a very hard question – in the first stage, when we began to recruit new people, it was obligatory that they had never worked for ppolice before. This was veryy necessary. During the first period when we started recruiting, there was at first a higher salary, PR, and the need to motivate these people. But after we achieved some results and did some good advertising through TV and PR… every year there was increased motivation and popularity for police jobs. How did we achieve the results so quickly you ask? Well it’s because policemen believe that they are good guys. And they like to be good guys. For them the salary is not the most important thing. We have increased the salary by 10 times, but if you compare it to other countries, it isn’t as high of cour co urse se. There is veryy high g compe p tition – there are interviews, there are tests, psychological tests, IQ tests.

There is very high public trust. 87 % of Georgian people trust the police.

Why did Georgia succeed more than other countries in this region?

This is hard to say – there are different reasons: maybe Georgia is a very poor country and not very big, and thus it needs to save itself. Not big like Russia or Turkey and not so rich like Azerbaijan, and not so well assisted like Armenia. So the only way to achieve results is to save our country, and to do something extraordina di nary ry. An Anot othe herr re reas ason on is th that at Geo eorg rgia ia’ss goa oall wa wass to have efficient or good police. And society saw these changes in the police; they like to see good police. And then policemen started to believe in themselves… policemen believe they are good, people think they’re good. Many policemen are happy that they are policemen – when young people come work with the police, they know they’re not corrupt. And very important is the view of the police as a public statement against corruption.

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Policemen have no right to send anything on paper – from the first of January 2012, Georgia will be the first nation in the world with no obliga g tion on to ca carrrryy a dr driv iver er’ss license. Each policeman will be equipped with a computer to check our database. We will have photos and certificates.

What about in other sectors of society…

Yes the same is happening in other sectors – we together are trying to do this in other ministries. Some have more success, some have less. Some reforms are more published and visible. With the police, it’s easier to advertise for instance. Some other agencies have been able to have the same reforms,, but not as visible.

But what’s important is that with each new generation, not all ideas and reforms come from the top – during the last four years most of the ideas of how to change have come from the bottom.

Now it’s modern to bring new ideas and to bring change. Most policemen have the feeling that they are the authors of these reforms, so they are proud. No one told them to write these reforms.

In European countries, it’s very hard to make reforms because they are traditional. These traditions are more or less good, but sometimes it’s not always necessary to change. For example, we introduced city cameras to control traffic. Traditionally in Euro countries you receive a penalty and photo. When we started to do this, sending a photo was very expensive, so we decided not to send a photo, but only the penalty. And on this penalty/number we have the address of the website to see the video. Some Euro colleagues said that this was incredible, because you see video, not just a photo, and it’s much cheaper. But no one can easily change this and implement this because you will need to change the law, and buy new equipment, and to discuss it in parliament. Some would inevitably be against this, so it’s a ve very ry lon ongg pr p oc ocess. From a societal point of view, to go from photo to video is not important. But for us, no one criticized our ideas.

With regards to solving crimes… some countries take a long time to solve them…

When we began to make reforms we thought we had two choices: one was to save the old, corrupted but very experienced police, and another choice was to have new non-experienced, but non corrupted police. After one year, we have uncorrupted and inexperienced

police, but they have proven to be more successful than the old ones.

This Th is is be beca caus usee ne new w no nonn-co corrrrup upte tedd po polilice ce hav avee mo more re motivation, and it is ten times easier to fight crime than before. What is most important about the fight against organized crime is that it cannot exist if it’s not being assisted by some high level form of corruption or assistance from law enforcement or politicians.

I think that with any kind of organized crime, there are links to authorities, law enforcement, and politicians especially. And to become good investigators, you don’t need five years education like most people think… yyou need to have two things, g , yyou need knowledge and heart. It’s very easy to investigate. You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes. Everyone thinks it’s very hard, but no it’s actually quite simple.

As for eliminating corruption – if you pay money for sources to inform you about crimes, you will collect all sorts of info. If you have no one trying to help criminals it’s very easy to investigate. In each country even bad policemen can investigate a lot of cases. If there is no corrupt system, even 10 percent is enough to reduce criminality. If 10 percent are investigated then after two years, it’s easy.

What about drugs and other influences from other countries? Car smuggling? You must have the same problem as other countries.

The biggest problem is drugs. Drug criminals in Georgia are very specific. The drugs come from eastern countries like Afghanistan, and the fight against this crime is easy as well. To import the opium you need some criminal matrix inside and outside the country. In Georgia the drugs mostly come from Europe and most traditionally 90 percent of Georgian drug users use official medicine from Europe, and mix it and use it as injections. There were 5000 to 20000 criminals taken by the police since I became minister, mainly drug criminals/drug dealers.

The smuggling of cars is certainly a kind of organizedd crime. We used to bring smuggled cars from Europe to here. 30 percent of the cars in Georgia were stolen. The new government started to fight against this – one day we confiscated 2000 cars. There was a big demonstration. But we have interesting figures: We are the biggest exporter of cars, yet we don’t produce cars.

By Benke Aikell I

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An interview with Gigi Ugulava, Mayor of Tbilisi

There Is Still Much More To Do What was the condition of the city when you started?

I have been the mayor of Tbilisi since 2005. At that time it was an appointed position, which later became an elected one in 2010. I’ve been directly re-elected for another four year term, and this was the first time since independence and in the history of Georgia that this position was directly elected.

So it is a bigger responsibility.

And Tbilisi is a big city for Georgia. The country has a population of 4.5 million, and 1.2 are officially residents of the city. When speaking about the conditions of the city, and the changes to be made, I think that the best measurement and best evaluation are the elections and, for me personally, to be honored by our society. By a majority of the city council we received a 52 percent approval rating and I personally received 55 percent.

As for the conditions, we are quite poor still, but we inherited quite bad legacies. Tbilisi has a unique location and unique landscape. The infrastructure has been poorly developed and we still have a lot more to do. This process p is ongoing, g g, and obviously we are not satisfied with the results completely. We are trying to do our best to improve this.

There was no public transportation at all before.

There was no proper ambulance service. 70% of traffic lights were outdated and the basic infrastructure and urban infrastructure were in very bad shape. But such is the legacy that we inherited, and I’m proud that we are now not talking about the basic issues anymore.

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The basic thing is that 2005 was the first year that the city didn’t have restrictions on the energy supply. And in 2006 Georgia became a big exporter countryy of electricityy. Obviouslyy it iss go good od tha hatt we are importing and exporting, but our export is higher than our import. This was part of a huge reform for our energy system, which brought opportunity to the country and the region.

Our efforts are found in all sorts of sectors – we even introduced a city bus service, as well as ambulances, and introduced new traffic light systems and started to pave the roads. All the big roads are finished now.

We changed absolutely everything in terms of cleaning the city and the garbage collecting system – and now it’s very efficient. We also constructed a new land fill with EU standards. Our old ones were from the soviet period so they were in rather disastrous shape.

So I think these are the basic achievements which have obviously been improved since 2005.

Almost all schools have been renovated in the city – like the roofs, new windows, systems of heating, g, elevators. Sometimes it’s qquite expensive p to change the elevators, so it’s a co-financing system, and we’re financing 70 percent.

What is important is the participation of the people – step by step, the city’s participation will hopefully increase, and finally the city can stop keeping private property. This is all a transition from the soviet period. This is all the legacy of the soviet period – that everything is done by the state, and that people have no responsibility. This had to be changed.

In terms of the historical part of the city – we have landmarks and many tourist attractions. And from this point we will really manage to not have artitififici ar cial al sup uper ervi visi sion on. We are cha hang ngin ingg ol oldd pi pipe pess, and we’re doing this very precisely in order to keep them, and to try and have some be multi-functional, because during the soviet period this part of the city was over populated. And we try to mix the usages – residential, entertainment, offices, businesses etc.

This is going well, however there are still many things that have to be finished, but we have a very clear vision.

What is the budget for Tbilisi?

Around 400 million USD. So it’s not that big in comparison to other developed cities. But we try to save money. Our corruption policies have been one of our biggest achievements, not only in the city but also throughout the entire country.

Also the new electronic auctions and system give opportunity for better competition. On the other hand, sometimes we are taking grants from the central government, if the project is more expensive, p , or let’s sayy if it’s more of a federal pproject. We are in close collaboration with the central gov’t in cooperation with international organizations, like working with the World Bank. The biggest contributor for the city’s development is the Asian Development Bank. We are doing four big projects (infrastructural ones), which the Asian Development Bank has been assisting.

The construction of a car bridge will begin next year. There will be a completed additional metro station, which was stopped in the 1980s upon

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the collapse of the Soviet Union. Also the highway that connects Tbilisi to the second biggest city in east Georgia will also be reconstructed, and more specifically the tunnel. This gives us another opportunity to avoid car traffic.

Are you renovating the metro system?

To expand it is very expensive. So our aim in terms of public transportation is to finish an unfinished station which will be finished in two years.

We started with the French government’s assistance for the introduction of the tram system. We don’t have trams now, but we had them even before the soviet period. It was difficult to main inta tain in them at the time. The tram system has to continue and fill the gap of the metro. We have buses but we want to step by step move out of the bus system and have more green transportation like the metro and the tram.

Now we are using around 30 million USD for gas for our public buses. We need 4 million USD extra for metro and electricity. But electricity is a local product. Gasoline is a completely imported product. In terms of economy, gasoline is a big part of the imports, which is the reason why there is a big gap between imports and exports.

We want to replace this not only because of green purposes but in terms of economic perspective, because there are five or six hydro power stations under construction in Georgia. This gives us a huge opportunity to consume hydro energy and less imported gasoline. Tbilisi is surrounded by hills and mountains so we also want to introduce lifts by 2013 2013. Lifts will also be good for tourism as well as for practical reasons for people.

How do you promote the city in order to get more tourists?

Promotion of the city is one of our foreign policy props – not only on a local level but also a federal level. In terms of comparing the figures (despite our recent conflict with Russia, and the fact that Russia was not only our main export destination but also one of our biggest touristic sources) we have 20–25% gross of visitors. Last year it was more than 2 million visitors. And this year we expect 2.5 million. This number is increasing and basically there are two major destinations, Tbilisi and Batumi.

What we need to do is that when we see the numbers from countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, we see that most tourists come from these three countries. The remaining 500,000 are split between other countries. But unfortunately the European Union countries make up a very small portion. Germans for example, who have money andd lik ike to travell, com ompr pris isee on only ly 40,000 of the tourists that come to Georgia. That is quite little.

We have direct flights from Iran that were opened in the fall of last year. We also expect an increase from Russians, as surprising as that may sound. Also we have I think quite a unique location, from an entertainment point of view. The reason why is because Georgia is the only country in the region where you can gamble. It’s banned in Azerbaijan and Iran.

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Photo: Khatia Psuturi

As for cultural programs – our aim is to promote the cities where there are direct flights.

These are Prague, Munich, Riga, and Frankfurt.

Also the advertising for those local places is important. It’s difficult to attract people that don’t have direct flights to Tbilisi. Direct flights are much easier to attract. These bring many opportunities.

You are visa free from the EU? We have simplified visas from the EU – for them, its visa free. The diplomats can go without a visa, but for everyone else it’s simplified. We are working with the EU for a free trade agreement.

Now as for hospitality/hotels… Do you have 3–5 star hotels?

When Wh en I’vve be been en ask sked ed whether we have enouggh hotels or not, I’m also asking whether the market is self-sustained enough. Once we have this number, it means that it is enough. If it is not enough, then it will be reconstructed. That is a market rule.

At the moment we are paying particular focus to encourage 2-3 star level hotels. We want to show good representation on this level.

The Euro Youth Olympic Games will be held after the normal Olympic Games, and this will be the second best tournament and it will be held in

Georgia. So we need to get thousands more beds. It’s a very big event for us because if we do this properly, a lot of opportunities will happen for us.

What about investors? Do you have any special program for CZ? We have special programs that work in many directions. So we try to give a full package. For example we’ve given Exhibitions on real estate, and we have been presented in Cannes, Dubai, and they have all been opportunities to promote our abilities. In Prague unfortunately there hasn’t been one yet, but the ministry of economy has had some activities in Prague through the chamber of commerce.

After the global crisis, it has become very difficult to work in European countries because their money at first will be invested towards Euro countries. We are in a special region, so that’s why we go to Asian countries and the Middle East, because they have more of a surplus. Georgia is at the crossroads of these cultures. Both Europe and Asia are represented here. We have to use this location to our advantage.

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An interview with Kakha Bendukidze, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Free University of Tbilisi – the leading private university in Georgia and former Minister of Economic Development

Father of Economic Reforms Mr. Kakha Bendukidze (55) serves as a minister of economic development, state minister on reforms coordination and head of the State Chancellery of Georgia from mid 2004 till 2009 February, being in charge of reforming Georgian economy and public service. Before returning to his native Georgia, he was chairman and CEO of OMZ – the largest Russian engineering company he built, consolidating the sector from early 90’s.

Mr. Bendukidze is serving pro bono as a member of several Government councils and Pardee RAND Graduate School Board of Governors (SantaMonica, CA, USA). A graduate of the Tbilisi State University, Bendukidze has 15 year research experience in biotechnology and molecular biology.

You were a very successful businessman in Russia. Why did you move back to Georgia?

I was invited by the Georgian government to become a member. It was very important for me. It was a challenge. And at the time I was out of the executive business. It was quite a good time for that.

What ideas did you have when you came to Georgia? What was the concept? Did you succeed in implementing all your ideas as minister?

That is impossible. That never happens, but actually my goal was to make the Georgian economy more free and with less government involvement. To make the Georgian economy more open. And I think it all happened.

On a scale from 1 to 10, would you say you are at stage 5 or 6 in terms of how much you have left to do?

That s impossible to measure. You start things, and That’s then quickly or eventually you find out that there are more things to be changed. It is always an on-going work. There is no correct answer to that question.

You are known as the father of economic reforms in Georgia. So, what do you think was your biggest achievement?

There have been several achievements – the Georgian economy, despite what has happened during the last 7 years, which has included Russia cutting the supply of gas, the war, and we had our territories occupied by the Russians again. Our average annual growth has been 9% – that is a great achievement for a country in those circumstances. The growth is measureable and you can see it. And you can say that it works. This shows that the Georgian economy works and is quite resilient. It has resistance to many different shocks.

How successfully has the government eliminated corruption in the country?

Corruption hasn’t been eliminated, but the point is to stop it as much as possible. You cannot forget about it. What is important here is to make continuous efforts. There have been remarkable changes, but it’s important to keep working in that direction.

Were there many mistakes made in this process?

Each day we are making mistakes. Now it’s very easy to talk about mistakes, because a lot of things can be done in a more straightforward way, or in a more radical way.

What is the current annual economic growth?

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Photo: Irina Gulina

I don’t know the statistics for now, but I am estimating somewhere between 5-6 percent. Again, I think it’s quite good, especially when you consider what has happened, but Georgia needs to have more ambitious goals. Growth in the double digits would be preferable, but there are lots of things to be done here.

You are seeking more foreign investment, yes?

Yes, a lot of this growth can be driven by investments. 5 percent growth is too low in my opinion. We should be showing much higher growth rates, so obviously more things need to be done here in order to achieve that economic status.

The Act on Economic Freedom* (which constitutionally guarantees Georgia’s already existing commitment to a liberal economy) is still not implemented in the constitution…

It’s under a second reading in parliament, so I hope it will be done.

What potential does Georgia have in the global market?

We don’t have any special mineral deposits or anything like that. So what we can trade in international business and in international markets is mostly the environment that we have for doing business; that’s

number one. And second is our location. What about in your country of CZ? They have a long tradition of industry and industrial products. But that is not the driving force in our economic development. When I was in business I had big success in Plzen.

How does your theory of liberal markets meet EU requirements and standards?

Of course there are lots of revelations here that are quite useless, and that is a problem because when Bulgaria, for instance, wanted EU accession, there was of course a requirement to meet compliance costs. Countries that are looking to harmonize with the EU, such as Georgia, have to realize that nobody is looking to pay these costs from the outside. It’s very costly. So that’s the important task for government – to have negotiations about the safety, and to have an agreement to maintain balance and an agreement so that no section of the Georgian economy will be destroyed. * The package involves establishing in the constitution the maximum ratio of budgetary expenditures to GDP at 30%; budget deficit – at a maximum 3% of GDP; and a maximum of 60% of debt-to-GDP ratio.

By Benke Aikell I

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H.E. Nina Nakashidze, Ambassador of Georgia Photo: Martin Janas

We believe that economic and business relations between Georgia and the Czech Republic have big potential. Trade turnover with the Czech Republic in 2010 amounted to 65.2 million USD. In January-July of 2011 the trade turnover amounted to 41.1 million

USD. The FDI figures for 2010 and the beginning of 2011 are also very promising.

We can say that the Czech Republic is one of the biggest investors in Georgia from the EU states. There are a number of Czech companies operating in Georgia. One of them is Energopro, whose success story increased the interest of Czech businessmen to Georgia.

The growing interest towards doing business in Georgia can be explained by a number of other reasons as well.

First of all, located at the crossroads of Europe and Central Asia, Georgia is a bridge connecting several important economic regions with a total of 827 million people. It is a key link in the shortest transit route between Western Europe and Central Asia for transportation of oil and gas as well as dry cargo.

Moreover, investors’ confidence in Georgia’s economy has been encouraged by the liberal economic system in the country. The Georgian Government has taken steps to stabilize the macro-economic situation and to sustain the confidence of businesses. These steps include dramatically simplified licensing and permitting requirements to ease constraints on business as well as important reforms in the tax system.

Georgia’s meteoric progress in improving the business climate has been well documented in a number of international indices.

The World Bank hailed Georgia’s commitment to reforms as unprecedented after the country rose from 112th to 11th place in the world in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2010 survey. The Doing Business Reformer Club named Georgia as Top Reformer in Europe and Central Asia during the last five years.

According to Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom 2010, Georgia ranks 26th out of 157 countries in the world, surpassing such highly developed European countries as Norway, Czech Republic, France, Latvia, etc.

The Georgian Government continues to provide the measures to attract foreign investments. Creation of Free Industrial Zones (Poti, Kutaisi) offers investors the most favorable conditions for starting and operating businesses.

We hope that the recently established Czech-Georgian Chamber of Commerce will promote business opportunities in Georgia and help businessmen of both countries to find new opportunities.

By Nina Nakashidze I

An interview with H.E. Ivan Jestřáb, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Georgia How do you see the relations between Georgia and the Czech Republic? Both in cultural, economic, and business matters… are they increasing or decreasing?

Czech-Georgian relations are excellent. And I will give you more details: d t il yes, politically, liti ll our ttwo countries t i are very close to each other. The Czech Republic supports Georgia bilaterally bilaterally, as well as in international forums forums, and we are strong advocates of the territorial integrity of Georgia, we want Georgia to be as close to the EU and NATO as possible. We are helping them on this not-so-easy path, but nevertheless we hope that Georgia will make all necessary reforms to achieve these goals. We see these goals as very legitimate for Georgia’s ascension to NATO and the EU. In this respect, we don’t see any open problems in our relationship whatsoever. My country is one of the few active advocates for the Georgian case, which actually makes my post much easier here in Tbilisi, because we don’t have to solve problems between us. We are talking about issues, cooperation, plans we have together… At the same time it makes the life of our embassy more difficult as well, because of course having relations at such a high level sets expectations even higher. So we have to really work actively to prove every day that our relations are good, and we are serious when we say that we support Georgia. We have to work as best as possible and find proper partners on both sides.

I think that the Czech Republic and Georgia are managing to actually achieve these goals. Now we are in a different situation than we were almost three years ago after the war. After the war, our country quite immediately adopted a governmental decree and supported the reconstruction of the country. An almost 10 million USD package was approved, and this package actually was in use until the end of last year. Now, in 2011 we are in a different period of time because we don’t have this big amount of money. The funds are also less because

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of the economic difficulties, the financial crisis and so on. However the focus on Georgia is present. Georgia is one of the main focuses from our foreign ministry’s point of view, and one of the priorities.

So what we focus on here is not only politics, but also th development the d l t off co-operations. ti We W are ffocusing i on the health sector, the social sector, helping disabled and ill patients (from a social point of view) view), as well as agri agriculture. At the same time some of our projects focus on the improvement of infrastructure, mainly in remote areas of Georgia. While these remote parts are the most beautiful, they are also among the least accessible. It is quite difficult to get to them, but it is a beautiful mountainous region of the country, and because it is difficult to electrify villages there, we decided to use panels and place them in the small villages and remove settlements.

What would you say about the tourism potential in Georgia and the government’s effort to promote it?

The president and the Georgian government are dedicating a lot of attention to the development of Georgia. They see that as a profitable part of the economy. It is true because Georgia is a beautiful country, but we need to focus on the development of infrastructure, including hotels. What we need is more three-star hotels, and good functioning hotels in the region, which are now being built. Now we are seeing more and more that there is a middle class that is willing to fly, and they have suitcases, and they really do travel, so we have to keep this in mind. What helps in the promotion of this type of tourism is, first of all and once again, the improvement of infrastructure here in Tbilisi and Batumi… and it has changed incredibly while I’ve been here!

Yes, we are seeing quite rapid changes in the structure of tourists. What is prohibiting it a little bit here is accessibility. When you come to Georgia, you mostly go by air, and aero-tickets are not exactly the cheapest, which of course makes it a little more difficult for people to

Photo: Ambassador´s Archive

decide whether to go to Georgia, or pay the same amount and go somewhere else much farther away. This is a problem, however I hope that with further contacts between Georgia and respected international organizations, Georgia will try to include its aerospace sector in the common European aerospace group successfully! This I believe will lead to the creation of even more new markets.

As for cultural relations, I see very good potential for educating these two peoples (Georgians and Czechs).

Georgian culture is very rich and historical. At the same time the Czech Republic has a lot to offer as well.

The problem is financing. Our effort is to find private donors, which is not always very easy. We are doing our best however. This is one part of our relations that deserves much more effort and much more attention, which I hope we will somehow achieve and manage to push forward.

By Benke Aikell I

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26.9.2011 12:19:23

A talk with Andrea Kalivodová, the leading Czech mezzo-soprano and soloist of the Prague State Opera

OPERA SHOULD BE FUN Andrea Kalivodová (1977) was born in Kroměříž. She graduated from the Conservatoire of Music in Brno and the Academy of Music and Drama in Prague, in the Department of Music. She successfully completed a one-year fellowship at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. In 2001, Andrea Kalivodová received the first prize of the Emma Destinn Foundation, and as a winner she performed at the Covent Garden in London. She has been performing as a Prague State Opera soloist since 2003. Her enormous musical talent is also reflected in a large number of staged singing roles. She introduced herself in several operas including the Magic Flute, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, Nabucco, Carmen, Rusalka and Don Quichotte. Andrea Kalivodová is also enga g ge g d in son ongg co comp mposititiion, andd witithh her concerts shhe has been performing all over Europe, America, Japan and other countries.

You always wanted to be a singer?

Yes, I really always wanted to sing, although opera didn’t occur to me at that time. I started playing the guitar, sang in the choir and I enjoyed folklore as well.

I found opera very difficult, and kind of “heavy”, simply a very remote field for me.

When did the turning point begin?

At the Conservatoire I started listening to recorrecor dings of Händel, Vivaldi, Janáček and especially Bizet’s Carmen. I also began to travel abroad where I had the opportunity to see operas with top casts.

Suddenly there was a challenge; in short I wanted to come as near as possible to this profession.

Have you ever regretted your decision?

No, never. You know, there are very few high quality, good looking singers in our country, who at the same time can move well on stage and actually live out a role. We have a large number of female and male popular singers, but sometimes their works are created by recording technology rather than a high level of ability. For me personally, opera is a mission. I am very glad that I can do it.

What is the most difficult thing about performing opera?

In opera the audience can really see whether you can perform well well. It is mainly about how you can ope operate the entire role on stage in terms of singing, acting and moving. In short, you cannot really hide anything in opera, it is really an uncompromising issue in the sense that you have to be very well and sonorously heard throughout the full symphony orchestra. On top of that, the audience should also be able to understand every word, you need to keep pace with a conductor, and you need to feel the other singing partners.

Moreover, operas have to look great as a whole. And obvi ob viou ousl sly, y, it is all abo bout ut har ardd wo work rk and gre reat at dis isci cipl plin inee.

It has now been taken for granted that you must sing your role perfectly. Therefore you now need to offer something extra. All in all, it is a very exposed profession. I would compare it to being a professional athlete.

In what respect?

My boyfriend’s father established a large sports agency, and he works closely with the best domestic and foreign athletes. In them I have observed many similarities with the artistic world. A top football player has regular and intensive training, much like I do. And football is like a show. It is a wonderful spectacle for people, it takes great concentration, a great fight and, at the sam ame titime, team workk, whhere everyone has their

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Photo: Zuzana Jirásková

part. Therefore, my boyfriend’s father now wants to use his experience within the artistic field as well.

Is the opera currently gaining a wider public interest?

Opera is experiencing a great comeback comeback. This is also due to the fact that we have strong tourism in Prague.

Foreigners are not interested in Czech musicals in any case, they want to see classics.

What artistic process do you personally prefer?

I love classics, yet a high-quality opera can be made in a modern way too. And is it so nice when opera includes fun, and when it is directed in a witty, unconventional and simultaneously remarkable way. Yet, the rendition of the opera should not be silly, but sensitive andd dy an dyna nami micc. It is allways a beautitiffull puzzlle for the stage directors and singers to cope with, and I love to see what they create. Opera can simply be made in thousands of ways, but the most important thing of course is the fact that the audience is intrigued by the premiere itself, up to the last tone, so that they want to come again, and so that the auditoriums are sold-out.

From January next year, the State Opera Prague joins with the National Theatre. What is your opinion of this?

I believe it is go good od to be hel eldd to hig ighh ex expe pect ctat atio ions ns.

These matters have already become a reality, so I can only expect what it will bring to the theatre in the future.

What role do you like most?

Carmen is of course for me a matter of heart. I studied

it with different people and it is still growing with me. An amazing role was also the Massenet´s Dulcinea from Don Quichotte. Of the Czech works, I really like the role of the Witch from Rusalka. It is a beautiful role; in terms of singing it is beautifully written, dramatic, but very sensitive to the singing. Another thing which I have a lot of fun with is song composition. I recently fulfilled a dream and released a CD with songs g byy composers p Eben,, Dvořák,, Martinů, Janáček, Kunc and Ostrčil. It is a very nice, noncommercial artistic work accompanied by piano. We are preparing a release for the CD. Another event I am cooperating on is the literary-musical programme “Famous Men of Alma Mahler”.

Can you specify this?

The whole evening is accompanied by the spoken word of Valérie Zawadská. The first and second halves are arias during the reading of the biography of Alma Mahler. It is such an intellectual feast for a demanding viewer. We have performed this in Brussels and Riga.

I am very fortunate that in addition to opera, I can do other things – play in theatres, sing concerts, and perform vocal-instrumental works. It is very good for a singer if he or she can rebound to sing classical musical or folk art.

Can you reveal what you will prepare in the near future?

I am indeed mostly looking forward to my new CD release, which is going to be accompanied by many beautiful concerts within the Czech Republic, and it will be a very nice, careful and demanding work. Obviously I have a lot of beautiful performances in the State Opera. I should mention my premiere in March, the role of Azucena in Troubadour opera in Malta.

What recharges you after all these demanding performances?

Forr me it is very important Fo t t to have a partner by my side in my personal life, who stands by me, understands me, but who also has a spark and is full of life.

And I am very happy that I can live this way.

Yet, life is not always only full of success…

I do not want it to sound like a cliché, but I know from my experience that it is good to appreciate each beautiful day and moment in both professional and private life. This is exactly what I have followed my entire life. In short, live each day as though it is worth it…

By Pavlína Holancová I česk če skýý př přek ekla ladd na nale lezn znet etee v el elek ektr tron onic ické ké ver erzi zi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2011

23.9.2011 18:42:07

Experiential Marketing Photo: Passion Communications Archive

A SENSORY CARNIVAL Emil Jimenez started working in the communications industry in 1998 as a web designer in NYC. After graduating Rutgers University with a degree in Psychology he moved to Miami where he continued his education and received a Masters in Creative Communications from Florida International University and the renowned Miami Ad School. Mr. Jimenez has worked for United Bank of Switzerland, Citibank, MTV Latin America, Leo Burnett Budapest, Leo Burnett Prague, Lowe worldwide Prague and has recently opened Passion Communications.

Passion Communications is a full service communications agency which specializes in bridging traditional media with the digital world. emil@passioncommunications.com

Emil Jimenez Photo: Brian Fleming

“Consumers today encounter between 3,000 and 5,000 marketing messages per day. We have become very good at mentally zapping out the white noise. “ “The goal of experiential marketing is to establish a connection in such a way that the consumer responds to a product offering based on both emotional and rational response levels.”

There are almo Th l stt a dozen bilillb lboards d on Nickk Brown’s ’ t womile commute from the outskirts of Prague to the centre of Smíchov where he works. But rather than noticing these giant ads, he is focused on his iPhone 4, a piece of smart technology that gives him access to email, the news of the world, his full contact list and, yes, the leader-board of Angry Birds.

“There are ads?” says the 30 year-old copywriter when asked if he noticed the billboards.

In fact, he does see ads on the trip – those that come with the information he is digesting on his smart phone; when he checks in on the BBC news application or when playing games to pass the time.

Consumers such as Nick pose an interesting challenge for the marketing community. New technologies have given consumers more choices and control over the types of information they digest and have split audiences into ever narrower slices.

Consumers today encounter up to 5,000 marketing messages per day; it’s no wonder they have become good at zapping out the white noise. Even when looking for a new laptop, a consumer is more likely to encounter an ad for slinky new underwear, or a range of all-singing all-dancing

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off-road vehicles. It’s a messy mass and the marketing community is exploring new ways to make messaging more relevant to the modern consumer.

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING Traditional advertising still plays an important role in marketing strategy; TV ads remain the biggest source of revenue for the ad industry and they are still a great way to drive awareness. But cash is also being spent in other ways; ways that consider how people encounter and digest information, such as online marketing, gaming and event (a.k.a experiential) marketing.

Unlike typical marketing activities which stimulate two of the senses (sight and sound), experiential marketing immerses consumers in an environment that triggers all five, inclusive of taste, smell and touch. It is a complete 360° bbrandd experience. i “It’s “It’ th the diff difference between b t wat-t ching the Oscars on television and actually being there,” says Emil Jimenez, Chief Creative Officer of Passion Communications, an agency that specialises in bridging traditional media with the digital world.

BRINGING A BRAND TO LIFE Back in 2009, little-known Finnish mobile game designers, Rovio Mobile, conceptualised a game that would take the world by storm and kick-start some fantastic new approaches to brand marketing.

The game, Angry Birds, was launched in December 2009 on Apple’s iOS. It’s devilishly simple and notoriously difficult to put down. Companies quickly recognised the equitit y off th the game’’s chharacters t an andd, bef efor oree lo long ng, th thee ga game me burst from the mobile gaming platform and was adapted in other, quite unexpected, ways.

Unless you’ve been asleep this last summer, you will have seen the immensely successful T-Mobile TV spot that recreates the Angry Birds game in real life. Giant birds explode across a city square and canon into colourful blocks 15 feet high. The ad shows a carnival atmosphere, a big band playing and crowds screeching in delight. Rumours have it that an Angry Birds movie is in the making.

What the folks at T-Mobile did was pretty smart. They took a two-dimensional phenomenon and brought it to life as a four-dimensional experience. This gave consumers in that square the chance to participate in the Angry Birds story, to feel the excitement and taste the very DNA of the game.

None can deny the game’s cross-platform success – with a combined 300 million downloads, the game has been called ‘the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far.’ It was undoubtedly one of T-Mobile’s most successful campaigns of recent years.

Companies closer to home are doing equally great work.

In late August, Prague beer-brand, Staropramen, hosted an

Brendan Donnellan

interactive seminar at their newly opened Visitors’ Center in Smíchov for a group of social media savvy stakeholders.

The topic of the seminar was experiential marketing. The challenge: how to export the beer’s core brand attributes to the world?

“We developed the Visitors’ Center so that guests can immerse themselves in an experience. We know that people can see and hear about our beer in lots of different places.

Only here, however, can they taste the beer direct from the source, smell the real brewery air and touch the ingredients.

It’s a new way of marketing that brings consumers closer to who we are as a brand,” says Martin Jahoda, Staropramen Global Brand Manager.

Another great example of this is IKEA’s Hotel Concept; hotels decorated entirely with signature IKEA furnishing.

This allows customers to truly experience the tables, sofas, beds, chairs, utensils, etc. The hotels get a complete makeover and IKEA dramatically increases the number of locations where people can experience its products (i(inn ad a ditition on to its retail stores)).

PAVLOV’S DOG Experiments on classical conditioning by Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, make an academic case for the effectiveness of experiential marketing. Consumers who have been to an IKEA hotel or visited the Staropramen Visitors Center are more likely to respond to neutral stimuli (such as seeing an IKEA billboard, or passing by a Staropramen pub), as they have already forged full-sensory, positive associations with the brand in the past.

The goal of experiential marketing is to establish a connection in such a way that the consumer responds to a product offering based on both emotional and rational response levels. It is an incredibly interesting field for marketers, and one with infinite possibilities. The smart marketers out there will step into a consumer’s shoes and consider ways in which sensory touch-points can trigger a response that is rational, emotional and, more importantly, desirable.

By Emil Jimenez, CEO, CCO, Passion Communications and Brendan Donnellan, Managing Director, Passion Communications I

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23.9.2011 15:37:23

An interview with Pavel Kryštof, Deputy Minister of Interior

THE FAT, GOOD OLD TIMES Are History at the Ministry of Interior Pavel Kryštof was appointed Deputy Minister of Interior in June 2011. His competencies are strategy and management programming in light of the budget cuts in all segments of the Czech state administration, which will begin in 2013.

As a paradox, the new deputy sees the crisis as a good thing – a huge chance to forget about politics and conduct the measures that are so necessary, in order to create a healthier, more efficient state administration.

“A leader is the first one who is aware of the consequences of his acts.”

Photo: Archive of the Ministry of Interior

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23.9.2011 16:06:56

What does it mean for you being a leader?

A leader is for me the person who is aware of the consequences of his actions. If I am to call myself a leader, then it first means responsibility. I am a leader in the state administration, and this means, first of all, responsibility for the financial means and results that have been entrusted to me. The result should be public services that the state administration provides to its “clients” – i.e. citizens and entrepreneurs. This responsibility is truly huge.

Do you have a moral model in your environment?

I am trying to apply a view that comes from practical and professional experience. However, in public administration it is known that issues are also often solved from a political perspective. Political models are of a different category than managers. I don’t want to name anyone because I haven’t seen many models around me for the last five years.

What differences do you notice between state administration and the private sphere?

The difference is enormous. Tax payers’ efforts to lead clerks towards responsibility have somehow been transformed into a principle of not deciding on anything. The only purpose of a bad clerk is to not decide upon anything, and push all responsibility somewhere else. If there is nowhere else, then we’ll create it. This is the reason why state administration has been growing so much for the last few years. It’s a huge problem to eliminate, and to lead people towards competence and the courage to engage in decision-making. This is the basic difference. In the private sphere, when a manager is taken into his position he is already aware that he must make decisions, tion, decisions and that brings the acceptance of responsibility. Of course we have a range of excellent specialists who are experts in their fields, who manage decisionmaking perfectly, who accept responsibility and know how to bring their ideas to life. The Czech state administration is now overcrowded, swallowing more and more money each year, and the basic problem is that each standard clerk has only one goal: to secure his place and place responsibility somewhere else.

How can you motive clerks to change their approach?

First of all we should ask ourselves whether that clerk has real work to do, and whether that work is necessary. This is the path towards systemic change. Focusing on how to motivate clerks isn’t yet change, because we’ve hit the wall of how much money we have for everything. This is the first thing we need to fix. Even though we are all talking about how to improve effectiveness in the state administration, only during the last months has the pressure become real. Only now, when we are confronted with the global macroeconomic situation, have we become aware that we don’t have enough money. And we won’t have it in the future either.

What concrete measures do you expect with regards to your budget?

In this moment we need to come up with concrete strict measures that will ensure that we will be able to provide public services up to a certain standard of quality in the future. We have one year for that. In 2013 we are expecting a huge decrease in the state administration budget. Only then will we start looking

at our clerks and ask who will stay, so that we can start motivating those who remain. A clerk’s motivation is an untapped field. We are trying to implement modern tools such as managerial contracts, but this is only in the beginning stages.

Is there anything, from your experience in the private sector, that you’d like to bring to the state administration?

A proactive approach. Unfortunately I have only rarely seen instances when public clerks have been willing to work long hours, or to sacrifice their personal comfort. The daily stress of knowing that I could lose my job is missing in the state administration, and I miss that a lot. Today we can use the same technology as private enterprises. There are departments in state administration that are perfectly measurable, for example the structural funds department, which has clear quotas that need to be processed in a certain amount of time. This is something that can be compared with the commercial sphere. The majority of departments don’t have measurable parameters.

This is why it usually depends on the will and proactive approach of individual clerks, and how much time and thinking they will take to push things through.

What are your main priorities?

My priorities are pretty clear. I need to make sure that the conception and strategy of the Ministry of Interior will be able to provide quality services with the financial means at our disposal. This applies for the year 2013 and beyond. This is my main task.

We of course have a long-term vision and strategy that we’d like to implement, but we often need to postpone our priorities under the influence of the current events, and rather focus on how to survive.

I am also in charge of the department of informatics and e-government.

You mention the year 2013 as a key year in your existence. How exactly will the cuts in the Czech state budget affect your activities?

In our case it will be about a revision of all our activities and the costs tied to them. We will carry a consistent discussion about whether those activities are useful for citizens. This will also lead to legal changes. It is a pretty long-term procedure. The whole next year we will prepare concrete proposals for measures. For example, we are facing the issue of electronic personal identity cards. The law says that the Ministry of Interior is responsible, starting on January 1, 2012, to provide new types of personal identity cards, including electronic chips. However, the cost of this will exceed the budget we received four times over. These are very weird cases. The ministry doesn’t have money, but has responsibilities, and no one is willing to take these responsibilities off our shoulders because it’s a political matter.

What will you focus on during your cost cutting measure proposals?

We would like to sharply improve the use of real estate in the ministry, the police and the general department of fire-fighters. The optimization of these things could help us a lot in these times. For example, we could create a modern administrative complex where we would have all departments in one place.

We are about to launch an analysis, where we will look at legal options such as real estate swaps and so

forth. We will certainly reconsider our central purchase strategy and put more emphasis on modern tools such as electronic markets or electronic auctions. We want to make sure our purchases will be commodity purchases – we want to buy things that are easy to define and compete on. Only then will we get excellent prices from the market.

In 2007–09 you led Technoexport, a commercial entity focused on foreign trade. How are you planning to employ your experience in foreign trade in your current position?

My experience from foreign trade enriched me a lot. I really wish to be able to apply some of those things I learned here as well. First of all it’s about patience, which is an asset that a person involved in foreign trade must have. Foreign trade is a longterm process. Then, you need the seriousness and involvement of all parties. Trust and relationships are long-term, and pay off on top of any written contract or agreement. These are things that we tend to ignore around us, but in foreign trade they are absolutely essential. The Ministry of Interior continues in the tendencies that were set by the former minister in a few sectors, and above all in the fight against corruption. These are things that we need to further enhance so that our ministry becomes a model for the other state departments.

What do you wish for the future?

I have already been trying for a few years to achieve real effectiveness in the state administration, which is above all a political problem. Thanks to the current economic troubles we have a unique chance to ignore politics and really do something about it. I see it as a huge paradox: the worse off we are, the bigger chances we have to do something to improve things.

How do you evaluate the current leaders in Czech politics?

Currently we have a range of skilled competent leaders, but systemically it’s still very little. The whole state administration must reach the bottom, so that they can say: now it’s time to grab the same cord and look at our situation realistically, and do something about it. Let’s make fundamental legislative changes.

Individual departments will have a tough time, because at once you’re taking away the meaning of life for many clerks. You take away their work which, in fact, doesn’t generate anything. We follow the discussions on the budget and, in my view it’s a clear signal that the government gave us the year 2012 to prepare for our survival during the next few years.

We received 12 months to survive until 2013 and the years to come, when the budget cuts will be even deeper. Let’s become aware of it and let’s grab the same cord, all of us. Let’s use this crisis and let’s make the changes that we’re all aware are needed.

Let’s become aware of it now, because if we don’t do anything about it, things will turn out really bad.

We have the good old times behind us and there is no more money. For those who don’t get it, it’s time for a deep depression.

By Pavlína Louženská, Cristina Muntean I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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An interview with Jaroslav Škrabálek, Executive Officer of ACEMCEE, the Organizer of the International Confference for mobbile techhnollogy MOBER A

The Fight for Innovation

PUTS BRNO IN Thanks Than ks to ititss pl plac acem emen entt in the hea eart rt of Eu Euro rope pe, att the bordder with ith Slovaki kia andd Austria, but mainly thanks to the brain power of its fresh university graduates, Brno, the second largest Czech city, has the potential to become an innovation hub in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). As investors start to discover the power of innovation, the money inflow promises to transform Brno into Europe’s Silicon Valley, says Jaroslav Škrabálek, executive officer of ACEMCEE, a Brno-based consultancy focused on event management and support of innovative ideas. ACEMCEE is also the organizer of MOBERA, an international conference that aims to bring together specialists and investors in mobile telephony from all over the world.

“We want to create a place where ideas meet other ideas, finance and feedback so that they can finally become reality,” Škrabálek says.

Why do you think Brno can become the Silicon Valley of the Czech Republic, if not of CEE? We can look at the activities undertaken by the South-Moravian Innovation Center (JIC) and also at other local incentives. Based on that, we need to admit that Brno is featuring excellent conditions for technological companies. There are two purely technical schools – the Faculty of Informatics of the Masaryk University, and the Faculty of Information Technology at the Brno University of Technology (VUT). Also there is the Faculty of Business and Economics of the Mendel University, which combines informatics with economics. The specter of young graduates is large, and these students are already connected to practice during their studies. They gather experience, which is a great advantage both for them and for their future employers, because they can train and integrate the graduates into their company durin ingg th thei eirr st stud udie iess. It’ts al also so qui uite te mea eani ning ngful that graduates don’t only gather theoretical knowledge from their professors, but also practical know-how from the real world.

Practical experience is one thing, innovation and the courage to step into the market with your idea is another thing, because you must finance that innovation. Can you imagine that a Czech student would sit at night in his dorm and come up with something like Facebook or Google?

My experience shows that in the Czech Republic in general, and especially in the South Moravian region, there is a large reservoir of good ideas that are expecting implementation. Numerous activities are being organized, such as meetings of peo eopl plee with talent and enthusiasm to create

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something new. One of these large activities is concentrated in the Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC), which together with JIC created the Accelerator, an entity which gives students the chance to follow their potential. In the Accelerator experts correct students, advise them, offer lectures by people with real life experience, and advise them in the field of marketing and development. The Accelerator is basically helping these ideas mature into an ideal state of affairs.

Can you name a concrete innovative project that reached maturity recently in Brno?

Certainly. An excellent example is Celebrio.

This is a project that won the competition “Idea of the Year” in 2011, and was sent to the final of the Microsoft Imaging Camp in New York where it won a well-deserved seventh place. This is a project that tries to ease the use of computer technology for senior people. Another interesting idea is Univerzátor, a worldwide database of high educatition ca on ins nstititu tutition onss th that at wou ould ld hel elpp st stud uden ents ts mak akee qualified decisions about their university choice.

They want to create a global catalogue as detailed as possible. The third large example is the GINA system that has already been used in Haiti or in Japan after the earthquake catastrophes. It helps rescuers to correct their field moves. Thanks to their personal digital assistant (PDA) devices they can see where they are, they can note on a map where a fallen bridge is, where a place is flooded, d which place needs to be avoided, or they can call for help if they need it. This project is already helping in practice, for example Bill Gates wrote about it, which is a big success. The potential is here and it’s necessary to support it in the future so that it can grow further.

In the Czech Republic investors are not used

to financing good ideas only because they are good ideas. In Silicon Valley and in the US it’s quite normal that investors take start-up financing as part of their social responsibility.

What would convince a Czech investor to put his money into a new idea?

It is true. Not so long ago Robin Razska – who is very successful in the US – wrote on [the specialized Internet server] tyinternety.cz that we have an incredible reservoir of talent here, but very few who dare to pursue what they imagine.

We are still confronted with a large skepticism.

Europe as such is very modest and careful with regards to investors’ courage to go after new ideas. We don’t have the enthusiasm of the Americans, who see an opportunity everywhere.

This is above all visible here in CEE where we are still affected by 40 years of communism when no entrepreneurship existed. Yet, things are gradually changing. After 20 years we have the first swal sw a loows such as Ondřejj Bartoš and his venture capital firm CredoVentures, and other similar investment groups. I can also see a large potential in the StartUp Yard, which is an excellent program for beginner companies that covers everything for young entrepreneurs for the first three months.

We are assisting in gradual development, but it is still very little compared to the number of excellent ideas on the market.

Is financing the only barrier that prevents good ideas from reaching the market?

I can also see other issues. Talent and ideas are not visible enough. They are not presenting themselves enough. In CEE and maybe in Europe as such there is a preconception that if I put an idea on the market someone will steal it from me in no time. That is nonsense. Everyone has tons of ideas,

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but the biggest issue is the materialization of these ideas. So, we need to convince people to fear fe ar les esss an andd do mor oree, to sp spea eakk ab abou outt th thei eirr id idea eass more, promote themselves and become more visible. The reality right now is that we’re still facing a lot of concerns and fear and we need to overcome this.

What is your personal role in the creation of the Silicon Valley in the Czech Republic?

I have already been involved in mobile technology lo gy for alm lmos ostt si sixx ye year arss. I hav avee al also so wor orke kedd as a journalist, so I had the chance to become familiar with mobile technology platforms in their early stages. I was there when smart phones transformed from tools for managers and geeks to tools for the wide public. Now it’s clear that smart phones are for everybody, and they have become an integral part of our lives. Today everyone must have one, and this is visible in sales – everyo y ne who’s buying a new phone goes after a smart phone. The smart phone offers an incredible range of possibilities. If we speak about tablets, that’s a bit of a different story. They are catching up slowly, but it’s not a must-have. It’s nice to have, but people can live without it. However, just try to imagine how we could use these applications in healthcare, transport, advanced reality, mobile payments.

There are enormous growth perspectives. I can see a llarge potential t ti l ffor companies i th thatt wantt tto obtain bt i a competitive advantage, how to use this potential long-term, and how to help people, because these applications can be extremely useful when they are well-done. It’s not just about games anymore.

These applications can truly help people solve their daily life challenges. Therefore I organize the MOBERA conference – platform for mobile experts – enthusiastic people from the whole Europe to support these changes of computer usage and to connect people having ideas with the people who are able to realize this potential.

In which field can the Czech Republic become a global leader?

The Czech Republic has a big advantage in the technological sphere, either in biotechnology or in the field of mobile applications. Large funds go in these directions – we are talking about some 17 billion CZK that will go to Brno to support such innovations. In the field of technology development, we can see the successful case of [nanofibre producer] Elmarco in Liberec, [North Bohemia]. It’s necessary to stimulate these ideas – to pass on experience so that the exaggerated optimism of fresh entrepreneurs doesn’t end up in chaos, or that ideas don’t die because entrepreneurs are trying to finance them by themselves andd th an they ey don on’tt hav avee en enou ough gh cap apitital al. It is a sh sham amee if an idea goes bust and we see it appearing in two or three years in the US. The Czech Republic and CEE can only lose in such a process.

“It’s not just about games. Mobile applications can truly help people solve their daily life challenges.”

By Cristina Muntean I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi maga ma gazí zínu nu na ww www. w.le lead ader ersm smag agaz azin ine. e.cz cz

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

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global perspectives

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

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

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global perspectives

How to Make a Million At a recent summit for start-up companies in Brussels, a clever journalist opened our interview with the following question: “If you left Microsoft tomorrow to become an entrepreneur and launch your own outfit, what industry would you choose?

How would you make your first million?”

My immediate answer was the healthcare industry. I knew the statistics well – between 6 % and 8 % of Europe’s GDP is spent on the management of chronic diseases. This presents a huge opportunity for enterprising firms. Cloud computing has made a massive impact on medical research through providing access to resource-intensive computing power and software. This can be used to rapidly generate models on the behavior of molecules, or analyze genetic variations in people and help understand why some people are more susceptible to diseases than others. As a business this would also fulfill social responsibility criteria, as well as potentially help to raise “the first million”.

However, the key to any success is not just a promising industry and a few good ideas. Success depends on the right environment to nurture entrepreneurship and talent. The engagement of venture capital is a good indicator of where such an environment already exists. Venture capital investment in Europe is €7 per capita, whilst in the US it is €72, and in Israel it is €178. Using the Silicon Valley region alone as an example, the number would jump to $1800 per person. What is the explanation for these dramatic differences?

Partly it has to do with bureaucracy. The complexity, financial cost and time needed for setting up a start-up in Europe are approximately the same as required for a large corporation. The founders lose their competitive edge through having to focus on administrative matters rather than on their product.

One venture capitalist I spoke to at the start-up summit in Brussels used Silicon Valley as an example of the best practice in innovation. In that region the process of innovation had been “bottom up”, driven by people – not a “top down” process driven by governments. Likewise in the US, professors and researchers have become closely involved in the founding of start-ups, whereas in Europe legal regulations and social norms prevent this partnership from occurring. Above all, the message to governments on behalf of entrepreneurs is simple – “let us succeed”. When, at the summit, an EU law was proposed for the protection of start-ups against government bureaucratic intervention, the audience of investors and start-ups broke into a spontaneous round of applause.

Industry programs such as Microsoft’s BizSpark have been set up in Europe to overcome these challenges. The BizSpark team connects start-ups with educators, buyers, government agencies, investors, consultants, lawyers and banks to ensure that they have the right contacts to flourish. Start-ups often

fail because they cannot afford the initial IT set-up investment, which is why BizSpark provides a free platform, infrastructure and technical advice for developers for the first three years. Additional issues arise for start-ups, such as which financing model is most appropriate – business angels, crowd funding, corporate incubation or bootstrapping? I would highlight here the role that the EU institutions can play in facilitating the flow of money to start-ups and new ideas. Apart from the ever present need to reduce red tape and re-evaluate the strict regulatory environment to register a business and obtain funding, tax breaks for private investors and business angels would incentivize investment in start-ups.

Moreover, institutions across Europe could make it easier for younger companies to win one of the thousands of lucrative government contracts, potentially through a preferred suppliers list. This would lead to growth, expansion of services and increased recruitment.

Another issue to address is how to nurture the talent to increase the number of innovative start-ups in Europe in the first place. Public-private and notfor-profit partnerships are excellent ways to share intellectual capital and technical know-how, and expose the next generation of entrepreneurs to real-life innovation and role-models. The European Alliance on Skills for Employability, launched in 2006 under the auspices of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, is a collaborative effort of industry leaders to provide e-skills and employability training to underserved Europeans. So far, this initiative has reached over eight million people through local partnerships and non-profit organizations.

Indeed, 90% of jobs in the EU will require e-skills by 2015, so this is a necessity not just for entrepreneurs, but for Europe as a whole to stay competitive as a global player. As chairman of the European Working Group of Global Education Initiative for the World Economic Forum, I greatly recognize the need for emphasis on STEM subjects in European curricula – Science, Technology, Education, and Math.

And this is a constant process throughout one’s educational and working life, through up-skilling and lifelong-learning schemes. Technology is changing the educational journey of today’s youth, as they are interacting with technology in their home lives too – so there needs to be special e-learning and technology programs to nurture this at every stage. The ideas for innovative start-ups and products must originate from somewhere, and I believe by twinning technological advances with core STEM subject learning, a new wave of entrepreneurship can be energised across Europe.

Indeed, the power of the right partnerships and educational programs is something I have experienced first hand as part of the “different hats” I wear for my roles in the European Academy of Business in Society, the Junior Achievement Young Enterprise

Europe, and the European e-Skills Association. The start-ups that emerge from these programs are the technology powerhouses of the future, and are linked to companies like Microsoft’s future innovative capacity and success. Currently, the Microsoft European ecosystem directly employs 2 million people as developers, vendors, distributors and service providers. And for every €1 Microsoft makes, our partners make €9 – “partners” here include start-ups, independent software sellers and developers. Another way of putting it is that between 90 %–95 % of Microsoft’s revenue comes through partners, so where they succeed, we succeed.

A great example of the potential of European startups is last year’s BizSpark winner Kobojo, a game and application developer for mobile devices and social media based in France. They have just completed the first round of their fund-raising campaign, which in the first instance raised a total of 5.3 million. Indeed, innovation occurs quicker with entrepreneurs than it does in standard businesses. Why? Because thinking “outside the box” may threaten an existing company’s business model and target market, or for large corporations this may lead to discontent from the shareholders. Change is intrinsic to the entrepreneurial process, and whilst some succeed and others fail, it is vital that Europe embraces it.

With all of this in mind, if I had the opportunity to reply to the question posed by the journalist at the BizSpark European Summit, regarding which industry I would choose and how I would make my first million – I’d answer “education” and “games”. As I started my career as a computer programmer, having studied computer science at the Czech Technical University, I’d like to think I could have designed a game for mobile devices that was fun, inspiring and instructive. The current rise of gamification, and its applications to a variety of sectors including education, healthcare and even marketing, shows that I would have faced some stiff competition. But that’s what entrepreneurship is all about, and for those who are determined, and take advantage of EU initiatives, and programs such as BizSpark, the first million is just the beginning and it is not good only for individual entrepreneurs, but also for the whole of Europe. I believe we need to re-create the start up mentality on our continent to stay globally competitive, take more risks and become innovators once again. Europe’s currency for the future needs to be ideas – which can be turned into great products and services. As John Lennon sang in his song: You may think I am a dreamer... but I am not the only one .

Jan Mühlfeit Chairman Europe Microsoft Corporation český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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cfo club event

From left: Dean Brabec, Managing Director CEE, Arthur D. Little and President of CFO Club, Kamil Ziegler, Vice-President of CFO Club and Executive Head and CFO of PPF Real Estate, and Petr Brávek, IT Director, Česká spořitelna a.s.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

SUMMER CFO CLUB The Travel Industry – Situation and Outlook While the financiers and CFO members who were present at the Summer CFO Club were primarily interested in financial and economic matters, the discussion moved beyond these two areas. The view from the 27th floor of the tallest building in the Czech Republic, Prague’s City Tower, provided inspiration to travel and discover faraway lands. This view was from the AUREOLE Fusion Restaurant & Lounge, the venue for the meeting, which was held on the second Wednesday in August. The speakers on the introductory discussion panel were Tomáš Cikán, CEO of ESO travel; Zdenka Petrů, Deputy Head of the Department of Tourism at the University of Economics; and Tomio Okamura, Vice President and spokesperson of the Association of Czech Travel Agents (AČCKA). The evening was moderated by Bořivoj P. Pražák, Senior Advisor to Arthur D. Little and CFO Club Council member. The close of the evening’s discussion was followed by socializing, a delightful dinner buffet and cocktail tasting.

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

From left: Tomio Okamura, Vice-President and Spokesman, Association of Czech Travel Agents, Tomáš Cikán, CEO, ESO travel a. s., Zdenka Petrů, Deputy Head, Department of Tourism, University of Economics, Prague, and Bořivoj P. Pražák, Senior Advisor, Arthur D. Little and Member of the Board of CFO Club

23.9.2011 17:11:13

From left: Michal Olexa, Director, Department of Risk&Compliance, KPMG Česká republika, s.r.o. and Daniel Ryšávka, Senior Advisor, Advisory, KPMG Česká republika, s.r.o.

View from the terrace Michal Cihla, Deputy Mayor, Town Hall of Roudnice nad Labem

From left: Dean Brabec, Managing Director CEE, Arthur D. Little and President of CFO Club and Irena Prášilová, Senior Manager, Accenture Central Europe B.V., o.s.

From left: Bořivoj P. Pražák, Senior Advisor, Arthur D. Little and Member of the Board of CFO Club, Dean Brabec, Managing Director CEE, Arthur D. Little and President of CFO Club, Zdenka Petrů, Deputy Head, Department of Tourism, University of Economics, Prague, Tomio Okamura, Vice-President and Spokesman, Association of Czech Travel Agents, and Tomáš Cikán, CEO, ESO travel a.s.

73 Participants

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“ You can’t raise taxes for ever.

It ’ll turn agaiinst you.”

Milan Bak Milan Bakeš, eš, fo found under und er o Bak of a eš & Part Part artner ne s law ner aw fir m P to: Vladi Pho a mírír Weeiss adi is

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An interview with Milan Bakeš, founder of Bakeš & Partners law firm Professor Milan Bakeš, founder of Bakeš & Partners, a Prague-based law firm, spent his whole life researching and teaching legal regulations in the financial sector. Despite the economic crisis that has deeply shaken the global financial sector in 2008–2010, it’s not so easy to implement radical changes that would prevent such occurrences in the future, Bakeš says. What we can expect for sure is more regulation – it’s impossible to imagine a future for the financial sector without it, he argues.

You spent your whole professional life studying, teaching and advising on financial law. For the last three years we experienced the worst economic crisis after World War II. Can you observe some change in the global financial legal system after this earthquake?

It’s hard to speak about a global financial system regulation today. In our case, the legal connections are tied to the European Union (EU), while each state still has its own financial law.

Also, this concept of financial law as such is specific in our case and in the case of a few other post-communist countries. In the West they make a difference between financial and tax law. In our case these two sub-fields are taught two-in-one.

It’s hard to say what will change – one should be a Pithy and read from a crystal ball for that.

The EU started to push through more and more banking regulation as a consequence of the crisis. There are voices saying that, if this trend continues, the European market will become nothing but a collection of subsidiaries of Asian banks. Is it really so dramatic?

I am not a banker, I am a theoretic. I rather think that regulation is indispensable. In our case, if some banks had to close down in the 90s, this was because of a lack of regulation. I think that the current adjustment of the regulation system is relatively favorable. It’s still a question of whether the whole supervision over financial activities should be carried out by the Czech National Bank (ČNB), because this is an exception rather than the rule, and in the wide majority of states supervision is carried out by autonomous organs.

The Western world is getting lost in debt and for the moment there is no visible way out of it.

How do you see the rest of this year in the case of Greece and other problematic economies?

No one can answer this question. If we’re talking about Greece and other states, mainly in the south of Europe, it’s really hard to make any predictions.

I personally think that some managed bankruptcy would be simpler, more appropriate and mainly cheaper than just pouring money into the economy, buying some more Greek bonds for a really small interest rate, which is now the strategy.

It’s a matter of time, the economy could indeed recover, but I’m rather pessimistic because of the last figures that were published.

What will happen to the United States?

Our interview is taking place prior to August 2.

The United States are trying today to profile themselves and go in the direction of China. You can’t be surprised, because China is the largest state in the world and it’s still growing very fast. Also, local

regulations in the United States have a different character and this is why we can’t expect a similar development like the one in Europe.

How do you see the future of financial markets five to ten years from now? What will be the primary feature – regulation, more supervision, a tendency towards growing healthier and running financial institutions in a more sustainable way, or what?

I can’t imagine financial markets without a certain degree of regulation. It will develop according to the market, depending on the way that regulation will be – if it will be more rigorous, strict or free, but if financial markets are collapsing, then we would need to come up with another system to deal with it. This is also a question related to globalization. If we were talking about individual states, this wouldn’t be a problem. Globalization has many advantages, but we can now convince ourselves that it also has disadvantages, and that the impact of the problems of a large state or some large states will have a strong influence on the rest of the world.

Back to the Czech Republic. We have more banks here. In July 2011 Zuno Bank from the Raiffeisenbank group was launched. By the end of the year we will also see Airbank from the PPF group on the market. Is the Czech legal system ready for these highly technical banks?

Basically yes. Our law on banking has been more or less imported from the laws of other EU states.

This is why our law is something less comprehensible, because it happened that words were translated literally. Yet, I assume that it’s counting on certain aspects regarding online banking.

Can you see some sensitive spots in the law that could be abused by these new players?

Czechs will always come up with something.

I am not able to answer you in a qualified manner because I am rather a conservative type, and I’m not saying that I don’t trust online banks, but I am rather a fan of classical brick-and-mortar banks.

If you were to say one word that would describe the evolution of the Czech banking legal system after the fall of communism, what would that be?

It’s a hard question. Of course the system has changed completely. I would use more words, but if I were to stick with one, I’d say privatization because prior to that we had no private banks.

Another word would be capital market. This is also something that we didn’t see before – private investments.

If we are talking about private investments, Czechs are known for being more conservative

than, say, Poles. At the end of the day Slovaks also have a higher appetite for risk. How do you foresee the development of the Czech investors’ mentality into the capital market in the future?

It will certainly be influenced by the developments on the global market. I think that our development will take the direction of the Western markets – more investments than today. What happened before and during the crisis is that people who invested lost often quite a lot of money. They were also not experienced in what a conservative investment is and what is not.

Today everything is going in the direction of the fact that clients can decide. They can take some guaranteed mutual fund, which was mixed from money boxes, certificates and bonds and they will have a smaller return. In my view, what will grow first are low-risk investments, then the more risky ones.

Let’s take a look at the Czech tax law. The Czech Republic has one of the most complicated systems in the world. How did we get here?

I would also like to know that. When we created the tax system, we complied from the basic systems in Germany and partially from Austria. If you compare these two laws now, for example the basic legal points – who’s the subject, who’s the object, what’s the basis for calculating the taxes, how do you make the payments etc. – we are almost like in Germany or in Austria. However, during the construction of the system we eliminated those things that were in the best interest of the tax payer, and we left only those issues that were in the advantage of the state. Then we also added a series of changes and we ended up with an absolutely non-transparent system.

Who benefits from this system?

It’s quite an advantage for tax advisors, lawyers and so on because today no normal legal entity – and often also no physical entity – can find its way across without them.

What’s the way out of this system?

Making a very transparent law, eliminating the majority of exceptions, and not solving the problems of the state at the expense of tax payers, when the state isn’t capable of managing its finances well. You simply can’t raise taxes forever, because it will turn against you. The tax system should be simple, transparent and above all fair.

This should be the basic fundamental thing for the next tax reform in this country.

By Cristina Muntean I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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outlook Sanjiv Suri, Founder, President & CEO of Zátiší Group comprising presently of four restaurants in Prague i.e.

V Zátiší, Bellevue, Mlýnec, Žofín Garden & Zátiší Catering and Cube Austria catering.

Sanjiv Suri serves on several boards, for example: UNICEF, Prague Convention Bureau, American Chamber of Commerce, and Czech Innovation for Global Markets (CIN). He is a partner and sponsor of the Association of Foreign Investments (AFI) and a member of “Young Presidents´ Organization” worldwide.

He is married with wife Markéta and has four children Virat, Jacqueline, Shaan, and Jasmine.

Sanjiv Suri, President & CEO Zátiší Group Photo: Mr. Suri´s Archive

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outlook

Of Profits, Happiness, Integrity & RESPONSIBLE CAPITALISM PROFITS Let´s start with Profits. “By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of society”, Adam Smith wrote about the famous “invisible hand” of the market in The Wealth of Nations.

Business has often been viewed as a type of machine with various types of inputs and with profit being the output.

Economists routinely teach us that the purpose of business is to maximize shareholder value.

But running a business while keeping your eye only on the profits is a little bit like playing a tennis match with both eyes on the scoreboard.

In my opinion – just as in tennis the best way to win a match is to keep the eyes not on the scoreboard, but on the ball – the best way to maximize long term profits in business is not to make them the primary goal of the company.

The Paradox of profits is that they are achieved in the long-term by not focusing directly on them.

HAPPINESS Going on to Happiness Happiness, which in the short-term short term can be achieved by setting specific “Happy” targets.

I will be happy if I go for a vacation to... I will be happy if I buy this Cabriolet… I will be happy if my wife behaves differently… I will be happy if I increase my profits by 25%...

This happiness is, in my humble opinion, flawed by the conditional clause. I will be happy when… is a state of mind which obviously tells me I am not happy now and that when I do become happy, it is a short-term contentedness which will return me to my normal state of unhappiness sooner or later.

Profits or wealth rarely lead to anything more than short term happiness. I happen to know a lot of very wealthy people who are very unhappy with their lives because they live them conditionally.

In my experience, happiness is a state of the mind that is unconditional and comes more from giving than from getting. It could come from a sense of deeper purpose, great products or services, excited and happy customers, excellent suppliers, satisfied employees, contribution to the community and responsibility to the environment.

INTEGRITY They say, “If you grow up in a home where praise, encouragement and caring are the rule, then you are more likely to learn to appreciate and respect others as well as have confidence in yourself.”

And confidence in yourself and the need to be

happy gives you the strength to make good ethical decisions, despite the pressure to act otherwise.

A poem by Dale Wimbrow comes to my mind: THE MAN IN THE GLASS When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day, Just go to a mirror and look at yourself And see what THAT man has to say.

For it isn’t your father or mother or friend or wife Whose judgment upon you must pass; The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people may think you a straight-shootin’ chum And call you a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest, For he’s with yyou clear upp to the end.

And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life And get pats on your back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

RESPONSIBLE CAPITALISM: This is a term coined by Mohd. Yunus when he started Grameen Bank in 1983 in Bangladesh.

Grameen has not only helped millions of people out of poverty, but it has also become financially sustainable. It provides small, collateral free loans to (94%) women below the poverty line. Grameen has realized a repayment record of 97% (one of the best repayment records in the world) compared to a repayment rate of under 60% in the Bangladesh banking sector. It collects an average of over $2 million every day from its more than 3 million borrowers in over 50,000 villages. Grameen’s methods are now applied in over 58 countries including the US, Canada, France, Norway and the Netherlands.

But Responsible Capitalism does not only have to be “Heroic” as in the case above, or as in what the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation tries to achieve in trying to eradicate Malaria and AIDS from the face of this earth.

It can also be “Service to others” (Nordstrom, Whole foods and Singapore Airlines are great examples of this) or “Quest for excellence” (exhibited by Four Seasons Hotels and Apple). Then, of course, there could be “excitement or discovery”, for which

names like Google or Amgen come to mind amongst many other companies that set higher goals for themselves. And of course there could be other higher goals  In the book “Firms of endearment”: the pursuit of purpose and profit (Wolfe Sisodia and Sheth 2007 Wharton school publishing), the authors pick 30 companies that are managed to optimise total stakeholder value and track them over 10 years against the S&P 500. These companies’ returns were over 600% higher than the S&P 500 returns. This can be no accident: I believe it is the result of a superior business model – the business model that I trust should become dominant in the 21st century.

I would go on to contend that in the big picture the sole purpose of business is to make this world a better place to live in, add value to society and the environment, and make profit in the process of doing so.

IN CONCLUSION The old paradigm of maximizing shareholder value needs to be changed in the 21st century to a new paradigm of RESPONSIBLE CAPITALISM, CAPITALISM which maximizes stakeholder value – where society and the environment are two major stakeholders beyond the circle of customers, employees, suppliers and…of course, shareholders.

To achieve it, we will need ethically strong leadership. Positive reinforcement and praise are the only tools we have to generate the level of confidence that will create responsible leaders who will maximize stakeholder happiness, as well as profits through the practice of Integrity & Responsible Capitalism.

I am of the strong belief that as these leaders grow in numbers, we will achieve a tipping point within this decade or the next, and that this new network of leaders will fill the leadership vacuum left by politicians. Perhaps I may be too hopeful, but then hope is the first, essential ingredient of change.

In the long run, they say that we will all fertilise daffodils, but in the slightly shorter run this maybe a hope worth living for. We at Zatisi are more and more committed to practicing responsible Capitalism with integrity, so that we may make this world a better place to live in, and at the same time generate profits and Happiness for all stakeholders.

Sanjiv Suri sanjiv@zatisigroup.cz

český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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Aquarius Restaurant With beautiful views of the Fountain Courtyard, this comfortable and elegant restaurant features an eclectic array of French, Italian and Mediterranean dishes, which includes a wide selection of home-made pasta, fresh fish and seafood dishes. The Italian owner of the restaurant prides himself on selecting fresh ingredients and serving dishes of the very highest quality. An extra treat is the authentic Czech menu, prepared from the finest traditional ingredients. Dining in the delightful inner courtyard in the summer months is an enchanting experience for guests. Thursdays to Saturdays guests are delighted by engaging live music by famous piano singer man Yves Chelala. Seven Stars and Stripes, Inc., in cooperation with the American Dream Cuisine, as the global leader in world-class perfection evaluation, has approved the quality, service and hospitality of this fine restaurant. The restaurant has been featured in the Michelin Restaurant Guide as a recommended restaurant four times in succession and it has also been featured in the Zagat Restaurant Review.

AQUARIUS RESTAURANT Tržiště 19, 118 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic Reservations: +420 257 286 019; Email: aquarius@alchymisthotel.com; www.aquariusrestaurant.cz

We are delighted to offer a 10% discount for Leaders Magazine readers valid until 15th November.

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A talk with Vlastimil Tesař, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

CZECH REPUBLIC AND ITS

Involvement in International Organizations Vlastimil Tesař went through various executive positions in the central bank of the Czech Republic incl. Director General.

He assumed vast experience with the economic transformation. From 1998 to 2003 Mr. Tesař served as the Head of Economic and Financial Section at the Delegation to the EU in Brussels in the time of the entry negotiations for the EU membership. In 2004 he was appointed the Department Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2006 became the Deputy Permanent Representative to the OECD where he was elected the Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee in 2009. Mr. Tesař took his degree at the University of Economics in Prague and graduated in banking, macroeconomics and finance at the Colorado University in the US. Mr. Tesař regularly lectures economics at the University of Economics in Prague and from 2006 to 2010 he lectured at the Institute d´Administration des Entreprises de Paris.

Photo: Archive

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Your department is responsible for the Czech Republic’s membership of a large number of international organizations. How does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contribute to the benefits of such membership and what is the common denominator in terms of the Czech Republic’s role in international organizations?

International organizations, including those of an economic nature, differ in many respects, depending on the reason for their formation, their structure, working methods, objectives, and many other factors. The main dividing line can be drawn between specialized and political organizations, although there are occasions where such a distinction can be hazy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the scope of its competence, promotes the prime objective pursued by Czech entities in these organizations, which is quite simple: maximum benefit at minimum cost.

You mentioned that international organizations are very diverse and there are quite a lot of them... ...Yes, I know where you are going. I myself was surprised just how numerous is the Czech Republic´s involvement in hundreds of various international institutions and treaty-based entities. However, we are not alone in managing our membership of such bodies; besides the IOs under our direct responsibility, a lot of work is carried out by other – expert oriented ministries or institutions specialized in the relevant field – we work together and our mutual roles are fairly well defined. In the hierarchy of IOs, our main focus is on those carrying major or significant influence. These tend to be IOs that produce standards committing our executive to make a legislative response or to engage in other activities or events. The interministerial coordination in the case of these IOs is far more important than of those which are more narrowly oriented.

IO membership can be relatively expensive in some cases That is true. In principle, there should be a balance between the level of membership contributions and the benefits of membership.

Nevertheless, the contributions we pay to the IOs have – in a large number of cases – risen since we joined. The situation is doubly complicated now. On the one hand, contributors’ resources are scarcer, and on the other many IOs have paradoxically stepped up pressure for an increase in membership contributions at a time of economic and fifinanciiall cris isis is. Th Thee cu curr rren entt parlous period only serves to expose all the more clearly those aspects of membership mentioned at the start of this interview. Czech representatives in IOs should take the initiative

to defend those aspects constantly and as a matter of course. What I mean, in particular, is a vigorous enforcement of an IO’s programme that serves our interests, a pressure to adhere to that programme, and a clear insight into the overall financial management of the orga or gani niza zatition on andd its economic efficiency.

The role of a “stakeholder” needs to be played more rigorously in larger IOs, where there is a tendency to “rely on the others”. I agree that sometimes this is not easy, but in such situations our diplomatic service, for example, can lend a helping hand.

Aren’t multilateral economic organizations rather in a crisis?

The activities and ambitions of IOs must be constantly monitored, and any signs of atrophy, activity looping and inefficiency must be critically evaluated. At some IOs, these symptoms may not arise until some time after their formation, when the motives for establishing the organization start to fade. That said, as a result of the way the crisis has developed in recent years, economic and financial IOs in particular have had strong incentives to establish specific programmes and press for concrete outcomes.

It is up to the capital cities of member countries to maintain their influence on the decisionmaking regarding the specific content of the IO’s work and the resources available to cover it. In this respect, I would not say that multilateral economic relations are suffering from the crisis; the demand for their work has intensified in terms of both quantity and quality.

Paradoxically, the weak economic situation in developed countries can also help to unblock certain key multilateral issues, such as the Doha Development Agenda, the adoption of which had stalled in the WTO in the “good times”. Now it is perhaps easier for all parties involved to accept that finding a compromise sooner rather than later would give the global economy a boost. However, what I would criticize are thematic overlaps in the activities of IOs, their lack of ability to agree on mutually beneficial cooperation, and the way they sometimes misuse the crisis to raise their profiles and gain more strength.

What should the key economic IOs be focusing on at this time?

All IOs, without exception, should assess how the global crisis has affected their work and in what specific ways they, in their own field, can help their member countries to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn andd to res an esto tore re and boo oost their growth. The array of options open to the various IOs’ is relatively broad in this respect – they have a lot to offer. Right now, we can increase the pressure on all IOs, ranging from purely economic,

financial and development organizations and comprehensive, cross-cutting IOs to institutions specializing in areas such as employment, migration, agriculture, health, science and food, to work together more intensively for overall econom omic ic rec ecov over ery. y. For exa xamp mple le, th thee OECD was quick to react to the onset of the crisis; it began analysing the causes and relatively quickly offered partner governments and all other interested parties a comprehensive anticrisis strategy. This document also relied on cooperation with the IMF, WTO and other relevant IOs. The European Union and its project of the Economic and Monetary Union is also based on multilateral economic ties and diplomacy.

Absolutely. However, it is built on factors spread out over multiple planes. Historical, economic and political. The introduction of the single European currency was undoubtedly a bold step relying on the responsibility and discipline of all interested parties. It is worth recalling that just about all of the countries joining the eurozone, including the countries of the “south wing”, had thoroughly analysed their capacity for economic convergence and its impact on their then own currency. Spain, for example, achieved a four-year postponement in the collective launch of electronic payments in euro, originally planned for the mid-1990s.

However, following the subsequent introduction of the single currency in its physical form we have seen non-compliance with the rules of budgetary discipline, especially among large countries, which was not followed by any sanctions. As a result, the further development of the Economic and Monetary Union project came to be seen in a different light.

How can the EU work its way out of this unpleasant situation?

There are few scenarios available. They should all rely on what we here call “Lessons from the crisis”. A functional single currency is regarded as a crucial element in the single common market, especially from the perspective of freedom of payments and exchange rate risk limits. Financial institutions, corporations and other entities of countries outside the eurozone are also heavily involved in single currency operations. It is thus in everyone’s interest to take such measures that will minimize risks and losses in the short term and find a reliable arrangement that will be conducive to stability and economic growth in the long term.

Comp mpililed ed by LM I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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Antonín Kratochvíl, leading Czech and world Photographer Photo: Vladimír Weiss

26.9.2011 13:55:04

A talk with Antonín Kratochvíl, leading Czech and world Photographer

I Got a Taste of Radiation “Fools go where angels fear to enter”, so could be described the life journey of Antonín Kratochvíl (1947). He was not allowed to study for political reasons, and in 1967 he left former Czechoslovakia. He graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and left in 1972 for the United States, where he makes pictures for prestigious newspapers and magazines. At the center of his interest is documentary photography (for which he won, among other things, three awards from the World Press Photo). As a documentary photographer he travels to places of ecological disasters and armed confl co nfliict ctss. He ph phot otog ogra raph phed ed the Sov ovie iett invasion i off Af Afgh ghaniisttan, the demiise off forests in South America, the War in Iraq, the consequences of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, and many other significant events. However, his focus is not solely on documentaryy ph p otoggraph p y, as he is al a so a favouritite portrait t itiistt off cellebbrities i across the world. Antonín Kratochvíl also co-founded the photo agency VII, and in 2005 he published his book “Vanishing” depicting our disappearing natural environment and nearly extinct cultures. His work can be seen worldwide. In 2010, after four years since his previous exhibit, he exhibited a set of photographs “Moscow Nights” in the Czech Republic. And less than a year later, this spring, he again introduced to the domestic audience a more than relevant topic – the 25th anniversary of the tragedy at Chernobyl nuclear power station.

You have Czech roots and have both Czech and American citizenship. Where do you feel more at home?

I do not fee eell at hom omee an anyw ywhe here re.

Do you feel uprooted?

I don’t feel uprooted, p , I feel free. When a man is embedded somewhere too much, it can eventually block him. Thus, he has a feeling that he needs to defend his roots. Look where nationalism has led former Yugoslavia.

Don’t we draw the strength of our ancestors from our roots?

Well, I haven’t thought about it in depth yet. It is true that the Chernobyl grandmothers also could not leave their ancestors, and so they hid themselves in some nearby zone, so that they could not be taken from the place where they had buriedd thheiir deadd. I allso madde a tiny st stor ory th ther eree about a lady who believed that when she was taken from Chernobyl to Kiev, she would never meet with her husband and son in the afterlife, because they died and were buried in Chernobyl.

These are very powerful stories.

Certainly, however people today are losing interest in Chernobyl. Yet I am trying to revive it again in my pictures. I’d like to do so perhaps through the promotion of nuclear energy, so that people can perceive both sides of this issue.

Unfortunately, I have encountteredd a goodd deall of indifference on this issue in the Czech Republic.

What’s the problem?

I have the feeling that for scientists and experts, the documentary image is not relevant at all. This year, when this issue was revived because of the explosion of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, I participated in a public discussion on this topic at the Theatre Archa. I was there with my friend, Václav Vašků, with whom I have been going to Chernobyl since 1996. We wanted to show our ph p otos to scientists so that they can

see how people survive there, and how it looks after 25 years. To my big surprise, they were not interested in it at all; they were interested only in numbers. b I was very disappointed.

Where do you see the biggest problem?

Media coverage and public debate on this isis sue are completely failing. Nuclear energy is a cheap source of energy that we sell to half of Europe, and until it “blows up”, it is a good energy source for us. People should, however, know about the consequences and risks. Unfortunately, governments, lobbyists and businesses are trying to forget about Chernobyl and similar disasters. Although I do think that nuclear energy has a future,, I always y tryy to work with thorough g objectivity.

How far do you get in Chernobyl? Is not it fixed in concrete?

Well, there’s no need to go to the sarcophagus itself, even if it’s allowed. In addition, you cannot be there for too long because there is a “radioactive core” there. We take pictures in the immediate vicinity; we have permission for this zone.

Here the radiation is too strong as well, and sometimes you can really feel it on the tongue!

How does it taste?

It has a speciiall met alli llic t aste. t Even a po poem em could be written about radiation. I come back reggula larlrlyy to Che hern rnob obyl yl, in fac actt it is al alre read adyy ki kind nd of an addiction.

What do you keep shooting?

Life has stopped there, but there are still plenty of things to shoot! Three years ago, for example, I worked on the film “Chernobyl Heart”.

It is a very powerful image by director Maryann DeLeo, who won the Oscar for it. She found a children’s shelter in Vesnova, on the territory of today’s Belarus, where, in mad conditions, deferred children live who were born disabled due to the Chernobyl accident. The organization

“Children of Chernobyl” then hired me to go there and visually work on it. I think as many people as possible should see it!

What is the interest in promoting such projects?

We tried with Mr. Jaroslav Pecka ((Galerie Pecka in Prague) to get money for this topic before the explosion of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

However, traditional corporations, financing similar projects, did not want to be associated with it. But then came the cultural enthusiasts from “Prague Forum”, which enabled the exhibition in the Exhibition Hall in Prague’s Manes. And for this I am very happy, because people cannot discuss anything about which they do not have a clue. They then only repeat phrases, as they did before 1989.

Are you “awaiting” any powerful topic that you still want to shoot?

I’m still looking for a new theme, a new topic.

I hope to be aware enough to know it if it comes to me. Sometimes one focuses too much on one thing and another escapes him. I try to explain this to young photographers when I give lectures.

Otherwise, in the near future I expect to travel to Afghanistan once again.

What is your primary interest in this country?

Afghanistan is such an enchanted country.

Everyo y ne goes there to photograph the war and suffering. I would like to show an objective view about which direction this country is headed.

Perhaps there is another aspect of the country that has some hope. I do not know exactly where we will go yet, but I hope to find some positive things there as well. If not, it cannot be helped, I’m not a propagandist.

Pavlína Holancová I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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conference The aim of this year´s meeting of the International Energy Club (IEC), which was themed “Gas- the energy source”, was meant to continue with the platform formed by last year’s session. This year´s effort primarily focused on creating a space for a substantive discussion between the representatives of state institutions and the European Parliament, and the representatives from energy and gas companies.

Another important part of the discussion was formed by companies that work for the energy and gas sectors, and of course by the parties that take part in the gas, energy and successive processes in the countries of the European Union and beyond.

Evžen Tošenovský, MEP, European Parliament, Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Industry and Energy ITRE EP

Photo: Petr Sznapka

INTERNATIONAL Energy Club (IEC) Ostrava 2011

more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz From left: Evžen Tošenovský, MEP, European Parliament, ViceChairman of the Committee for Industry and Energy ITRE EP, Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Vítkovice, a.s., H.E. Karel Dyba, Ambasador, OECD, and Pavel Štěpánek, Executive Director, EBRD and Czech Banking Association

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The topic of this year´s discussion – “Gas – the energy source” – was more than current. “The future of obtaining electric energy is currently perceived in the production of fossil resources, such as in gas power plants, among others,” said Petr Kwiek from the Klub plynárenských podnikatelů of the Czech Republic (the Gas Entrepreneurs’ Club). Mr. Kwiek has been the organiser for this and the previous years´ event. It is the gas power station that presents a new trend in the energy sector.

26.9.2011 11:01:44

From left: Alexandr Turov, Commercial Counsel, Embassy of the Russian Federation to the CR and Aleš Zedník, Honorary Consul, Honorary Consulate of the Russian Federation

Filip Thon, Chairman of the Board, RWE Polska and Member of the Board, RWE East

Petr Kwiek, Vice-President, KPP ČR, s.r.o.

From left: Martin Staněk, Executive Head, SYKORA DATA CENTER, s.r.o., Jan Ulč, CEO, GE Energy, and Milan Slamečka, Sales and Marketing Director, Gascontrol, spol. s r.o.

From left: Jan Světlík, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Vítkovice, a.s. and Pavel Štěpánek, Executive Director, EBRD and Czech Banking Association

Jan Nehoda, Executive Head, NET4GAS, s.r.o.

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85 Participants of the Conference

23.9.2011 17:56:39

From left: Pavel Soldán, Member of the Board, LAMA INVESTMENTS, a.s., Pavel Martínek, Authorized Representative and Sales Director, VEMEX, a.s., Vladimír Ermakov, CEO, VEMEX, a.s., Jiří Koníček, Production Director, Green Gas DPB, a.s., Antonín Kunz, CEO, Green Gas DPB, a.s., and Richard Konečný, TELE DATA CONTROL spol. s r.o.

From left: H.E. Karel Dyba, Ambassador, OECD and Pavel Štěpánek, Executive Director, EBRD and Czech Banking Association

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From left: Kay Scholz, Director, Greenviroment plc, Tomáš Varcop, Member of the Board, RWE Transgas, a.s., and Lubor Veleba, Executive Head, RWE Gas Storage, s.r.o.

From left: Michal Dolana, Executive Head and Managing Partner, DDeM, s.r.o. and Miroslav Dinga, Executive Head and Managing Partner, DDeM, s.r.o.

23.9.2011 18:01:17

From left: Pavel Soldán, Member of the Board, LAMA INVESTMENTS, a.s., Alena Vitásková, Chairwoman, Energetický regulační úřad, Jacek Pawlaczyk, Deputy Director for Investment Implementation, Gazoprojekt Polsko, and Grzegorz Łapa, Vice-Chairman of the Board, Director of Strategy, Gazoprojekt Polsko

From left: Luboš Vaněk, Vice-Chairman of the Board, Česká exportní banka, Arnošt Thon, Executive Head and Owner, A.T.Plyn, s.r.o., and Pavel Čermák, Private Investor

Alena Vitásková, Chairwoman, Energy Regulatory Office

Jan Kanta, Section Director for Market Rules, ČEZ, a.s.

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From left: Petr Krčil, Executive Head, ELGAS, s.r.o., Ivana Krčilová, Executive Head, ELGAS, s.r.o., Darina Vozárová, Executive Head, Stendhal, s.r.o., Ladislav Hodinka, Director, RMG REGEL + MESSTECHNIK GMBH, o.z., and Michal Slabý, Gas Purchasing Manager, E.ON Energie a.s.

23.9.2011 18:02:36

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Business May Be Your Life – But – Life Is Your Business Part XII: Power Performance Reviews A, B

James A. Cusumano, PhD

“Performance is your reality.

Forget everything else!”

Harold S. Geneen – Former CEO of ITT KEY CONCEPTS: Performance reviews can be either a negative or positive tool in efforts to achieve fully-engaged committed employees and a successful company.

I To add company value, appraisals should be conducted in a fair manner that accurately recognize the two-way function of the employee-supervisor relationship, and provide concrete information on how to build that relationship and align the employee’s goals with those of the company.

I A specific technique and format that has proven successful for the author in building companies is provided.

I

This coming January, many of us will be involved in some kind of annual performance review, either giving or receiving one – or both. If you are a CEO, it is the time of the year when you will likely look back over your company’s performance for 2011 and ask, “How did we do? Could we have done better? And if so, how?” In your thoughtful reminiscence, you might also ask, “How did each and every one of us in the company do?”

It’s performance review time. To many people this is a frightening experience, both for those receiving performance reviews, and those giving them – especially if there is constructive criticism that needs to be presented and discussed.

Performance reviews are a controversial subject.

Some executives feel they are useless, contentious and even deleterious. That is certainly true if not conducted in an appropriate manner. But without honest, well-designed reviews, it is challenging, perhaps not even possible to build a truly successful company.

The key word here is “successful.” What is success, anyway? For me, the best definition of

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success was formulated many years ago by motivational author and speaker, Earl Nightingale.

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal to which you are personally committed. The same applies to a company. Therefore, if every employee does not understand and commit to the corporate goals and strategy, and subsequently set his or her goals in a way that supports those of the company, how can either be successful?

At Catalytica, Inc., the U.S. public company I cofounded and managed for some years, we developed a performance review system that was valuable to both employees and the company. It was not a fearful process, and it was an important contributor to our success as a company. Although the form I present below applies especially to supervisors, managers and executives, when non-relevant points are eliminated where appropriate, much of the content is directly adaptable to all employees.

Its prime purpose is to align all employee goals with those of the company, and in doing so, to create a fulfilling professional life for employees and a successful enterprise (see Figure 1)1).

2011 RESULTS AND 2012 STRATEGIC PLAN Over the years, we developed a form that was completed by both the employee and his or her supervisor and presented respectively to each other at least one week before the review session. The supervisor’s form was given to the employee, and the employee’s form to the supervisor. To be clear, the form is filled out by the employee concerning his or her performance for the year, and the form completed by the supervisor addresses the supervisor’s perspective on his or her performance for the year. The supervisor is responsible for facilitatingg the performance review, and should have, or be trained to use effective communication skills – especially listening – to do so.

Some might think of this as a “360 degree” performance review, but as you can see from the content of the form that both parties complete, it is not quite the same approach. It takes considerable time to fill out this form for the first time, but in subsequent years it is much easier. Filling it out properly also requires that the company management be open and transparent with employees concerning relevant financial and other data. The employee must clearly understand his or her specific expected role and contribution. Therefore, clarity of and commitment to the overall company strategy and goals are very important. Equally key, is that the employee and supervisor both understand and agree to the employee’s measurable goals in contributing to the corporate strategy and achieving the annual plan.

The following form is completed by both the employee and supervisor to the best of their ability and then both copies are discussed and modified as mutually considered necessary, during or immediately after the review. There is a significant effort required by both employee and supervisor, but the benefits far outweigh this effort.

1. Financial Results 2011 Plan 2011 Actual 2012 Plan Sales Pre-tax Profit EBITDA Number of Employees (EOY) Sales Due to Employee’s Team

2. Significant events during 2011 – List the top 2–3 significant good and not-so-good things that happened during 2011 that had an impact on your performance.

3. If I could relive 2011, what actions would I take differently?

4. What did I learn in 2011 that I believe has future value to me and to the company?

5. What do I believe are the current external threats to our company and to our industry? What is my role, if any, in helping our company to address these threats?

6. What new external and internal opportunities do I see for our company?

7. What are the 1–3 most significant issues or dilemmas I currently face within the context of my job?

8. What do I understand are the essential elements of our current business strategy for 2012 and how do they apply to my position?

9. What are the two or three things that absolutely must happen to make our strategy work in 2012?

How does this apply to my area of operation?

10. What do I understand are the company goals for 2012?

11. What are my team and personal corporate goals for 2012?

A)

EDITOR’S NOTE – This is Part XII in a series of articles based on the author’s experience as an entrepreneur, having founded several successful businesses, including Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a billion-dollar public company. His business experience base spans “5 lives” – Recording artist; R&D Director for Exxon; Chairman & founder of 2 public companies; CEO, founder and Executive Producer for Chateau Wally Films; Chairman & Owner of Chateau Mcely, an international award-winning luxury hotel & SPA. This article is extracted from his latest book, presently in preparation and entitled, “Finding Fulfillment in Life and Business – Tales of Purpose, Passion & Enterprise.”

A) The author may be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com.

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TO BE CONTINUED...

Figure 1: A performance management system that drives focus and transparency is vital to the success of today’s leading organizations. The primary purpose of performance management is to align individual goals with the company vision, mission and strategies. Success lies in the ability to equip employees with the skills and tools to take charge of their work responsibilities, development and future (Reference 1).

12. How do I want you to help me in 2012 to achieve these goals?

13. Who are our customers and what, if any, good news are we delivering to them?

14. Who are our competitors and what competitive advantage are we striving for? What is the company doing, and what specifically am I doing to help achieve this advantage?

15. As I review our company’s strategic plan for the next 1–3 years, and I study the area for which I am responsible, what changes do I foresee in (a) our products and services, (b) our market scope, (c) the general size and profitability of our markets (increase or decrease), (d) How will I spend my time?

16. What feedback do I want to give you so that you can become a more effective manager/employee? In particular, what did you do in 2011 that facilitated my job and what did you do that made it a greater challenge.

Providing answers to these questions and having a constructive conversation between the two people involved in the performance review requires a corporate culture that is open and respectful of input to both the employee and the supervisor. However, a company that develops such a culture has a significant competitive advantage, and is almost always a market leader.

Some might think that this approach requires too much time, is too transparent, and perhaps a bit too progressive. True, it does require a considerable amount of quality time. And yes, it is quite transparent and surely can be considered progressive, when compared to the norm. But is your goal, or your company’s goal to be the norm? Furthermore, this technique has proven very successful.

There are more progressive approaches, which may be even more successful. Consider the corporate culture and performance appraisal technique of Linden Lab as described in a recent book by Jeff Hollender and Bill Breen2). The company was founded in 1998 and employs well-established, one might even say “famous” high-tech professionals from companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Disney.

As a measure of its performance, in 2008, the company was awarded an Emmy for its on-line virtualreality environment product called Second Life (see

Figure 2)3). Much of their success is due to their corporate culture. They consider themselves a community and not a company, and they behave that way.

Why a community? Because they believe that to galvanize people into a passionate mode of action within the workplace, so that they deliver the very best every day, the organization must behave as a community, and not as a typical corporate hierarchy. As a communal company, they have demonstrated that profits fuel the drive to meet a higher purpose and all stakeholders are treated fairly.

Support for this approach comes from a recent ambitious global study by HR consulting firm, Towers Perrin in which they surveyed 90,000 employees in large and medium-sized companies across 18 countries4). They measured how committed people feel to their work. The results are cause for some deep thought. An incredible 71 percent of respondents said they were disengaged or disenchanted at work. But most interestingly, Towers Perrin noted that quite often employees care a lot about their work and want to learn and grow, but unfortunately, many companies are not only wasting their people’s talent and knowledge, but they also actively discourage their emFigure 2: Linden Lab is the maker of Second Life® – A 3D virtual world created by its Residents (people like you) that’s bursting with entertainment, experiences, and opportunity. Second Life offers a uniquely immersive experience where you can create, buy, and sell anything you can imagine; socialize with people across the world; and enjoy live events and gaming activities (Ref. 3).

Figure 3: Philip Rosedale, Founder & CEO of Linden Lab

Every three months, employees pick the 10 notes that they think best capture their contributions to the company over the prior quarter. Those notes are used in each employees performance review. Also, each quarter, Rosedale sends out a questionnaire to every employee and asks three questions: 1. Do you want to keep me or find a new CEO? 2. Over the last three months, did I get better at my job or worse?

3. Why? The voting is anonymous, so that employees feel free to be open and honest. Rosedale shares the results with the entire company and with the company’s board of directors. He feels that you can argue with one person, but not with the crowd.

He notes that “When every third person says, ‘You’re too scattered,’ it’s the truth.”

Companies do not have to be as progressive or avantgarde as Linden Lab, but evaluating employee performance in a way that is fair, productive, personally supportive, and focuses on the employee-supervisor interface, can bring powerful and positive results.

James A. Cusumano, PhD 1

ployees from contributing more, even though most employees reported that they would like to do so. So how did Linden Lab break the bureaucratic hierarchy?

The management wanted to find ways to eliminate fear, which pervades most people in the workplace.

As discussed earlier in this series5), fear can make people worry about looking foolish in a meeting; perhaps fear of not living up to expectations; or maybe even fear of losing their job. Fear constricts and it works against innovation and creativity. To minimize such fear, Linden Lab wanted to create a communitybased culture that espoused virtues such as happiness, caring, altruism, autonomy, and service.

Philip Rosedale, Linden’s founder and CEO (see Figure 3) developed for employees, a number of novel interactive techniques, one of which he calls the “Love Machine.” It is an intranet Web page that allows any of Linden’s employees to send a quick message of appreciation to a colleague. They call these “Love Notes.” They have more than 300 employees and each day a similar number of Love Notes or peer-to-peer “pats-on-the-back” make their way through Linden’s Intranet. They use these Love Notes in their performance review process, thereby allowing the entire communityy to have their input.

For example, see Analytix Strategy and Performance Management http://www.analytix.co.za/Training/Courses/ StrategyPerformanceManagement.aspx 2 Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen, “The Responsibility Revolution—How The Next Generation Of Business Will Win,” Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA 2010.

3 See: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindenlab/.

4 Towers Perrin Global Workforce Study, 2007-2008: “Closing the Engagement Gap: A Roadmap for Driving Superior Business Performance,” http://www.towersperrin.Com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=HRS/USA/2008/200803/GWS_Global_ Report20072008_31208.pdf.

5 James A. Cusumano, “Business May Be Your Life – But – Life Is Your Business: Part I The Power of Passion, The Fallacy of Fear,” Leaders Magazine, Part VI, 2009.

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 environmen-tally-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 the author of “Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey to Well-being, Happiness and Success,” published in English and Czech by Fortuna Libri, 2011.

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IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

jubilee

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria to the Czech Republic

Photos: Jiří Herman

Hundreds and hundreds of friends of H.E. Jan Koukal, former Lord Mayor of Praue and presently Czech Ambassador to Austria, came to celebrate his 60th birthday at Palace Žofín garden. Anyone who matters in Czech society was there and paid tribute to a very popular and nice man.

H.E. Jan Koukal

TH

60 ANNIVERSARY

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria, Mirek Topolánek, former Prime Minister, and Lucie Talmanová

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Zdeněk Zajíček, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Ing. Miloslav Vaněk

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From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Petr Kužel, President, Czech Chamber of Commerce

From left: Mrs. Hana Skokanová, Mgr. Renata Abongui, and Mrs. Zdeňka Molnárová

23.9.2011 17:47:40

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Karel Štědrý, Singer with his wife Eva Štědrá

Pavel Bobošík with his wife Jana Bobošíková, Chairperson, Suverenita

Marek Šmíd

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Kristian Kodet, Artist

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria, Mgr. Milan Bukolský, and Petr Novosád

Prague Leaders Magazine also wishes to congratulate H.E. Jan Koukal and say thanks for years of friendship. It was a spectacular and memorable reception and all invited guests enjoyed the nice weather and the friendly and warm atmosphere with delicious food, beer and wine provided by Zátiší Group.

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

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Family from left: Alice Klementová, Lucie Koukalová, H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria, Jan Klement with Aneta, Klára Koukalová, Vašek Havlík, Jana Šindelářová with Adam, and Petr Šindelář with Kateřina

23.9.2011 17:48:19

Dr. Bernhard Ploier and Jana Ploier-Niederschick

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Milan Coller

Dr. Jozef Klimko and Ing. Jan Kohout Elger

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria, Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil Gotshal & Manges, and Karel Muzikář Sr., President, Comenius

From left: Jana Švandová, Actress and Mgr. Beata Rajská, Fashion Designer

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Petr Čermák, former Deputy Chairman of ODS

92 Ivan Mládek & Banjo Band

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From left: Jindřich Hess, Zdeněk Zajíček, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance, and Libor Hájek, President, Eltodo Group

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Jan Vidím

Kristian Kodet, Artist and Jana Švandová, Actress

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Tomáš Kladívko

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria, Dr. Josef Höchtl, Ing. Michal Polak, and H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria to the CR

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From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Evžen Tošenovský, Member of the European Parliament with his wife

IN COOPERATION WITH 93 LEADERS MAGAZINE 23.9.2011 17:49:37

H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Countess Franceska Pilati von Thassul

From left: Eva Štědrá, Karel Štědrý, Miroslav Barabáš, and Bára Štěpánová, Artist

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria to the CR

H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Beata Rajská, Fashion Designer

JUDr. Ivna Červenková, Mgr. Sylva Mašínová, and Ing. Miloslav Vaněk

From left: Ing. Libor Klug and H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria

From left: Ing. Pavel Klega, Martina Klegová, and Jiří Balvín, General Director, ÓČKO Hudební TV

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From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Stanislav Pros, President of Prosper Trading and Owner of Prosper Golf Resort

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Army General Vlastimil Picek, Chief of General Staff of the CR

From left: Ing. Libor Klug, Ing. Jindřich Hess, and Bc. Marek Šmíd

23.9.2011 17:50:53

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Josef Mixa, General Director, Phoenix Praha a.s.

From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Vlastimil Riedl with his partner From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Martin Dvořák, General Director, Prague Public Transit Co.

Ing. Karel Dobeš, Government Commissioner for Galileo and GSA

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From left: H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria and Jaroslav Valch, Enterpreneur with his partner

A bouquet of beautiful women from left: Danuše Koukalová, Renáta Vesecká, Jana Švandová, Beata Rajská, Lucie Koukalová, Klára Koukalová, and Jana Šindelářová

26.9.2011 11:28:31

TURNING PERFORMANCE REVIEWS INTO PERFORMANCE PREVIEWS Karin Genton-L’Epée is a business coach with 30 years of extensive professional experience in the United States, France and the Czech Republic. Based in Prague since 1995, for the past 13 years she has developed a range of coaching and training programs for mid- and top-level managers, focusing on leadership development, cross-cultural understanding and effective communication in a global environment. By providing a structured environment that supports people in clarifying who they are and what they want, Karin enables her clients to devise more effective strategies to achieve their personal and professional goals. Thanks to her knowledge, skills and range of international experience, Karin is in demand as a speaker at business conferences and educational institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. She is also a regular contributor to business journals and magazines. She works in English and French and can be reached at karin@coaching.cz.

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to catch up with some old friends. One of them, Pavel, is a successful country manager, and in the course of one of our conversations about business he asked me about my advice regarding delivering negative feedback in a performance review.

During an annual performance review he conducted last spring, he evaluated Katka, his sales manager. Among the list of issues they spoke about, he told her that her past quarterly results had fallen short of the company’s expectations, and that his overall impression was that she wasn’t performing as well as she used to.

As during the previous evaluations, Pavel expected Katka to acknowledge his points, agree with him on the areas which needed to be improved, and take some concrete steps to ensure that she would meet the agreed targets in the next quarter. While Katka couldn couldn’tt deny that her numbers were not as good g as theyy used to be,, she wasn’t receptive to Pavel’s comments and analysis of the situation.

Unfortunately, soon after the evaluation meeting, Katka’s behavior changed for the worse. During weekly sales meetings, Katka avoided making eye contact, and instead of taking notes as she usually did, she was making random doodles on the side of her pages. She seemed discouraged and uninspired.

Pavel had hoped that their conversation would motivate her to address her areas for improvement. Instead, it appeared to have backfired and provoked the opposite reaction. Pavel was confused and didn’t know what to do to change the situation. Until now Katka has always been a very efficient and reliable team member and he didn’t want to lose her.

In my years of helping clients prepare for performance reviews, I have learned that most of these evaluations are subjective. They usually seem to measure the boss’s comfort level with the employee as much as they measure the employee’s contribution to overall results. So, more often than not, employees end up focusing on pleasing the boss rather than achieving the agreed objectives.

One of the main challenges of these performance reviews is that they are conducted by the boss with the assumption that he has all the answers. It gives the boss the subjective power to define and judge another’s performance while, in reality, he often has a very biased approach to his team members’ performance. Employees are often intimidated by the whole process and afraid to speak their minds, for fear of negative consequences.

Therefore, they rarely share with managers their ideas on how something could be done better or differently.

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Samuel A. Culbert, professor of management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles, has examined scores of empirical studies since the early 1980s, and he has “not found convincing evidence that performance reviews are fair, accurate or consistent across managers, or that they improve organizational effectiveness.” While the boss wants to discuss what the employee has achieved and what he needs to achieve in the future, the employee’s main focus is on salary increase and career development. The challenge is to find a way for both parties to meet their expectations.

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE The traditional performance review’s main objective is to analyze what was achieved, with a focus on what didn’t work instead of what was done right. While acknowledging a problem (the sales are down) and trying to understand whyy theyy are down ((lack of competence p on the ppart of the employee or a troubled economy) can be useful, this kind of evaluation rarely helps find a solution to the problem.

Remember, employees are focused on making more money and advancing their careers. They want and need to hear how they can keep moving toward those goals. If a manager dwells on the mistakes an employee made, that’s what stays in the employee’s mind, with bad results.

It’s up to the manager to make the collaboration work, and there are a couple of easy steps to take: G Avoid Criticism: Most people perceive negative feedback as criticism and studies have demonstrated that few people perform better after being criticized. Criticism makes people feel bad and inadequate. They either resist or get defensive when being criticized, and it usually discourages them from trying harder in the short-term, often even long-term.

G Concentrate on What Worked: If Pavel had spent most of his time identifying the things Katka did successfully and the areas that matched the expected targets, he would have reinforced her confidence, made her feel competent and helped her realize that she is able to find solutions to her challenges so that she can move forward.

By focusing on the positive, employees will concentrate on what worked, and the more time they spend doing things right, the less time they have to do things wrong.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE In the ever changing business world, bosses are learning the hard way that it’s in their best interest to listen to their subordinates to get the results the company is expecting. Managers now get better results by acting like coaches, and providing oversight and support in assisting team members to perform successfully.

To avoid after-the-fact disappointment, I suggested to Pavel that he replace the usual top-down performance review by a performance preview, a system that emphasizes goal-setting and continuous improvement. This would allow him and Katka to be responsible for setting goals and achieving results.

Instead of meeting with Katka once a year, year I encouraged Pavel to meet with her every three months – more often if she suggested it – to give her the opportunity to keep him informed on a regular basis of the challenges she was encountering, as well as allowing her to suggest ways to improve the situation when needed.

While this approach will take more time than simply telling Katka what objectives she was supposed to reach, ultimately she will cooperate willingly and be more receptive to his feedback. It will also allow her to be more open about what she can do effectively and efficiently, and what support she needs in the areas where she feels less competent and/or confident. Although it is Pavel’s job to ensure the results, he was very much aware that without Katka’s involvement and commitment to the targets, he would have limited opportunity to reach these goals.

At the end of our conversation, I reminded Pavel that it was his responsibility to find a way to work efficiently with each of his managers, despite their shortcomings, to ensure that they also effectively manage their own teams.

I encouraged Pavel to set up quarterly performance previews throughout each department. Doing so will motivate all his managers to act more as coaches or mentors and less like directive, controlling managers. With a regular performance preview, each employee will have the opportunity to reverse course during the year when needed, and tell their managers how they can perform to the best of their ability.

In the long run, establishing ongoing performance previews within a company develops and maintains trusting relationships, where all employees feel comfortable and safe enough to ask for feedback and support when they need it, and feel sufficiently valued to accept it.

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IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

26.9.2011 12:01:31

10 minutes from Prague city center

• N ine hole golf course • The largest training areas in the Czech Republic • River Golf Café and Restaurant La Tour

Business meetings, private celebrations or just a place where you can spend your free time with your family.

That is Golf Hodkovičky.

See Hodkovičky on Facebook

www.hodkovicky.cz

Deutsch-Tschechische Industrie- und Handelskammer Photo: Paul Pacey

Traditionally, the annual August networking event for members and friends of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce does not take place on solid ground, but on water. On August 31st, many members and friends of the German Chamber gathered on board the restaurant boat Európé, accompanied by their partners and children.

Around 200 guests enjoyed a cruise along the Vltava River and took the opportunity to establish new contacts. They took a glance at Prague’s most famous sights from a boat’s perspective and enjoyed the late summer atmosphere on the river.

Radomír Šimek, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK

AUGUST BOAT RIDE of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce

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

Clown Roberto with children

23.9.2011 17:16:47

From left: Horst Blom, Hettich ČR k.s., Jörg Oldorf, TÜV SÜD Czech s.r.o., and Rudolf Fischer, Siemens s.r.o.

The Party Band

Iveta Krpatová and Petr Bogner, both Deutscher Ring LV-AG

Katerina Vollmann, IVENTA Czech Management Consulting, s.r.o. and David Petrů, HILL INTERNATIONAL, s.r.o.

From left: Agáta Widmanská, FIEGE s.r.o., Florian Blankoley, Bosch, and Martina Schwarz Geschka, Geschka & Partner Consultant

From left: Anna Skálová, Renata Fialová and Hana Pavlištová, all Česká informační agentura, s.r.o.

From left: Jaroslav Aujezdský, Mediaservis s.r.o., Jaromír Červinka, T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s., and Hannes Streeck, FIEGE s.r.o.

From left: Petra Fischer, Richter a Frenzel s.r.o., Thomas Kleefuss, NET4GAS, s.r.o., and Götz-F. Landwehrmann, ILOS Industrie Logistik Service s.r.o.

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ASpecial specialthanks thankstotoIfiIfi eldeldComputer ComputerConsultancy Ltd. and Laic Aktien Gesellschaft making reportage possible Consultancy Ltd. forfor making thisthis reportage possible Once again, the exceptional Albatross Golf Resort was the venue of the second tournament of the Czech 100 Best Grand Golf Prix Tour in 2011. It took place on September 20 under the name of Albatross Cup and successfully continued in the new tradition of the Czech 100 Best golf tournaments from the past year.

networking/discussion event Photo: Jan Kamenář

Grand Partners Šárka and George Parobek, Ifield Computer Consultancy and the winners of the HCP 1-18

CZECH 100 BEST

GRAND GOLF PRIX TOUR – ALBATROSS CUP 2011

The Albatross Cup was the third golf tournament of the Czech 100 Best Grand Golf Prix series. As its name suggests the tournament was inspired by the Czech 100 Best competition, which Comenius organizes annually since 1996. The golf tournament was then a great opportunity for the representatives of the Czech 100 Best companies to compete on the greens in a relaxed, but nonetheless productive atmosphere. The weather was much better than we have expected and the participants enjoyed a day full of wonderful golf, great food, and most importantly, had an opportunity to meet exceptional personalities of the Czech business life.

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Category HCP 37 – 54 From left: Ivo Reichelt, Owner of Golf Gate, official distributor of JuCad trolleys, Gábina Partyšová, Ladislav Těťal, Member of the Board, Česká energie, Ivana Hrehová, Golf.Cz, and Pavel Smejkal

26.9.2011 12:29:42

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Flight of Okin Group from left: Pavel Smejkal, Michal Jelínek, Owner and Chairman of the Board, Petr Soukup, Partner, Stance Communications, and Martin Bek

From left: Pavel Brychta, Silmos-Q, Gábina Partyšová, and Karel Muzikář

czech 100 best grand golf prix tour

From left: Gábina Partyšová, Beáta Rajská, Fashion Designer, and Markéta Grabeinová, best lady golfer and winner of exclusive Beáta – Prim watches

Partner of Nearest to the Pin, Česká plynárenská flight from left: Vladimír Jelínek, Development Director, City Realex, Ladislav Těťal, Member of the Board, Česká plynárenská, Pavel Moučka, and Petr Ditrich, First Vice President, Confederation of European Baseball

The winners of the individual categories received their awards from the hands of Ms. Veronika Šubrtová of Import Volkswagen Group, division Audi and Automobile Partner of the Tour Mr. Ivo Reichelt, importer of the JuCad trolleys and, of course, the Director of Ifield Computer Consultancy Ms. Šárka Parobek, Grand Partner of the tournament. The special thanks therefore belong to Ifield Computer Consultancy and to Audi, Automobile Partner of the event.

Audi, Automobile Partner of the Tour flight: Petr Neústupný, Director of Audi Division, Import Volkswagen Group, Mirek Čermák, Ivan Chlubna, and Lukáš Malík

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Special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy and Laic Aktiengesellschaft for making this reportage possible

Partner of Longest Drive, from left: Radek Dohnal, Vice Chairman of the Board, TOP hotels Group awards and Markéta Grabeinová

H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

Partner of Nearest to the Pin, from left: Ladislav Těťal, Member of the Board, Česká energie, winner Karel Procházka, General Director, Agency for International Investments, and Gábina Partyšová

Radek Dohnal, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, TOP hotels Group

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From left: Milena Veselá, Owner, ProMoPro, Theodor Dollanský, TeeKanne, Evžen Hart, PPF Art, and Ilona Holečková

From left: Benke AIkell, your Publisher, H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia, Vladek Šlezingr, General Director, IBM Czech Republic, and Xuan Long Le, Owner, Le-Investments

26.9.2011 12:31:21

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

czech 100 best grand golf prix tour

Zenova Services flight, from left: Tomáš Zeman, Owner of Zenova Services, Martin Grubner, Grubner Legal, Iva Urbánková, and Petr Hotovec, Director, Zenova Services

From left: Grand Partners, George and Šárka Parobek, Ifield Computer Consultancy with Kateřina Sedláčková, Partner, AK Doleček Kahounová Sedláčková, and Jan Klas, General Director, Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic

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

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Pave Baštář, Managing Director, Invelt

Category HCP 18,1 – 36 From left: Jan Liška, Gábina Partyšová, Pavel Brychta, Silmos-Q, Veronika Šubrtová, Audi, Automobile Partner of the Tour, and Petr Soukup, Partner, Stance Communications

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interview

I WANT MY MOVIES TO BE LIKE THERAPY Emir Kusturica, Serbian Director and Musician Photo: Jakub Hněvkovský

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A talk with Emir Kusturica,, the world’s forremost Serbian Director and Musician Emir Kusturica (1954) – graduated from the Film Academy (FAMU) in Prague in 1978. His teacher was Professor Otakar Vávra. After returning to Yugoslavia he worked in Sarajevo TV. At the turn of the 20th century he moved to the U.S. where he made the film Arizona Dream, which received two awards at the Berlin Film Festival. Kusturica is known to Czech audiences for his Balkan tragicomedies and parables. For the movie Father on a Business Trip and the Underground he won the Golden Palm at Cannes. The film Black Cat, White Cat won the prize for the best director at the Venice Film Festival. Since the late 80’s of the last century, Kusturica has performed as guitarist for the group No Smoking Orchestra. This year at the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště Emir Kusturica received the award for significant contribution to European cinema, for the emancipation of creative cinema in the former Yugoslavia, and for the extraordinary imagination of his films.

You received several awards in your life and recently two awards, one in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia. How important are they for you?

I am very grateful for them. The award I received this year in the Czech Republic is especially very valuable for me, as I studied here. I would like to emphasize that film festivals are currently very important in the world. What we see in the cinemas is not of a great value, and I think that regarding the commercial element and the artistic one, both need to be connected in film. I hope that highqual qu alitityy movies i are going i to be “di dictated” d” by festivals one day, because commercial cinematography is becoming too strong.

Your well-known movie Black Cat, White Cat was an opening film this year at the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště. Can you remind us what inspired you to make this movie?

I originally wanted to make a movie about the band which was already playing in my other movie, Underground.

Yett, creatiive liliffe is a tangle of various ups and downs.

When I completed the movie Underground, my life was hit by a big storm. Some critics, especially French intellectuals, many of them even without seeing the film, wrote very poor critiques about it in Le Monde. It was very unpleasant and, at that time, I was really sick of it, and thought I won’t do movies any more. Well, in such a situation I made the movie Black Cat, White Cat, which became famous. It might serve as an illustration for young directors.

In what way?

One needs to believe that life is very much interconnected with film. You can never plan whether a movie you want to make is going to be popular. Here I applied a great amount of what I learned from Professor Otakar Vávra at the Film Academy (FAMU), and what I read in the books of Bohumil Hrabal. The concept itself did not imply that it was going to be such a successful movie, yet it happened so. Even the whole period of my student life was a great preparatition for th the maki kingg off such ch a mov ovie ie. I gu gues esss if Bohumil Hrabal would have been a director, he would have loved to make such a movie, as it perfectly reflects the Czech way of irony.

Did you personally meet Bohumil Hrabal?

No, never personally. Yet I believe this is not the most important thing. I did not meet Fellini either, and he inspired me as well. Anyway, Bohumil Hrabal remains one of the biggest European writers of all time. His literature gave me many insp spirirat atio ions ns for mov ovie iess. In pa partrtic icul ular ar, hi hiss ap approach toward an ordinary human being is very special, and you will not find it elsewhere. After Švejk, this is the only hero with a sense for outsiders. If one feels so much for an out utsi side der’r’ss lilife fe, fo forr me it re repr pres esen ents ts the ultltim imat atee lilife fe perspective.

Which of his books did you like most?

I could hardly choose one. Each of his books is great.

Maybe when I was reading I Served the King of England in

Samizdat, it was something special. He gave me great inspiration for my own writing as well. I am also writing books currently. I have already completed one and begun to write second one. Thus, I always have Bohumil Hrabal on my mind. I would say that Hrabal is the Anton Chekhov of a small country.

What is your relationship to the rather controversial director, Professor Otakar Vávra?

Well, if you say controversial, it is a compliment for me because when a director is not controversial then where is the drama? That is exactly what Professor Otakar Vávra taught us. I think he is really one of the world’s best directors.

It has been said that you are preparing a new film which will be related to the Czech Republic?

Well, it is actually not true. Maybe one day, I might be doing something here, yet it certainly won’t be now. At present I am working on a piece starting in Greece and finishing in Finland. The other movie which I would like to make next year will be shot in Mexico. In particular, I have a new concept immensely important for me. I want my films to be like therapy for the people watching them.

You have been doing a lot of concerts as well. Does directing still remain the most essential thing for you?

Yes, making movies is still the most important thing

for me. Thee film lm lan angu guag agee is the f irirst st art whi hich ch pro rovi vide dedd me with a kind of “cathartic joy”, and I suppose joy is what we are all striving for. It is similar to music.

What advice would you give to young filmmakers, so that European cinema can re-develop?

Under the previous regime, much like in our country, there was more money available for culture, as it was a strong weapon. In democratic times the situation is unfortunately worse. In Serbia, young directors want to imitate Hollyy wood and resemble that mar arke kett in inst stea eadd of doi oing ng what they really feel. So, we don’t have quality films either.

Romanians are very good at present. When I was a student, Germans were the best. Additionally, there were various waves, and the Czech New Wave was one of the biggest in the world. Thus, conditions are globally changing and cinema is going to change in the future as well.

Yet, as I already mentioned, movie festivals are crucial.

Directors can’t introduce poor quality movies there, for p opple attendi pe ding ng fes estitiva vals ls are tho hose se witithh a th thor orou ough gh artistic and cinematic knowledge.

By Pavlína Holancová I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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An interview witth Emil Viklický, worldwide renowned Jazz Musician and Compposer

INSPIRATION IS THE MOST STRANGE THING He calls his music an adventure. It’s a dance for two, or three, or four, in which emotions and listening are intterchanging to create art. Emil Viklický, an Olomouc, South Moravia-born jazz pianist and composer, breaks barriers constantly by taking his original music to most farawayy lands, from Hong Kong to Japan and South Korea to the United States. Thanks to his origginality and Moravian sources of inspiration,, Viklický has been called the Janáček of jazz, after the famous Czech composer Leoš Janáček. Yet, Viklický says music is more thhan inspiration from his roots. Music is life itself, in every moment, and Viklický’s misssion is to collect it, adapt and replay it in such a way that will open people’s hearts – all in a tumultuous rhythm of jazz.

If you were to express your music in one word, what would that be?

Adventure.

What is driving you in this adventure?

It’s the music itself. Juust to play and write music – it’s out of the ordinary.

How much improvisation and freedom does it take to create your music?

If you play jazz there’s a certain part of improvisation. Usually people who do not know about it think that it’s all a certain structure that needs to be fulfilled. You can call it a kind of regulated improvisation. This is if we speak about jazz. If I write contemporary music or film music, there’s basically no improvisation allowed. However, because it’s me and

I always try to come across all borders, I’ll try anyway.

Particularly when you’re improvising and you’re playing in a duo, it must feel like being in a relationship, where you need to listen to your partner and adapt, so that you can resonate. Is that something close to how you feel?

Definitely yes.

“In music I can adjust to almost any situation.”

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How do you feel that tha your empathy and power to adjust to the thhe others has developed over the last twenty years? yea I don’t know how it developed in an overall scope, but I know thatt it’ss a very individual thing.

We can speak of how we develop in general, but I assume it’s very individual. Some people have it, and some people doon’t. Some people are [born] leaders and theey want w the others to listen to them. Some other peoople, like me, can adjust to the musical situatioon. Maybe M I can’t always do it in life – you’d have too assk my wife for that – but in music I can adjustt too almost any situation.

In music I can listen too thhe other guy, especially in a duo, and whateveer he does, I do. If we both listen, then we can geet incredibly good results.

If that happens…

You mean, if the magic magi of empathy between the two musicians ha happens… app Yes, if it happens. describing What you’re descri ibin is actually a sort of leadership because you yo are agile and you need to constantly aadjust. dju How important is agility, in your view, to force? to counterbalance c Very much so. Bassicaally, I am [a leader] by music, not by words. Even if I’m playing in a trio, I am leading the other parts. In certain moments I am giving them theirr cuues, or, of course, I can even shout. If somethiing is not really happening, then I can shout “Donn’t do d this” but in 99 % of the cases I am trying to do d this by playing – just to connect and tell thhem m what to do. It’s better for the overall mood, esspecially in jazz. If you want to play with otherr guys, you must have a good relationship with them. t If you are fighting with one of them, it’s not good for success.

What is the essen essence nce of leadership in your point of view?

It’s hard to say becaausee I’m thinking musically.

In real life I have a com mpany with my wife, so I don’t know who the leadder is there. But I often need to act as a leader. When I have people to guide in a trio or in a quarrtet and I am setting the tone, I need to do manny tthings to have them follow me. At first, there’s thhe choice of people. I’m just thinking about thee peeople who are able to do what I need. It’s not only in rock and jazz. It can also be in a pop rock reccord. If I’m in this situation I absolutely need ccertain people. I know that, if I have them, I cann be very efficient, work very hard, and be reaady – in other words, save time for the studio and everything. e Also, there’s the choice of the studdio, of the sound engineer whom I know – I neeed to t know how he works, what he does, how eff ficient he is, how well he communicates with thhe people. p I know that very well because I know pracctically all the important studios, so it’s my chooicee. If you are mixing poprock tunes with jazz, youu need people who can do both. I can hire one group g of people for this, and a second for that.. It’ss very important.

So, in your view the thhe eessence of leadership

is choice – the choice of the right people, right resources. Let’s take a look at your music world. What are your most important sources of inspiration?

I also write contemporary music, and one of the pieces that I wrote is called Tristana. This is an example of how strange inspiration can be. My wife is a former competition swimmer, so I used to go swim or run with her sometimes in Průhonice Park. This happened some five or seven years ago. After I finished my jogging, I was all tired and sweaty. As I approached my car, I could see two male nurses coaching a young girl – a very pretty girl – in her mid-twenties.

She didn’t have half of her leg. Her leg was missing.

The two guys were trying to teach her how to walk.

I was standing there, after a good running and I said – wow. I went to my car, changed my shirt, and wondered whether that was real or not. Have I dreamed it? No, it was real. And all of a sudden, clack! The melody comes. So, I take a piece of paper – I don’t know, some kind of advertising paper – I’m fishing for a pen and I write the main motif. This is inspiration – it comes from anything.

This is the impulse for inspiration, but I’m sure there is much more work to do from the moment when “the light strikes you” to the final performance…

Of course. Then you need to come home, sit down at the table, and do the composer’s work – working on the motif and doing other work. Originally I named the song ‘The girl with one leg,’ but then I received reactions that people wouldn’t enjoy a piece with such a depressing title. So I said okay, I’ll change the title.

And I changed it to Tristana, a movie that is dealing with the same theme. Then people liked it and I received an award for this composition in Boston in the mid-90’s.

You were born in Olomouc, Moravia. When you look at your Moravian heritage, how much do you use it to create your music?

Very much. My heritage is very important for me. Jazz is a very individual music. You have to find your own picture, your own field. Obviously

Photos: Vladimír Weiss

I grew up in Olomouc, but Olomouc is not really the center of folk or folklore music. But I was lucky, I met a couplee of very good folklorists and I learnt a lot from them. I also tried to look at the source of Leoš Jaanáček’s inspiration, and this is how I came to foolklore and to the so-called “patterns of speech” from my region that I even use in my compositionns. This is another source of inspiration – the patterns of speech that Janáček mapped – thee way people speak under emotional stress, the melody of their speech.

What is ahead of you this autumn?

There are going to be many things. I’m going to South Korea and Hong Kong with my trio. In Korea, we will play at thhe JARASUM international jazz festival, then we will play at the Hong Kong Jazz Festival at the ennd of September – beginning of October. I am m also supposed to write the music for one film m by Viktor Polesný, “The Foreigner and the Beautiful Lady.” And many, many other things.

By Cristina Muntean I český překlad naaleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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Hacienda Alto Grande

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An interview with Alberto de la Cruz, Chairman of Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters

Super Premium Coffee

ARRIVES TO PRAGUE As one of the Caribbean’s most influential businessmen, Alberto E. de la Cruz possesses the experience, acumen, and skills necessary to successfully export his proven style of leadership in supp pport of brand growth. Suc uchh is the case with Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters and the company’s plans to launch of Alto Grande super premium coffee in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe.

Mr. de la Cruz has engineered a plan to reintroduce Puerto Rican coffee in Europe, once considered the best in the world. The Alto Grande brand, a best-inclass super premium coffee product, will be the fl flagship agship of the initiative.

Photo: Archive

Why bring Puerto Rican coffee to Europe?

Puerto Rican coffee has been the gold standard for over 200 years. It is unsurpassed in aroma, flavor, and quality and it is often recognized by coffee connoisseurs as the best in the world.

As a company we are committed to exporting our outstanding coffee product to markets that not only have a legacy for enjoying fine coffee, but also l representt growth th op oppo port rtun unititie iess. Bec ecau ause se of its fertile market in constant development, we have identified the Czech Republic as the ideal point of entry into Europe. The initiative also helps us strengthen the Puerto Rican coffee industry, by creating jobs and driving the Island’s economy.

It’s a win-win situation. We look forward to sharing our premium coffee brands with Europeans, starting with Alto Grande.

What measures has the company taken to engage in this endeavor?

Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters recently inaugurated a state-of-the-art coffee processing, packing, and distribution facility in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The 120,000 square-foot facility is set up to process 30 million pounds of coffee per year, generates 150 new jobs, and helps support over 10,000 coffee farmers in the mountainous region of Puerto Rico. We have invested over $70 million in the facility since

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2008. This investment includes $15 million in modern equipment, machines, and upgrades.

The investment is a reflection of our confidence in our product’s potential, its outstanding quality, and the in the people who produce and consume it. In order to facilitate our plans to increase exports, we have also established a Free Trade Zone in Ponce that will allow us to be more efficient and effective in exporting Puerto Rican coffee around the world.

In light of a turbulent global economy, what is the financial health of Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters? Is this the right time to take on such an ambitious endeavor?

The only way to overcome economic obstacles is by taking action. By being proactive and investing in our company’s infrastructure and by implementing growth strategies that take us beyond the island of Puerto Rico, we are offsetting the adverse effects of the current state of the economy and encouraging growth and developmentt. Inve vest stme ment nt and con onfifide denc ncee ar aree ke keyy to performing well.

What are your production/export goals for Alto Grande?

Alto Grande is a very exclusive coffee, highest quality standards and its production is limited.

Our Coffee Hacienda in Lares, Puerto Rico currently produces 1,500 quintals (45.45 bags) of Super premium Alto Grande Coffee per year.

We are seeking to boost this to 3,000 quintals by 2012, with the ultimate goal of reaching 10,000 quintals by 2015. As far as exports to Europe are concerned, the initial phase of the effort contemplates exporting a limited amount of 10,000 kg of roasted Alto Grande Coffee.

What makes Alto Grande coffee unique?

Since 1839 Alto Grande Super Premium Coffee has been acclaimed as one of the world’s finest in the Royal Courts of Europe and the Vatican in Rome. It is as “the very best” because it’s unique Arabica beans are grown under ideal soilil andd clilimatte con ondi ditition onss an andd pr proc oces esse sedd to the most exacting standards. Experts enthusiastically describe it as follows “This rare and exotic Puerto Rican coffee has a very bright, sparkling flavor and a sweet pointed aroma”.

For generations our people have carefully selected the finest elite Arabica coffee bean and supervised every aspect of production in order to maintain the highest quality standards of Alto Grande Super Premium Coffee. This allows us to certify the authenticity of each and every can of this coffee. Alto Grande Super Premium Coffee is pride, quality, tradition, flavor and aroma; the perfect combination in one cup.

What other brands does Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters produce, market, and distribute?

Aside from the Alto Grande Super Premium Coffee we will distribute throughout the Czech Republic, our company also produces most of Puerto Rico’s leading coffee brands. These

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include Café Yaucono, Café Crema, Café Rico, Café Rioja, Café Encantos, Adjuntas, Expresso and Yaucono Selecto. We intend to continue marketing Café Yaucono, Café Crema, Café Rico and all of our other brands in Puerto Rico, as well as exporting them to the U.S. mainland and other countries. Together, our brands have a 85% market share.

Why are you the person best suited to lead this effort?

I have been in the manufacture and distribution business for over 20 years, chiefly as President and Chief Executive Officer of Coca Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers, and President of Coca-Cola Bottling of Trinidad. CCPRB is the

bottling company of the Coca-Cola brands and product distributor of Cervecería India, Anheuser Busch, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Nestlé Water of America, and other beverages in Puerto Rico.

I am also President of Ciclón Internacional, the top-ranked energy drink in the Caribbean. This, combined with my deep-rooted desire to have the world enjoy premium Puerto Rican coffee, fuels my passion for bringing Alto Grande to the Czec Cz echh Re Repu publ blic ic and Eur urop opee. I am fu fullllyy co comm mmititted to making this work.

Compiled by LM I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

As one of Puerto Rico’s most influential businessmen, Alberto E. de la Cruz has the experience, acumen, and skills necessary to successfully export his proven style of leadership in support of brand growth. Such is the case with Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters and the company’s launch of Alto Grande premium coffee in the Czech Republic.

In what is a company milestone, Alberto de la Cruz has engineered a plan to introduce Puerto Rican coffee in Europe, considered the best in the world. The Alto Grande brand, a best-in-class premium coffee product, will be the flagship of the initiative. His company has invested over US$70 million in a state-of-the-art coffee production and packaging facility in Puerto Rico that is fully committed to producing the world’s best coffee.

What motivates Alberto de la Cruz is a deep-rooted desire to have the world enjoy premium Puerto Rican coffee. Because he recognizes the superior quality, aroma, and taste of his product, it is de la Cruz’s mission to boost and strengthen the Puerto Rican coffee industry and economy by exporting the company’s top-tier coffee brands, Alto Grande chief among them.

Given his history as a business innovator, Alberto de la Cruz is the ideal leader to captain this effort.

He is currently Chairman of Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters, President and Chief Executive Officer of Coca Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers, and President of Coca-Cola Bottling of Trinidad. CCPRB is the bottling company of the Coca-Cola brands and product distributor of Cervecería India, Anheuser Busch, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Nestlé Water of America, and other beverages in Puerto Rico.

He is also President of Ciclón Internacional, the top-ranked energy drink in the Caribbean.

Mr. de la Cruz was a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), served on the board of the Association of Food Industry Marketing and Distribution (MIDA, its Spanish acronym), and was President and served on the board of the Society for Education and Rehabilitation (SER).

He was also on the board of Georgetown University’s School of Commerce, as well as serving on the Georgetown University Latin American Board. He is a former President of the San Jorge Children’s Hospital Foundation and Chairman of the Global Finance Committee of the Ronald McDonald’s House Charities.

He has been recognized by Caribbean Business as one of the “Top Ten Business Leaders” in Puerto Rico for the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2005 he was named to the Caribbean Business Hall of Fame and was recognized as the youngest person to have received said honor.

In 2000 he received the award of Manufacturer of the Year, given by MIDA. In 2003 the Vocero newspaper included him in their list of “Businessmen 2002”; the Interamerican Association of Businessmen (AIHE, its Spanish acronym) named him their “Businessman of the Year” for 2002; the San Juan Star newspaper awarded him the “Merit 2003” prize; and in the same year the Primera Hora newspaper included him in their list of “Ejecutivos de Primera” (First-rate Executives). In 2004 the United Retailers Association awarded him their Mercury prize. In 2007 the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce awarded him their Zenith prize as “Businessman of the Year.”

Born in Miami, Florida, Alberto E. de la Cruz earned his high school diploma from Georgetown Preparatory School, where he received the “Prep Medal” for his outstanding academic performance. In 1989 he graduated from Georgetown University’s Business School with a Bachelor of Science degree, with a concentration in Marketing.

He has been married to María Ileana since 1989 and together they have three children: Alberto G., Ileana and Alvaro.

This coffee can be ordered at info@altogrande.cz

23.9.2011 16:37:12

EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP & ACADEMIC INSTITUTE P R A G U E

THE DAY OF RECKONING “Greek islands for sale.” “Debt-laden Americans to sell Alaska to Russia and lose the Statue of Liberty to a Dubai creditor.”” Are we to see similar headlines in the near future? Recent developments don’t rule out such a possibility. The Greeks and the Americans owe money everywhere and their economies are in pain. Greece is not as surprising. It is quite fascinating, however, to see the United States, the land of the dollar, fierce western capitalism, Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs, having only very nearly escaped state bankruptcy.

And that only at the price of further debt. Where will this end?

“I’ll be back,” were the famous word of a wellknown Hollywood actor, the symbol of the old thriving America, in an action flick of the nineties.

The question is whether a full-blown economic crisis might not return as well. Its first wave is receding, weak companies have disappeared, the ones able to withstand competition have adapted and are now accepting new orders. The second wave, however, is not about companies or banks. The threat is a downfall of entire mismanaged states.

And what a state bankruptcy of the United States or of a European country (there are several possibilities here) would mean, nobody wants to contemplate at this point.

The above clearly means that if we are to avoid having a “For Sale” sign appear at the Prague Castle or Karlstejn Castle in a few years, the consolidation of public finances should be the topmost priority of the Czech government. There must be cuts.

However, they need to be thought out properly and they must not hamper economic growth. We must ask what this growth should be founded on and what qualities it should have. To attempt growth based on debt is not the way forward. To support growth by plundering the environment or depleting natural resources is impossible. The government should aim at growth based on innovations. It has to create conditions favorable to the development of innovative thinking in all areas, with a special emphasis on education, science and research.

It is innovation that enables good and sustainable economic growth; growth which brings a higher standard of living and of doing business; growth which pleases not only the economists that entertain themselves with numbers. It will also please the owner of a car equ q ippped with innovative technologies, which can notify him or her that the route they were planning to take is jammed, and will save them a third of their gas consumption by having better propulsion for good measure.

The Czech state should be a good steward, and first and foremost find and plug holes in the areas where billions are needlessly flowing out of the state budget: inefficient healthcare, civil service

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Photo: ELAI Archive

and public tenders. On the other hand, it must support the areas which require its attention urgently and which have been recently identified by the Strategy of International Competitiveness: Institutions, in i novation i andd infra f stru t cture. t While seeking budget cuts, the government should not cross a line where these cease to make sense, and start being contra-productive. Then instead of improving the state budget, the cuts would hamper further economic growth, which would bring a never-ending oscillation between lower tax income and the necessity of further cuts. Finding

the fragile balance between saving state funds and ensuring healthy growth is a difficult task. The success of the current government coalition, or lack thereof, will largely depend on how it deals with this situ si tuat atio ionn.

Radek Špicar, Patron of European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) and Vice President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic I český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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SALZBURG, THE CAPITAL OF THE MUSIC FESTIVALS Iva Drebitko with Werner Ebm, one of the important opera benefactors

If we sa sayy Sa Salz lzbu lz burg bu rg,, th rg he fi f rrsst th thin i gs g that ha at co ome me to ou our mi our m nd nds are M Mo ozart za arrtt and d Fes esti tiva vals vals va ls..

And An d wh when en sp pe eakin ak kin ing o off Sal a zb burrg’ g’ss M Mo oza zart rtt Fest Fe sttiv i a all, l, we w ima m giine ma e one e of th he m mo ost s exp xpen e en siive e and nd mosst pr p es esti tigi tigi giou o s mu musi sicc fe fest stiv ival iv a s in al n the th e wo world. Thiss essp pe ecial ciial a ly goe es for fo or tth he su s mmm r fe me f st s ival al tha at wa w s he eld d thi h s ye y arr bet etwe w e en n t e 27 th 7th h of Ju July ly and 30t 0th of Aug ugus usst, t , and n wass on wa once ce again ga ain i orrg g gan aniz an ized iz ed by th ed he vi vita tall a ta an nd everr you ev o ng n Ric icca ca card ardo rd do Mu Muti ti.. Fo Forr Mu Muti ti,, th t is yearr´s Moz ye ozar arr t Fe Fest s iv st i al not o onlly ma mark rk rked ked the e 4 th 40 h yea earr of o hiss carree eer, r butt als lso o pr p ov o id ided ed d an occa asion sion si on forr him m to ce cele ele ebr brat a e hiis incr at in ncr c ed e ible ib ble e 70 7 0th h birr th thda d y. y He co cou uld no uld ul nott ha have ch ho ose en ab be ett t ter er pla lace ce for hiss par a ty ty.. It is sa aid that ha at th t e

fest fe s ivval st a is on o e off the h mosst ex expe pe ens n iv ive e fe festtii v lss due va e to th t e la larg rge rg e nu umb ber of sh show ow o ws itt sttag ges, es, ass wel e ll a ass due e to its it s ssttel it e la ar ca cast sstt and d lu uxu xuri riou ri ouss pr ou p od oduc uctiion of op ucti uc oper eras as. Th The e fe est stiv ivval is,, ho is howe w ve we ver, r,, mai a nl nlyy ch char a accte ar eri rize z d by ittss hiigh ghes e t mu musi sica si ca al qu qual alit it y th it that att is gu guar a an ar nte teed ed by the e wo orrld d´s top op arttiissts t .

T he fe Th fest s ivval st al too ook pllac ace at thee Fessts ace t spi p elha pi ellha haus user us er c mp co mple lex (ccoom le mpl plex e of Fe ex F stiv sttiv ival all T he heat atre at rees) s tha hatt do d mi mnate na tees th thee sllop opee off the Mön önch nchhsb s er e g Mo M un u ta t ain inn; th thee Haaus H u fürr Mozar ozzar art,t,t, pre revi eviou iou ousl usl slyy knnown own as K le ow lein ein inees Festesstt spie sp ielh l aauus; lh s the newer ew wer Grroossses es Fes e tsspi piel ellhaaus (ooppenned

by Kar by araj ajan a in 119960 an 60); and the h reeccen entlt y re rebu builililtt Ro bu Rock ck rir ding dingg-s -sch cchhool ooool wi w th arccad a ess carr ve vedd in into to the h roc o ks, kss, whhhic w ich se s rv r ves man rves any ddiire rect c or ct orss wi with t its aut th u heenttiicc andd unniiqquuee nat atur uraal ur al staage g dec ecor or..

Saalzzbuurgg has alw wayys be b en ove v rsshhaadoowe w d by the he mooree fam amou ouss VViien ou enna n : ce na cele lebr le britittiees ussed br ed to paass it,t ppeerceivi rcc viingg itt aass too oo pro rovi viinc ncia iaal,, andd thee tow wn´ n´ss lo loca caal upptiigh g t bboour u ge geoi o si oi sie ev sie even e fai en aile ai ledd too dissco c ve verr th thee eaarlr y g nius ge u off pe us p cuuliar liliaarr Moz ozar a t,t dririvi ar ving vi ngg him litter erar a y out ar ouut ooff thee tow wn. Onl nly th thee 50th 500 th ann nniv i err sa sary r y of Mo ry Moza zart za rt´s rt ´s deeath deat att in i 188442 pr pres esen e teed an exxccus en usee to to cor orre rect ct thi hs m stak mi stt akke, e, andd Moz o ar a t wa w s ta t ke kenn baack c . Al Alth thou th ough g latte, e the town t ow to wnn rai a seed hi ai him m a mo m nuume m ntt tha hatt be b ars arr s hhiis naame me,, as maanny ot as o heer ssyymb mbol ols, s, soc s, ocie iieettiiess, sc s hoool o s, s hou ouse ses, se s caafe ca fees, deccor orat ation at ioons ns cchhoc ns, hoccol o at ates e etc. es tcc. wo woul uldd be ul bearr lat ater e.

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Let us f irirst Le st t akke a waalkk thr hrou ough ou ugh g Sal a zbur urg, ur g, inn thhe foot fo otsstep ot stepps off Moz o art, arr t,t troouggh Ge Getrtrtrei eide ei dega de gaass sse, e, a sttrree eet lil need w wiith t faccad ades eess of Itt al alia iann in inffllue uenc n e andd co nc c nttem mpooraryy Aus rary ustrtria iann siign boa oard rdss, rd s, to wh wher e e lilitt er ttle tt l Wol le o fggan angg wa w s b rn in ho bo h use usse nuum mbber berr 9. TThhe th thiririrdd flf oo o r of o thee houusee hass beeeenn reessto ha t re redd in into to a musseuum, m whe h re we ca cann fifind ndd the haarp th rpssi sichor sich ordd on or on whi hich chh liti ttlle Woolffga gang ngg plaaye yed, d d, thou th ough ou gh the here re is noth nootthhinng el else s authent ntic i lef eftt frfrom o tha om h t tiime me.. Le L t us us con o titnu n e to to thee sou o th eas asst ppaartt of thhe toown annd vi v si sitt the Re R si s deenc n e, e a Bar aroq oque pal a acee whhos o e im mp es pr essi sive gattew way a ressiissteed ev evenn the loo ootitingg of tthhe oo Napo Na poole leon onniicc troooppss.. If yoou ddoo nott man a aagge too go thhroug uggh alll off the al he 180 8 roo ooms ms and ms nd thr h ee cou o rtyaardds th t at can a bee foounnd he foun h ree, yo y u ca cann sttililll be b sure urre thhatt you ourr foootst ott step stteps wiilllll t aakke yo wi y u thhroough uggh pl p ac aces ces es whe h re litittltlt e Mo Mozza zart zart r useed too walk alk and al and wh an wher her e e he he useed to plaay th t e hhaarppsi sich chhorrd, d andd thhenn con ond nduct duct du c ed his f irirst stt sym mphhon o y an andd se s re renade d e. de.

TThhe fooun untaainn on th the Reessiiddeenc nce Sq Squa uare ree is ccoons nsid ider erredd to be th to the mo most st bea eaut u iful ifful barroque oqque mon onum umen ment ennt inn Europ ope. op e.

Do nott foorrge Do g t to t vis isitt the h cat a hedr heedrraall of Sa Sain i tin t Ruupert peertt.

A chhbishhoopp Wollf Di Ar D et etrirch c haadd wannteed itt to bbee as bbiig as as Sain Sa i t Pe in Peteer in Rom o e; e forr tu tuna nate tely ly, ly y hi h s su succ c es cc e ssoor waas more mo r mooddesst,, and yett the h im mppreesssiv ivee Do Dom m st stilili l do d mimiinate na tes es tthhe Sa Salz Salz lzbu b rrgg sky bu kylliline line ne. Th T her erre in the ere he cat athe hedr he dral dr al Mooza Moza zart rtt was baapptitize zed, d, and sin ince 192 920 20 thhe Fe Fest s iivvall haass st been be enn ope pene need ev e err y ye year ar on thhe ca ar cathhed e raall´´s sqquare uaare re,, with with wi t the h play laay Jeede derm rman rm annn by Huggo voon Ho an H fm fman annns n th thal a. al Eaachh yeaar thhe evven ent iss attten ende dedd by de

by Sal alzb zbburg urg wo ur w me men whoo dr wh d ess s in tra r ddiition tiion onal all dirrnd ndls l anndd by geenttleme ls lem le meen suuitted e in tyypica pica pi call co cost stum st um mess. Vi Visi sito si t rrss int to n rir gu gueed ed by thhe e eg el egan ancy ancy c of goth goth go t icc arc rchi hite hi tect te ctture urre sh shou ouuldd raise ise the heirir sight heir igght ht

Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi

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Salzburger nockerl

to thhee roo ooff tr trus uss s off the h Franc raanccis isca cans ca n chu ns h rc rchh naave ve thhaat ccaan be be see e n imme imm diiat a el e y oppo oppposi posite po te thee cat athe hedddrral he al.l.

Fu theer,r, you Furt Fu o cann alsso vviisi isi sitt th thee ch char a mi m ngg Pet e er ersf sfriried sf ried e hof ce ho c meeteeryy, whher e e mu musi sica cal star stt arr s such chh as Ha Hayd y n, n Paum Pa um mga gart r teenn and San rt antiion Sollar arii re rest est amo mongg othher ers. s Forr thee gr th g avve ooff Moz ozar a t yoou wo w ul u d hhaavee to coome me to PPrrag aguee, alth alth al t ouugh gh its tss exxaact c loc o at atio i n thher e e is nott known noown wn. Leeopol oppold M za Mo z rrtt and nd Coonnsstt aanncee Webbeerr-M Moz ozar artt re r st s in th thee Sa Saintt Seba Se bast s ie st ienn ce ceme meeteeryy fur m u thher to thhe eaast st of Sa Salz lzbu b rg, bu rgg whhilee Ka whil Kara raja ra jaan lilies e in th es thee An A if ceem metter ery. y y.

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Salzburg

coonttinnue and get cont e los ostt inn thhee aisslees off Kappuzzinner erbbergg, w ich wh icch sooon on turrns n intto a sc s ruubb b y, y rocckyy traailil tha h t wi wind nndds up thr hrou ough ou gh gar a de dens nss. Yo Y u neeed e to coont n innue fur u th therr to t e ea th east st so th that at youu arr rriv ivve too the hous ouse ou se of Stefan Stt an ZZw weiig an a d fif na nallly ga gath ther th er all your ou eennner ou e gyy to cllimbb up er u to thhe hi h llllto t p foor th to thee viiew ew off thhe toown from room ab a ov o e. e Cro ross sss thee riivveer Sa th S lz lzac a h oonnce ac c aggaainn and t akke a lilftt (th thou o gh ou gh a hi h ke k is mo more re cha harm rm rmin minng) from room Ka Kara raja ra jaann Pl P atz ab a ovve thee Baarooqu th que rooof oftto topss with itith a br brea e th t ak ea a in i g pa p noora rama ma ooff thee citity. y. Wal a k upp to thhe Feest s unng Ho H he hens nsal a zzbbur ug foort r re ress ss andd you wilil un unde d rssta de t ndd whyy thi h s we w alth allth thyy ci city tyy onncee hadd ennooug ugh ppoolitititica ti al po poweer and annd fina n ncia nciaal renc soour sour urce cess to creeat ce atee su such chh a greeat at plaace ce for o a mus u icc fes esti stiti-ivvaal, for or whi h ch ch Moz ozar ar t seervvedd as a go g odd fou ound ndattio nd ion. n n.

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By Iva By va DRE REBITKO TK KO I Phhottos: II.. Drreebi bitkko´ o s ar a ch chivve č sskký če k ý př př ek ekllaad nale nale na lezn zznneette v el elek ektrr on oniccké onic ké verzi er zi er zi maaggaa zzíínuu na ww m w ww. w w. w.le lead le ead a err sm smag aggaazzin ine. e cz cz

Leader Le aders ad rs Maga gazi azi zine ne V/201 /2201 011 011

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synot event

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE The Czech football entered into a new football season with a strong partner in the back. The match between the Gambrinus League Master and the Ondrášovka Cup will be called SYNOT TIP Supercup. SYNOT TIP, the current Czech football national team premium partner, expanded its scope also with a professional football club.

The Plzeň goalkeeper Michal Daněk intervenes during a shootout

SYNOT TIP STRENGTHENS ITS ACTIVITIES IN FOOTBALL!!

“Sport is one of the areas of SYNOT TIP’s donor strategies. It is mainly related with football, which is the number one sport within our sports betting clients. We realize its support on several levels. From youth sports and the football academy, which educate young football talents so as to cooperate with league players. Since 2011/2012 season, we have also expanded our support for a Gambrinus League partnership. We believe that our support will help to further develop football in the Czech Republic,” said Ivo Valenta, SYNOT Holdings founder. The Supercup and the Czech football got a significant partner in the SYNOT TIP company, which also helps football on a regional level. “We are very pleased to have signed a partnership with such a strong and respected partner, which helps football on many fronts.

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FC Viktoria Plzeň the 2011 SYNOT TIP Supercup winner

23.9.2011 17:13:05

From left: Marián Čišovský from Plzeň and Lukáš Opiela from Mladá Boleslav in the 2011 SYNOT TIP Supercup

The Captain of Viktorie, František Ševinský, with the trophy for the 2011 SYNOT TIP Supercup winners

The league match between Slavia and Slovácko

The league match between Slavia and Liberec

The press conference before the start of the 2011/2012 Premier League – from left: Jaroslav Kolář, PR Director, FAČR, David Dušek, CEO, STES, Jiří Mareček, Spokesperson, Pilsner Urquell, Dušan Svoboda, Vice-Chairman, FAČR, Ivo Lubas, Director, Professional Football Department, FAČR, Magda Pekařová, Spokesperson, SYNOT

SYNOT TIP wanted to cooperate with the Czech football for a long time, what we appreciate.

I firmly believe that this cooperation will bring success to all parties, especially to satisfied fans,” said David Dušek, STES CEO. The cooperation between SYNOT TIP and the Czech football does not stop even at this point.

A new joint project is the SYNOT TIP Fair Play Price, whose long-term goal is to encourage and reward fair play behaviour in all Czech football competitions.

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

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Is the Only Way to Prosperity At the beginning of August, when I began to read the fourth evaluation report of the 7th Research Framework Programme for the period 2007–2013, I expected that I will not find out encouraging information. Even though I had long before the official publication of the report, detailed and mostly negative news about the provided funds to the Czech Republic, the conclusions of the report did not leave me calm. Simply said, the number of submitted projects and the amount of funds received through this programme is disappointing. What I find even more disturbing is the fact that the current situation has not changed for many years. We had our first experience with the use of European funds for research already in the 4th Framework Programme (FP). It can be said, that from the 5th FP we have the same conditions as the other member states. Furthermore, the rules that in a way blocked the university projects were gradually removed and today academics can apply for 100% of funds from the public sources. However even this did not encourage more activity; among the 50 most successful universities in the period 2007–2010 there is no Czech university, next a Czech representative is also missing among the 20 most successful non-commercial research institutes. Our only representative is in the area of 50 most successful commercial companies, this is the Nuclear Research Institute Řež. It seems that if funds do not come directly from the national budget there will not be a great initiative to search for other sources of finance. When comparing the data for the last four years, it is evident that the Czech Republic is at the lower end of the 27 EU member state list in received funds. The reason is not the size of our country. On the contrary the most active ones are the newly accepted member states and in particular the small countries like Cyprus, Slovenia and Malta. I believe, that many will agree, that the research policy of the European Union should focus mainly on the support and linking of research teams and the coordination of national and European approaches to the individual projects. In the last ten years this has been the strategic goal of the Union. The primary aim of the Lisbon strategy was to make Europe by 2010 the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.

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Even though research is at the top of the list of the European political agenda we are still unable to increase the spending for science and research. According to the latest data, the spending on science and research in the last years in Europe was 1.9% of its GDP, in the USA it was 2.7% and in Japan it was even 3.2%. In 2005 Chinese spending on science and research was already 1.3% of its GDP. In the EU the differences are still large; the Nordic countries invest on average over 3.5% of their GDP, however countries like Cyprus and Romania spend only 0.4% of their GDP. It is by no means my intention to only criticize, but on the contrary to encourage the individual actors.

Because if we do not radically change our approach, we will stop being a net receiver of EU funds and we will commence financing with our resources research activities of other countries. There are many opportunities to improve our statistics. Universities should carefully monitor the initiatives linked to the applications part of the civil navigation system Galileo, which will be similar to the American system Navstar GPS and the Russian system GLONASS. Galileo is being developed by the European Union in cooperation with the European Space Agency. In the committee ITRE, where I am the Vice-Chairman, we will begin at the end of August the discussion about the space strategy for the EU that benefits its citizens. The European space policy will support the technological and scientific progress, it will foster innovation and enhance the industrial competitiveness. The other goals of the policy are that the European citizens should benefit from the space applications and to raise Europe’s profile on the international stage in the area of space. The production, the launch and the operation of applications and services will be the engine for economic growth and innovation. The benefits of these programmes for the EU cut across all sectors of the economy, such as transport, telecomunica-

Photo: Archive

tions, the environment and security. The other major opportunity for our scientific teams is the project for the development of the state of the art thermonuclear experimental reactor, called ITER. The consortium of countries, besides the EU there are five other countries, plan to invest in the research project billion of Euros.

In addition, the 7th Euratom Framework Programme allows for investments in the area of nuclear research; these include for example nuclear fusion, fission or radiation protection.

If Europe wants to fully maximize the returns to their investments in ITER, which is in the phase of construction and is dependent on the support of the EU programmes, these programmes are crucially significant for our future.

By Evžen Tošenovský I Member of the European Parliament To be continued... český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

23.9.2011 16:52:52

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

ČSÚZ

The Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s 22nd Annual Czech Language Course Has had Another Successful Year The first three weeks of July in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute are traditionally associated with their popular Czech language course, the participants of which are traditionally fellow countrymen living abroad, or students of the Czech language from different countries. During the course, these students have the opportunity to improve their knowledge of Czech and learn new facts about Czech history and life in the contemporary Czech Republic. The course was running for the 22nd time this year, and easily attracted two students from each of the following universities Kiev, Lvov, Minsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg, plus two bilingual students from a grammar school in Vienna, as well as two young teachers from Daruvar.

The course brought together 13 girls and one young man, all between the ages of 17 to 27. They were all drawn to the course in order to improve their professional lives through the Czech language, and, together with their instructors, they managed to become quite a cohesive group throughout the course.

Their Czech pedagogues pedagogues, Dr. Dr Ivana Bozděchová, Bozděchová Dr. Jan Dvořák and Dr. Helena Briardová, are happy to sayy that this yyear,, students went above and beyond expectations. The teachers maintain that they have never met such disciplined students, nor ones who showed such an interest in everything that the programme offered them – whether classroom work, conversation, lectures on the Czech Agricultural University Campus, or trips to everywhere from Litoměřice to historical monuments in Prague – the students always wanted to know more about history and life in the Czech Republic.

While some students preferred the ballet performance of Oněgin in the National Theater, others were more engaged by the cordial reception from the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute chairman Jaromír Šlápota in Vrtbovský Palace, where they learned about this institution’s activities. However, there is one experience that all students found truly unforgettable: the Křižík’s fountain ballet performance of Carmen.

As the course drew nearer to the end, the students were bonding closer and closer together, making the farewell boat-trip along the Vltava an exceedingly difficult voyage. The trip was attended by the chairman of the Permanent Committee for Fellow Countrymen Living Abroad, Tomáš Grulich, as well as diplomats from the home countries of the participants, including the Belorussian Embassy Counsel, Dr. Vladimir Mironovich, the Austrian Embassy press attaché, Dr. Andreas Wiedemann, the Russian Embassy secretary, Valery Terentiev, the expert on humanitarian cooperation, Kirill Taul,

and the Ukrainian Embassy Counsel, Andrey Motornyy and his wife.

It was along the Vltava that diplomas were awarded, and melancholy sentiments shared.

Fourteen students with new knowledge of the Czech language were leaving the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s course with new knowledge and beautiful impressions of Czech life, language and institutions, but certainly they were not happy to go. Some writing samples from the students capture the sentiment well.

“There were 14 students who were together all the time. Czech was always spoken, and everyone is given a lot of attention. Such a course is unique, especially to students studying Czech for their future carrier. These students usually have lots of unsolved problems concerning nuances in language… and also lots of discreet mistakes to which only Czech professors can draw their attention.

I am therefore very pleased that the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute is extending its contacts with Czech language departments in foreign universities, and I hope that it continues to develop this co-operation in future. My wish for the participants of the next courses is that they should enjoy every day of their stay. Because there is study in each entertainment here and entertainment in each study. Vivid and interesting communication is much more useful than boring lectures at the university.” (Ljuba Ščupaková, 21 years, Minsk).

“I have been looking forward to the course for

a long time truly, and I am glad that all my expectations have come more than true. This is my first long stay in Prague. I had visited so far only when travelling to Plzeň and Poděbrady. I had never heard about the course, nor the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute before, and therefore I came with a certain amount of skepticism… but it did not diminish my desire to visit the Czech Republic.

It has become even more pleasant to realize that I am in a truly high-quality Czech course organized by responsible people who are very dedicated to their profession. The course is oriented to overcome our weaknesses in Czech so that it is almost individualized, and therefore effective and useful.”

(Sardana Jefimova, 23 years, Moscow).

“I think that the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute is quite necessary because it supports minorities of fellow countrymen and their children abroad, and so makes it possible to many people to take care of the Czech language, traditions and customs, and to ensure that they do not forget their roots. I wish that the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute takes care of fellow countrymen with the same interest and effort in future, and it has more financial means for itit. I wish the participants of future courses to enjoy it as much as I did and to be leavingg with new knowledge g of Czech language g g and nice memories.” (Kristýna Samitzová, 17 years, Vienna).

HEBR I

The organisers of the course, as well as the students, highly appreciated the presence of the senator Tomáš Grulich and the Ambassadors at the farewell awards ceremony on the Vltava boat trip Photo: R. Briard

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Photo: Archive

THE DAY OF WHICH BRNO CITIZENS ARE STILL PROUD

In the life of a city with such deep historical roots ass Brno has, we can f ind countless events, which are remark-able and played a decisive role in its destiny. In our cityy, there is one such event of which we are particularly proud, and we therefore commemorate it as the ‘Day of Brno’ each year. We exppress admiration and respect for the he-roism shown by the people of Brno during the siege of Brnoo by the Swedes in 1645, at a time when Europe had beenn plagued by twentyy-seven years of the Thirty Years’ War. In early May off that year, Brno, with its population off five thousand, wass besieged by a six times larger Swedishh army. Although it was headed by the invincible Torstens-son, to whom no city had yet resisted, the Brno citizenss decided to defend their city. Thus, although faced withh possible destruction and killing, their pride, bravery andd determination gavve them strength. With the help of thee able commander Raduit de Souches, and spiritual supportt from the Jesuit Father Středa and his call “Whosoever defends Brno, defends the whole of Moravia” the soldiers, townspeople and students resisted the siege. They evenn

withstood the decisive final push on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (August 15), which obviously the Protestant Swedes did not recognize. However, in the end they had to retreat without any success.

In this way, Brno gained the respect of Vienna, as the Swedes no longer had the strength to pose a threat to it.

Raduit was honored by the Emperor and he went on to serve the Habsburgs in their army for many years. His book Diarium bellicum Brunense (Brno War Diary) was read by the whole of Europe. The successful defense of Brno had also contributed to the fact that the city defended its position as the capital of Moravia at the expense of the conquered city of Olomouc. In addition, finally yet importantly, Brno was enriched by several charming legends, such as the ringing of the noon bells at 11 o’clock.

A GOOD TRADITION SHOULD BE UPHELD To commemorate the retreat of the Swedes Brno would hold ‘Swedish Celebrations’ for many years, with military parades and a folk jamboree; however, this disappeared in the early 20th century. It is good that in 1995, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of these events, a foundation was laid to restore the tradition of these celebrations.

Therefore, I am very happy that this year, together with the Bishop of Brno, Mons. Vojtěch Cikrle, we assumed patronage over the 16th annual edition of the Day of Brno celebration. The organizers – the Brno Cultural Centre and the 1645 Company – prepared for the Brno citizens and visitors a rich cultural programme from 12 to 14 August, with a historic market on Radnická Street, spiced up by new items relating to tourist attractions built over the previous year in Brno.

Therefore, on Friday’s opening ceremony the city guard marched through the downtown and ended their parade at the central square of Náměstí Svobody at the new

timepiece, whose appearance and fuunction are inspired by the legend of General Torstenss son. Recently the Labyrinth below Zelný trh (Vegetablee Market) has been revived, including normally inaccessiible social areas. On Friday and Saturday, visitors were abble to meet soldiers, musicians and drinkers here, as well as the executioner torturing his victims at the pillory, and the alchemist trying in vain to produce gold.

The celebrations culminated on Saaturday when troops marched through the town again to place wreaths at the tomb of Raduit de Souches in the church of St. James and pay tribute to the fearless comm mander. Then it came to a boiling point at the Old Town Haall, where the troops bivouacked and ate, and where their horses were stabled before battle – i.e. a composed batttle scene that broke out on Zelný trh at 3 o’clock. About 1000 people, 2 horses, 1 cannon and countless historical weapons performed for a huge audience a scene of how w it could have been once with the ‘Help for Brno’. An eveening concert of sacred music in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul and fireworks on Zelný trh lent the whole day a ceremonial character and a sense of grandeur.

The Sunday pontifical liturgy was celebrated by Mons.

František Lobkowicz, Bishop of Ostrrava and Opava, as thanksgiving to God and for a happpy future for the city of Brno, and the Day of Brno celebraations thereby came to a dignified close.

The Swedish enemy once remaineed locked out of the city gates, now fortunately we do nott need to close them to anybody and we are happy to welcome everybody who wish to live here or just to stay a whilee.

Byy Roman Onderka I Mayorr of the City of Brno

Musket shots also boomed around náměstí Svobody

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IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

DEN, NA KTERÝ JSOU BRŇANÉ STÁLE PYŠNÍ V životě města s tak hlubokými histoorickými kořeny, jako je Brno, najdeme nespočet pozoruuhodných a pro jeho osud určujících událostí. Ale na jednu z nich jsme v našem městě obzvlášť pyšní, a proto si ji každoročně připomínáme jako Den Brna. Vyjadřujjeme tak obdiv a úctu hrdinství Brňanů při obléhání města Švédy v roce 1645, tedy v době, kdy již 27 let ssužovala Evropu třicetiletá válka.

Počátkem května toho roku oblehhla pětitisícové Brno šestkrát početnější švédská armáda. Ačkoliv v jejím čele stál nepřemožitelný Torstensson, kterému dosud žádné město neodolalo, Brňané se rozhodli své město bránit. Riskovali tak sice jehoo zničení a vyvraždění, posílila je však hrdost, statečnost a odhodlání.

Za pomoci schopného velitele Raduitta de Souches, duchovně podporováni jezuitským pááterem Středou a jeho výzvou „Kdo brání Brno, brání celou Moravu“ odolávali vojáci, měšťané a studenti obležení. A vydrželi i rozhodující závěrečný nápor na svátek Nanebevzetí Panny Marie (15. srpna), který protesttantští Švédové samozřejmě neuznávali. Ti nakonec muuseli odtáhnout s nepořízenou.

Brno získalo úctu Vídně, protože pooražení Švédové už neměli sílu ji ohrozit. Raduit byl ccísařem oceněn a Habsburkům později prokázal ještě nemalou vojenskou službu. I jeho knihu Diarium bellicum Brunense (Deník brněnské války) četla celá Evropa. Úspěšná obrana Brna přispěla také k tomu, že město obhhájilo svoji pozici hlavního města Moravy na úkor dobbyté Olomouce.

A v neposlední řadě bylo Brno obohaaceno o několik půvabných pověstí, např. o zvonění poleddne v 11 hodin.

NA DOBROU TRADICI JE TŘEBA NAVÁZAT Na památku ústupu Švédů se v Brně ddlouho pořádala tzv. Švédská slavnost s vojenskými přehllídkami i lidovou

veselicí, která však na počátku 20. století zanikla. Je dobře, že v roce 1995 v rámci oslav 350. výročí těchto událostí byl položen základ k obnovení tradice oslav.

Velmi rád jsem proto i letos převzal společně s brněnským biskupem Mons. Vojtěchem Cikrlem záštitu nad 16. ročníkem oslav Dne Brna. Pořadatelé, Brněnské kulturní centrum a Společnost 1645, připravili od 12. do 14. srpna pro Brňany a návštěvníky města bohatý kulturní program s historickým jarmarkem v Radnické ulici a okořenili jej také novinkami vztahujícími se k turistickým atrakcím zbudovaným v Brně za poslední rok.

Tak už při pátečním zahájení slavností pochodovala centrem městská hotovost, která svou přehlídku ukončila na náměstí Svobody u nového časostroje, jehož podoba a fungování jsou inspirovány legendou o generálu Torstenssonovi. Ožil také nedávno zpřístupněný Labyrint pod Zelným trhem včetně běžně nepřístupné společenské části. Návštěvníci zde v pátek a sobotu mohli potkat vojáky, pijáky a muzikanty, ale i kata mučícího u pranýře své oběti či alchymistu marně vyrábějícího zlato.

Oslavy vyvrcholily v sobotu, kdy městem opět pochodovali vojáci, aby položením věnců u hrobky Raduita de Souches v kostele sv. Jakuba vzdali hold neohroženému vojevůdci. A pak už to vřelo na Staré radnici, kde leželo a obědvalo vojsko a byli ustájeni koně před bitvou – tedy komponovanou bitevní scénou, která na Zelném trhu vypukla v 15 hodin. Asi 100 lidí, 2 koně, 1 dělo a nespočet historických zbraní početnému obecenstvu předvedlo, jak to kdysi mohlo být s „Pomocí pro Brno“.

Slavnostní ráz a velkolepost dodaly celému dni večerní koncert duchovní hudby v katedrále sv. Petra a Pavla a ohňostroj na Zelném trhu.

Troops set off for the Saturday “martial turmoil” from the Old Town Hall

Neddělní pontifikální bohoslužba celebbrovaná biskupem ostravsko-opavským, Mons. Františkkem Lobkowiczem, jako poděkování Bohu a za šťastnoou budoucnost městaa Brna pak oslavy Dne Brna důstojněě završila.

Neppřátelským Švédům zůstaly kdysi brány města uzavřeeny, dnes už se naštěstí před nikým m zavírat nemusíme a rádi vítáme všechny, kdo zde chtějí žít či jen chvíli pobýt.

Roman Onderka I primátor statutárníhho města Brna The Bishop of Ostrava and Opava František Lobkowicz, Mayor Roman Onderka and the Vicar-General of the Brno diocese Jiří Mikulášek before the Sunday mass at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Petrov

Photos: Marie Schmerková

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President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus Started the New School Year in the Moravian-Silesian Region Photo: Archive

S pt Se p em mbe berr 1s 1stt iss an iim mpo port r ant rt annt da dayy fo forr ma many ny fam a ili ie iess beca be caus ca u e theyy briring us ngg the h irr chi hild ldre ld reen to t schhoo ooll foor thhe fifirs rsst tit me m . Bu Butt foor chhilidrren en fro rom m tw twoo el e em men enta taary r sch choo ools oo lss in th thee M ra Mo ravi v an vi a -S -Sililles e ia iann Re R gion o , th on this i day he was is waas ev even en mor oe impo im port po rttan antt becaaus usee th they ey were erre ab abou ouut too mee e t th thee pr pres esiesies d nt de n of thhe Czechh Reepu publ blic icc Vác ácla lavv Kl la K au auss an andd th thee go gove ver-rve norr of no of the h Mor o aviaann-Si S lesian an Reg egio ioon Ja J ro rosl s avv Pal sl a as as..

A ot An othe h r sttop o of thhe pr p essid iden entt of o the Czeech c Rep epub ubblil c wass th wa t e el elem e ennta em t ry sch c oo ooll off Gen ener eral er aall Jan anek ek in O Osstrtrav avaavaM rirán Ma ánsk s é Mo Mounnta t inns, s whe h ree he meet wi w th t stu tudde dentt s an dent andd teac te ache ac hers he rss.

Afte Af t r thhat the te h preesiide d nt vis i itted rad a io Oririon on for a sho hort rt interv in r ieew, andd exa rv x cttly at no xa noon on he went to th t e IIm mpe perial a al Hoote tell w whher ere hee wass met e by thee goovernnorr Jar aros osla laav Pa P las laas

who innvviite tedd th t e pr pres esid es idden entt fo for a fe fest s ivve lu st lunc n h to coom mm moora me r tee hiss vis isititt of th thee ci c ty of Ostr Osstrtavva.

Gove Go vern rnor rn or,, yo or your u firirst ur stt day ay of sc scho hoool ol is now w su succ ccces essful sfuullly sf behi be hiind n you ou. Ho How ww wiilll thee sch choo o l ye y ar ar in thhe Mo MoraaviiannS le Si lesi siann Reggioon lo sian look ok likke?

Thhis i yea earr moore than han 12 000 f iri st ha st-g -gra -g rade ra ders de r enr rs n ol o le l d inn ele leme m nt me n aryy sc s hooolls in the h Morrav aviiiaann-Si Siile lesi s ann Reeggio si i n..

Duuriingg thee scchhooool yeear D a 201 011/ 1//20012 1/20 12,, mo m re r tha hann 99 tho houu sand sa n stu nd t deent n s sh shou o ldd gett their ou hei edu he d ca catititonn in 44 4 9 el eleemeent n ar aryy scchhooolls. s Durrin i g th t e laastt yea e r,, mor oree th t an 666 tho h us usan andd st s ud u en ents tss att tten ende en deed 14 1 7 high hiighh sch c oo oolss in thee Mo th M raavi vian a -SSilies e iaan Re R gi g on on. Th Thee ac a tu tual a num al u beer for t is th is yea earr is i stillll unk nkno noownn buutt baassedd on ou our pr our p el e imin i aryy resu re sultltt s we see deccliline su ne in th thee nu n mbber er of stud studden ents ts.

T is wass the Th he rea easo s n to beg so egin witth th thee optimi m zatition on pprrocces e s fo focu cuusi s ngg on hiigh and middl dlee sc schools lo l cateed inn our reeggio i n. The h se s pro roce ceess ssees are maainl ain y relate ted to thee coonnttinnui th u ngg dem mog o ra raph phic ph icc dec ecliliine and n it is one of ou our impo im port po rtan rt a t go an goal als to mai a nt ntai a n an ai andd to imppro rove v the qua ve u lityy off edu duca caatition on.. Du on Duriring riring the upc pcom pcom omin ingg sc in scho hoool yea ho ear,r, the opptitimi miza mi zatitit on pro za roce ceesss wili l af affe fect fe ct a tot ct otal all of 177 schhoo o llss main ma inta in tain ta inned by th thee re regi gion gi o . on We wou ould ldd lik ike ke to staabi bilililize ze sch chools h which went through t e op th optititimi miza miza mi zatitiion o prrooceess, sss, so so the h y can can gaain ca in a strtron ongg and on annd resp re spec sp ecte ec t d po te p si sititition on witthi h n thhe ne netw t or tw orkk of o sch c oools. lss. An addi ad d ttiion di o al a pro rogr gram gr am mme m whi h chh wilill be be app p lilied edd durinng th this is s ho sc hool ol year, ol ear,r sho ea houl u d fu ul furt rttheer im mpr proove ove th t e quual a ity of the educ ed ucat uc a ioonaal pr at p oc oces esss inn thee Moorravviaanes n Sileesi sian Reg egio ion, n, annd th that at is the the im th impl mpl p em emen emen enta nta tatitition tionn of sccho hooll entrry r y exa xa--

mine mi n s fo for st for stud udyy fiiel ud elds whi elds h ch end witithh Ge G nera neera rall Ce Cert rti-i rt fif caate of Se Seco cond co n ar nd aryy Ed E uc ucat atio at ionn ex io exam am.. Un am Unififieed en entrtrr y exam ex ms or o ga g ni nize zeed by b the h cou ount ntt y waas cl c eaarlrlyy a sttepp to thhe rriigh the ghtt di dire reect ctio i n. Thi io hiss sy syst sttem pro rove vedd th ve that at acc c ep e ta tanc ne nc of a stu of t dent deent n wititho hout ho u pass si ut sing ng thhee app ppliliica c ble ble en bl e trt y ex e aam m migh mi g t bee rissky gh ky.. Du Duririring ngg thee lasst ye year a , 588 higgh scho ar scho sc hool oll enttryy e am ex a s or orga ggaani nize zeed an zed andd fif naancciaallllyy su supp p or orte tedd by the te h Moora r vviian a -S -Silililes e ia i n Re Regi g on gi o took oook pl p ac ace. e. At pr p es esen ennt, steepss to ens nsur uree th thee appl apppl p ic i at atio i n off uni io n foorm m ent n ra ranc ncee exxam a s duriring du ngg thee app ppliliica c bl b e scchoool o adm dmissiion o pro roce ceeduure res fo forr 2012 20 12/2 /2201 0133 sc scho h ol yeaar ar aree be being neego gotititated atted ed. Thhe inntent te ntio ionn is to maake k all seconda daryy sch choools mai a nnttainedd by thee reggioon an and whicch of o fer class ses wi with th GCS CSE to parttic icippat ate. e Also thee Assoociat a ioon of privaate schhooolss wililll be invited ed to particip i at a e in this pr p oggra ramm mme. e.

The previous year wass ve v ryy dem eman andi ding ng for stu tude d ntss de a d teache an h rs alike. Ho H wever,r thank nkss to t har arrd wo workk our ur t ac te a heers managged to hand ndlee the h GCS CSE SE exams smoothly andd su an succcess sf s ul ully lyy. Thhe re resu sullt of the GCSE exams are very su optiimist miist s icc for the Moravian-Silesian Region as we complied with the nationwide average requirement n s.

However, during the school year, will shall focuss moree on the reduction o of the administration pro roce c ss tha h t scho sc hoool ol dirirec ireecctoors musst de deal all witithh an andd allso s on tthhe de deve v ve lopm pmen ennt off tea ent each cher ch ers. er s. Our goal s. oal is the utm tmos ostt eff fifici os cien ency ncy off schhools.

Jaroslavv Palas I Goovernor of the Moravian-S - ilesiaan Region -S

And how it all began? In the morning of September 1, 2011 at 8:18, the governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region Jaroslav Palas together with a student Miloš Skácel welcomed the president of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus at the main railway station in Ostrava

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IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Školní rok v Moravskoslezském kraji zahajoval prezident ČR Václav Klaus 1. září je pro mnohé rodiny významným dnem, neboť vedou svou ratolest do první třídy. Prvňáčci d ou základnícch škol Moravskoslezského kraje měli dv vykr vy kroč kr očen oč eníí za en z a poz ozná nání ná níím o to významnější, neboť see hneed pr prvn vnní de denn svvé školní docházky setkali s pr p ez ezid i ennte id tem m Česk skéé re repu puubl blik ikyy Vá Václ clav cl a em Klausem a he hejtjtt ma m ne nem m Mooravs vsskosl s ez sl ezskkéhho kr k aj ajee Ja J roosl s av a em P laase Pa sem. m.

Dalš Da lšším m z as asta taave v ní n m pa pana n pre na r zi zide dent de n a by nt byla laa Z áklladní addní ško kola la gen e . Jaank n a v Os O tr t avvěě-Ma Maarir án ánsk skýc sk ýcch Horá Ho rách rá c , kdde se uskut ch skkut u eč e ni n loo krá rátk t é se tk setk tkkán á í s pe peda daagoogy a ž ák á y této t škoolyy. to Poté Po téé se pr prez e iden entt od odebbra rall na krá rátk tkýý ro tk rozh zhhov o or o doo raadi radi d a Or Orio ioon, aby b jej v pra ravé vé polled edne n přiiví ne v taal v hoote telu Im mpe peririál á hej ál ejtm tm man a Jar a os o lav laav Pa Pala laas, k te t rýý u příříle l žitost stii návš ná všště těvy vy pan a a pr p ez eziddenntaa v Ossttraavěě uspoř sppoř ád ádaall slav sl lav avnno nost nost stní ní obě běd.

Paane hej ejtm tman tm anee pr an p vn vníí šk škol olníí den mát á e za seb ebbou, jakk too bud ja udee vy vypa pada pa d t v toomt da mtoo šk škol olní ol ní ro ním rocee v Mor orav askkos osle lezs le zské zs kém ké m kr kraj aji? aj i?

V leto tošn to šním šn ím roc ocee naast oc stou oupi ou p lo do pr pi prvn vníc vn íchh tř íc tříd íd zák ákla ladla dníchh ško k l v Mo M raavs vskoosllez e sk ském ém kra rajiji víc ícee jaak 12 tis isíc íc prvňáčků pr ků. V ce ků celk l em 449 4 zák ákladn dnníc ích šk š ol olác á h by se ác měloo ve šk mě mělo škol o ním ol níím roce rooce c 201 0 1//20 201 12 2 v zd zděl ěláv ěl á aatt pře áv řess 99 tissíc íc žák áků. ů. Poč očet et žák ákůů, k te teříří se buudo douu vz vzdě dělá láva vatt na 147 středníchh ško kolá lách áchh Moravskoslezskéhoo kra raje j bylo v loňském rooce ce př přes ess 66 tisíc. Aktuální čísslo pr proo letošní rok ještě ne neznám me, ale z předběžných šet e řennníí víme, že počet pooklesnne. e.

To byl důvod zahájení optimalizace sítě středních škol v našem kraji. Tyto procesy probíhají zejména v souvislosti s pokračujícím demografickým poklesem a jedním z jejich cílů je zachování a zvyšování kvality vzdělávání. Optimalizace se v nadcházejícím školním roce dotkne celkem 17 škol zřizovaných krajem. Škkol o y, k te t ré prošly optimalizačními opatřeními, chhcceeme m s ta t bi b lizovat, t, aby tak získaly své pevné mííst stoo v sí sítitii naššic i h škol školl. V tomt m o škkol o ním roce má ke z vy vyšo šová šo vááníí k vaalility lity v zd zděl ěláv ěl á án áv ání př p issppěět ta t ké další a titviitaa Mor ak orav avvsk avsk skos osleezs os z ké kého h kra ho raaje je, kt k er erou ou je reealliz ce při za ř jíj ma mací cíích zko kouš ušek uš ek do obborů or ů vzzdě or dělá lání lá ní ní poosk skyt y uj yt ujíc íccíc ích st ích stře řeedn dní vzzdě dělá láání n s mat atur uritititní ur ní zko k uš u koou. Spo pole leečn čnéé př p ijijím ím mac a í říř ze zení n , kktter ní eréé kr k aj orggaan zoovaal, byl ni y o jeedn dnoz ozznaačn čněě kr k okkem spprr áv ávný ný m ný ným směr sm ě eem ěr m. Potv Potvvrd Po rdillo ssee, že ž přiijjeetí ž ák ákaa be bez ez př přijijijíímaccí ma cích cích c zko kouš ušek uš ekk je riskkanntn tním ím.. V lo loňs ňsské k m roocee, kddy j dn je dnot ott né při ř ijíjíjíma maací zko kouš uškyy org uš ušky rgan anniz izač aččněě i f in inan a čn an č ě zzaajijist s ill Mor st o av a sk skos ossle lezs z ký kra zs r j,, se us usku kuute tečn č ililyy čn v 58 8 s tř t ř eddní třed ních ch ško ch kolá olá l ch c krraaje. jee. V sooučč aassné sné n doobbě j ou prooje js jedn d ávván dn á y kr krok okyy k za ok z jijišt išt š těn štěn ě í je jedn dnot dn otný ot ných ný c ch přijiji ím př ímac acíc ac ícch zkkou ouše š k v ráámcci př še p ijijím ím mac a íhho říříze zení ní pro ro škol šk olní ol ní r ookk 201 12//20 013 13,, zá zámě měre mě rem re m je úča č st vše š ech šech c stře t ředn dníc ícch šk škol ol zři ř zoovaný vanýých va ch kra rajje jem, k te jem, teré réé nab a íz ízej ejíí ej obory vzdě v zdělá vz lání ní poossky k tu tujíjíjící s třř eeddní n v zdděl ě ánní s maaturitní zk zkoouušk š ouu. KKee spo polu lupráci a účč as astititi na to tomt mtoo mt záměru bude udde přiz přř iizz vváána n t aké Assoc ocia iaace c sou oukr k om kr omýc ý h ýc škol.

Photos: Tino Kratochvil

Loňs Lo ňský ký rok byl y pro žákk y a pe peda dago gogy go gyy vel elmi mi nnáááro roččnný. ro ý. Našši uččittel elé lé vš v ak ak průůbě běhh m maatuuririt zvvlá ládl ádl dlii s vy vyso soký so k m pr ký p accov ovní n m na nasa s zení sa zeení ním m a pl p yn y ul ule. e Výe. ý sled sl eeddky mattur u itt jso sou pr sou p o Mora Moora ravs vsko vs koosl slez ezz sk s ý kr kraj aj vel aj em mii p vz po vzbu bbuudi d vé v , poohy hybu b jeemee se na bu na úroovn vnii ce celo elloostát st átní st ního hoo prrům prům ůměr ěru. ěr u. V tom u. omto too škooln l ím rocce see víc ícee zaamě m říříme mee na sníž sn ížen íž e í ad en admi miinniist s raatitivn vníí ná vn náro ročn ččnnos ostitit prá ráce cee řed editittel eů škol šk oll a na ro rozv zvoj zv oj peddago oj g gů gů.. Na N ši š m ccííle l m jjee z výši výýši št výýko konn nnos nn ostt šk škol o. ol

Jaro Ja rosl ro sllav a Pal a as as I h jt he jtma man Mo ma Mora rraavs vsko k sl ko s ez e skéh skkééhho kr kraj ajee aj

For their second meeting the president and the governor went to the elementary school in OstravaMariánské Mountains, where they were welcomed by the mayor of the Municipal District Liana Janáčková and by the school director Šárka Fehérová

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EU matters event

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Representatives of interest groups, together with the business, public and academic sectors, held a debate to discuss a controversial new taxation issue in Prague on the 29th of June, 2011. The debate was organised by the Confederation of Employers and the Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic, CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Commission to the Czech Republic, and the Information office of the European Parliament. Participants agreed that the business sector in the EU needs a much simpler system of VAT collection, and that taxation should be able to adapt more quickly and effectively to economic trends. Last year’s directive on electronic invoicing is a good example of how to adapt the regulation regarding economic development (i.e. the use of ICT for billing and fighting against late payments). The Czech Ministry of Finance is now working on the implementation of this directive which will, for example, allow SMEs to use cash accounting to pay only the VAT from paid invoices. The participants also discussed the Commission proposal regarding CCCTB that promises to simplify the filing of tax returns via a one-stop-shop for taxes, solve problems associated with the use of transfer pricing and cross-border losses, and to remove existing obstacles to the internal market; such as the double taxation of profits from subsidiaries, and the taxation of cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

DEBATE ON TAXES

From left: Blanka Mattauschová, Director, Excise Duty Dept., Ministry of Finance of the CR, Dana Trezziová, BDO Tax company Partner and Representative, Confederation of Industry of the CR in Economic and Financial Affairs Committee, BUSINESSEUROPE, Karel Havlíček, Managing Director, Sindat Group and Chairman, Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts CZ, Alena Vančurová, Head, Public Finance Dept., University of Economics (Prague), and Alena Vlačihová, Deputy Director, CEBRE

THE SINGLE EUROPEAN VAT – A DREAM OF EUROPEAN BUSINESSES more photos and electronic version available on www.leadersmagazine.cz

From left: Karel Havlíček, Managing Director, Sindat Group and Chairman, Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts CZ, Alena Vančurová, Head, Public Finance Dept., University of Economics (Prague), and Alena Vlačihová, Deputy Director, CEBRE

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From left: Mattauschová, Director, Excise Duty Dept., Ministry of Finance of the CR and Dana Trezziová, BDO Tax company Partner and Representative, Confederation of Industry of the CR in Economic and Financial Affairs Committee, BUSINESSEUROPE

The participants of the debate on the tax issue

23.9.2011 10:44:28

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

An interview with Ivo Šrámek, Ambassador sad r off the C Czech Republicc iin Belgium

BACK IN BELGIUM YET ANOTHER CHALLENGE? Currently acting as the Director irector General Gene of the Multilateral Section and the Political Director of the Ministry off Foreign Affairs Aff in the government of Prime Minister Fischer, before this appointment Ivo Šrámek Šrám served as the ambassador to the Political and Security Committee of the European Europea Union and chaired this committee during the Czech Presidencyy of the Council of the EU. In his pr p evious postinggs he also served as depu p tyy ambassador at the Czech ech Permanent Delegation to NATO in 1999–2003 and deputy ambassador at the Czech ec Permanent Mission to the United Nations in 1993–1999.

Dear Mr. Ambassador, you have already spent quite some time in Brussels. How does it feel to be back, yet in a different position and with another challenge?

I would say it feels els good to be b back. Brussels as the diplomatic tic capital of Europe offers endless opportunities rtunities and an inspiration for anybody workin rking in diplomacy. diplomacy I know the place and its institutions utions from my previous postings and have goodd co contacts there among former colleagues from om the EU member states and also in the EU and state administration. That certainly makes my work in Belgium a lot easier at the beginning off my new mission. miss How is in Brussels, in fact? Is it only headquarters of the EU and NATO? We usually hear ear about Brussels bbecause of the European Union or NA NATO, not so much because of our bilateral al relations r with Belgium which represent the main part of my work here.

Have you already managed to intensify the Czech-Belgium cooperation?

We have had recently two important state visits at the highest level which contributed to further development of political and economic relations and we are now working up some new ideas which emerged during these meetings.

What are the main topics of discussion with the Belgian authorities?

Firstly we would like to further intensify our

-

economic cooperation building on impressive trade exchange which is already over passing 4 billion euro and we plan to establish the Czech-Belgium Chamber of Commerce which may further contribute to this positive trend.

Nuclear energy and engineering also seems to be among new promising areas for future cooperation.

Good economic cooperation is always a driving force. Are there any political topics of discussion as well?

We also would like to coordinate more with Belgium on EU matters and use our presidency of the Visegrad Group for promoting closer cooperation between Benelux and Visegrad countries. From our traditional t scope of work we would like to improve mprove our consular services. ser Pointing out a different aspect, pect, we w want to furth ther expand cultural al services of the th Czech Centre C in Brussels regardless rdless of th the fact ct that we will have to do more ore with less in terms of resources.

What are the biggest challenges you see ahead of you?

I would say that challenges we can expect are quite obvious, firstly it is ongoing financial crisis which may again slow down economies and impact mutual trade, secondly it may be emergence of the so called two speed Europe which may bring about certain rather political sensitivities and thirdly it may be continuation of political un-stability in Bel-

Photo: Archive

gium. But regardlesss of all of tthis I remain optimistic about the he Czech-Belgium Czech-B cooperation which shows vitality aand resistance against external rnal factors.

Earlier on you spoke about economic cooperation. How is the Czech-Belgium economic cooperation developing?

I think there is a good symbiosis between the Czech and Belgium enterprises. Firms from Belgium made a number of good investments in the Czech Republic which can offer good manufacturing and technical base while companies from Belgium provide long tradition in trade, their trade labels and distribution networks worldwide, also providing investments and helping with advanced technologies. The most positive aspect of all of this is that there is still a good potential for more.

Thank you very much for the interview!

Michal Kadera, Director of CEBRE (supported by CzechTrade) I

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

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BUSINESS NEWS S

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DID YOU KNOW THAT… …there is a new Green Paper on Digital Single Market?

The European Union published a Green Paper on the online distribution of audiovisual works in the European Union, outlining opportunities and challenges regarding the creation of a single digital market. This new initiative aims to encourage discussion about technological deve de velo lopm pmen ents ts in di dist striribu butition on and acc cces esss to aud udio iovi visu sual al works. The Green Paper focuses on issues such as: settlement of rights for audiovisual ual online onlin services, rvi adequate remuneration for authors and artists, as w well as special use of audiovisual works (i.e. the use of film heritage in public policies or access cess to cultur cultural material for disabled people). Any comments from stakeholders stak regarding the paper must st be received no later than th the 18th of November, 2011. http://www.cebre.cz/cz/archiv-zprav/zprava-5088 hiv/ ...the Commission tightens up the rules for using industrial creosote?

On the 26th of July, 2011, the European Commission decided to tighten the rules for industries using creosote due to its carcinogenic effects (creosote is the brown, oilysmelling mixture used for disinfection and impregnation of wood). Consumers hhave ve not been allowed to use this substance since 2003.

003. After er the 1st of May, 2013, creosote will not be permitted onn the EU market, however exceptions for some ome companies compani may be granted. The Commissionn has urged affected industry i to find effective and less intrusive ntrusive alternative substa substances. h t t p : // w w w . c e b r e . c z / c z /a r c h i v - z p r a v// zprava-5086/ ...cross-border enforcement of claims should become easier?

Currently there is no efficient legal framework at the EU level that would facilitate thee enforcement of crossborder claims between European ean companies companies. Outstanding cross-border claims are frequent. The Th same goes for citizens who buy products ts abroad and an never receive the goods ordered. Thee total loss of outstan outstanding claims for companies amounts ts to €600M 600M a year. Of cou course, claiming unpaid outstanding cross-border -borde debts is financially andd ad an administ stra ratitve velyy bur urde dens ens nso som ome, e, andd for or thiss re reas ason on,, the Commission proposed a European court order on the 25th of July, 2011. The main objective was to make crossborder debt recovery as easy as it is outside the Memb ember States. The new Commission proposal is part of the work agenda called “Justice for Growth”. It aims to fully exploit the potential to provide trade and growth to a common area of justice. h t t p : // w w w . c e b r e . c z /c z /a r c h i v - z p r a v/ zprava-5084/ … the Eurozone agrees to support Greece?

On the 21st of July, 2011, leaders of the Eurozone countrtiees announced a series of measures thatt coul ud alleviate the Greek debt crisis and ensure the financial stability of the Eurozone as a whole. A new financial aid package for Greece will total €109 billion, and voluntary contribution from the private sector will amount to €37 billion. The Eurozone leaders also agreed on extending maturities, lowering interest rates and the efficiency of the existing European financial stability mechanism

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(EFSF), FSF) FS F), an aandd the fu future European stability mechanism (ESM). Leaderss ppressed ress re s e for fast adoption of the legislative package ge in order to strengthen the Stability and Growth Pact, as well w as new macroeconomic surveillance. On the 15th ooff July, Greece received a €12 billion tranche from the emergency programme. h t t p : // w w w . c e b r e . c z /c z /a r c h i v - z p r a v/ zprava-5083/

LET’S TALK NUMBERS The new multiannual financial framework 2014–2020 was proposed On the 29th of June, the European Commission adopted a draft for the multiannual budget of the EU for 2014–2020. The EU’s commitments totalled €1.025 billion, while payments came to €972 billion. The proposal also included a new resource system based on a financial transactions tax, as well as a new VAT resource.

In addition, the draft included some new programmes such su ch as ´CCon onne nect ctin ingg Eu Euro rope pe´, whi hich ch wou ould ld f in inan ance ce cro ross ssborder energy projects, ICT and transport networks, and Horizon 2020 [replacing the 7th Framework Programme (FP7)], financing research and innovation with €80 billion. The negotiations between the Council and Parliament were launched in June. The budget proposal will have to be adjusted if the Republic of Croatia becomes the next member of the European Union. h t t p : // w w w . c e b r e . c z /c z /a r c h i v - z p r a v/ zprava-5042/ New rules for public procurement could save €20 billion Reforms in public finance rules should create flexible and user-friendly instruments for reducing the cost and duration of procedures undertaken when awarding public contracts. That is the reason why reform of public procurement is one of the 12 priority measures listed in the Single Market Act, adopted in April, 2011. On the 27th of June, the Commission published the results of the impact and effectiveness of EU public procurements. The results show that the Public Procurement Directive helped to develop a culture of transparency of public pro procurements in the EU, enhance greater competition, and ge generate erate at savingss of around savi aroun €20 billion. h t t p : /// w w w . c e b r e . c z / c z /a / r c h i v - z p r a v// zprava-503 030/ €370 million will be allocated to Member States in 2012 from the EU External Borders Fund The Comm Commission has proposed to allocate cate €370 million tto Member States for use in the border management m and visa policy in 2012 via the External Borders Fund. The aim is to support investment in Member States and non-EU countries in the Schengen area; especially those most affected by increased migration pressure. The amount allocated to national programmes (€321.9 million) will increase by 35% compared to 2011. The remainder will go to transnational actions and actions of interest to the EU (€22.2 million), specific action measures at certain border sections (€10 million), and the special transit regime for Russian citizens travelling to Kaliningrad via Lithuania (€16 million). http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?re ference=IP/11/953&format=HTML&aged=0&languag e=EN&guiLanguage=en

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IN THE WORLD Exchange of best practices among SMEs from the EU and the U.S. In June, government officials and managers of smalland medium-sized enterprises from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean met in Brussels to discuss political frameworks affecting SMEs, trade barriers, standardization and regu g lation, administrative burden, environmental issues and environmental technologies, and access to third-world markets. The Conference was hosted by the European Commission with the participation of key business organizations that actively represented SMEs. Together, the EU and the U.S. published a report regarding the best policies and practices in regard to SMEs. http://www.cebre.cz/cz/archiv-zprav/zprava-5087/ 30 million for institutional reforms in Ukraine The Commission adopted an assistance package to support the Ukrainian government in their institutional refo re form rm effffor orts ts in se seve vera rall ke keyy ar area eas, s, inc nclu ludi ding ng the Dee eepp an andd Comprehensive Free Trade area, sanitation, state aid, and migration. The assistance will focus primarily on good governance, rule of law, facilitation of the entry into force of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, and sustainable i bl development. The conclusion of the negotiations of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU will hopefully be reached by the end of this year. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?re ference=IP/11/881&format=HTML&aged=0&languag e=EN&guiLanguage=cs Third-country nationals should be better integrated in the EU In July, 2011, the Commission mission adopted ado ad a ‘European Agenda for the Integration tion ooff th thir third-country irddc nationals’ to enhance the economic, onomic, social and cultural cu benefits of migration in Europe. e. The AAgenda nda puts th the emphasis on migrants’ full participation on in all aspects of collective life, and highlights the key role ole of local authorities. According to the Eurobarometr survey, ur there is a broad agreement on the importance of interaction at work and in schools, and on the positive contribution of migrants to the local culture. Factors that hinder integration in work are most commonlly issues rellatedd to language, f indi ding a job, b andd understanding the local culture. The lack of language skills and the segregation of migrants in disadvantaged neighbourhoods are perceived as the main barriers to integration. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?re ference=IP/11/911&format=HTML&aged=0&languag e=CS&guiLanguage=en I

Brought by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU (kindly supported by CzechTrade), www.cebre.cz

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

23.9.2011 10:46:57

NUCLEAR BAN RAISES NEED FOR EU POWER GRID: COMMISSION EU energy ministers meeting in Poland today (20 September) will debate a paper by the European Commission, which makes the case for strengthening electricity interconnections in the face of Germany’s nucl nu clea earr ph phas asee ou out. t.

The document, to be discussed ssed by ministers ist over breakfast, is the latest from rom the European Euro Commission to urge all 27 member nations nat to put collective energy needs eds above domestic agendas.

It follows announcements byy Germany, whi which has unilaterally decided to phase se out o all its atomic plants by 2022 following the he nuclear disaster in Fukushima earlier this year.

Italy voted to ban nuclear energy in 1987 and again rejected any resumption of the power source in a referendum this year.

The commission paper said less nuclear power reinforced the need ed for an EU EU-wide w power grid, which the Europeann C Commission mission aims to achieve by 2014.

“This has highlighted lighted that in an interconnected energy system em and in the inte internal market all member states es are affected by such su decisions taken

at national leve level vell an aand therefore have legitimate interests sts in ensuring they are effectively coordinated,”” it said.

“Until U now, there has not been a systematic effort to bring national policy-makers together to coordinate their approaches to energy generation or to su supp ppor ortt ea each ch oth ther er and the Com ommi miss ssio ionn wi with th their views and experience.”

The Commission’s ambitions to increase its oversight over energy issues have rankled some member countries and the private sector.

Earlier this month, Günter Oettinger, the EU’s energy commissioner, unveiled proposals aimed at strengthening the EU’s hand on energy matters vis-à-vis foreign countries such as Russia.

Analysts interpreted that as an attempt to prevent cosy bilateral ties between big gas consumers, such as Germany and Italy, and their major supplier Russia.

Poland, a traditional transit state that has clashed with Russia over transit fees, is bypassed by the new Nord Stream pipeline to ship Russian gas to Germany.

Shared infrastructure could maximise available supplies, helping to mute the impact of disruption, as well as improving energy savings, the Commission paper argues.

“The Germans quickly and unilaterally decided [to phase out nuclear],” said Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform in London. “They did not consult with their European neighbours and now after the event we’re scrambling to cope with the consequences.”

By EurActiv with Reuters I On 30 May, Germany’s coalition government voted to shut all the country’s nuclear reactors by 2022, in reaction to the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The coalition agreed to keep the eight oldest of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors permanently shut. Seven were closed temporarily in Mar arch ch, just st aft fter er the ear arth thqquak akee an andd tsunami hit Fukushima.

One has been off the grid for years. Six more reactors will be taken offline by 2021. The remaining three reactors, Germany’s newest, will stay open for another year until 2022 as a safety buffer.

Before the shut-down started, Germany got 23 % of its electricity from nuclear plants.

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

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26.9.2011 14:05:18

Miro Smolák Celebrates his th 60 Birthday

H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic

jubilee 12. 9. 2011

PhDr. MgA. Miro Smolák, Director of MIRO Gallery and founder of Trebbia foundation celebrated his 60th birthday with many friends and partners of MIRO Gallery and masters of world classic – P. Picasso, P. Cézanne, H. Matisse, F. Picabia, J. Dubuffet, A. Warhol, P. Klee, M. Chagall, G. de Chirico... and Leaders Magazine

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From left: Graf Štefan Čemický, DRiART, Zurich, Michael Haas, Owner and Director, Michael Haas Gallery, Berlin-Zurich and Copartner of the exhibition and the MIRO Gallery, Halina Nowack, Art Consultant, Berlin, and Dr. Gunnar Enghusen, Lawyer, Berlin

Andrea Kalivodová, Mezzo-Soprano, Soloist, State Opera Prague and JUDr. Jan Černý, Advokátní kancelář Černý-Raupachová From left: Amri Aminov, Sculptor from Paris and Alexis Amiot, Vice Director of J.B.F. Editions d’Art Paris

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Alexandr Savko, Director, Komerční banka, Praha-Pohořelec and Miro Smolák

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From left: H.E. Gabriel Oh, Ambassador of South Korea, Ing. Oldřich Lomecký, Mayor of Prague 1, and Miro Smolák

26.9.2011 14:55:30

From left: Jaroslav Šetek, Managing Director, Reality Tichá Šárka, s.r.o., Lenka Vácvalová, Actress, Ta Fantastica Theatre, Miro Smolák, and MUDr. Ján Lešták, Owner, Oční klinika JL

Ing. Jaromír Schling, former Minister of the Czech government, with his wife From left: René Sion, Director, Alois Dallmayr Automaten-Service s.r.o. and Cornel Boda, Director and Owner, Cobra s.r.o.

From left: Ing. Vladislav Stanko, Director, Czechoslovak Real (CZ), s.r.o., Miro Smolák, Dr. Robert Neugröschel, General Director, Rodamco Europe, and Radovan Čaplovič, CEO, Art of Word and President, Slovak-Czech Society

Blanka Matragi, world famous Fashion Designer with her husband Makran and Miro Smolák MUDr. Pavol Dubček from Bratislava

From left: Juraj Jakubisko, Movie Director, Alena Miro, Soprano, Soloist, State Opera Prague, Deana Jakubisková, Actress and Movie Producer, Jakubisko Film, and Milka Zimková, Slovak Actress

From left: MgA. Václav Myslík, Director of Production, ČT, Viktor Průša, Chief Producer, Miro Smolák, Jan Mrzena, Director, ČT 2, and Vlastimil Ježek, Vice Director, ČT 2

In the name of MUDr. Bohuslav Svoboda, Mayer of Prague, his Assistant brought a mystery gift to the honouree

From left: Ing. Ivan Noveský, Director, Cofet, a.s., Lenka Hanáková, Art Dealer and Gallerist, and Dr. Vratislav Šlajer, President, Vila Consus

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From left: Miro Smolák, Dr. Anna Ondrušeková, Director, Tatranská galéria, Poprad, Slovakia, and Univ. Prof. Ing. Ivan Stadtrucker, CSc., Art Academy, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

23.9.2011 17:41:14

From left: Mgr. Petros Alexandridis, Director, Royal canon Premonstratensians, Eva Doubková, Royal canon Premonstratensians, Miro Smolák, and Michael Josef Pojezdný, O.Praem., Abbot of Strahov, the Royal canon Premonstratensians

From left: H.E. Yaakov Lévy, Ambassador of Izrael with his wife and Benke Aikell, your Publisher Irena Loukotová, PR Manager, Gutmann Private Bankers with Miro Smolák

JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Laywer, Advokátní kancelář JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra & spol. with Miro Smolák

From left: Mgr. Václav Čapek, former Director of TV programmes, Ing. Pavel Bobošík, Director, Sahm, Ing. Jana Bobošíková, Politician, and Prof. Doc. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Laywer, Advokátní kancelář Kříž & Bělina

From left: Ing. Miloš Zeman, former Prime Minister of the Czech government, Karel Muzikář, PhD., President, Comenius, and H.E. Vicente Espeche Gil, Ambassador of Argentina

Miro Smolák with Martina Kociánová, TV Anchorperson, Opera Singer and Art Historian

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23.9.2011 17:42:57

From left: PhDr. Viktor Jasaň, Art Historian with his wife, and Peter Štrelinger, Slovak Writer and Journalist

Héctor Castillo, Attaché for Culture, Embassy of Venezuela with Miro Smolák

Ulf Landeberg, General Manager, Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague Castle and Zuzana Tančaková, Manager, Hotel Hilton

From left: Ing. Karel Sýs, Poet and Journalist, Miro Smolák, and Jaroslav Holoubek, Poet and Journalist, API Agency

Edvard Outrata, Senator ret. with Miro Smolák

Hynek Chudárek, Director, TV Óčko with Miro Smolák

From left: MUDr. Lenka Tůmová, Dentist with her husband and Alena Miro, Soprano, Soloist, State Opera Prague

From left: Václav Hybš, Conductor, Ivan Smetáček, and Pavel Smetáček, Traditional Jazz Studio Ing. Petr Kužel, President, Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic with Miro Smolák

From left: Pavel Pelant, KPMG Česká republika, s.r.o. and Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Československý ústav zahraniční

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From left: Jana Haluková, PR Manager, Czechoslovak Real, s.r.o., Ing. Vladislav Stanko, Director, Czechoslovak Real (CZ), s.r.o, Lucie Smatanová, Vice Miss ČR, PR Manager, Czechoslovak Real, s.r.o., and PhDr. Ing. Jan Vodňanský, Poet, Singer, Composer with his wife

26.9.2011 14:22:37

From left: Alena Miro, Soprano, Soloist, State Opera Prague, Jan Pospíšil jr., Jadran Šetlík, Art Photographer, Růžena Nechanská, PR Consultant, Miro Smolák, Prof. JUDr. Zdeněk Jičínský, Dr.Sc., Member of the Parliament CR, and Ing. Petr Bratský, Senator

Prof. MUDr. Pavel Pafko, DrSc., Doctor with Miro Smolák

Hana Medková, Soprano, Professor, Conservatory in Pardubice with her son, Jan Pospíšil

Aleš Bajger, Guitarist, Producer, Vladivojna La Chia, Painter, Music Composer and Singer, and Miro Smolák

Miro Smolák and Július Aszalay, General Director, MPower

Vladimír Páral, Czech Writer

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Jiří Balvín, General Director, Óčko TV

From left: Ivo Smolák, Artist and Musician, Miro´s son, Ivan Bundža, Miro´s older brother, Andrej Smolák jr., Miro´s nephew, Miro Smolák, Mark Smolák, Artist and Musician, Miro´s younger son, and Andrej Smolák sr., Painter, Owner, Andrej Smolák Gallery, Slovakia, Miro´s younger brother

23.9.2011 17:45:16

From left: Renáta Drábková, Painter, Bohumil Mach, Chamber of Commerce CR, Mgr. Vladimír Drábek, PR Manager, Prague International Maraton

Karel Gott, Singer, first sponsor of MIRO Gallery with Miro Smolák JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, Director, Aspira Invest s.r.o. and Ing. Věra Kudynová, Writer and PR Consultant

From left: Zuzana Zančáková, PR Manager, Hotel Hilton, Ing. Ladislav Szabo, Chairman of Administration, State Material Reserves with his wife, Miro Smolák, Peter Marinič, Sales Manager, Bricks & Bits, s.r.o with his wife, and Ing. Viliam Kaprál, General Director, Alco Slovakia

Alexandr Hemala, Broadcaster, ČT with his wife

Antonín Kachlík, Movie Director

Radovan Morochovič and Iveta Morochovičová, General Manager, FOPEX Slovakia s.r.o., Slovakia, and Miro Smolák

Radim Smetana, Chief Dramaturgist, ČT with Miro Smolák

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From left: Ing. František Lambert, General Director, ISCARE clinic and Martin Kubala, Cinematographer

Peer Gröning, Director, Vivacon CEE a.s. with Miro Smolák

Ing. Igor Ševčenko, Director, AG Chemi Group with his wife and Miro Smolák

26.9.2011 14:57:17

prague castle event

Milan Svoboda – Piano Michal Gera – Trumpet Milan Krajíc – Tenor Saxophone Přemek Tomšíček – Trombone Filip Spálený – Bass Guitar Ivan Audes – Drums

Milan Svoboda, Pianist

with Milan Svoboda Sextet

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Jazz at the Castle From left: Robert Vagner, M.Sc., Ph.D., Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech-Kuwait Trading Ltd., Martin Šiler, Advisor to the General Director, SŽDC, PhDr. Eva Rybková, CEO Novitex Fashion a.s., and Ing. Petr Kubernát, Director, Pekos s.r.o.

From left: Jiří Balvín, General Director, ÓČKO Hudební TV and Prof. Jan Kříž, Partner, Law Office Kříž and Bělina s.r.o.

Ing. Zdenka Mrvová, Director of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Zentiva, k.s. and Karel Vágner, Music Publisher

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Ing. Jaromír Gajdoš, Managing Director, Invega s.r.o. with his wife

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From left: Vladimír Laštůvka with his wife and Ing. Petr Kubernát, Director, Pekos s.r.o.

23.9.2011 17:19:42

From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and Adrey Romanov, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation, Tenor

From left: Josef Vejvoda, Drummer with his wife, Lucie Koukalová, Mrs. Jurečková, and Jaroslav Jurečka From left: H.E. Petr Gandalovič, Czech Ambassador to the USA and Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR

Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and Ing. Zdenka Mrvová, Director of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Zentiva, k.s.

From left: James Rubenstein, H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey, and H.E. Vicente Espeche Gil, Ambassador of Argentina

From left: JUDr. Hana Mesthene, Attorney, Jiří Zavázal, Golf Coach, and Dita Skřivánková, Business Development Manager, Skřivánek s.r.o.

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

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From left: Karel Vágner, Music Publisher, Zdeněk Kratochvíl, General Manager, ICOM transport a.s., Kateřina Kratochvílová, Jiří Stivín, Stivín and CO JAZZ, Emil Viklický, Pianist and Prof.

Václav Klaus, President of the CR

23.9.2011 17:23:40

From left: Martina Schneider, Andrea Scheider, and Burkhardt Borchert

From left: Eva Svobodová, Ph.D., Adviser, Ministry of Defence of the CR, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Maj. Magdalena Dvořáková

Milan Krajíc, Tenor Saxophonist Ing. Radomír Lapčík, LL.M., General Director, Moravský Peněžní Ústav with his wife

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Jazz at the Castle

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From left: Zdeněk Kratochvíl, General Manager, ICOM transport a.s., Gina Mueller, and Kateřina Kratochvílová

23.9.2011 17:25:11

Corporate Storytelling in

ONE PHOTOGRAPH T eree is an ol Th old ad adag age that “a picture is worth a th thousand words.” It meaans that even a complex idea can be clearly conveyeed through just one single image or photo. Even thoughh the concept is ancient, it has never been more impor tant than today.

In the contemporary connected, online, noisy, competitive and fast-changging digital revolution, we are constantly bombarded by thousands of images and messages each day. W We become immune and find most predictable and bboring. But once in a while, a clever image catches our aattention.

At my company, News Sttrategies LLC, we practice online brand journalism fooorr clients in the U.S. U S and Europe. In other words, as working w journalists, we use the credibility and influencce of legitimate news to tell corporate stories to acchieve competitive differentiation and brand leaderrship for clients. It is skillful corporate storytelling too make a company’s news more appealing.

There are exceptional tiimes when regardless of the story we might write, one great news photo brings a magical quality that reacches out and catches the attention of readers evenn better than the bestcrafted prose.

LET ME SHARE AN EXAMPLE...

Louisiana oysterman Byyron Encalade was telling photojournalist Kerry Malonney about how financially and emotionally difficult thee months had been on his family since contaminationn from the April 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The massive oil spill had ruined his oyster businness along with the livelihoods of many other peoplee who live and work in the Gulf coast region.

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As Encalade was speakingg, she capt p ured his image g that told the whole story. It conveyed a feeling of despair and human suffering in one digital image.

Maloney is a member of my company’s brand journalism news team. She is a highly accomplished news photographer based in New Orleans, Louisiana, who has a natural instinct about telling stories through photographs. Maloney believes that a photo must be both emotional and personal to connect with a viewer ... to capture attention. She engages her subjects in conversation as she is taking photographs and genuinely listens to their stories. She cares about what they say. say That authentic human quality of connecting is seen in her photographs.

Her image of Encalade on his oyster boat shows a middle-aged man in pain and struggling for his livelihood. It also shows a man with dignity, pride and courage, I believe. You may see other emotions. Yet, what we share is that our attention is drawn to the image. We see a story and want to know more.

While a professional photojournalist like Maloney uses high quality cameras by Canon and impressively large lenses to get exquisite photos, advances in digital camera technology have given all of us the ability to capture impressive images, images even on mobile phones. We are only limited by our own vision and imagination.

The magic occurs through the technique of impromptu, on-location news photography that is not staged or stiffly posed but rather captures a memorable moment in time or history that may connect with us on an emotional level and tells a story.

When I first saw LEADERS – both the magazine in print and online – what quickly Photo: Kerry Maloney caught my attention was the emphasis on bold and clever images ... and many of them.

LEADERS distinguishes itself competitively through photos of interesting people. Outstanding photos have become an essential element of the magazine’s brand signature.

People with digital cameras, visual imagination and creativity now rule the world of photography. What I personally find exciting is the trend toward what is being called “street photography” – a paparazzi style of

Photo: Cecil Brathwaite

David Henderson is an internationally i accomplished strategic communications advisor, author and Emmy Award winninng network news correspondent. He is based in Washington, DC.

photography that captures ordinary people going through life. It is contemporary news photography at its best. That is the style of photography that gets our attention and works effectively with brand journalism to tell stories. stories How many people in the business of public relations, marketing and communications consciously anticipate the need for outstanding news-style images in corporate storytelling to more effectively make an impression and tell a story? I can assure you the answer is not many. In Europe as in America, many corporate and agency PR people have been slow to recognize signs of change ... even slower to understand online communications trends, including social media and the magic of news-style photographs.

Look at the facts and the opportunities. In Ameriica, 28 percent of newspapers have gone out of business in the last eight years. The slow demise of traditional media already is spreading across Europe. What that means is greater potential for smart companies to more effectively use the Internet to reach audiences, present corporate news and generate significant attention.

Clever news photographs are essential to corporate storytelling, capturing attention and making lasting memories. Gifted photographers like Kerry Maloney prove it every day.

By David Henderson I

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23.9.2011 16:53:41

culture event

Guests meeting in the Voršilská garden

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

End of the season 2010/2011 A ceremony took place in the Voršilská garden on 28th of June 2011, celebrating the end of 128th season of the National Theatre. By tradition, the event was attended by artists as well as other employees of the National Theatre, representatives of the Ministry of Culture, sponsors, and patrons.

From left: Marek Vondra, Chairman, C.E.B., a.s., David Pospíšil, Head of sponsorship, National Theatre, and Martin Pánek, Chairman, Vyšehrad 2000

Ondřej Černý, Director, National Theatre with Mathilda Nostitz

Gala evening of the National Theatre MAECENAS CLUB

A gala evening of the National Theatre Maecenas Club was held this June on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the first opening of the National Theatre. Guests had the opportunity to see the renewed premiere productions of Onegin and enjoy the extraordinary meeting on the terrace under the Trig statuary.

From left: Ivanna Illyenko, Soloist, National Theatre Ballet, Serge Desprat, Benefactor, National Theatre, Edita Raušerová, Soloist, National Theatre Ballet, Karolína Peštová, Manager, National Theatre Maecenas Club, Adéla Brabcová, Diamonds International Corporation, Petr Strnad, Soloist, National Theatre, and Gabriela Červenková, Diamonds International Corporation

From left: Radek Dohnal, General Manager, Top Hotel with his partner and Ondřej Černý, Director, National Theatre

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

Pavla Hrubešová and Viktor Konvalinka in the Onegin production

23.9.2011 17:14:47

This summer, the National Theatre ensemble attended the 53rd International Smetana’s Litomyšl Opera Festival, where it presented its two successful pieces: Donizetti’s Elixir of Love and Janáček’s Jenufa

culture event

The leading roles in The Elixir of Love production were presented by Marie Fajtová, Aleš Briscein and Jiří Hájek

Smetana’s Litomyšl Opera Photo: František Renza © Smetanova Litomyšl, o.p.s

An impressive scene from the Elixir of Love production was performed on the Litomyšl Castle stage

The Litomyšl Castle

Opening of the Season 2011/2012

On Monday 22nd of August, the 129th season of the National Theatre has been officially opened. The staff of the National Theatre have came together in the front of the historical building, where they have been addressed by the director of the National Ondřej Černý and the Deputy Culture moreTheatre, photos and electronic version on www.leadersmagazine.cz Ministeravailable Radek Zdráhal in their speeches.

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From left: Michal Dočekal, Artistic Director of Drama, Jiří Heřman, Artistic Director of Opera, Radek Zdráhal, Deputy Culture Minister, Ondřej Černý, Director, National Theatre, Petr Zuska, Artistic Director of Ballet, and Václav Pelouch, Technical and Operational Director, National Theatre

26.9.2011 14:38:43

Antonín Dvořák

THE JACOBIN Premieres: October 8 & 9, 2011

Conductor: Tomáš Netopil | Stage director: Jiří Heřman Stage designer: Pavel Svoboda | Costume designer: Alexandra Grusková Light designer: Daniel Tesař | Choreographer: Lucie Holánková Tickets: 224 901 448, 224 901 319, 224 901 668 ntprague@narodni-divadlo.cz, Ticketportal, Bohemia Ticket, Ticketpro www.national-theatre.cz

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11.7.2011

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