Prague Leaders Magazine Issue 04/2012

now available in Brussels

4/2012 199 CZK

Prof Pr of. MU of MUDr D . Ev Dr Evaa Sy Syko kováá, Dr ko DrSc Sc.,., FFCM Sc C A,, CM Dire Di rect re cttor o off thhe In Inst stitititut st utee of E xp ut xper errim men enta tall Meedi dici c ne ne,, Acad Ac adem ad emyy of Sciien em ence cess of ce o the Cze zeccchh Rep epub ublilic annd Fe Fema male ma l Mannagger ooff th thee Ye Y aarr Photo: Jadran Šetlík

Courage and Fantasy - the reasons that I have become Manager of the Year

www.lleadersmagazine.cz inncl incl c . el elec ectrron onic icc ver ersi sion si on on Brno I Ostrava I Plzeň I Liberec I Olomouc I Ústí nad Labem I Hradec Králové I České Budějovice I Pardubice I Zlín I Jihlava I Turnov I Karlovy Vary I Mladá Boleslav

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.

www.cesr.cz

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.

politika • ekonomika • byznys

Máme vliv

Parlamentní magazín je seriózní politicko-ekonomick˘ mûsíãník s aktuálním a ucelen˘m zpravodajstvím z oblasti celé státní správy a podnikatelského sektoru.

Elektronickou podobu ãasopisu najdete na www.parlamentnimagazin.cz

CO JSTE DNES UDĚLALI?

„Pomohla jsem postavit školy, ve kterých se budou učit tisíce dětí.

Jsem přítelem dětí UNICEF a chtěla bych, abyste se přidali.“ Cathy, Auckland – Nový Zéland

k Váš měsíční příspěvek 365 Kč zajistí za ro terapeutickou výživu pro 3 děti.

Registrujte se ještě dnes jako Přítel dětí UNICEF odesláním SMS zprávy ve tvaru: ANO na číslo 296 20 20 60 (cena SMS není zvýšena) nebo vyplněním registračního formuláře na www.unicef.cz © UNICEF/NYHQ2011-1342/Kate Holt

DĚKUJEME!

© UNICEF/NYHQ2011-0709/Olivier Asselin

© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-1393/Olivier Asselin

publishers note & contents

Dear Readers, We hear nowadays of rain records in many countries which cause severe flooding, heat records in other countries, massive landslides in Alaska and uncontrolled wildfires. I wonder if there is any country which has had a normal year. I think this is a serious warning from this planet that something is going awfully wrong, and that we cannot shy away from the fact that climate change is real. We all have to do our bit to stop the destruction of the environment. In this magazine we will continue to have articles about what can be done, climate friendly products etc. – all written by renowned experts. In this respect we welcome our new contributor Mr. Jonathan Wootliff – a former director of Greenpeace who now works throughout the world as a sustainability consultant to businesses.

Those who are not away on vacation will find this issue of the magazine full of interesting interviews, articles and top level events. I dare say that the EGS24 summit, organized by a team that was managed by the CEO and Chairman of CE Group, Mr. Ladislav Dráb, was the event of the year. Invited to this event were people from various countries incl. Guest of Honour Bill Clinton, former President of the USA, plus many Ministers from the CR and most of the top elite business people from this country. All guests took part in the conference at the Prague Castle, hosted by President Klaus of the CR and Mr. Ladislav Dráb, followed by a spectacular gala dinner, and culminating in the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle. And let’s not forget the first day reception at Hotel Aria with people invited from various countries.

Have a look at our 8 page report on the event.

Other noteworthy events you will find in this issue are the farewell party held at the Canadian Embassy for the legendary Otto Jelinek and his wife Leata, who are now going back to Canada; the Zlatá Koruna Gala Dinner at Top Hotel; the AHL (German-Czech Chamber of Commerce summer party) at Grébovka; Russian National Day; the Nordic-Baltic combined National Days at Museum Kampa; Jazz at the Castle; the Gratias Agit Award 2012 to outstanding personalities living abroad for promoting the Czech Republic; the SBP Conference – European Security and Defence at the crossroads; and a festive gathering with the Israeli Nobel Prize Winner at the Senate to mention a few.

We are also happy to have an outstanding woman on our front page, with an accompanying interview: Prof. MUDr. Eva Syková, DrSc. FCMA, Director of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Science, who was named the Female Manager of the Year.

Other interesting interviews – to mention a few – include H.E. Venkatesan Ashok, Ambassador of India to the CR; Doc. Ing. Josef Zieleniec, CSc, former Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993–1997), and now member of the EU Parliament; Prof. PhDr. Petr Fiala, Lecturer at New York University Prague, and new Minister of Education of the CR; Prof. RNDr. Ing. Michal Marek, Director of Global Change Research Centre – CzechGlobe; Mr. Ivo Kaderka, President of the Czech Tennis Association; Mrs. Barbara Nesvadbová, Writer and Editor-in-chief of the Czech version of Haarper’s Bazaar; and Petr Hořejš, renowned Czech Writer and freelance Journalist.

Dear Readers, I am now on my way to the recent establishment of the Central European branch of the American Aspen Institute – Aspen Institute Prague – and its first Conference in the presence of the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, which will take place at the Senate. You will see more of this conference plus a photo report in the September issue.

Have a great summer!

events 14 16 18 22 26 30 34 44 50 52 54 60 63 66 70 72 75 78 85 86 92 94 103 109 120

Welcome Banquet at Vrtbovská Garden at the Hotel Aria Energy, Gas Storage Summit 2012 Gala Dinner at the Spanish Hall, Prague Castle Important Meetings of Mr. Milan Štěch, Chairman of the Senate of the Czech Republic German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce Summer Party at Grébovka Grand Opening of Lindner Hotel Prague Castle Ten Years of the Zlatá Koruna Competition CFO Club: Anticipated Trends on Capital Markets Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic Celebrated its 15th Anniversary Strawberry Party Farewell to Otto & Leata Jelinek European Security and Defense at the Crossroads Business Must Consider People and Planet as Well as Profit Grand Golf Prix Dýšina Cup 2012, Czech 100 Best General Assembly Meeting of the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development Round Table of Comenius with Mr. Jan Mládek, Shadow Minister of Finance Round Table of Comenius with Zdeněk Škromach, Shadow Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

Round Table of Comenius with Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President Charity-social Evening on the Boat Klára of the Lions Club Praha Ladies Festive Gathering with Israeli Nobel Prize Winners Infiniti Prague Centre Celebrated its Third Birthday Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus (Nadační fond manželů Livie a Václava Klausových) Honored Sponsors and Volunteers Gratias Agit Award 2012 Off the Record at Hotel U Jezulátka Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Reviews its Activity/ČSÚZ

culture events 64 81 128 130 133 136 137 138

Midsummer Night at the Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa Natali Ruden Fashion Show Running for Art, 12th Annual Miroton Jazz at the Castle with Shahin Novrasli Quartet Jazz at the Castle with Jiří Mráz Quartet Karla, Rhinoceros, National Theatre Don Giovanni, Rustic Chivalry/Cavalleria Rusticana, National Theatre The Clowns/I Pagliacci, Closing Ceremony of the Theatre Season 2011/2012, National Theatre

B k Aikell Aik ll Benke benke.aikell@leadersmagazine.cz www.leadersmagazine.cz 6 Leaders Magazine IV/2012 paag age 16 – En Eneerg rg rgy, Gas G Stora Storage St orrag SSum oora um mm mititit 2001122

contents interviews

contributors

10

33

12

Courage and Fantasy – the Reasons that I Have Become Manager of the Year An interview with prof. MUDr. Eva Syková, DrSc., FCMA, Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Female Manager of the Year

38 41 58 59 63

The Replacement of Political Elites Is Necessary A talk with Josef Zieleniec, Lecturer at New York University Prague

69 page 114 – Interview

24

Czech Education is of a High Quality in with Barbara Nesvadbová International Comparison A talk with Petr Fiala, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic

42

Strong Ties Go with Mutual Respect A talk with H.E. Venkatesan Ashok, India’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic

48

Global Change at Hand A talk with Michal V. Marek, Director of the Global Change Research Centre at CzechGlobe

90

The Path to Success? Hard Work!

A talk with Ivo Kaderka, President of the Czech Tennis Association

pagee 46 – Sw pag Swedi edish d sh Mid Midsum Mi summer sum mer at thhe Swed wedi dish ih Embass Emb bass assyy

89 106 112

127

ELAI Dinner Discussion with Presidential Candidate Jan Fischer/ELAI The New World of Work/Jan Mühlfeit Structure of the Czech Economy in Turbulent Times/ Emanuel Šíp We came to Prague for 18 months. We stayed for 18 years!!! That´s got to tell you something./Otto Jelinek How Is your Cultural Intelligence?/Karin Genton Business Must Consider People and Planet As Well As Profit/Jonathan Wootliff CEOs’ PR Sins – a Small Guide to Heaven and Hell/ Cristina Muntean I Find Everything online!/Ivan Pilný Havana – the Pearl of the Caribbean?/Iva a Joseph Drebitko Cosmic Consciousness – a Journey to Well-being, Happiness, and Success, Part IV: Get What you Wish for A,B/James A. Cusumano It’s the End of PR as We Know it (and I Feel Fine)/ Emil Jimenez

EU matters 122

We Need to Address U.S.-EU Regulatory Issues so That a Product or Service That can be Sold in one Market Could Also be Sold in the Other An interview with Peter H. Chase, Senior European Representative, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

124 125 126

Competitiveness and Growth Conference 10th Anniversary of CEBRE Business News page 81 – Natali Ruden Fashion Show

110

People Like to Turn to the Past A talk with Petr Hora-Hořejš, Writer and freelance Journalist

114

Czech Women Are Beatiful A talk with Barbara Nesvadbová, Writer and Editor in Chief of the Czech Version of Haarper´s Bazaar

diplomatic events 23 46 82 97 100

State Visit of the Federal President of the Swiss Confederation Swedish Midsummer at the Swedish Embassy Russian National Day Canada Day Celebration – a Fond Farewell to “Hadovka” Nordic/Baltic National Days

118–119

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 to top goverment and mayor’s officials.

We cooperate with Prague City Hall, CzechInvest, Czech Centre, The Czech Medical Chamber, all Chambers of Commerce, Forum Francophone Affaires, Česká Manažerská Asociace, CMC Graduate School of Business, University of New York in Prague, Anglo American School, University of Pittsburgh, CEELI Institute, Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, The Prague Society for Int. Cooperation, CZECH TOP 100, Czech 100 Best, CEBRE, CESES, Eurotelegraph, The Senate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Ano pro Evropu, VIP lounges at the Prague aiport, Zlatá koruna, CFO Club, BLF, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Národní divadlo, ÚOHS, Comenius, and many more.

For sale in Luxor Bookstore at Václavské náměstí.

Leaders Magazine is available in all rooms of these top star fine hotels and their restaurants: (telephone number for reservation)

Alchymist Rezidence Nosticova Alchymist Club Restaurant 257 011 670 Aria Hotel Coda restaurant 225 334 791 Augustine Hotel 266 112 233 Crowne Plaza Harvest Restaurant 224 393 692 Grand Hotel Bohemia U Prašné brány 234 608 111 Hilton Prague CzechHouse Grill & Rotisserie 224 842 700 Hilton Prague Old Town Restaurant 221 822 303 Holiday Inn Prague Congress Center Esprit 61 175 030 Hotel Hoffmeister Restaurant Ada 251 017 133 Hotel Intercontinental Praha Zlatá Praha 296 631 111 Hotel Palace Praha Gourmet Club 224 093 111 Hotel Residence Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa 257 286 011 Hotel Savoy, Restaurace Hradčany 224 302 150 Kempinski – Hybernská Hybernská 12, 110 00, Praha 1 hotel & restaurant 226 226 111

Le Palais Hotel Prague Le Papillon 234 634 611 Prague Marriott Hotel Brasserie restaurant 222 888 888 Radisson SAS Alcron Hotel La Rotonde 222 820 000 Restaurant Alcron

222 820 000

Rezidence Lundborg Praha 257 011 911 Top Hotel Praha Restaurant Bohemiatop Recepce 267 284 111 Audience Decision makers in the fields of business, public relations, independent professions and diplomacy, government officials, local officials.

You can find the Magazine in these fine restaurants: (telephone number for reservation) Ambiente – Ristorante Pasta Fresca 224 230 244 Ambiente – The Living Restaurants 222 727 851 Aromi 222 713 222 Aureole 222 755 380 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 Enoteca con Cucina 222 513 427 Hergetova Cihelna 257 535 534 Ichnusa (Praha 5) 605 525 748 Kampa Park 257 532 685–6 Kavárna v Obecním domě 222 002 764 King Solomon 224 818 752 Kogo – Havelská 224 214 543

Leaders Magazine is member of

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 La Truffe 608 308 574 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 (Praha 2) 222 521 814 Mirellie Mediterranean Restaurant V.P. Čkalova (Praha 6) 222 959 999 Nostresscafe gallery 222 317 004 Orange Moon 222 325 119 Osteria Da Clara 271 726 548 776 418 559 Pálffy Palác Parnas Passepartout

257 530 522 224 216 244 222 513 340

Pravda

222 326 203

Restaurace Hanil 222 715 867 Restaurant 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

Zátiší Restaurant Zahrada v Opeře Zelená zahrada (Praha 2)

222 221 155 224 239 685 222 518 159

Publisher: Benke Aikell Marketing/Advertising: Silvie Palaščáková Head of Editorial: Lenka Helena Koenigsmark Office Manager/Head of IT: Michael Serences Office Assistant: Tatiana Fominykh Webmaster: Nikoloz Bolkvadze EU Matters: CEBRE Czech Business Representation, CESES, Europlatform Contributors: James A. Cusumano, Iva Drebitko, Joseph Drebitko, Karin Genton – L´Epée, European Leadership and Academic Institute, Pavlína Holancová, Martina Hošková, Otto Jelinek, Emil Jimenez, Zuzana Kasáková, Cristina Muntean, Ivan Pilný, Emanuel Šíp, Evžen Tošenovský, Jonathan Wootliff Photographers: Miguel Alonso, Dean Batak, Jaroslav Fišer, Jiří Herman, Ronald Hilmar, Martin Janas, Robert Janás, Zuzana Jirásková, Jakub Joachim, Martin Koller, Patrik Kubas, Stanislava Kyselová, Paul Pacey, Filip Pokorný, Pavel Rakušan, Marie Schmerková, Hana Smejkalová, Jadran Šetlík, Mr. Šinágl, Mr. Šimáček, Anna Šolcová, Jiří Vacek, Vladimír Weiss Subscription service: Leaders Magazine, CEPONA, s.r.o.

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

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

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

The advertiser is responsible for the advertising contents.

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

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

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

Leaders Magazine Advisory Board The ppositive sitive itive tiv repu reputat reputation of Leaders Magazine continues to grow, however we realize that we must m maintain m ain to t improve and learn, particularly during these times of dynamic change.

That is w Tha wh whyy we ha have v decided to set up an Advisory Board for the magazine. I am convinced that creating ng a pplatform latf of high profile individuals will be an excellent opportunity for the magazine too acq acquire qui nnew quire ew id ideas and define new directions of future development.

Be Benke Aikell Aikel Your Yo our Publish Pu Publisher her Th re aare There r onl only few ew projects started in the Czech Republic by foreigners which I consider as usefu useful to this country as Leaders Magazine. The magazine has brought to the Czech Republic the ccompletely new concept of making important people – the decision makers be th they Czech or foreigners – visible and worthy of positive admiration.

As yyou o 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 successfully develop a project such as Leaders Magazine. I understand fully the intention su 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 aan even higher level.

I Karel Muzikář, CSc. Ing. President of Comenius I was pleased to be invited by Benke Aikell to cooperate on the preparation of the Advisory Boardd project. proj I personally see one of the main goals of the project in creation of a positive eenvironment envi nvirronme for networking, exchange of views, presentation of new ideas, experiences, proposals propos propo posa sal als or suggestions.

I am am con co convinced onnvin nvi vin that the formation of a platform of highly profiled personalities and potential discussion discu scuss on of different topics in very informal setting will be useful for both sides – for the magazine as a well as for the members of the Advisory Board.

IIng. ngg. Petr P rK Ku Kubernát Director D rectoor oof Pekos s.r.o.

Consulting C Consu o ult and Training Company ADVISORY BOARD COMITTEE B nkke A Benke Be Aikell, Publisher, Leaders Magazine Ing. In ng P ng.

Pet Petr Kubernát, Director, PEKOS s.r.o. and former Czech Ambassador to the Netherlands IIng. Kar Karel Muzikář, á CSc., President, COMENIUS HONORARY MEMBERS ABROAD AND GOODWILL AMBASSADORS H.E William H.E. W J. Cabaniss, former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic Vincent Vinc e J. Derudder, Secretary General, The European Federation of Financial Advisers andd Financial F Intermediaries Frank J. Devlyn, Rotary International President 2000–2001 and Rotary Foundation Chairman Fr 2005–2006 H.E. Alexey L. Fedotov, former Ambassador of the Russian Federation tto the Czech Republic H.E. Richard Graber, former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic H H.E. Jan Cornelis Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Czech Republic H H.E. Athar Mahmood, former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Czech Republic H.E. Zdravko Popov, former Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Czech Republic H.E. Mati Vaarmann, former Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Czech Republic Ája Vrzáňová, Czech World Champion in Figure-skating, Sport Legend H.E. Huo Yuzhen, former Ambassador of the People´s Republic of China to the Czech Republic

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS PhDr. Zdeněk Čáp, Managing Partner, Equity Solutions s. r. o.

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

Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., CNB Bankk Boardd Me Mem Member mber and Chief Executive Director Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister nist and current cuurren member of numerous international boardss Ing. Peter Jusko, MBA, Partner, London Market Ing. Petr Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Agriculture re of the CR and former Minister of Environment Ing. Josef Kreuter, CSc., former Czech Ambassador to thee EU E Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Partner, Law Firm Křížž a Bělina s.r.o.

Ing. Jaroslav Kubišta, Secretary, Lions Club Prague Eagle agl Genmjr. JUDr. Lubomír Kvíčala, former Director of the Department of Protection of Constitutional Officials, cia Police of the Czech Republic Ing. Vladimír Laštůvka, former M.P. Ing. Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation atio Ing. Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Česká eská 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., Advisor 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.ss.

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 Gast Ga stro roen ente tero rolo logy gy Cen ente terr, Nem emoc ocni nice ce Mililos osrd rdný ných ch ses este teer sv. Karla Boromejského v Praze and former Senator PhDr. MgA. Miroslav Smolák, Owner, Galerie MIRO Mgr. Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises spol. s r. o.

Brigadier General Ing. Andor Šándor (ret.), Consultant ant PhDr. Jaroslav Šedivý CSc., former Ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs JUDr. Josef Šesták, Assistant Professor, Vysoká škola kola obchodní obchoddn v Praze, o.p.s.

Ing. Radomír Šimek, President, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce Bc. Vladimír Šiška, MBA, 1stt Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Jaromír Šlápota, President, Československý ústav zahraniční Ing. Pavel Štefka, MSc, 4-star General (ret.), Chief of Defence and Special Programs, Tatra Ing. Helena Švédová, HR Director, PSG International, a.s.

Ing. Josef Tauber, Advisor to the President, Czech Banking Association Ing. Jiří Vávra, Vice Chairman, STROJEXPORT, a.s.

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

interview An interview with prof. MUDr. Eva Syková, DrSc., FCMA, Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Female Manager of the Year

COURAGE AND FANTASY

the Reasons that I Have Become Manager of the Year

Prof MUDr. Eva Syková, DrSc., FCMA (* July 24, 1944, Rožmitál pod Třemšínem) is a Czech doctor, scientist, and director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. oong on ng wi w with ith ith th hher e sscientific er ccien ci entitifi en tifific profession, prof pr ofes ofes es sion sion on, she sshhe also alsoo lectures al lec eectu ctu turees at at medical med eddiiiccal al faculties. fac acul cult ulties ul ttiies es. Inn 1994, es.

199 9944,, she 994, she he became beeccam me an an Associate Ass s soc oocia ciaate te Professor Pro roofe fess fe s sor or at or at Ch CChar Charles haarrlees University in Prague, in the field of physiology. Six years later, she became a Prof. MUDr. Eva Syková, DrSc., FCMA ooffes fes es soor of esso of Phhyysi siol oollogg y annd Pa Patthholloggic ical cal al Phy hyssiioolllog ogg y. y. Sinc inccee thhee yeeaar 19 in 199911, sshhe hhaas bbeeen en the he Heaad ooff Neu euro euro rosc sciieenc nce at nce at thee 2nd nd Med edical iccaall FFaculty of Charles University. She participated in study visits to the universities Julypublications, 24, 1944,one Rožmitál podand Třemšínem) Gotthe henb henb nbur bur urg, g Heeiiddeelbber e g aannd Pe Pertthh.. In hheer scciieent ntifif ic ic res eseeaarrcch, h, shhee sppeecciial alis ises es in brai bbrraaiin an and st stem stem m cel ell re resseear arch ch. SShhe he iss thee auuttho hor ooff m more than(*850 monograph a co-author of 6 patents. Her rkks haavvee bee een ci citeed m moore re tha hann 6, 6,500 5000 titim mees, s, her er h-iinndde deexx is 46 46. SShhe ha has rreece ceiivved ed num umeerroouus awar aw waarrrds ddss andd pririzees ffoor hheer er sc scieent ntifif icc acchhieevements,isisaa Czech memberdoctor, of many national and international and serves scientist, and directorsocieties of sever eevver eral al of th thei hei eirr st ste teeeeeririring ng com ommi mittee mi tttees, eeess,, has as orggan anizzed ed a nuum mbe ber ooff int nteerrna nattiioonnal al con onggrreess sseees, ss,, worrks kshops ksho hops ho ps and n syym mpo posi sia, iaa,, anndd ser er vees on on the review boards of Czech grant agencies and the editorial boards of leading the Institute of Experimental Medicine, ernnaattiioona ona nal bi b om meeddiccal a joouurnnal als. s. Shee is ma marrrrie ied ttoo thhee neu euro ropphhys ysio iollooggiist st Pro rofe rof fessssoorr MUDr. UUD Dr.r. Jos oseeff Syk osef y a, a DrrSSc. Sc. c. T he hey have haavvee t wo wo son ons, ons, s, Ingg. Joseph Syka and MUDr. Michael Syka.

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

Along with her scientific profession, she also lectures at medical faculties. In 1994, she became an Associate Professor at Charles University in Prague, in the field of physiology. Six years later, she became a Professor of Physiology and Pathological Physiology. Since the year 1991, she has been the Head of Neuroscience at the 2nd Medical Faculty of Charles University.

She participated in study visits to the universities of Gothenburg, Heidelberg and Perth.

In her scientific research, she specialises in brain and stem cell research. She is the author of more than 850 publications, one monograph and a co-author of 6 patents.

Her works have been cited more than 6,500 times, her h-index is 46. She has received numerous awards and prizes for her scientific achievements, is a member of many national and international societies and serves on several of their steering committees, has organized a number of international congresses, workshops and symposia, and serves on the review boards of Czech grant agencies and the editorial boards of leading international biomedical journals. She is married to the neurophysiologist professor MUDr. Josef Syka, DrSc. They have two sons, Ing. Josef Syka and MUDr. Michael Syka.

Photos: Mgr. Stanislava Kyselová, Akademický bulletin

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interview The title Female Manager of the Year 2011 was awarded to the director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine Eva Syková. The managerial function at the Academy of Sciences is equivalent to a top business position under her command.

Behind her success stand years of hard work, a series of sound strategic decisions and business imagination. When speaking with this very agreeable and elegant lady, you sense quite clearly that underneath her modest selfpresentation, there is an awareness of her personal goals, which the previous candidate for the position of Chairwoman of the Academy of Sciences knows how to achieve.

You are a graduate doctor and a world class scientist.

How does a doctor and scientist become a senior manager?

For many years, I used to be mainly a scientist. Today, I am a manager and a scientist roughly half-and-half. I certainly enjoy both roles. When you work on medical research, what matters are your publications, so that you gain an international reputation, which is based chiefly on the published results of your primary research in international journals.

Further, it is important whether the results are applied anywhere; whether your findings will contribute to a better quality of life, whether, for example, it cures seriously ill patients. And for this, you already need management skills. This is how I got involved in managerial work. I founded the Neuroscience Institute at the 2nd Medical Faculty, with an aim of bringing research results to patients as fast as possible. We have created a number of spin-off firms that are based in the business incubator of the Institute of Experimental Medicine; the construction of the business incubator was made possible thanks to European funds. Here, we provide an opportunity for creating firms that will apply the results of our Institute as well as others to biomedicine. We also provide an opportunity to establish firms that will apply the results of primary research to biomedicine. They pay very little rent, we advise them on how to succeed, on patenting their work, how to secure marketing and we also help them to find investors.

You currently run the Institute of Experimental Medicine. You manage 150 people in twelve departments. Do you think your work could be done by someone, who has no knowledge of science, such as economists with managerial skills?

This is a good question. The Academy also used to hold that institutes could be run by economists. This is not, however, standard practice abroad, and I do not think it would be a good approach. The task of the director is to guide the scientific research of the Institute from a long-term perspective. In order to do this, you need to decide which direction you will take. Scientists do have a great degree of freedom; nevertheless we still select the chief areas of future research. My job is to direct the Institute in such a manner that the research covers areas that are promising in the long term. A layperson would not be able to do this.

Do you have a HR manager in the institute?

We do not. We do have an institute council, however, where executives meet, and we deal here even with staff issues.

With regards to the science, the main criterion of selection and evaluation is the publishing activity of the research workers and the reviews of their work. For the future, we also “breed” our students. All group leaders and principal scientists try to do HR work. We try to shape the Institute so that it is as international as possible; we hire many foreigners. This brings new ideas and an international outlook. A HR manager could be perhaps useful for searching for directors of the new firms from the incubator. We had troubles with finding investors, though this has improved a lot recently.

What does the Female Manager of the Year mean to you? Did you expect it?

When I enlisted in the competition on the recommendation of its representatives, I told myself that I could win. It is not only an award and recognition for me, but also for our Institute

and the Academy of Sciences. I also have to admit that I support the work of women in general. I am glad when women achieve some success and career advancement. Women occupy many interesting positions these days, so for this reason, I am glad. However, women should have even more opportunities than what they enjoy at present.

What do you think contributed to you winning the title?

It was perhaps the fact that I started to establish firms whose majority shareholder is the Academy of Sciences.

The question of whether institutes should conduct applied research at all was very controversial at the beginning. The Academy has now accepted it and appreciates it. I also use European funds a lot. We cooperate with a number of hospitals and health centres and assist them in formulating projects and clinical trials. For this you need organization and a sound management approach.

What do you consider as your key ability which helped you to succeed?

Could it be that I make good decisions and always look to the future? Research into the use of stem cells has advanced considerably in the past couple of years, and this has persuaded me that cell therapy and tissue engineering are the areas of the future. For this reason, I have bet on it in the Institute, and I believe it has been the right decision. We combine work with cells and biomaterials, such as polymers and nanofibres, which is a fairly unique combination. We conduct pre-clinical trials and test stem cells on animals suffering diseases of the nervous system. We have models of stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and many other diseases that modern medicine can not cure.

Could you explain to the laymen what benefits could stem cells bring?

There is the hope that stem cells could replace certain organs that are damaged, or that they could cure diseases which we currently do not know how to cure. Apart from neurological disorders, these could include myocardial infarction, diabetes, liver failure, diabetic foot syndrome, limb ischemia, damaged cartilages and bones, and more. In the brain, the transplantation of nervous tissue may never be possible; therefore, stem cells remain the only hope.

What is important for you when managing people?

To appreciate the best results and to support young scientists, as they represent the future of our Institute as well as Czech science. We support all scientists both financially and also by letting others know about their work. We publish results on an institutional bulletin board, we make score tables of the best scientists in the Institute. We have defined the minimal criteria that must be reached by our scientists. If they are not able to meet them, there is an accreditation commission that will asses their future value in our institute. People can apply themselves somewhere else, they can become teachers, or they can work somewhere in companies. If someone wishes to be a researcher, he or she must have a talent for it and be motivated, creative, and imaginative, be able to lecture, write and obtain grants. If they cannot do this, they are not suitable for research. We are not a care home; we cannot employ people without good, important results.

Are you doing well in maintaining a positive atmosphere in the Institute?

I have been voted a director for the third time already, and again for five years. The executive staff therefore must be content with the atmosphere that exists here. There should be no tension here but rather a calm environment for creative work, and this is important for me. I also take care that the Institute and its surroundings create a pleasant environment to work in.

Do you think you would have become a leader, even if you followed a different career path?

If I were a businesswoman, lawyer or politician or general practitioner at a clinic, I can certainly imagine I would still be

IBC

managing people. The managing would come later, however.

In my youth, I based everything on hard work to achieve what I wanted. At that time, my chief goal was to “find something”.

Only later, I needed to organise people around me, I had international contracts and the position of a director came along, where one needs to think about making the Institute the best possible.

Do you have any plan for the Institute?

I daily receive phone calls from patients who are desperate about their medical conditions and are waiting for our help. I would like to transfer as many results to clinical practice as possible. Several clinical studies are currently being launched by the Institute; this is what I focus on.

In the private sector, the directors work a lot with a financial motivation of their employees. I suppose you are more constrained in this respect...

Thankfully we are not any more. We can manage our resources at our discretion. We can either have a lot of people for little money, or otherwise. This is something we carefully assess. From my own experience, I know that if you need to think about how to earn more money in order to secure your family a certain standard of living, your work will be affected.

I therefore try to achieve a balance. We need to motivate our employees to bring money to the Institute in the form of grants. These grants should include, according to our strategy, money for salaries as well, so that we can augment these and our employees are happy. We are one of a few institutes where Ph.D. students also receive salaries in addition to their scholarships. This is because a scholarship of CZK 6000 is nothing on which one could live, and these people often have families already. We also allow mothers of young children to have flexible working hours.

Do you have time for family and for relaxation?

I enjoy music and exercise. I attend various social events several times a week and go to classical concerts. This relaxes me. Reconciling work with family is easy for me these days.

When my children were smaller, however, it was much more difficult, though I believe that managing both work and family is an important managerial task of a woman. Each of us must perform it in a manner that both prosper. I used to give my whole salary to a lady whom I trusted would take good care of my small children when I was at work. Today, this is no longer a problem for senior female managers who are paid well; unfortunately, often it is too late to have children then. Life is not easy for a starting female researcher. A family is like a small company; it is about providing for the employees. I always tell my colleagues that it very much depends on the partner they choose. When selecting a father of one´s children it is necessary to think rationally. A woman wanting a career must look for a partner who will not only accept her ambitions, but who will also want to actively participate in everyday family life.

By Barbara Hansen Čechová, HR Forum český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 11

interview A talk with Josef Zieleniec, Lecturer at New York University Prague

The Replacement

OF POLITICAL ELITES IS NECESSARY PPho hoto: o: Vl Vladi Vladi a mír ad m We Weiss iss s iss

Doc. Ing. Josef Zieleniec, CSc. graduated from the University of Economics in Prague.

In 1990, together with Jan Švejnar, he founded the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE) at Charles University in Prague, where he is also currently lecturing. A year later, he cofounded the Civic Democratic Party (ODS).

Josef Zileniec held the post of Minister of International Relations (1992), and after the split of Czechoslovakia he became Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993–1997).

In 1997 he left the ODS and as an independent was elected to the Czech Senate in 2000. After the Czech Republic joined the European Union, he became a Member of the European Parliament. Since 2009 Josef Zieleniec has been lecturing at New York University Prague.

You were involved in politics for a long time. How do you assess the current political situation in the Czech Republic?

My views are similar to the vast majority of people.

The problem isn’t the problem of individual politicians.

What we can see here is the reflection of a systemic problem that is related to the organization of our political life, and the way the political parties have been funded. To a considerable degree it also depends on the political elite’s idea about how politics is embodied in society. What we can now see in cases of corruption is the reflection of the problem of Czech political elites, which arose from the transformation in the 1990s.

I have a strong feeling that the solution will be very difficult to find within the political parties themselves.

Because those who naturally do politics in this way seem to always prevail.

Can we understand the removal of minister Pospíšil in this sense?

We don’t have enough information to be able to draw conclusions. However, the atmosphere around this case is rather readable. Although corruption is condemned

12 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

interview verbally, certainly the whole political stage is in some way involved in these sharp practices. I don’t want to talk about how people grow rich in this way. That is another issue. I am now saying that increasing costs on electoral campaigns means a growth in the illegal funding of parties. And there is no other way to illegally fund political parties than at the state budget’s expense, at the taxpayer’s expense, at the expense of all of us.

What is the solution?

Change will only come at the expense of greater turbulence on the political stage. A wave of conflicts with politics as such is awaiting the Czech public. It can proceed in various ways. It doesn’t only have to be people in Wenceslas Square, but the commencement of another type of civic or political activity. We saw this change for instance in Italy several years ago, when well-established political parties had to step down from power, and the total restructuring of the political stage had to take place.

The change was the outcome of judiciary pressure.

So from where should the pressure come?

I don’t want to propose a concrete situation connected with any particular person. I say that the pressure of the public will rise proportionately with the deterioration of the situation. It is not currently possible to foresee what its institutional shape will be. The principle of action and reaction applies in politics as it does everywhere else. This means that the political establishment, which has been generally refused, cannot survive for a long time.

Is it possible to assume that problematic usage of the European funds can bring greater pressure from the EU? The European funds became the corruption funds, and many people think that this happened with the active participation of politicians. Thereby, because it is not “our money”, the exploitation of it is more acceptable. Firstly, it’s not true that it isn’t our money. Secondly, the European institutions have quite a simple formula for preventing such behaviour. If this exceeds the tolerable limit, they simply stop the flow of money. It concerns money that is of double importance for us.

Projects that are submitted and implemented afterwards have been financed from the European sources ex-post. The moment the EU stops providing financial resources for the existing projects, our state will defray it. This concerns tens of millions of Czech crowns, which can endanger the stability of the state budget to a significant extent. It is obvious that the whole system was designed in order to make the control over it difficult.

I cannot resist the impression that it was the intention within the context of political parties’ general pressure on all possible public funds. Unlike the state budget, someone can turn off the tap here. If the money is no longer provided, it will be a huge problem. This might be one of the incentives for politics to recover.

You were one of the initiators of the “Do not expel ourselves from Europe” petition, which concerned the Czech government’s refusal of the fiscal compact. What impact does or will this step have on the role of the Czech Republic in the European integration process?

We have been gradually moving away from the mainstream. If it continues in this way, a return to the core will be more and more difficult. We should become aware of one thing: The EU has experienced its heyday. Now it has problems. However, the reason for our membership

is much more connected with our history and geopolitical location than our current economic situation. It is the first time in history that our country takes part in European decision-making, when it’s not only left to pressures from the East or West; and issues in relation between big and small states are much more balanced.

We have access to a huge market. We would lose a lot economically if we weren’t involved in this big economic area. The idea that we can separate from the EU and pick what we like now, and not provide what would be important for others, is short-sighted. We won’t remain part of the European economic area and market in the long term if we purposely separate from the EU politically. Prime Minister Nečas himself gave us evidence of whether we are heading toward isolation, when he complained that he received documents several hours before the European summit. Such issues have been negotiated for a very long time and intensively, and not only at the diplomatic level. Leaders telephone each other because they want to move issues forward when they meet. If nobody called Mr. Nečas and he got only the official version of documents, it is sad proof of how far the isolation of our country within the European decision-making process has proceeded. It’s not a question of being small or big. The problem is that we demonstrate that we don’t want to have anything to do with it. It is coming back to us in the way that they have stopped paying attention to us and considering us as partners.

Can the crisis of the Eurozone countries really contribute to the deepening of European integration?

From the beginning the Euro was related to the much deeper vision of European integration. The way out of this crisis is unequivocal, and I think that Europe will go for it. Deeper integration of budget decisions has to take place, and that means deeper political integration. It will take the form of at least a partial federalization of Europe. Everybody has to think about whether they see their future here or not. I personally think that it is quite the obvious way for Europe, and that Europe will go in this direction. It is often talked about that deeper integration means a decrease of sovereignty of the Czech Republic as well as other countries. However, it is forgotten that, at the same time, the sovereignty of relatively big states is limited too. In relation to our room for manoeuvring, we profit from that every minute. Representatives of West European nations understood this much sooner. That is why the Benelux countries were the biggest proponents of European integration.

Are you considering a return to politics?

No. I devote myself to the lecturing that I have always enjoyed. I also have ample room for self-realization here. Teaching influences society even more than politics, because you invest in young people. And if you give them not only knowledge, but also key values, it multiplies in them as well as their activity for society.

You were in government when Czechoslovakia underwent the process of separation. Currently, the debate on the potential separation of Scotland has been carried on in the United Kingdom. The question of the split of Czechoslovakia as a positive example plays a certain role in the discussion. To what extent does the British debate, or Scottish debate respectively, correspond to the one in Czechoslovakia?

It’s not only the United Kingdom, but also Canada, where Quebec politicians are considering separation. It is interesting how both debates are in their irrationality similar to the Czechoslovak one. When we faced this process between 1991 and 1992, many proposals were developed that were in a certain sense similar to those formulated in the British debate. Many people in Slovakia were persuaded that there could be a common state, but two central banks, or that there could be a common state, but each country can possess its own embassies, etc. The idea that it is possible to cut off what we don’t like from the common state, and yet have it survive, is not true. There are things that belong together, and it’s not possible to choose from that. That is what happened in Slovakia. If there were a referendum about whether people want to remain part of Czechoslovakia, the majority would say yes. On the other hand, if a referendum were to ask whether they want to have their own currency and embassies, the majority would again say yes. These are the irrationalities of passionate debates on national self-determination, national self-esteem, and national fate. We as politicians had to solve this problem, because otherwise the country would not manage the elementary transformation of politics and economy, and would not be embedded in the international community. On whatever side this issue was handled, it always came out that it was necessary to split the country. I am afraid that the debate in Scotland has similar parameters.

In what sense?

Note that Scottish leaders are proposing a multiquestion referendum. Prime Minister Cameron logically says that if they want a referendum, it should include one question – whether they want to remain within the United Kingdom. Scottish representatives want a referendum whose aim would be to get individual powers from the British government. They wanted sovereignty in Slovakia, but to remain a part of Czechoslovakia.

If you look into the period documents, you can find such wordplay to a big extent. If you translate them into English, you find the same words in the Scottish debate.

Between the years 1991 and 1992 there was a debate on competences. The Scottish discussion on powers and the Czechoslovak discussion on competences are the same. There were many politicians in Slovakia as well who wanted full separation, but they didn’t have enough support for it. For that reason they supported partial demands that meant nothing other than the establishment of the independent state. It is a process that has been constantly repeating itself. The logic is unequivocal. At the moment, when the debate on powers or autonomy is permitted, a break-up of the state or its paralysation as a whole occurs. As I follow Prime Minister Cameron, he understands the mechanism and wants an unambiguous referendum. It was not possible in Czechoslovakia. The idea that in one part of the country the decision would be yes, and in the other no, created a constitutionally impalpable issue.

What are your hobbies?

I have a lot of hobbies. First, I have two dogs. I am also a pilot. If I don’t go for a walk with my dogs, I fly.

By Zuzana Kasáková ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 13

EGS24 Summit 2012

Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group

IN N COOPERATION WITTH LEEADERRS MAGAZINE

From left: Ing. Marian Böhm, Diamo, Ing. Petr Kříž, Ph.D., Diamo, Ing. Pavel Koscielniak, Diamo, Prof. Ing. Vladimír Slivka, CSc., dr.h.c., Dean, Faculty of Mining and Geology, VSB-TUO, Ing. Josef Lazárek, Diamo, and Ing. Zdeněk Cigler, Manager of Grouting Division, Minova

From left: Eduard Pálka, Director, Česká Energie and Jiří Fárek, Professor, Technical University Liberec From left: Mgr. Daria Šťastná, Managing Director, EGS Summit 2012, CE Group and Hamead Ahrary, MBA, Head of Department, WINGAS

1144 From left: Ing. Vratislav Ludvík, Energy Consultant, ONYX and Vladimír Štěpán, Partner, ENA Ltd.

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15 From left: Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group, Jiří Čunek, Senator, Senate of the CR, Mgr. Daria Šťastná, Managing Director, EGS Summit 2012, CE Group, and Ing. Arch. Martina Hovořáková

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From left: Bill Clinton, former President of the USA, Daria Šťastná, Managing Director, EGS Summit 2012, and Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group

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16 From left: Bill Clinton, former President of the USA and Eduard Pálka, Director, Česká energie

From left: Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group, Mr. Bill Clinton with his caricature and Josef Blecha, Caricature Painter

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Bill Clinton, former President of the USA and JUDr. Barbora Bumanová, AK Rudolf

Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group giving a gift to Mr. Bill Clinton, a white Czech flag plate designed by Petr Diviš of ABA Reklama and Jan Cíleček, this plate won the “Star of 3D gifts” as the best award for managers

From left: Bill Clinton, former President of the USA and Michal Fehn, Managing Director, E-ON

CE Group was the organizer of the International Energy, Gas, Storage Summit 2012, which was held on 23rd–25th of May 2012 in Prague, Spanish Hall at the Prague Castle under the auspices of Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and special guest Bill Clinton, former President of the United States. The aim of the Summit was to consider the European energy industry from the energy infrastructure user’s viewpoint and contribute to a debate evaluating adequate investment as well as non-investment measures, which will enhance the security and reliability of the energy market and reflect the current needs of the fast changing European energy market. The Summit also presented a unique project entitled “Advance Complex Rozna”, which combines state-of-the-art technology of large-volume electric power storage with ultimate-speed natural gas storage.

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRO ONIC C VERSION AVAIILA LABLEE ON O WWW.LEADERS RSMA MAG GAZINE.CZ From left: Jan Fischer, Vice President, EBDR and former Prime Minister of the CR, Václav Klaus, President of the CR, Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group, and Přemysl Čech, Moderator ČT at the EGS24 Summit 2012

The Rozna project is a practical value-for-money solution that combines technologies, which enable active management and regulation of the gas and electric power supply networks and enhances the security, reliability and liquidity of the energy market.

The Rozna project makes use of unique geological structures and a virtually ideal location in terms of both national energy systems and their connection to the European gas and electric power networks. The Summit also tackled the topic of the establishment of effective transportation and storage of natural gas for the central European region in order to allow reliable access to the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas.

17

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18 Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards with his wife Leata

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Bill Clinton, former President of the USA in his speech

Karel Janeček, PhD., RSJ Algorithmic Trading and Monika Vondráková, PR and Marketing Manager, PSJ

Standing from left: Miroslav Donutil, Actor, Tomáš Chalupa, Minister of Enviroment of the CR, Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group, Bill Clinton, former President of the USA, H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA to the CR, and Jan Fischer, Vicepresident, EBDR and former Prime Minister of the CR. Sitting from left: Barbora Vrbová, Interpreter, Mrs. Dana Fischerová, JUDr. Barbora Bumanová, AK Rudolf, and Daria Šťastná, Managing Director of EGS Summit 2012.

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From left: Bill Clinton, former President of the USA and JUDr. Vladimir Ermakov CSc., Chief Executive Officer, Vemex

From left: Paulo Marcelo P. Tigre, President, Comtigres, Radomir Cespiva, Comtigres, and Nilton Belsarena, CEO, Comtigres

Štěpán Marković, Saxophonist

From left: H.E. Hussain S. Mualla, Ambassador of Irak with his wife and H.E. Stefan Gorda, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova with his wife

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

From left: H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA with his wife and Jan Fischer, Vice President, Operational Policies, EBRD

From left: Ladislav Dráb, CEO and Chairman, CE Group, Ing. Martin Pecina, MBA, General Director, Vítkovice Power Engineering, Igor Němec, Chairman, The Office for Personal Data Protection, Mr. Toman´s daughter, Mrs. Renata Němcová, and JUDr. Petr Toman, Attorney, Toman, Devátý and Partners

From left: Ing. Michal Štefl, General Director, OHL ŽS, JUDr. Petra Buzková, Partner, Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout Attorney Office s.r.o., and Ivan Langer, former Minister of Interior

From left: Alan Svoboda, Chief Sales Officer, ČEZ, a.s. and Mr. Radek Lucký with his wife

Bill Clinton, former President of the USA and Natalie Kvačková, Moderator of Q&A

From left: Martin Slaný, Director of the Secretariat of the President of the Republic, Ing. Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, and Ing. Vladimír Plašil, Chairman of the Board, ALTA Invest, a.s.

From left: Ing. Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and H.E. Jan Koukal, Czech Ambassador to Austria

From left: Ing. Michal Štefl, General Director, OHL ŽS, Mrs. Synáček, Olga Menzelová, Kelymanová, Medialounge, s.r.o., and Ing. Zdeněk Synáček, Commercial Director, Eurovia, a.s.

21

Milan Štěch, Chairman, Senate of the Czech Republic welcoming the President of the Swiss Confederation Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf in the Wallenstein Palace

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

OF MR. MILAN ŠTĚCH, CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Alena Gajdůšková, in the middle, Vice President, Senate of the Czech Republic at a conference on “Strength of a woman at the time of crisis” surrounded by some of the participants of the conference

2 22

Marcel Chládek. Vice President, Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions at a conference on “Different concepts of education and their implications”

From left: Milan Štěch, Chairman, Senate of the Czech Republic and Pavel Paška, Chairman, National Council of the Slovak Republic

Several events took place in the seat of the Senate in Wallenstein Palace. Legal experts from all around Europe have met at the conference “The strength of a woman at the time of crisis”, which took place under the auspices of Senate Vice President Alena Gajdůšková. A number of seminars were also prepared by the Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions, such as the conference on “Different concepts of education and their implications”.

The Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Pavel Paška has paid an official visit to the Czech Republic at the invitation of the Senate President of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Milan Štěch. Last month, the Senate management also welcomed, among other guests, the President of the Swiss Confederation Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and Vice President of Bulgaria Margarita Pop in the upper parliamentary chamber.

H.E. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Federal President of the Swiss Confederation and Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic

state visit

At the invitation of President Václav Klaus, Federal President of the Swiss Confederation, H.E. Eveline WidmerSchlumpf visited the Czech Republic, on June 4th–5th, 2012.

Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and H.E. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Federal President of the Swiss Confederation

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

23

interview A talk with Petr Fiala, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic

Czech Education IS OF A HIGH QUALITY IN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON Prof. PhDr. Petr Fiala, Ph.D., LL.M. (1964) studied Czech Language and Literature and History at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University (called J.E. Purkyně University) in Brno from 1983 till 1988. After graduation he worked as a historian at the Museum of the Kroměříž region in Kroměříž.

In 1996 he habilitated at Charles University in Prague, and in 2002 he was named the first Professor of Political Science in the Czech Republic. Petr Fiala has long been active in institutions and bodies which deal with university education and research in the Czech Republic and abroad. From September 2011 till May 2012 he was the Chief Science Advisor to the Government of the Czech Republic. Petr Fiala was appointed the Minister of Education on May 2nd, 2012.

24 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

Photo: Paatri trikk Kuba Kubass

interview You came to the post of Minister at a time when of tertiary education. Within this area we need to implenecessary, as I have already mentioned, for the fee to education is in many areas in a relatively large state ment the legislative changes concerning Universities, not hinder anyone in their studies. Moreover, it needs with regard to the specification of the accreditation of chaos. How do you explain this drop in the Czech to be socially acceptable, and Universities should take process, a new definition of the position of professor, education system? it directly, not via state administration. Thus, schools and the introduction of an element of quality assessTo say that the Czech educational system is in chaos, should use it for improvement in the quality of the edument, as well as other issues of greater stability for the I think, is quite a strong expression. Yet I understand cational process. Nor is it acceptable for this fee to funding of Universities. Furthermore, we are going to what you mean, because some kind of non-conceptual practically mean a reduction of contributions to the prepare an act on financial help to students, giving approach is obvious. Let us not be unjust, however, the Universities. It must be additional money aimed at a hand to those who are in need of help with living costs Czech educational system has long been at a high level, the improvement of the quality of education at Univerduring their studies. We will also review the agenda of and offers a quality education that is accessible to sities. However, I cannot anticipate further developcharges at universities, which should bring the whole broad sections of society. On the other hand, we cannot ment, yet I’d be happy if we managed to agree on the system much more needed private financial help. introduction of enrolment fee, so that it could be charged ignore the fact that our international comparative stuFinancial participation of students, however, must be from the academic year 2013/2014. As for the formal dies show serious problems in many areas – from a resocially acceptable, thus it will be set up in a way that no specification of the particular amount – I fear that duction of knowledge in areas like engineering, math one would be hindered in studying because of econoin many countries the introduction of enrolment fee led and science to problems with literacy. These are signals mic reasons. And last but not least, another important to a rapid growth in this fee. In order to avoid these worthat we take very seriously. The impression of chaos ries, we would like to incorporate the maximum amount task is an improvement in drawing money from the EU emerged perhaps from the way school was recently of the enrolment directly into the law. Hereby we might structural funds. conducted. The reason may be frequent changes in the guarantee its stability, at least to a certain personnel management department. extent. Any change of this fee would thus Additionally, we’ve gotten used to creatrequire a legislative change as well. ing one concept after another in our Education is a value in itself and it’s a value for In your view, should the Ministry of school system, and implementing bigEducation regulate a number of primary ger, and then smaller reforms, without both the individual who receives education, and secondary schools, and Universities any deeper thinking about the overall and society as a whole. We must keep it in mind. much like their specialization? purpose of these steps. If the image of This is a difficult question requiring education in our country shall change, a rather differential answer. In the case in the eyes of the public as well, we must of regional education, it’s been clear that to a certain Could you be more specific about this? proceed much more conceptually, systematically and extent we need to adapt a number of facilities to popuI am particularly talking about the Operational with greater deliberation in the future. Education cannot lation growth. Yet, we must proceed very carefully, so Programme – “Education for Competitiveness”, which is be exposed to sudden and rapid reform ideas; this is an that we don’t threaten the existence of schools in small in a critical situation that requires a quick response and area that is critical to our future and is very sensitive municipalities. These schools not only represent a meetcorrection. We need to convince the EU Commission to any reckless actions. However, I would like to point ing point of students with teachers, but also provide that we are able to establish such a process, with control out that the problems that we have should not hide the a wide range of social activities. It’s been obvious that and other mechanisms aimed at drawing financial fact that Czech education in international comparison the Ministry’s competence has been restricted in this means in a transparent and effective way. This also is very good, and is an important precondition for the case. Therefore, we need to look together for solutions applies to the Operational Programme – “Science and competitiveness of the Czech Republic. ensuring the most optimal model. Nonetheless, I supResearch for Innovation” through which we are building Can you outline the vision with which you entered pose the role of the state needs to be strengthened key infrastructure, representing a key condition for the Office? What are your main priorities, which areas within the area of regional education. the Czech Republic’s success in the area of research need initiation of new reforms, and do you intend to Why? and innovation. Thus, we must make sure everything is go on with the existing ones?

Well, we need to maintain the essential quality of the in order for these large and expensive projects to be The first issue I was supposed to cope with was entire educational system. Concerning Universities, we completed successfully and with a high level of quality. to address the Office’s consolidation, which is a little have many higher education institutions for the populaAccording to your own words, the national leaving bit related to the previous question. The Ministry of tion, when compared to other countries. Yet, the problem exam should be easier, cheaper and more human.

Education had to start working as a standard central lies in the fact that our Universities are lacking differenCould you be more specific? state administration, as an institution with a united tiation with regard to their basic functions. Here several The national leaving exam need to be simpler with repolicy, a single, comprehensive concept, that is both changes are crucial. However, I don’t believe it should be gard to procedures and complexity, the entire range of it. transparent to the public and competent. Of course, the made by any administrative decision of the Ministry of A system that thinks of each student is objective and stabilization of the Ministry of Education is only a preEducation. I rather see the path in strengthening partifair, and is highly desirable. In this respect, I have already requisite for particular priorities which I want and need cular tools which will lead to differentiation. And we taken several steps, including personnel measures. Yet, to address. It is undoubtedly important to complete the already have these tools at our disposal. One of them is above all, I assigned the financial audit, which might reform of regional education, engage in developing the introduction of the quality indicators of financial reveal weak parts of the organization of the national standards and the introduction of educational prodistribution to Universities. On top of that, we would like leaving exam procedures. Beyond this, I put together grams, and the overall liberalization of regional educato support the integration efforts of Universities. As a working group aimed at the revision of the national tion. Also, it has been necessary to cope with the a good example of such an effort, I see that the Univerleaving exam, and based on its recommendations we financing of regional education, which is insufficient at sity in Ostrava and the VŠB-Technical University of are preparing a new model for 2013 and 2014. present. It has all been related to the conceptual issues Ostrava are attempting to merge. These attempts have Could you tell us when exactly the enrolment is which I’d like to open up once again. For instance, what’s to be definitely supported by the state, because they not going to be introduced, and who it will cover? the role of the Ministry, regions and municipalities only encourage a reduction of the number of UniversiWhy should the level of enrolment only be set up within regional education? We’ll perhaps agree that it ties, but above all they strengthen quality and the creaformally? wouldn’t be good to have 14 different school systems tion of the synergetic effect which integration enables.

The enrolment fee is a form of financial participation with different parameters.

So, what shall we do in this respect?

Therefore, we must find ways to maintain unified quality and uniform conditions for the entire school system. I consider it necessary to move ahead in the reform

of students. However, I’d be happy if we could incorporate it into the whole concept of the fee agenda, because the Universities may charge a whole range of various fees at present. In the case of enrolment, I find it

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

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 25

summer party From left: Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK/ ČNOPK and Jörg Thiele, Head of External Trade Committee, IHK Chemnitz

Photos: Dean Batak, Paul Pacey

German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce SUMMER PARTY AT GRÉBOVKA

26

DEUTSCH-TSCHECHISCHE INDUSTRIEUND HANDELSKAMMER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Milan Šimandl, Counsellor, German Embassy with his wife, Radomír Šimek, former President, DTIHK/ČNOPK with his wife, and H.E. Detlef Lingemann, Ambassador of Germany

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

From left: Vladimír Vurm, Head of Participations, RWE Transgas with his wife, and Martin Kolář, Head of Legal Affairs and PR, NET4GAS

Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK Andreas Hafemann, Corporate Executive Director, ŠKODA AUTO with his wife

From left: Richard Brunner, IHK Regensburg with his wife, and Dr. Alois Plössl, Rhaner Bier with his wife on the left

Anton Spitlbauer and Bernadette Bimmerle, both Weingut-Weinhaus Bimmerle

From left: Mrs. Šárka Neprašilová, and Robert Beňačka, ROI Management Consulting with his wife

From left: Mrs. Gina Müller, and Arne Gruber, Managing Director, ŠKO-ENERGO-FIN with his wife

Jan Nehoda, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director, NET4GAS with his wife

27 From left: Andreas Ueltzhöffer, Attorney, Ueltzhöffer Balada, Roman Breitenfelner, Member of the Board, MAFRA with his wife, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Peter Pschorr, Lucie Vorlíčková, and Ivan Brož, all three of them Partners, Vorlíčková Partners

From left: Michal Kadera, External Affairs Director, ŠKODA AUTO, Mrs. Martina Parusová, and Jan Najman, Attorney, Kocián Šolc Balaštík, Law Office

Bernard Bauer, Executive Director of the Board, DTIHK/ČNOPK and Dr. Miriam Marchon, Embassy of Switzerland in Prague

Dr. Antonio Payano, Managing Director, CZ/SK, Bayer with his wife

From left: Sanjiv Suri, President, Zátiší Catering Group, and Michal Bartoš, Managing Director, Merck

From left: Thomas Kleefuss, CEO, Managing Director, Radek Benčík, COO, Managing Director, both NET4GAS

On June 14, the annual summer party of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce (ČNOPK) took place in the Grébovka Park in Prague-Vinohrady. About 750 guests – many of them high-ranking representatives of Czech-German business and political life – spent a wonderful evening around historical vineyards. Old and new Škoda cars provided together with regional specialties from Saxony a perfect setting for a relaxed yet classy party.

28

Two bands and professional dancers underlined the theme of the night – Carribean Night.

Many guests followed their call to the dance floor, others just enjoyed their talks in the beautiful scenery beyond the roofs of Prague with a glass of wine or a cocktail.

From left: Hannu Kasi, President, ABB, Petr Kubernát, Director, Pekos, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Radek Primus, Division Manager, Kienbaum Management Consultants, Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK, and Jiří Kuliš, Managing Director, Veletrhy Brno

Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK From left: Kristýna Juroszová, DTIHK/ČNOPK, and René Sion, General Manager, Alois Dallmayr Automaten-Service with his daughter

Tina Helmes and Dr. Jürgen Helmes, Managing Director, IHK Regensburg

From left: Gert Henning, Procurist, Oppacher Mineralquellen is welcomed by Rudolf Fischer, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK, and Bernard Bauer, Executive Director, DTIHK/ČNOPK

29 Invited guests

gala opening

Situated close to Prague Castle, Lesser Quarter and the famous Charles Bridge, the Lindner Hotel Prague Castle lies nestled in the historic UNESCO grounds of the Strahov Monastery, a location offering breathtaking panoramic views yet still only a stone’s throw away from many of the city’s most popular attractions. The hotel’s peaceful yet central location and its charming design make it a wonderful base for exploring all the city has to offer, a romantic home-away-from-home in a perfect setting, and an ideal business location for conferences, meetings and events. Experience and enjoy the perfect blend of medieval and modern.

From left: Ulf Landeberg, General Manager, Lindner Hotel Prague Castle and Otto Lindner, CEO, Lindner Hotels AG Düsseldorf cutting the cake

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

30 30 Guests indulged themselves in lively conversation

From left: Lucia Ratulovská, Project Manager, IMS Prague, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Mrs. Zuzana Hlubiňaková

Guests enjoying exclusive buffet

From left: Miro Smol叩k, Owner, MIRO Gallery and Martin Ykema, Area Director, Lindner Hotels AG D端sseldorf

From left: Herwig Teufelsdorfer, Member of the Board, IVG Austria AG and David Steixner, Senior Real Estate Manager, IVG Austria AG

Some of the invited guests

138 elegantly-furnished and spacious smoking or non-smoking rooms and suites feature beautiful historic details and an exceptional interior design. As a benefit we offer complimentary internet, tea & coffee facilities including daily water in room at no charge plus free access to sauna and fitness area.

Pamper your palate with regional specialties and international cuisine in our Senses Restaurant. Enjoy something cool, a light snack, the perfect mixed drink, fine spirits, and much more on the summer terrace or in the Muse Bar & Lounge.

A total of 3 conference and event rooms accommodating up to 200 people, all with natural light, high-speed Internet connection and state-of-the-art media technology. If you are looking for a bit of rest and relaxation during your hotel stay, feel free to use our wellness area with the Asian massage treatments.

From left: Otto Lindner, CEO, Lindner Hotels AG D端sseldorf, Ulf Landeberg, General Manager, Lindner Hotel Prague Castle, and Martin Ykema, Area Director, Lindner Hotels AG D端sseldorf

31

Ulf Landeberg, General Manager, Lindner Hotel Prague Castle and his department heads

From left: Petr Mašek, Sales & Marketing Director of Lindner Hotel Prague Castle, Mrs. Eva Pašková, and Mrs. Michaela Vokounová

From left: Martin Bek, Director, O2 Telefonica with his wife Blanka, Martin Ykema, Area Director, Lindner Hotels AG Düsseldorf, Mrs. Hana Skabová, and Jiří Skaba, Honorary Chairman, Czech-Thai Society Prague

From left: Michael Goels, Regional Sales Director, Lindner Hotels Austria, Jutta Sackbrook, General Manager, Hotel Am Belvedere in Vienna, Silke Beyer, Corporate Manager Operational Development, Lindner Hotels AG Düsseldorf, and Otto Lindner, CEO, Lindner Hotels AG Düsseldorf

32 32

From left: wife of the Japanese Ambassador, Ulf Landeberg, General Manager, Lindner Hotel Prague Castle, H.E. Toshio Kunikata, Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Krisana Chandraprabha, Ambassador at Royal Thai Embassy, and Sweeya Santipitaka, Thai Embassy

Interior of Lindner Hotel Prague Castle

MO M ORE RE P H HO O OTO TOS AND TOS TO AND EL AN EL EC ELE ECTR C TR TRON ONIC ON IC VER RSI S ON ON AVAI AV AVA AILA AILA L ABL BLE ON BLE ON W WW W W.L .LEA LEA EADE ADE DERS RSMAAGA RS GAZI Z NE NE.C .CZZ

From left: Lukáš Sedláček, Executive Director, European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) and President of Oxford and Cambridge Alumni Society Czech Republic, Jan Fischer, Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and candidate for the President of the CR, and Irena Kalhousová, Academic Director, European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) and Chief Analyst at the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI)

gala dinner EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP & ACADEMIC INSTITUTE P R A G U E

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

DISCUSSION WITH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JAN FISCHER European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) organised on the 23rd of May 2012 a dinner discussion at the Alchymist Grand Hotel in Prague with Jan Fischer, Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and candidate for the President of the Czech Republic. During the evening, Mr. Fischer shared his views with other participants on the future direction of the European Union, on the political development of the Czech Republic and eventually talked about his presidential candidacy. At the end of the fruitful and energized discussion he said in conclusion: „We will have to manage our country in such a way that citizens will live well and will be proud of our country. I have faith in the talent of the people living here.“

3 33 MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

Gala dinner at Alchymist Grand Hotel

gala event

From left: David Lorenc, Director, Department of Direct Banking, Česká spořitelna and Martin Diviš, General Director, Kooperativa pojišťovna receiving the award from Pavel Doležal, Director of pdMEDIA, organizer of Zlatá Koruna competition

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

OF THE ZLATÁ KORUNA COMPETITION On June 7, 2012 Zlatá Koruna awarded the prizes for the best financial products of the year. The awards were held for the tenth time already. The gala evening during which the prizes were awarded in all 19 categories took place in TOP HOTEL Praha, and was accompanied by the moderator group 4TET of Jiří Korn.

Among the 250 guests, the evening was attended by the most significant personalities of the Czech financial and insurance markets, but also by representatives of the Finance Ministry and the Czech National Bank. The celebratory mood of the competition´s jubilee reached its peak towards the end of the evening, when the prizes for the best products of a decade were awarded to Česká Spořitelna for its retail products, and to insurer Kooperativa for services to businesses.

Photos: Ronald Hilmar

34

From left: Roman Truhlář, General Director, mBank, Petr Vondráček, Marketing Specialist, mBank, Marek Sabaka, Product Specialist, Ivana Burianková, Spokeswoman, mBank, and Robert Chrištof, Sales Director, mBank

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

From left: Martin Diviš, General Manager, Kooperativa pojišťovna and Michal Knapp, General Manager, OVB Allfinanz

Petr Makovský, Sales Director, CK Fischer From left: Radek Urban, Deputy Minister of Finance congratulating to Ján Frank, Spokesman, Fio Bank

Helena Dušková, Communication Department, Wüstenrot stavební spořitelna receiving the prize from Radek Jalůvka, General Manager, IPSOS

Jarmila Plachá, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, GE Money Bank thanking for Zlatá koruna award in Category of Loans Michaela Kašková, CEO, Bevande s.r.o. congratulates to Michael Neuwirth, Director, Division of property and liability insurance, Kooperativa pojišťovna

35 Jiří Korn 4TET

From left: Ladislav Seifrt, Senior Manager, Alternative Distribution Channels Department, GE Money Bank, David Hlaváček, Manager Alternative Distribution Channels Department, GE Money Bank, Viktor Houška, Senior Product Manager, GE Money Bank, and Radek Ženka, Manager, Department of Loans, GE Money Bank

Pavel Doležal, Director of pdMEDIA, organizer of Zlatá Koruna competition with young man Filip who´s 10 years old as the competition Zlatá Koruna

From left: Josef Valtr, Member of the Board, FioBank and Petr Budinský, Vice Rector, VŠFS

From left: Josef Valter, Member of the Board, Fio Bank, Ján Franek, Spokesman, Fio Bank, and Jiří Vodička, Director for Strategy and Marketing, Fio Bank

From left: David Lorenc, Director, Department of Direct Banking, Česká spořitelna and Martin Diviš, General Director, Kooperativa pojišťovna receiving the award from Pavel Doležal, Director of pdMEDIA, organizer of Zlatá Koruna competition

Martin Pšaidl, Member of the Board, ČP Invest receiving Zlatá koruna award from Daniela Písařovicová, Moderator, ČT24 Tomáš Síkora, CEO, Česká asociace pojišťoven

36 36

Mario Drosc, Vice Chairman of the Board, Deputy General Manager, Raiffeisenbank comments the victory in Category Commercial Loans

Radek Jalůvka, General Director, IPSOS commenting a research for Zlatá Koruna

From left: Petr Kubernát, Director, Pekos and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

interview

An interview with Pavel Doležal, Director of pdMEDIA, Organizer of Zlatá Koruna Competition Since 2003, Zlatá koruna competition has been awarding the best financial products in the Czech Republic. In this manner, the event is the oldest of its kind in the country. The international financial fora hosted under the auspices of Zlatá koruna have history only a few years shorter than the competition itself and are a meeting place for the best Czech and foreign economists. In this issue we bring you an interview with the director of pdMEDIA, organizer of the competition Pavel Doležal.

Mr. Doležal, this year has been the tenth time you have awarded the Zlatá koruna prizes for the best financial products. If you look back, has the project fulfilled your expectations?

A person changes a lot during ten years and this is true even more so for the financial market where new products appear almost every day.

The main thing however remained. When I founded the competition, I wanted to give people a simple tool to compare the offers on the market, for it is easy to blame everything on lack of financial literacy, or even abuse it and sell overpriced products. We took a different

course. Every year, we compile a clear score sheet which is signed by a jury of three hundred specialists. Their signature has a value even for non-specialists and therefore I dare to say that Zlatá koruna does fulfil my expectations.

The number of financial competition constantly increases, but yours is one of the oldest. Does public appreciate tradition?

It certainly does. If it did not, the project would never live through ten years. Moreover, according to the latest survey of IPSOS agency, the logo of Zlatá koruna (note: a gold crown) is know to almost half of the Czech population, a large part of which directly seeks the logo when going to a bank or an insurance company. I take this as an appreciation of our work. By the term “our” I do not mean only the organisers, but also and more importantly the members of the jury, the Financial academies. Over six hundred of specialists have sat on the jury over the past ten years.

Zlatá koruna is not only a competition.

Since 2007, you also host fora. Is this because you had a little work with the original project itself that you branched out?

Quite the contrary. There is always enough work to do – quality is not an unchanging variable; you constantly need to improve yourself.

While working on the competition, many good

Pavel Doležal prepares Martin Diviš for a pleasant surprise. „His“ Kooperativa Pojišťovna has become the most succesfull Insurance company of this year´s competition.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Celebration of ten years of Zlatá koruna is over. But recapitulation is not the only thing to focus at, Pavel Doležal thinks loudly about next stage of his project.

topics and ideas arose which we did not want to dismiss or just brush off with an easy article on our web. At the same time, the format of an economic forum was missing in the Czech Republic, or there were only conferences. Contrastingly, our platform does not follow the customary division of speakers and attendees.

Everyone can contribute. And it was precisely this approach that brought the Zlatá koruna Fora to the very top in the industry.

What do you plan for the next decade? Will Zlatá koruna celebrate its anniversary in year 2022?

I firmly believe so. It would be an even stronger confirmation of the competition´s quality. I am only unsure whether I can answer your question on our plans. Currently, for example, we are preparing to launch a new website which will offer more services to the lay public, in addition to information on over seven hundred products, which we provide now. With respect to the long term horizon, it is difficult to predict anything, especially as far as the fora are concerned. I can only hope that the theme of the economic crisis will pass. Not that it did not stimulate excellent discussions; yet, we would be able to discuss the opportunities of a boom quite as well as the topic of a crisis, and with even a greater pleasure.

Compiled by LM ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 37

global perspectives

38

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

global perspectives Back in 2005, Bill Gates introduced the “New World of Work”, a concept which he described as “making sense of the information people have – giving them the ability to focus, prioritize and apply their expertise, visualize and understand key data, and reduce the amount of time they spent dealing with the complexity of an information-rich environment”. This also meant putting people at the centre, making information technology work for them to help make their lives easier.

Seven years on, globalization is thriving, and coupled with the rapid growth we see in technology – explained by Moore’s Law that the data density per square inch on an integrated circuit doubles every 18 months. This signals the rate at which our world is changing and moving forward today. Therefore, how we choose to embrace this “New World of Work” will be crucial in deciding if our economies will ride on the rapid waves of globalization, or fall back and sink into the abyss of change we are unable to overcome. I strongly believe what is important here is that we, as business leaders and policy makers, move in sync with this change, and help society and institutions evolve to capitalize on this development.

BUILDING A GLOBAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUTH The youth of today grow up in an environment very different from when we were younger. The ubiquity of the internet and the presence of smart devices and technology are so prevalent early on in their lives and play a big part in their learning and development. Their understanding of technology, I believe, is even more sophisticated than ours. This gives rise to a whole spectrum of learning styles that our youth develop and discover about themselves early on, and it is highly important that teaching and learning in the classroom must evolve, not only to cater to different learning styles, but to also help each youth develop his potential to the fullest.

Today, the internet has become a huge medium with which youth learn and gather information, and I believe that learning has the potential to go global, beyond the classroom. Just take a look at Academic Earth, an organization fore-fronting this idea by providing quality courses and degrees online, making knowledge and learning accessible to internet users around the world. With devices becoming increasingly intuitive, integrating video capabilities and using technologies like Natural User Interface (NUI), it is only within our imagination how learning can be transformed with the help of technology.

As I mentioned in my past articles, a lot of the solutions needed to tackle present day issues are not about re-inventing the wheel, and changing what we do, but they are about looking into situations and changing how we do things; using

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technology to improve our current processes and ways of life. Despite the challenging environment surrounding us here in Europe – rapidly-changing skills, and the persistent skill mismatches in the EU labour market – I believe that ICT can help solve these challenges.

BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN EACH INDIVIDUAL WITH TECHNOLOGY There is a saying that two heads are better than one, and in the realm of learning, collaboration certainly can help generate even more knowledge and resources than the sum of what each individual can come up with. Today, value-add is the key word for businesses, as markets get more competitive and businesses need to do more than just come up with one good idea to stay ahead of the game. As such, human capital has become even more valuable than ever before, giving rise to a phenomenon regarded as the “war for talent”, as companies require new skills that are scarce within the labour force, due to the widening skills gap in many countries. Globalization on the other hand has also opened the skills market on a global scale, increased the transience of the labour market, and companies are now finding it more difficult to find the right talent, and retain them, as labour mobility increases.

However, new technology developments and increasing broadband access has yielded online services like Lync and Skype, making cross-border collaboration as easy as clicking on an application. Thus, companies can connect with talent all over the world in virtual teams while saving time and money in bringing people together and boosting global learning.

ADJUSTING & UNDERSTANDING THE NEW WORLD OF WORK Today, many companies are adjusting to this “new world of work”, rushing to meet their employees’ demands for greater flexibility and better integration between work and personal devices, and many are also increasingly expecting staff to work outside of normal hours. Microsoft has a vision for a 3-screen strategy, to create interoperable applications and platforms that will work seamlessly across the phone, PC or tablet, and big screen via cloud computing. However a fine balance must be struck as work and personal lives become increasingly intertwined. The internet keeps us constantly connected, and the increasing sophistication of mobile devices allows us much greater choice over when, how and where we work. This constant connectivity enables flexibility, but for employees to feel truly empowered to take advantage of that flexibility, it goes back to the right skills.

Hence, investment in education and training systems, anticipation of skills needs, matching and guidance services are the fundamentals to raising productivity, competitiveness, economic growth and ultimately employment.

STANDING TO GAIN FROM THE NEW WORLD OF WORK There are multiple benefits to be gained from a new way of working: for businesses both large and small it leads to increased productivity, as well as an improved ability to attract and retain the best talent. Greater flexibility for employees results in higher satisfaction and quality of life, and a green effect on the environment, with less unnecessary traffic and thus reduced CO2 emissions. In a research commissioned by Microsoft and carried out in 15 European countries, it was revealed that 73 % of workers in Europe think their lives would improve if they could work more flexibly. However, less than a third of businesses provide guidelines on flexible work, and a further probe found that the larger the organization, the less likely its employees are to work flexibly. At Microsoft, we have a different approach to most of these large companies, and actively encourage our employees to work from home or outside the office. And we are seeing the benefits for our employees, as Microsoft was awarded the Best Multinational Workplace in Europe 2011, for the fourth year in a row. This is a great testament to how workplace culture and employee satisfaction can contribute to our company’s growth.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to adopting a “new world of work”, as each organization must find the physical and mental changes that define its own new world of work that will suit its employees and company culture. Even within Microsoft itself, the Microsoft Netherlands office was the first to adopt what it describes as the ‘Het Nieuwe Werken’ (the New Way of Working) concept in 2008. One of our most recent offices to undertake the journey, the Microsoft Finland team, describes their journey differently, calling it ‘Läsnätyö’, meaning ‘presence work’ in Finnish.

And in the UK, Microsoft has brought together experts in the fields of social change, technology and organizational structure in the public and private sectors to look at how people, places and technology fit into the business of the future.

Microsoft UK’s concept of the ‘Hybrid Organisation’ is flexible, nimble and encourages individuals with a variety of backgrounds and approaches to work together to ensure future success in uncertain times.

I hope to see more organizations and societies innovating with technology and finding new ways of how they can adapt and find meaning for the “New world of work”, and bring out the best in youth and our entire labour force. After all, people are the centre and key to what we do and the drivers of our future. Let’s take on this new world with confidence!

By Jan Mühlfeit Chairman, Europe Microsoft Corporation český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 39

infrastructure analysis

STRUCTURE The Czech Republic has been a developed industrial country for the last 150 years.

Even during the period of Communism, the country was aptly called “the smithy of the Soviet Bloc”, supplying not only soft markets of planned economies with power plants and mining equipment, locomotives, automobiles, machine tools and textile industry machines, but also with skilled engineers. In 1990, industries including construction were responsible for the creation of more than 50% of the nation’s gross value added (GVA).

Since then, many of those industrial branches have declined, unable to stand fierce international competition, and the structure of GDP has been steadily approaching that of stabilized market economies. Yet the share of the secondary sector (including industry and construction) in the Czech GVA still remains very high (37.5% compared to the average of 25.2% in the EU-27 in 2010) and has been slightly overtaken in the EU only by Slovakia and Romania. This was caused by the boom of the automotive industry during the last two decades with Škoda Auto and TPCA plants, which made Czechia one of the world’s most prominent countries as to per capita automobile production.

The automotive industry with its vast network of subcontractors has acted not only as an important employer and value creator, but also as a prominent exporter (19% of Czech exports in 2011), and thus a robust stabilizer of the economy, especially when domestic demand apparently stagnates.

The significant role of the automotive industry in the Czech economy has been applauded, but is also a source of significant concerns. Instead of the former “smithy”, the Czech Republic is sometimes called by local people, not meaninglessly, “Europe’s assembly plant”. Concerns are raised as to whether Czechia’s excessive dependence on automobile production may not damage the country. If this sector, cyclical by nature, gets into global trouble, it can have

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a detrimental effect on the whole Czech economy, companies and employees of supplying industries in particular.

A suitable complement to automobile production in the country can become alternate machine production, especially in the spheres of energy and electrical engineering and, more in general, all high technologies. This is to be facilitated by strengthening the innovative environment in the country, including suitable governmental support of investment in science, research and development.

Nevertheless, the main source of a beneficial diversification of the Czech economy, which would also bring its structure nearer to that of “old” European countries, is a full-blooded expansion of the sector of services. While “big” service branches like transport or telecommunication run their own way, the essential thing for the upturn is the development of services that would be driven by small and medium enterprises (SME). And here, the potential of SMEs is still suppressed in some ways.

The main problems are still concentrated in the legal and judiciary systems, even if some improvement has occurred in the last period.

The process of founding an enterprise is relatively cumbersome and protracted, if compared with the European average. While the reflection of entrepreneurial risk is sufficiently embodied in the income tax legislature, the legislature itself is very bureaucratic and complicated despite many promises to improve it, promises given repeatedly by more governments and political parties. The work of courts is still slow as to bankruptcies and the recovery of debts. The business legislature is still much more oriented to the interests of larger companies than to those of the SME, and some corrections here are needed. The legislature of public administration, defining its function towards entrepreneurs, also has to be improved in many ways. On the other hand, more positive flexibility has been reached recently in industrial law.

Another factor influencing the reduced share of services in the economy is a relative weakness of domestic capital. Strong entities of

Czech origin and ownership have originated since the Velvet Revolution, particularly in the financial sector (as a result of voucher privatization), and in some primary industrial branches like mining and food production. Domestic sources of capital for more sophisticated and differentiated activities are still lacking.

The improvement of the existing concentrated structure of the Czech economy does not consist in suppressing the successful automotive and other strong industries, but in developing other, especially high-tech and small-scale businesses. This has to be a common task for the Government, industrial associations, chambers of commerce, and also new private investors.

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

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 41

interview

A talk with H.E. Venkatesan Ashok, India’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Strong Ties Go with Mutual

RESPECT Photo: Vladimír Weiss

42 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

Home to one of the oldest civilisations of the world, the image of India has been globally shifting. India is a country that has seen incredible growth, stability and faith in its democratic system over the last two decades. However, this path was not always easy, as a rather conservative country was at first suspicious of the impact of globalization. At present, India has not just embraced it, but it has even withstood the global recession in perhaps a more comfortable way compared to several developed economies. What is its future partnership within the EU, and the Czech Republic respectively? We talked to H.E. Venkatesan Ashok about the current state of India-Czech trade, as well as the investment and cultural exchange of these two countries.

Its roots date back far beyond the 65th anniversary of mutual bilateral ties, which we are celebrating this year.

interview The Indo-Czech relations have traditionally been excellent.

Yes, there’s been a very long and mutually beneficial relationship between the Czech Republic and India. What actually started much more like a cultural and philosophical partnership slowly developed into a very stable, fundamental and solid trade co-operation. This year we are celebrating 65 years of bilateral ties between both countries. However, the roots of mutual trade co-operation go back to 1920, when the Czechoslovak Republic set up a Consulate in Bombay, and in 1931 when Baťa set up a factory in India.

Are the original Baťa factories still working in India?

Yes. The brand is still popular in India. It is partly because Baťa makes cheaper footwear than the big global brands like. This is really appreciated by people in the countryside, while people in big cities are obviously just the opposite. In addition to that, Indian companies are competing with Baťa and the competition proves to be quite difficult for Baťa. Going to India’s large cities, you can spot Baťa´s shops over there quite frequently. However, people in India do not regard it as a foreign company, they see it as a local Indian brand before they realize it is one of Czech-Canadian origin.

India had not always been keen on globalization…

Yes, our economic system has undergone a complete transformation in the last two decades. One of the crucial stages was when our educated and experienced people began to return to India and establish start-ups here. Thus, many of the really large information technology companies like e.g. INFOSYS or WIPRO have been founded by locals. Beyond this, the IT and IT related services, business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, all these aspects contribute to India’s huge economy, plus we have other traditional things like textiles, gems and jewellery. In this respect, I would like to point out that the Czech companies have contributed to India’s industrialisation as well, including heavy machinery and boilder plants, power generation equipment and so on. Our mutual co-operation developed in this way.

Currently, India has been supplying the EU market with automobile components, and it is no secret that the trade in the automobile industry between both countries is growing rapidly, and Škoda Auto is a very popular car in our country.

How important is the Czech Republic as a partner for India among the EU members?

Very important indeed, together with other CEE countries like Romania, Hungary, and Poland, with which we are also heavily engaged in terms of trade volumes. The Czech Republic is a very important partner especially for trade and investment. You have companies like Auto Škoda, Tatra or Vítkovice which are well known in India and are very important for building infrastructure. India is going to put more than 1 trillion USD into its infrastructure

by 2020. There is a big opportunity for Czech companies to co-operate in areas of heavy industry, heavy manufacturing, railways, roads and airports, cranes, etc.

Some countries perceive the Czech Republic as a “bridge” to the EU market. Is it the case with India as well?

Well, yes and no. Historically, we have established a very good friendship with the Eastern Block. Thus, it was quite easy for us to be engaged with the Czech Republic bilaterally. The bilateral trade turnover between our countries reached a figure of 1.5 billion USD in 2011. In parallel, we have also been engaged with the EU dialogue. So, next year we will hopefully see the EU-India FTA. It is a very important document enabling the exchange of goods and services going both ways. It will give a big boost to the EU-India bilateral agreements.

What areas of expansion within the IndoCzech relations do you see as of the biggest importance?

Technology is undoubtedly of key importance to us, and your country is traditionally very strong within this field. Areas like clean technology, energy, bio-technology, nano-technology, cybernetics, robotics, defence technology, etc. Especially with regard to environmental issues we need to adapt to clean coal much like other clean technologies. We have already started at least 5–6 projects in different technologies and I would like to increase that substantially. In this respect, we’ve established co-operation with both the Czech Republic and the EU. For this reason we have An agreement and programme of cooperation on scientific co-operation with your country.

There is another area in which we would like to co-operate with the Czech Republic, and this is nuclear energy. Strategically, the Czech Republic and India are both in favour of nuclear power.

We appreciate that the Czech Republic has a different view within the EU. Could you specify this?

Energy is another huge area of our focus.

Annually, we have been adding about 12–15 thousand megawatts of power for the last 5 years. This is not adequate, as our economy is swiftly growing.

Again, concerning the environmental point of view, it is rather difficult to build hydroelectric plants, especially in a country with such a high density of population. So, we aim for building additional nuclear power plants. At the moment, about 3 percent of our capacity is nuclear and we would like to increase the percentage mix of nuclear to up to 10–15 percent. In this respect, there is a huge opportunity for foreign investors in this area.

Companies from all over the world will be asked to bid for the projects within India. Thus, there is a huge opportunity for Czech companies in the supply of subcomponents.

Whom have you approached thus far?

We are basically negotiating with the same companies as your country – Areva, Westinghouse,

Atomstroyexport, etc. Russians have already built two plants in South India. We already have 14 power plants, and there are another 8–10 planned. The French have just identified a place in West India where they want to build a nuclear power plant, and the Americans have an interest in South-Central India.

Do you intend to hold special events aimed at attracting Czech investors in other industrial fields?

We regularly participate in investment seminars and exhibitions in the Czech Republic and India.

This year India is the partner country at the Brno Trade Fair, 10–14 September. We hope to welcome our Commerce and Industry Minister there. Also, we hope to hold the next Joint Commission meeting during this period.

What companies are going to take part in it?

We hope to have more than 125 engineering companies from India. We traditionally admire the Czech technology know-how. The Czech Republic is very strong in technology including research in institutes and universities. Univer sities in the Czech Republic are very keen on collaborating with counterpart institutions in India, because while you are very strong in science and technology, you have a decreasing population of people interested in getting degrees in these fields. Also both our countries have bright young scientists and engineers and collaboration would be mutually beneficial. In India, we do not have enough places at our Universities for students graduating from high school. Therefore, we’d like to see more Indian students studying at Czech Universities. Very few study here at present. There are only about 150 students in total at all your Universities.

However, in this respect, I am very positive we can certainly have more, especially within the postgraduate and higher levels, where there would be a lot of interest to come and study.

One of the things that you heavily support is a cultural exchange. Can you explain the Czech Republic’s interest in Indian culture?

Czechs show a huge interest in Indian culture, bee it yoga, ayurveda, Indian food, Bollywood mo-vies, dancing, philosophy, and so on. And of course, Charles University has courses related to Asia and India. We are teaching Hindi, three types of Indian dance – Kathak, Bharatnatayam and Bollywood dance at the Embassy. All three of these are taught by Czech teachers. Also, we have a Czech yoga teacher. We offer our facilities 4 days a week. Last but not least, we cooperate with local organizations and municipalities for celebrating and organizing events, especially Indian Festivals in the Czech Republic. I am largely talking about the Indian festivals – like Diwali and Holi in which local people show an immense interest. Last year at these events we had dance performances, the overwhelming majority of the performers being from the Czech Republic.

By Pavlína Holancová

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 43

Another of this year’s gatherings of CFO Club members took place on June 13th in AUREOLE Fusion Restaurant & Lounge in Prague City Tower.

discussion event IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Petr Brávek, Member of the Board of Slovenská sporiteľňa and Member of the Board of CFO Club, Martin Novák, Chief Finance Officer of ČEZ, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Member of the Board of CFO Club, Petr Koblic, General Manager, Prague Stock Exchange, and Marek Tichý, Head of Corporate Finance, Raiffeisenbank a.s.

CFO CLUB: ANTICIPATED TRENDS ON CAPITAL MARKETS

Lucie Urválková, Member of the Board and CFO, UNIQA pojišťovna, a.s. and Aleš Barabas, CFO, Member of the Board and Chief Risk Officer, UniCredit Bank Czech and Vice President

From left: Petr Šlajchrt, Sales Director, SAS Institute ČR, s.r.o. and Petr Brávek, Member of the Board of Slovenská sporiteľňa and Member of the Board of CFO Club Josef Šára, CEO and CFO, ŠKODA PRAHA Invest s.r.o. and Helena Hostková, CFO and Member of the Board, ČEPRO, a.s.

44 From left: Ondřej Balík, KREKOM s.r.o. and Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little

From left: Petr Šlajchrt, Sales Director, SAS Institute ČR, s.r.o., Robert Ernest, Senior Account Manager, SAS Institute ČR, s.r.o., and Michal Ajm, Account Manager, SAS Institute ČR, s.r.o.

Martin Vašek, Member of the Board and Deputy General Finance Manager, Hypoteční banka, a.s. and Monika Zahálková, CEO, Czech Institute of Directors

From left: Jaroslav Škvrna, Partner, Deloitte Czech Republic and Ondřej Kebrle, Senior Consultant, Deloitte Czech Republic

Hostess in Japanese style

The speakers in the discussion, which was moderated by Petr Brávek, Member of the Board of Slovenská sporiteľňa and Member of the Board of CFO Club, were Martin Novák, Chief Finance Officer of ČEZ, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Member of the Board of CFO Club; Petr Koblic, General Director of the Prague Stock Exchange; and Marek Tichý, Corporate Finance Director of Raiffeisenbank. The gathering took place under the auspices of SAS Institute ČR, whose Sales Director, Petr Šlajchrt, also greeted the participants.

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ From left: Martin Novák, Chief Finance Officer of ČEZ, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Member of the Board of CFO Club, Petr Koblic, General Manager, Prague Stock Exchange, Petr Brávek, Member of the Board of Slovenská sporiteľňa and Member of the Board of CFO Club, and Marek Tichý, Head of Corporate Finance, Raiffeisenbank a.s.

“Sportsmen as managers” – that’s the title of another gathering of CFO Club members which will take place on August 15th. As Dean Brabec, President of CFO Club, and Managing Partner of CEE Arthur D. Little, indicated, a very interesting guest with a hockey background can be expected.

45

diplomatic event

Special thanks to SAAB for making this reportage possible

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE From left: Luboš Šrámek, Business Development and Sales Director Defence and MRO, AERO Vodochody, a.s., Martin Franta, Industrial Cooperation Project Manager, SAAB Czech, Daniel Boestad, Vice President CEE Countries, Group Marketing and Business Development, SAAB Czech, and H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden

From left: Pavel Šimůnek, Sales and Security Director, SAAB Czech, JUDr. Kateřina Říhová, MILE., Ph.D. candidate, Junior Contract and Legal Manager, SAAB Czech, and Mrs. Romana Nešporová, SAAB Czech

46 From left: LtCol. Per Råstedt, Swedish Defence Attaché, CR, SK and Romania, Swedish Embassy and Col. Tomasz Podlasin, Defence, Military and Air Attaché, Polish Embassy

From left: LtCol. Andreas Meister, Defence Attaché, German Embassy and Col. Andrew Shepard, UK Defence Attaché

From left: Rolf Ericsson, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden, Prague, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Benny Krönfeldt, Chief Security Officer, Vice President, Corporate Security, SAAB Czech

From left: Col. Milan Novotný, Director, Ministry of Defence of the CR, Foreign Activities Directorate and Major Lukáš Kolíbal, ADC to Chief of General Staff, Czech Army

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Robert Bjorklund, former Swedish Defence Attaché, Campaign Director, SAAB and Jim Chang, Foxconn

From left: Col. Vladimír Ficenec, Czech Army and LtCol. Ing. Roman Harenčák, Program Manager, Ministry of Defence of the CR

From left: Captain Harri Aaltonen, Planning Engineer, Swedish Air Force Support Group CR, Col. Per Nilsson, Colonel, Program Director, Gripen for the CR, FMV, and Daniel Boestad, Vice President CEE Countries, Group Marketing and Business Development, SAAB

From left: Marika Přinosilová, Industrial Cooperation Project Manager, SAAB Czech, Aleš Výborný, Director, CR, BAE SYSTEMS, H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden, and Markéta Čadková, Executive Assistant to CEO, SAAB Czech

From left: Captain Navy Tamer Saleh, Egyptian Defence Attaché and Senior Colonel Du WeiScheng, Military and Air Attaché, Embassy of China

From left: Linus Råstedt, Linnea Råstedt, Mrs. Charlotte Råstedt, Jim Chang, Foxconn, and LtCol. Per Råstedt, Swedish Defence Attaché, CR, SK and Romania, Swedish Embassy

47 From left: Mrs. Charlotte Råstedt, Mr. Robert Lavack, and H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden

interview A talk with Michal V. Marek, Director of the Global Change Research Centre at CzechGlobe

AT HAND

Global Change PPho hootos tos o s: Archiv Arc h e of Czec hiv Czec zechGl hG obe hGl ob

48 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

Prof. RNDr. Ing. Michal V. Marek, DrSc. (1954) – graduated from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Agriculture in Brno and also from Biophysics at the Faculty of Science at Charles University in Prague. His professional focus lies on ecophysiology of photosynthetic assimilation in woody plants, material and energy flows in ecosystems, and the impact of global change on ecosystems. He is a professor in the field of “Forest Ecology” and doctor of biological sciences in the field of “Plant Biology”. He has published about 270 research papers and monographs. At the same time, he has been an investigator of many research projects. At present, he has been the project coordinator of the EU research infrastructures ICOSD – International Carbon Observation System and ANAEE – Analysis and Experiments in Ecosystems. He is the project promoter of the Structural Funds at CzechGlobe, and the Director of the Global Change Research Centre at CzechGlobe, of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

He is a professor at Mendel University in Brno and a “visiting” professor at the University of Natural Sciences in Poznań. He has worked at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, for two years. He is a member of the international consortia projects focused on global change research, and represents the Czech Republic in several European expert committees related to research in the field of natural and environmental sciences.

interview For what purpose was the CzechGlobe ReWhat scientific procedures and methoGlobal change really brings such paradoxes, search Centre established? dology do you use to measure global changes? so both are probably true. For example, if The “Global Change” is the focus of both the a theory of changes in strength and direction Ecological research at present is a hard and professional and the lay public. Global change of the Gulf Stream was going to be fulfilled, it honest work, using modern scientific methods. has become not only an ecological, but also may be caused by cooling of the global change The procedures are also complicated by the fact a sociological and technical problem of nowain Europe. Another important factor is that the that it is necessary to implement a multidiscipdays. Yet it has a strong political dimension with climate is changing in the longer-term interval, linary approach. If you examine global change a global reach as well. Unfortunately, the politiand the occurrence of anomalies doesn’t necesyou need to monitor processes in the atmoscal side of the global change issue considerably sarily mean a climate change. Just to remind phere, energy and matter flows in ecosystems, aggravates rational decision making. you, there have always been floods in Central and explain these effects on the socio-economic In what way?

Europe, which is simply because the basis is the consequences.

It becomes a subject to undignified wrangles river system, which together with the landscape How does it work? and often irrational discussions. This condition, has a limited capacity to absorb excess supply The base is a perfect and accurate monitothanks to generally known roots, so typical for of precipitation. So, the occurrence of floods ring – monitoring specific parameters in the our society, is in the Czech Republic particularly cannot be automatically assigned to climate long-term series. I emphasize the most accurate acrimonious. But, on the other hand, it objecchange. What is questionable is the increased observations. Added to this, there are the spetively increases the pressure on the establishincidence of anomalies. cific analyses of key life processes such as ment of a high quality knowledge In this respect, is not the base to explore this issue by obexcessive regulation of the global The history of our civilization is pathologically jective scientific procedures, and environment particularly detriwill try to explain the roots, demental? Doesn’t nature dispose of tied to a belief in the self-regulating velopment and possible consea self-regulatory or self-preserving properties of nature. That’s not true. The problem quences of the global change. mechanism?

These will then be prevented, or The history of our civilization is is that the changes occur abruptly. society will be forced to adapt. pathologically tied to a belief in the I want to emphasize that the self-regulating properties of nature. photosynthesis, both by simulation experiments CzechGlobe project is either climate-alarming That’s not true. The problem is that the changes and investigating phenomena in the natural enor climate-skeptical. We are a professional, occur abruptly. I’m not an economist. Therefore, vironment. Methodically, it moves within the scholarly, innovative and educational instituI’d behave as those with which we disagree, range of metabolomics (tracking the occurrence tion. I am convinced that these activities are but I cannot understand that literally the ideal of certain metabolites in response to the action desirable for both scientific knowledge, and the of our civilization is a permanent increase in of the external environment) to aerial or satellite transfer of scientific knowledge into common GDP. I really don’t know, and I beg your pardon observation continents. This requires the impleknowledge, and the transfer of common knowfor I’m an economic illiterate, but do I really need mentation of the latest procedures and equipledge into innovation. All of the needs are aimed to have new things each year? Moreover, one ment. Of the utmost importance is the involveat private subjects, government, self-governrather dislikes the word “regulation”, so we betment of really smart talented researchers with ment and their institutions. ter replace it with the word “management”. passion for the issue.

We are people endowed with mind and intellect, Climate is affected by many natural and Some studies suggest that the Earth is so we should manage it in a way that we can live artificial factors. What does your research getting warmer, while others talk about the here. If I raise a child, which I obviously care show? opposite effect. So what is true? much for, I need to regulate myself in various I suppose I should note that the climate is not things as well, so that I am being economical. constant. It certainly develops depending on What are the greatest threats the natural external factors that cannot be influenced by functioning of the socio-economic systems is people. The problem is that human society is facing? becoming indeed, via its activities, a major facI´ll probably surprise you, but I personally see tor in the biosphere of this planet. I do not mean the current threat as primarily a problem of water just a huge increase in human population with availability. Its consumption is growing so enorits demands for water, food, living space, exploimously, and the occurrence of droughts is so tation of natural resources, waste production. frequent. That is, in my opinion, an extremely A simple calculation of greenhouse gas emiscurrent threat. Another problem I see is that our sions, areas cleared of forests, changes in the civilization still underestimates the value of seroceanic environment and land usage change vices that nature provides us. As if “it was for clearly shows that something is increasing. free” is meant as the absolute zero. The producCan you give any specific example? tion of oxygen, food, and the water regime are I can cite the latest knowledge on the ecosyssuch essential “products”, without which our tem of our measurement station in Beskydy, civilization simply cannot exist! where this year we have measured an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration to values

By Pavlína Holancová around 400 ppm! When we built the station in the end of the 80s, this background CO2 concentration was 350ppm! I am therefore convinced that humankind’s role in influencing the global český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi ecosystem of the Earth is indisputable. magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 49

gala reception Peter P. Formánek, President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic and H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada to the Czech Republic

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic was proud to celebrate its 15th Anniversary in June 2012. Members and guests of the Chamber were invited to two special events marking the occasion. A Business Conference on June 12 at the Alchymist Grand Hotel and Spa offered up-to-date information about the condition of both Canadian and Czech economy, services provided to businesses by diplomatic missions and government agencies such as Export Development Canada – the principal partner of the 15th Anniversary Events – or CzechTrade, and conditions for investors in Canada and the Czech Republic. The Chamber’s long-established tradition of providing opportunities for productive business networking in a friendly ambience was further enhanced during the 15th Anniversary Reception held on June 13 in the beautiful Vrtba Garden at Prague’s Lesser Town and the elegant Aria Hotel.

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CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC CELEBRATED ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY

From left: Mrs. Lucie Krejčová, Jiří Krejča, Managing Director, Vere Prague & Vice President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic, Mrs. Zuzana Palečková, and Peter Palečka, Board Member & Senior Executive Director, Komerční banka

From left: H.E. George Monteiro Prata, Ambassador of Brazil to the Czech Republic; Kateřina Lukešová, Director, American States Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; and Milana Chamberlain, Head of Prague, Norton Rose MGen Tom de Faye (retired) and Mrs. Louise Beer

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From left: Martina Taxová, Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Canada, Pavel Hlavinka, Vice President for Corporate Clients, Vodafone Czech Republic, and Libor Chytrý, Managing Director, Magna Seating Chomutov

From left: Petr Zvolánek, Manager for Economy and Administration, Regata Čechy, Eva Gottsteinová, HealthCare Financing System Manager, AstraZeneca, and Libor Olexa, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Media Factory Czech Republic

Lewis Megaw, Regional Vice President – Africa, Europe and Middle East, Export Development Canada

From left: Alexandra Brabcová, Executive Director, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic; Petr Jakubec, Partner, Ueltzhöffer Balada; and Pavel Hlavinka, Vice President for Corporate Clients, Vodafone Czech Republic

From left: Martin Lis, Ranch Double M, Martin Navrátil, Chairman of the Board & CEO, SYNPO, and Jiří Buchvaldek, Partner, Hrubý & Buchvaldek

From left: David Navrátil, Chief Economist, Česká spořitelna and Jaroslav (Jerry) Jelinek, Director, CzechTrade Office Calgary & Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic for the Province of Alberta, Canada

Milana Chamberlain, Head of Prague, Norton Rose

Thomas Hrubý, Partner, Hrubý & Buchvaldek & Senior Vice President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic

Oldřich Polášek, Key Account Manager, International Battery Group, Ms. Jana Turnerová, Zdeněk Holík, Director, HQH Systém, and Ms. Tina Pletánková

Michaela Karabcová, Group Marketing & PR Manager, Aria Hotel

From left: Miroslav Voštiar, Owner, Aria Hotel; Muriel Anton, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Czech Republic & Vice President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic; and Jiří Buchvaldek, Partner, Hrubý & Buchvaldek

From left: Anthony Hasek, Hasek.cz consultancy, and Michael Mullen, Partner, Havel, Holásek & Partners

51 From left: Ilja Šedivý, Chairman of the Board, Regata Čechy, Eliška Hašková-Coolidge, and Peter P. Formánek, President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Ole Moesby, Ambassador of Denmark to the CR and Stefan Lager, CEO, Sweden Telecom and President of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce

gala evening

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ON THE MAGIC DATE 6. 6. 2012 6PM

Strawberry Party True to its tradition the Nordic Chamber of Commerce arranged its Strawberry Party on one of the less summery days in June, this time in magnificent Villa Richter beneath Prague Castle. Almost 100 guests showed up to enjoy the usual mix of friendly atmosphere, splendid food and socializing. “The Nordic Chamber is an expression of the dynamic co-operation between our countries”, Denmark’s Ambassador and the Chamber’s Honorary Chairman, H.E. Ole Moesby said. “By building up a common network, we can reach some of the goals we have set.”

From left: Alexandra Tomášková, Skanska Property, Zuzana Martínková, Development Manager CEE, YIT Stavo, and Britta Cesar Munck, Managing Director, Skanska Property

Stefan Lager, CEO, Sweden Telecom and President of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce with his wife Michaela Lager, HR Director, Schindler CZ

From left: Marketa Haraldsson Petrů, Inkasso and Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber of Commerce

52 Staffan Erenmalm, Division Director, ABB with his wife Charlotta Erenmalm, MD Radiologist

From left: Jiří David, Partner, Šafra & Partners, Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, and Simona Kalvoda, Nordic Chamber of Commerce

From left: Ivo Klimeš, Board Member, Nordic Chamber of Commerce, Zuzana Martínková, Development Manager CEE, YIT Stavo, and Ivana Goosen, Executive Director, Pittsburg University

From left: H.E. Jens Eikaas, Ambassador of Norway to the CR, prof. Václav Pačes, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences

From left: Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber of Commerce, Robert Box, Partner, Mercuri International, and Jarmila Scheibová, Consultant, Mercuri International

From left: Staffan Erenmalm, Division Manager, ABB and Birger Husted, Managing Director, Uniqueconsult

From left: Marie Jehličková, Director CGTA with her partner, Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber of Commerce, and Markéta Haraldsson Petrů, Inkasso s.r.o.

From left: Vlaďka Hronková, TeliaSonera, Jindřich Chaloupka, Senior Manager, Telia Sonera, and Michaela Výtisková, Project Manager, E15

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

adieu/goodbye/na shledanou

From left: Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards with his wife Leata on the left, and Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman, Europe Microsoft Corporation with his wife

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From left: Edvard Outrata, former Senator and Petr J. Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of the CR with his wife in the middle

Martina Jankovská, Dr. Attorney at Law, Partner, Saxinger Chalupsky and Partner v.o.s. and Jiří Polák, Executive Director, Cacio

54 H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada in her speech and Ing. Jiří Weigl, CSc., Chancellor, Office of the President of the CR

From left: René Beauchamp, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Prague, Mrs. Linka, and Pavel Hlinka, Consulting, Lobbying, Education, Training, AHP Connections

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Martha Gellová, Director, Česká Pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ, and Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises s.r.o., Real Estate Developing and Debt Collecting

From left: Sanjiv Suri, President, Zátiší Catering Group a.s., Mrs. Louise Beer Beauchamp, and René Beauchamp, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Prague From left: Ing. Arch. Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Top Hotels and Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards

Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius with his wife

From left: Mrs. Leata Jelinek, Maureen Chang, Chateau Roztěž (Casa Serena), and Jim Chang, FoxConn

A farewell reception for all friends of Otto and Leata Jelinek took place at the residence of the Canadian Ambassador, H.E. Valerie Raymond. After 18 wonderful years spent in Prague, Otto and Leata will be returning to Canada.

In the beautiful residence of the Ambassador of Canada nearly 200 close friends came and enjoyed the canapee’s and great wines although with some sadness to see their friends leaving Prague. We all will be missing this wonderful couple but hopefully to see them returning occasionaly in the future.

55 From left: Edvard Outrata, former Senator, Peter Formanek, President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Gabriel Eichler, Benson Oak with his wife on the left

MO M ORE RE PHO HOTO OTO TOS A AN ND EL EL EC EC TR RONIC ONIC ON C VER RS SIIO ON N AAVVAAIILAAB BLLE ON ON W WW W..LLEADE EEAADEERS RSMA SMAAG GAA ZI Z NE.C NE.C NE CZ

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From left: Otto Jelinek with his wife Leata on the left, Prof.

Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., Board Member, CNB Bank and Chief Executive Director, and Ing. Stanislava Janáčková, CSc., Advisor to the President, Office of the President

JUDr. Petra Buzková, Partner, Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout attorney office s.r.o. and Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards

From left: Miluše Hášová, Department Procurement Coordinator, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Maria Jelinek, and Mrs. Zuzana Hronková From left: Dr. Ing. Ján Fabián, Vice-Chairman, OKD and Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards

Zdeněk Pelc, CSc., General Director, Digital Media and Ing. Vladimíra Václavíková

From left: Doc. Ing. Antonín Indruch, CSc., Ing. Jiří Kunert, Chairman and CEO, UniCredit Band CR, a.s., and Jiří Fárek, Professor, Technical University Liberec

56 From left: František Válek, Member of the Supervisory Board, OKD, Vladimír Vaněk, Partner, Deliotte Advisory, and Josef Kotrba, Office Managing Partner, Deloitte CR

Chancellor Weigl read a very warm and nice message from President Václav Klaus at the party

From left: Gen. Tom De Faye (Ret.), husband to the Canadian Ambassador, Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards, and H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada

From left: Ing. Jan Oberman, Executive Head, Korado Consulting and Ing. Jiří Weigl, CSc., Chancellor, Office of the President of the CR From left: Mr. Martin Ráž and Martin Coté, Development Director, RPG Real Estate

From left: Vladimír Motlík, President, Prague City Golf Club, and Jonathan Hallett, Managing Partner, Cushman and Wakefield with his wife in the middle

From left: Ing. Luboš Řežíbek, Csc., Chairman of the Supervisory Board, OKD, and František Válek, Member of the Supervisory Board, OKD

Max Seunik and MUDr. D. Seuniková, Dermatologist

From left: Peter Formanek, President, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Ing. Jiří Kunert, Chairman and CEO, UniCredit Bank CR, a.s.

From left: Martin Sušil, Director, Deloitte CR, Gabriela Naiwirtová, Deloitte, and Ing. Jaroslav Borák, Strategy Advisor, Vitkovice Machinery Group

Lenka Velenová and Tomáš Hrubý, Partner, Hruby and Buchvaldek

Silvano Pedretti, Board Member, ORCO Property Group and Mrs. Leata Jelinek

From left: Dr. Ing. Ján Fabián, Vice-chairman, OKD, Otto Jelinek, former Canadian Cabinet Minister and current member of numerous international boards, and Tony Akisch, General Director, RPG Real Estate

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farewell

for 18 months. We stayed for 18 years!!!

That’s got to tell you something.

I was born in Prague in 1940 and left for Canada with my parents and siblings in 1948 after the onset of communism, after the state nationalized all of my family’s property – homes, factories, land etc.

We quickly adjusted to the Canadian way of life, never dreaming of returning back to Prague. We simply accepted that communism was there to stay, and only hoped that the brutality of the system would lessen over the years and that life for our friends and family – for all Czechs and Slovaks – would improve. I don’t think that it did – not for years to come.

As fate would have it I, along with my sister Maria, was to return to Prague well before the Velvet Revolution or the Prague Spring. My sister and I had taken up figure skating, and when we were at our peak in 1961 the World Figure Skating Championships were incredibly awarded to Prague. Our family was stunned... Could my sister and I return in the midst of the darkest chapters of communism to compete for Canada in the city of our birth???

After much soul searching and international intrigue regarding visas (which the Czechoslovak government at first refused to issue) and guarantees of safe return (which the Canadian government insisted upon) we flew back to Prague for the first time since our escape in 1948 to participate in the 1961 World Figure Skating Championships.

Disaster struck...!!! The Sabena Airlines flight carrying the entire US Figure Skating team crashed in Brussels, killing all on board. My sister and I were to be on that flight, but due to last minute scheduling changes by our coach, we never boarded it. The championships in Prague were rightly postponed for a year in honour of the U.S. team.

A year later, 1962, we returned to Prague to win the gold

medal for Canada to the delight of the Czechoslovakian people.

VELVET REVOLUTION 1989 Fast forward to the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the fall of Communism. At the time, I was a Federal Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Government. As such I had the honour, for example, to officially welcome President Václav Havel and his delegation of Ministers on their first official visit to North America in 1990. In the meantime, the transformation in Czechoslovakia had begun.

It was in 1994 that my lovely wife Leata suggested, in her wisdom, that I retire from politics (after 21 years) and move to Prague for 18 months in order to experience, first hand, the incredible transformation that was taking place, now in the newly established state – the Czech Republic.

We did just that. In August 1994, with our two boys in tow, we began an adventure of a lifetime by temporarily moving back to the city of my birth.

Big changes were taking place. I would however like to put into perspective how different and far reaching the changes from a Communist regime to a Democratic free market oriented system had really been. At first, on the surface, it seemed that the changes were of a superficial nature. Most visitors to Prague appreciated the fact that old, rundown, historic buildings had been cleaned up; new infrastructure projects improved and expanded; neighbourhoods restored – in short, the beautification and restoration of Prague had an immediate positive impact on tourists and citizens alike. No wonder then that the city of a thousand spires is again considered by many as the most beautiful city in the world.

What tends to have been forgotten is a far more important change that also began to take place at the time. Both Maria and Otto Jelinek (center of picture) won the gold medal for Canada at the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships.

In second place were Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov from Russia (far left of picture).

In third place were Margret Goebel and Franz Ningel from West Germany (far right of picture)

Photos: Archive of Author

Otto and Maria Jelinek

Czechs and foreign visitors seem to forget that just over 20 years ago, the people of Czechoslovakia had very little freedom, if any. There was no freedom of speech; no freedom of enterprise; no freedom of movement or travel.

In short, most everything was owned, controlled and run by the state. This quickly began to change. Czechoslovakia – later the Czech Republic – was officially being invited into international organizations such as NATO, the OECD, the World Trade Organization etc. – and of course, most recently the EU. As such, the Czech Republic quickly became a part of the global democratic community.

From the very beginning, following the Velvet Revolution, the transformation process was rapid and complex, not without its problems and not always right. We progressed from Communism to student protests to Václav Havel.

From coupon privatization (remember Viktor Kožený?) to REAL privatization, to direct foreign investment and capitalism. I was fortunate to be able to contribute to this exciting transformation by introducing large multinational corporations to the newly developing opportunities in the Czech Republic and Central Europe.

All in all, dramatic changes lead to dramatic results. The changes were positive but not without difficulties, including what I believe to be a growing problem – corruption. If we wish to see continued confidence on the part of foreign investors and the international business community, the corruption issue must be dealt with sooner rather than later.

And so, as we depart Prague to return to Canada, it is clear that the Czech Republic has had exceptional positive results during the past 20 years of transformation from Communism to Democracy. Now there are new challenges, problems and solutions to face. Prague is a great city – beautiful and historic. But it is the people that have made the greatest impact on me and my family.

We have been fortunate to meet a cross section of interesting wonderful people from Prague and around the world, many of whom have become good friends. These friendships will of course continue and will always remind us of Prague. It has been an incredible, unbelievable, enjoyable and memorable adventure for me and my family. The planned 18 month visit turned into an 18 year love affair with Prague and its people.

By Otto Jelinek ■

the coach’s corner

How Is your Cultural Intelligence?

Despite current economic and financial turmoil, the Europe that emerged at the turn of the new millennium was stronger and more unified than ever before in its history.

The weak and divided Europe of sixty years ago had transformed itself into a supranational entity composed of many nations, languages and identities; and boasts as its greatest resource an unparalleled level of diversity.

However, while diversity has been Europe’s greatest advantage, it also became the continent’s greatest challenge.

As people from all levels of society, business and government interact with one another with increasing regularity, the need for effective communication and understanding across Europe’s many cultures is more important than it has ever been.

Many Europeans often don’t pay enough heed to the importance that differences have in cross-cultural interaction.

This is particularly true in business and government. Though Europe gained increased cohesion through the European Economic Community and the European Union, the financial crisis emphasizes the importance of attending to cultural differences.

Communicating efficiently across cultures is about far more than just mastery of language, grammar and syntax. In business and politics, bridging the communication gap with colleagues of different cultural backgrounds requires both rational and emotional understanding of who we are dealing with and where people come from, and to put their behaviors and attitudes into the context of their cultural value systems.

To interact and communicate well in various cultural contexts, those of us who work and live across the cultural spectrum can do well to understand and develop the human facility of “cultural intelligence”.

What do we mean by cultural intelligence? Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski, authors of an article on the subject for Harvard Business Review, define it as “an outsider’s seemingly natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures the way that person’s compatriots would.” In short, being a culturally intelligent human being means being able to adapt to a variety of different cultural, organizational and professional cultures with little discomfort or difficulty.

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.

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Early and Mosakowski describe the three sources of cultural intelligence: cognitive, physical and emotional. While “Cultural Intelligence” addresses many of the characteristics of emotional intelligence, it goes one step further by helping people identify the specific behaviors produced by various cultures.

THE HEAD The cognitive aspect of cultural intelligence is what we use to distinguish the beliefs, customs and taboos of other cultures. This is also the aspect of cultural intelligence that prevents us from making possible gaffes or being misunderstood when communicating with others. The business world is full of examples of how an individual’s cultural background, and the expectations that background gives way to, reveals how culturally savvy he or she is.

An example I recently heard of was about an Israeli businessman who tried to negotiate the purchase of conference services in Prague, over the phone. Not aware of how Czechs approach negotiations, the Israeli began pressuring the Czech sales representative for better pricing, expecting a straightforward answer.

The Czech saleslady not comfortable about confronting the client with what she knew to be an unrealistic demand, said she would see what she could do and followed up by email the next day stating that the businessman’s price could not be met and asking if some other accommodation could be made.

In the end, the Israeli businessman walked away, believing that the Czech representative was playing games with him. The Czech seller was convinced that the Israeli didn’t value her efforts or acknowledge that she was making the best offer possible. Both lacked the cultural understanding to recognize that their approaches to negotiations were fundamentally different. Instead of analyzing the situation and adapting their communication styles to find a compromise, both parties gave up on what had the potential of being a mutually beneficial agreement.

People are often concerned they have to put a foreign culture ahead of their own in the face of these cultural differences.

Appreciating and accepting another culture doesn’t mean renouncing our own and acceptance does not have to mean agreement. Instead, it means being flexible and accommodating enough not to let your own cultural identity get in the way of another’s. We can respect a variety of different cultural characteristics without incorporating them into our own lives.

BODY The physical aspects of cultural intelligence require that our actions and behaviors demonstrate that we are capable of entering into another cultural context. Our ability to read physical signals and habits, and willingness to venture outside our physical comfort zones, allows us to adapt our behaviors to new surroundings and people.

As a business coach, I have learned that to successfully work with clients from different cultures, my ability to identify physical cues, be they overt or subtle can make my interactions go more smoothly. And physical manifestations of cultural intelligence may start right from your introduction to someone from another culture.

An American will appreciate a firm handshake and a smile.

Czechs are more reserved and a smile may not come until they know you better. But the neutral expression a Czech delivers at a first introduction is just that – neutral, not unfriendly or distrustful. They are just waiting for more information on which to base a decision. For the culturally mindful, that initial lack of smile represents an opportunity to create a good impression.

THE HEART This is the emotional facet of cultural intelligence. While the ability to accept and adapt is key to personal and professional success in another culture, one must truly have the desire to follow through. Aligning our heart with our thinking and behaviors will allow us to better deal with the differences we are exposed to.

To facilitate communication between cultures, one must have the desire to connect mentally and emotionally and to be prepared to “walk in their shoes.” I really began to connect with Czechs the day I recognized their supreme need for comfort. Their innate need for comfort, translated as pohoda, signifies much more than simple physical pleasures.

It refers to harmony both within one’s self and one’s environment. To deal successfully with Czechs, I first had to understand that personal comfort as well as comfortable relationships is at the core of their value system, and then harmonize my communication style appropriately.

The integration phase occurs when we are able to hold different frames of reference in our minds at the same time.

When we understand and use the frames of reference of the people around us, we can accommodate ourselves to customs and habits different from our own and come to terms psychologically and socially with a diverse range of cultural realities.

Working and living in a different culture is a challenge for anyone. However, by taking the time to understand the values and motivations that drive a group of people, newcomers to a culture will see their efforts to connect and communicate pay off over and over.

We can develop our own cultural intelligence by constantly immersing ourselves in new and culturally diverse situations and environments. By accepting, adapting and integrating to various cultural differences, our identities become a dynamic synthesis of the cultures around us.

In years to come, Europeans will see the importance of effective communication across cultures. To facilitate cooperation and understanding in an enlarged Europe and increasingly integrated world, well – developed cultural intelligence will be key to the success of people at all levels of society, business and government. And we can only hope that all our leaders will make more culturally intelligent decisions about the fate of our global economy and community.

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 59

SBP conference From left: Jiří Hynek, President, Defence and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic and Gen. Petr Pavel, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Czech Army

From left: H. E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden to the Czech Republic, General Karl Engelbrektson, National Representative of Sweden, EU Military Committee, and Adam Sowa, Deputy Chief Executive, European Defence Agency

From left: Stanley R. Sloan, Founding Director, Atlantic Community Initiative, and Miloš Balabán, Director, Charles University, Center for Security Policy

Jan Hamáček, Vice-Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Chamber of Deputies

600 Jan Ludvík; Research Fellow, Charles University, Center for Security Policy

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Participants

From left: Admiral Nils Wang, Commandant Royal Danish Defence College, Jiří Šedivý, First Deputy Minister of Defence, former Deputy NATO Secretary General, and Bruno Bucherie, Defence Attaché of France to the Czech Republic

From left: Miloš Balabán, Director, Charles University, Center for Security Policy and Mirko Hempel, Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Representation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

From left: Pavel Seifter, London School of Economics and Political Science and Pavel Fischer, Political Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

From left: Jan Ludvík, Research Fellow, Charles University, Center for Security Policy, Mirka Kortusová, PR Manager, Charles University, Center for Security Policy, Miloš Balabán, Director, Charles University, Center for Security Policy, and Libor Stejskal, Research Fellow, Charles University, Center for Security Policy

The Conference European Security and Defense at the Crossroads was held on Wednesday 16 May at the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. The conference was organized by the Center for Security Policy of the Charles University and supported by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Delegation of European Commission to the Czech Republic, and embassies of France, Sweden and Denmark. It has met a great interest of more than 300 participants representing a wide spectrum of politicians, soldiers, diplomats and academia.

From left: Jiří Parkmann, Head of the Prague Office, OSCE Secretariat, Miloš Balabán, Director, Charles University, Center for Security Policy and Mirko Hempel, Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Representation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

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From left: General Jiří Baloun, NATO and EU Military Representative of the Czech Republic and General Karl Engelbrektson, National Representative of Sweden, EU Military Committee

H.E. Ole Moesby, Ambassador of Denmark to the Czech Republic LtCol. Per Råstedt, Swedish Defence Attaché to the Czech Republic, and H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden to the Czech Republic

Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General

622

From left: Libor Stejskal, Research Fellow, Charles University, Center for Security Policy and Filip Mikas, SAAB Czech

From left: Lubomír Zaorálek, Vice-President, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic, Miloš Balabán, Director, Charles University, Center for Security Policy, H.E. Pierre Lévy, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, and Stanley R. Sloan, Founding Director Atlantic Community Initiative

sustainable development

Business Must Consider PEOPLE AND PLANET AS WELL AS PROFIT Many would agree that economic growth since the Revolution has enhanced the standard of living for most Czechs, generating opportunities and ensuring stability.

Today, in spite of the global economic crisis, with around of one-third of European Union member states still in recession, the country’s finances are in relatively good shape.

This should be seen as good news for business.

But is this growth sustainable? From a strictly economic perspective, the answer may well be “yes”. However, many social and environmental experts are far less optimistic, and express serious concern that the expanding economy is storing up problems for the future. They argue that financial progress must not be seen as the be-all and end-all to this nation’s continued advancement. While economic growth delivers positive benefits, it also creates negative impacts.

There is rising awareness among corporate leaders that true sustainability is about more than money. The long-term business success depends on a healthy environment with an uninterrupted supply of natural resources, as well as an equitable society that upholds stability.

This is called Sustainable Development, where the same priority is given to viable future for profits, as well as to considering the wellbeing of people and planet. Smart businesses increasingly understand the importance of balancing the so-called “Three Ps”, as evidenced by the significant presence of the corporate sector at the recently-concluded United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Known as Rio +20, more than 50,000 people went to this beautiful Brazilian city to grapple with these complex challenges. Together with more than one hundred heads of state, politicians, non-governmental organizations and CEOs from some of the world’s biggest companies, delegates debated how we can meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The Czech Republic had a strong presence at this important event, which marked the 20th anniversary since the first Earth Summit was held in the same city. On 21st June, Jonathan Wootlifff – a former Director of Greenpeace International, he lives in Prague and works throughout the world as a sustainability consultant to business.

He has advised many large corporations including British Petroleum, McDonald’s, Colgate-Palmolive and Whirlpool. With particular expertise in climate change, energy policy, forestry, and supply chains, he helps companies to develop sustainability strategies that benefit the environment, society and business.

Among his many activities, he advises companies on stakeholder relationships, resolves conflicts between companies and non-governmental organisations and develops sustainability reports. A qualified journalist with a subsequent background in public relations, Jonathan commonly assists companies with their sustainability communications. He can be contacted at jonathan@wootliff.com.

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Environment Minister, Tomáš Chalupa formally opened a session entitled Measuring a Green Economy: Insights into “Beyond GDP” Indicators. Professor Bedřich Moldan of Charles University’s Environment Center provided a summary of a recent, groundbreaking study about “green growth”, undertaken in collaboration with the national Statistical Office.

Although a short-term mentality often still prevails, there are a number of promising signs for sustainable development in the Czech Republic. There is an inter-ministerial commission with responsibility for sustainable development action strategies. While it seems that most Czech companies continue to view environmental and economic concerns as incompatible, there is a growing “green business” sector in the Republic.

Encouragingly, just a month before Rio +20, six forwardthinking companies signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development. This new organization, the Czech BCSD becomes the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s regional network.

In spite of this growing evidence that sustainability is now appearing on some company radar screens, there remains a significant challenge to make the issue mainstream and to embed this essential thinking within the culture of the Czech corporate sector. It’s high time for all captains of industry in this country to wake up to the clear business case for truly embracing sustainability.

Ignoring sustainability is surely no longer an option for Czech business. Indeed, there are significant rewards for companies that are prepared to embrace sustainability.

Here are some robust reasons why: Stronger financial performance and profitability Businesses can use CSR and corporate sustainability to produce direct benefits for the bottom line. For example, operational efficiencies can be achieved through reducing energy and materials. Waste can also be reduced and materials can be recycled. Eco-efficiencies can produce concurrent environmental and economic benefits for the company.

Managing potential risks and liabilities more effectively through a sustainability lens tools reduces costs.

Improved relations with the investment community and better access to capital The investment community has been exploring the links between sustainability and financial business performance.

There is growing evidence through such indices as the Dow Jones Group Sustainability Index that companies that embracing the essential qualities of sustainability generally outperform their counterparts. This information is being translated into action through the increasing number of socalled Socially Responsible Investment funds. There is growing evidence that sustainability can increase share value.

Enhanced employee relations, productivity and innovation Corporate sustainability thinking fosters a business environment that can contribute to increasing the commitment and motivation of employees to become more innovative and productive. Companies that deploy sustainability pers-

Jonathan Wootliff at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, June 2012 Photo: Archive of Author

pectives and tools tend to be businesses that provide the pre-conditions for increased loyalty and commitment from employees. These conditions help to recruit employees, retain staff, motivate them to develop skills, and encourage innovative thinking that can significantly help to advance the business Anticipate future challenges and identify new opportunities Corporate management is all-too-often out of touch with ordinary people and societal trends. Sustainability significantly helps companies to identify and address societal concerns and expectations. This helps businesses plan for the future, reduces potential vulnerabilities of public criticism and minimise the risks of becoming involved in controversy. Intelligent sustainability approaches within business decision-making brings fresh thinking and innovative ideas that can lead to new market opportunities. And sustainability-thinking companies will inevitably be better prepared for prospective new regulations and legislation.

Stronger relationships with key stakeholders A key feature of corporate sustainability involves the way that a company engages, involves, and collaborates with its stakeholders including shareholders, employees, creditors, suppliers, customers, communities, non-governmental organizations, regulators and governments. Establishing and maintaining open dialogue, being prepared to form effective partnerships, and demonstrating transparency (through measuring, accounting, and reporting practices), considerably helps to build credibility and trustworthiness.

Improved reputation and branding Sustainability goes a long way in enhancing and securing a company’s reputation and brand, and this in turn improves the prospects for the company to be more effective in the way that it manages communications and marketing in efforts to attract new customers and increase market share.

Sustainability as a concept provides a wide range of management tools that can help a company to position itself as more responsible and caring, and can provide an invaluable competitive advantage.

Business in the Czech Republic is well-placed to embrace sustainability. The opportunities and benefits are surely compelling. No forward-looking company can afford to ignore the rising tide of corporate sustainability.

By Jonathan Wootliff

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 63

gala evening

Andoni Dentici, GM, Alchymist Luxury Group

This year’s midsummer night featured yet another exceptional event at the Alchymist Grand Hotel and Spa summer garden.

Some of the most worldwide recognisable brands allowed visitors to admire their creations while they filled the baroque garden and enjoyed the impeccable cuisine of the Alchymist Group Executive Chef Tomáš Sysel.

During the event Scuderia Praha showcased a new version of the Ferrari California model, Vertu exhibited the “Constellation Lady” mobile phone collection. Thun whiteware and Naty Naty beds brought examples of their unique and exclusive creations. Finally, the numerous guests witnessed a spectacular fashion show by La Perla followed by the raffle topped by the graphics donated by UniCredit Private Banking.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

www.alchymisthotels.com

AT THE ALCHYMIST GRAND HOTEL & SPA

644 Guests enjoying the party

From left: Nino Altomonte with his wife Monika, Lucie Nizska, Resident Manager, Alchymist Prague Castle Suites, and Andoni Dentici, GM, Alchymist Luxury Group

From left: Neil Wilson, Publisher, DW Publishing, Anthony Seddon, Solicitor, Seddons, Victoria, Singer, and Carlo di Vito, Editor in Chief, Prague Exclusive

Fashion Show La Perla

From left: Kateřina Mojdlová, PR, Alchymist Luxury Group, Jaroslav Červinka, Marketing Director, Studio Thun, and Zuzana Majorská, Editor in Chief, ILUxurylife.cz

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

David Kopal, Marketing Manager, Scuderia Praha

CZECH 100 BEST GRAND GOLF PRIX DÝŠINA CUP 2012

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

Grand Golf Prix Dýšina Cup 2012

CZECH 100 BEST Thhe ex excl clus usiv us ivee Go iv Golflf Park Plzeňň on once ce aga gain in hostedd thhe fifirs rstt to tour u naame ment ntt of thhe se seas ason fro rom the se s ri ries es “Cz Czec echh 10 1000 Be B st Grand Golf Prix” entitled Dýši Dý šina na Cup. On Jun unee 15 un 15th th “Cz Czec echh 1000 Be Best st”” has endured a successful st ccoont ntin inuation of ititss go g lf tournam amennt tr trad aditititio ad ion. io n. n.

C menius Soccie Co iety ty has had the ple l assurre to arrange already the h fourth tour to u namentt of the thhe “Czech 1000 Bes estt Gr G and Golf Prix”, a tournament innsp s iredd by “C Cze zech ch 100 Bes est”, a co c mpetition Comenius organizes since 1996 1996 19 9 . Thhe to tour u na ur n me m nt offffer ered ed a mor oree rela l xed an a d ye y t at the same time comp co mppet etitittive ivve ccoomb mbat a to the at thh re repr prresen pres essennta tatititive vees of com ompa pani pa nies ni es ackknoowl es wled edge ed g d byy ge thee “C th Cze z ch ch 1000 Bes est” t sca t” cale le.. Noot ttoo men entition onn tha hatt Co ha C me meni eni n us was a alsoo ag agai ainn succ su cces cc essf es sful sf ul in ar a ra r nggin ingg ex e ce cellllen ennt we w ather co cond ndditi io i ns ns,, soo the par artititici cipa ipant ntss nt join jo ined edd us foor a da dayy fu fullllll of gr grea eaat go golf expper erie ienc n es nc e . Th Thee toour urna n me na ment nt was d vi di v de dedd inntoo thr hree hree e cat ateg egor orie ies - ca cate tego gori riess HCP C 37 too 54 an andd HC HCPP 18 18,1 ,1 to 36 have ha ve pla ve laye yedd ac ye acco cord co rdin rd din i g too Stableffor ordd sc scor o in or i g an andd thhe ca c teegory gooryy HCPP 0 to 188 pla laye yedd fo ye forr st s ro roke kess ssuubt ke btra r ctted e hal alff of handi dica cap. p. The win inne neerss of iinndi d vi vidu dual al cate ca teegoori r es es (se seee th thee re resu sultlts) s) rec ecei eive ei v d pr ve p iz izes es fro r m Vl Vlas asstitimi mila mi la Reichhelltová, Golflff Gat Go ate th t e ex excl c us usiv ivee im impoortter of Ju JuCa Cadd go golflf car arts ts, Vě ts Věra ra Liš iško ková vá, th thee Head He ad of Fi Fina nanc na ncee BM BMW/ W/In Inve veltltl and the rep eprese s nttattivve off the he Auttomobilille part pa rtnne rt nerr,, Karel arel Muz ar uzik ikář ář,, wh whoo st step eppe ep pedd in for Andrey d y Ny Nyup upen up enko k from Euro -Rus Eu -R Russsi siann Ban sian ank, k, whhoo hadd to tr k, trav avel av el outt bef efor oree th or the he ennd of the h tou ournam am ment. ennt.

Thhe Eu T Euro roo -R Rus ussi sian Ban si ankk wa was as th the Gr Graannd Pa Part rtne rt nneer off the ner he event veent n.

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFFIELD D COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AK TIENG GESELLSCHAFT

Keys froom th thee Mini Cooper, whichh was thee mai ainn pr p ize of the he Holle in Onne competition, n havve re rema m in ma ined ed in th thee ha hand ndss of Invelt company, the nd h part pa rtne nerr of the adj djoi oine oi nedd coomp ne mpetition, but we all ho hope pe tha hatt th thee caar wi willll chan ch a ge its own an wner er dur urin i g the se seco cond co n tou nd ourn rnam amen entt of the sea easo son. The winn wi nner nn erss of Nea eare rest stt to thee Pinn co comp mpet mp etititio ion, n, rec ecei eive v d th their prizes froom Šárk Šá rkaa Paaro rk robe bek, k, the co -ow - owne ner of Ifi fiel e d Co el Comp mput u er Consulttan ancy cyy. Bo Both th winner ers of the Lon onge geest Dri r ve wer ere aw a ar arde dedd wi with th gift baaskket etss fr from o the om h hands of Radek ek Dohhnaal,l Gen ener e al Dir er irec e to ec torr of TOP hot otel el Pra raha h and the ha he Vice Vi ce-Chairmann off the he Boa oard rd of TO OP H Hoote tels ls Gro roup up. Ma Many ny pri rize z s fr ze from om Unde Un derr Ar A mo m ur u brraandd wer e e di dist sttriibu bute tteed to t pla laye yers rs in th thee co comp mppet etitititio ionn io Supe Su p r Neearesst to the Pin pe i , wh w er eree al a l coompet eted witithh thhe fi f rs rstt C Czzec eh paart rtic iccip icip ipan antt to thee Lad adie i s Euurope ie roope p ann Touur – Zu Zuza zana na Maš ašín ínov ín ová. ov á The á. priz pr izee fo forr th thee ch chip ippping pingg com pi ompetitititiion “ hi h t thhe fr f ontt op open en win indo d w of BMW do MW X6 you can win in BMW Z4 fo forr a we week ekken eken end” d , wa d” was awardeed to Pettr Di Ditr tric icch with wi th 3 shots of 5.

5. The endd of tthhe aw a aarrd rd ce c remonyy was conncl clud uded edd b a ric by ichh raffle. Th Thee Eu Euro r -R ro Rus ussi sian ann Ban ank wa ank w s thhe Gr Gran andd pa part r ne rt nerr of o the he even entt an andd BM B W/ W/In Inve v lt wass forr the h f ir irst st tim imee in intr trod oduc duc u ed ass thhe Automobiile par artn tner er..

Come Co meni nius us is lo l okkin ingg foorw rwar ardd to the he sec e on ondd toour urna name na ment nt in Alba baattrroosss Golff Res Golf esor ortt in Sep or epte temb mbeer.

From left: Jozef Piga, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Omnipol and H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of Slovakia

czech 100 best golf tournament

From left: Jan Hlaváček, Advisor to the CEO, Plzeňský Prazdroj, Ladislav Jirovský, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Aknel Group, David Doležal, BMW Invelt, and Michal Hátle, General Director, T-Systems Czech Republic

Karel Kadeřávek, Autosalon Klokočka Centrum From left: Pavel Míka, Managing Director, Pados, Karel Kadeřávek, Autosalon Klokočka Centrum, and Pavel Dvořák, Autosalon Klokočka Centrum

CHAMPIONS

Josef Weigl, winner of the Longest Drive receiving his prize from the sponsor Radek Dohnal, Vice Chairman of the Board, TOP Hotels Group

JJoooin iinnt H HC CP 0 – 188 1Č ČE ERV RVEN ENKA K A Rud udol udol olf – 10 olf 10,66 2H HÁ Á ÁJE JEK Rade JE JEK Raddeek – 14 Ra 14,,99 14,9 3H HL LA AV VÁČ ÁČEK EK Jan an – 8,3 ,3

Karel Muzikář, President of Comenius and Gábina Partyšová, Moderator

JJooinnt HCP HC H CP 18 18,1 8,11 - 36 1 HAVR HAVR HA VR ÁNEK VRÁN ÁNEK ÁN EK Luk u áš áš – 233,,1 2B BO ORŮ RŮVK ŮVK VK A Ja Jan – 22 22,66 3 KL KL A ASS Jaann – 288,,,11

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

J in Jo i t HC HCP 3377 - 54 1 KA APL L AN AN Pav aveell – 36 2 ŠŠPPA AČ ČEK EK Maarrttiiinn – 48 48 3 BÖ BÖHM HM Dan aniieel – 3388

Long Lo n est drive women: SSE EDL DL ÁČ Á KO K VÁ Kateřina Longest drive men: WEIGL Josef Nearest to the pin women: HAVAŠOVÁ Jitka N arest to the pin men: Ne JANDA Lubomír

From left: George Parobek, General Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy, Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy, Kateřina Sedláčková, Partner, AK Doleček Kahounová Sedláčková, and Jan Klas, General Director, Air Navigation Services of the CR

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czech 100 best golf tournament

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

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Pavel Kaplan, European-Russian Bank, Vlastimila Reicheltová, Co-owner, Golf Gate, Daniel Böhm, and Matěj Špaček, Seznam.cz

From left: Jitka Havašová, winner of the Nearest to Pin, receiving a nice trophy from the sponsor Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy

Jan Zadák, Vice Prezident, Hewlett-Packard

Augustín Adam, Chairman of the Board, G-Team

From left: Jan Heroudek, City of Prague, Pavel Brychta, Director, Silmos-Q, and Martin Kovář, Sales Director, Excon

68

From left: Andrey Nyupenko, European-Russian Bank, Simona Prokopová, General Director, Ruckl Crystal, Danilo Manghi, General Director, Manghi Czech Republic, Walter Fusal Poli (Lloyd)

Zuzana Mašínová, first Czech in the Ladies European Tour and her Super Nearest to the Pin

media power

CEOS’ PR SINS

a Small Guide to Heaven and Hell Yes. I know. Many of my good friends, whose job is to represent their organizations, will “love” me again.

But somebody must say it. Most often, the biggest obstacle ahead of successful corporate communication is a clumsy CEO. Here is my list of Top 10 most common sins that CEOs indulge in without being aware that such behavior is sabotaging their team’s efforts and wasting precious communication budgets.

I know everything. CEOs who think they know everything and need no further learning are exactly those who need training the most.

He can do it. No, he can’t. He may be your spokesman, but he cannot be a leader instead of you.

Corporate representation comes in a package with a leadership position and lush yearly bonuses, so it’s actually your job to be the first who shares the news with your employees and the wide public, may it be good or bad news.

I am everything. CEOs who micro-manage their communication teams are more prone to poor results than those CEOs who set up clear directions, and then create room for their accomplishment.

I don’t need preparation. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” said Benjamin Franklin. He must have known what he was talking about. Failing to prepare for any type of communication – live speeches, presentations or media encounters – means failing to put your message across at best. At worst it means bringing over crisis communication with potential disastrous consequences. Know your facts; know exactly what you’re

Cristina Muntean is a communication adviser with more than 12 years’ experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media. Between 2005–2010, Cristina worked for the English-language economic magazine Czech Business Weekly (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. In June 2011 Cristina was elected president of the Czech PR Klub.

Currently, she provides reputation management advisory, media training, coaching and support 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.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

trying to say and what you don’t want to say. Only then you can stay safe from the storm.

Sales first, communication second. Sure. How many clients have you ever convinced to buy your products by remaining silent? Communication starts the moment you articulate your idea in your mind, then you share it with your team and the world. There are no sales without communication. There are no sustainable profits without proficient communication.

Deadline? What’s that? It’s that nasty thing that needs to be filed by x o’clock today. If you want to be quoted, meet reporters’ deadlines. Better yet, be the first to provide a quote as soon as possible; you increase your chances of getting quoted over and over again and thus fix your name in your audience’s memory. There are no perfect articles; there are only articles that can be published by the deadline. Respect this rule of thumb in journalism and your name will live forever in the media.

Can I authorize? Would you ask your surgeon the same question when he gets ready to perform an operation on you? No, because you respect his profession and you think he knows his craft. Journalism is a profession, too.

Respect reporters, and you will be respected by the media.

They’re just a bunch of ignorants. No, reporters don’t understand your business as good as you do. They aren’t paid to understand your business, they are paid to have good sources and tell stories that change people’s lives.

You can change the world too, when you are a good source. Besides, every meeting with a fledgling reporter is an opportunity to educate him in your field of business by sharing trends, market observations and news tips with him. Why not go after your chance?

Facts, tables, charts. Facts are good, but what’s a story without emotions and action? Reporters write lively, vivid articles that people want to read in one breath. For that, you need to spice up your speech with anecdotes, examples, metaphors and things that happened to real people. The more naturally you communicate the better.

Who’s in charge here? During the interview – the reporter. You might want to take the lead and influence the direction of the conversation, but you can do that only one way: through your answers. Don’t try to balance force with force because it will turn against you. Stay agile and it will play into your advantage.

Now let’s take a look at how CEOs can boost their PR team’s results once they accept that communication is a priority and that it’s their job to stand the role and represent their organization.

Start reading the newspapers and remember the names of reporters who cover your industry. There is a high chance you will meet them soon, and it’s always good to break the ice with a line on the reporter’s last story you’ve just read.

Photo: Jakub Stadler

Hold a small agenda for ideas. One of the hardest things to do for a PR person is to get access to know-how that lies in somebody’s head. If you want to communicate better, write down those topics that excite you to talk about, then go back to them when you have a moment and develop your comments into an expert article. Few media will refuse to run it if it’s good.

Ask for feedback. After each media encounter ask your PR rep: “How could I have done this even better?”

Then listen, practice and master your craft.

Show gratitude. Those people in your communication team do tremendous efforts to bring you closer to your public through the media. As they build your personal brand, they do you a favor. Appreciate when they bring some positive results, it’s much more work behind the scene than you might think at first look.

Stay open, be courageous to new ideas and approaches, and learn from everything that comes your way.

This applies not only in communication. It’s a life challenge. Yet, communication has this wicked attribute of showing us exactly when we are lying to ourselves. Maybe that’s why so many people, including CEOs, avoid it.

As we grow with the market, our awareness on how to manage our businesses better is also growing. Communication is becoming common sense for more and more companies, and it’s no longer a competitive advantage. It does become a competitive advantage when the leader – entrepreneur, CEO, manager – dares to look into himself, and then dares to share his vision with the world.

There is where it starts. Afterwards, it’s only a matter of choice – heaven and hell are equally close, in business and communication alike.

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

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 69

assembly meeting

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

The 10 founding members of this prestigious world organization recently gathered at the General Assembly Meeting to agree on strategy and to elect official representatives. Further work will be managed by Presidium – headed by President Pavel Kafka and Vice Presidents Petr Kalaš and Jan Zurek. The Presidium will follow a 5-member Executive Committee, which has representatives of the founding members. Ivo Gajdoš was elected as the Executive Director of the CBCSD.

From left: Radka Pokorná, Expert Guarantor, Blue Events, Monika Kofroňová, Interim Corporate Communication Manager, Henkel ČR, and Lucie Záhorská, Manager, Business Leaders Forum

MEETING OF THE CZECH BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TOOK PLACE JUNE, 25th 2012

The second part of the General Assembly was focused on the potential fields of the CBCSD´ s future program and project activities. Several topics were addressed by invited experts. The first speaker was prof. Moldan of the Government Council for Sustainable Development, who just returned from his participation in the World Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Prof. Moldan welcomed the establishment of the CBCSD and promised cooperation between the Governmental Council for Sustainable Development and the business-focused CBCSD. Mentioning the outcome of the Rio+20 conference, he was not impressed by the conclusions of political leaders in the summit, but appreciated the activities of the business community. Prof. Moos, Vice-Rector of the Technical University and former Minister for Transport, spoke about new trends in transportation systems, which we expect in the near term, with special regard for the electrification of road transport. At the last minute Arch. Petr Štěpánek was supposed to talk about the “low-energy housing program”. Another program that could create cooperation among CBCSD´s members was presented by Frank Nekovář, president of the businessbased NGO-WGL. The presenting project “Green Lungs of the World” operates in the Congo and offers interesting opportunities for Czech companies to build infrastructure and forests in this part of Africa. His presentation caused immediate interest among participants and the committed support of some companies like Tesla Holding. Global benefits ofhis project on climate change and sustainable development in the Congo should deserve international attention.

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From left: Lucie Záhorská, Manager, Business Leaders Forum, Josef Trochta, Executive Director, WGL, Bedřich Moldan, Vice Chairman, Government Council for Sustainable Development, and Anton Uhnák, Chairman, Czech-Korean Committee of the Chamber of Commerce

Peter Kalaš, who is in charge of programming and content of CBCSD and collaboration with the WBCSD, focused in his presentation on the interesting conclusions from the WBCSD Annual Summit in Montreux. In the fall of 2012 Mr. Kalaš is planning a brainstorming workshop with selected members of the Regional Council from neighbouring countries to focus CBCSD activities on domestic and international projects.

From left: Jan Tošovský, Executive Director, WGL, Josef Trochta, Executive Director, WGL, Jaroslav Hyhlík, COO, Tesla, Radka Pokorná, Expert Guarantor, Blue Events, Ivo Gajdoš, Vice President, Czech Management Association, Frank Nekovář, President, World´s Green Lungs (WGL), Pavel Kafka, President, Czech Management Association, Luděk Pitra, Executive, BASE – Renewable Energy, Petr Kalaš, former Minister of Environment and Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, Stanislav Wiener, General Manager, Procurus Europa, Monika Kofroňová, Interim Corporate Communication Manager, Henkel ČR, Miloš Malaník, Country General Manager, TNT Express, Lucie Záhorská, Manager, Business Leaders Forum, Michal Broža, Officer in Charge, United Nations Info Centre Prague, Martin Walter, Corporate Affairs Manager, Nestlé Česko, and Anton Uhnák, Chairman, Czech-Korean Committee of the Chamber of Commerce

From left: Pavel Kafka, President, Czech Management Association and Luděk Pitra, Executive, BASE – Renewable energy

From left: Frank Nekovář, President, World´s Green Lungs (WGL), Petr Kalaš, former Minister of Environmen and Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, and Pavel Kafka, President, Czech Management Association

From left: Stan Wiener, General Manager, Procurus Europa, Josef Trochta, Executive Director, WGL, Jan Tošovský, Executive Director, WGL, Ivo Gajdoš, Vice President CMA, and Frank Nekovář, President, WGL

71 MORE MO MOR RE PHO HOTO TOS S AN ND EL ELEC ECTR EC T ON TR O IC C VER RSI SION O ON AVAI AV A LA AI L BL BLEE O ON N W WW W W.L .LEA E DE EA DERS RSMA MAGA G ZI GA ZINE NE.C .CZZ

networking/discussion event MAY 30, ZOOM UNIQUE PL ACE, PRAAGUE CONGRESS CENTER

Special thanks to Ifield Computer Consultancy and Laic Aktiengesellschaft for making this reportage possible From left: Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Libor Hájek, President, ELTODO EG

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

In the f in inal al pha hase se of th this is sch choo ooll ye oo year ar Com omen eniu iuss Soci ciet ietyy pr p es esen ente en tedd a di te disc scus ussi sion dinner with Mr. Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Financee of the Cze zech ch Soccia iall De Demo moocrat atitic ic Par arty ty. Th Thro roug ugho h ut the eve veni ning ng Mr. Mlá láde dekk ha hass pr prov o ed his act ctiv ivee in invo volv vo lvem lv emen em e t in en in the nat atio iona io nall fif na nanc nces nc es andd presentedd hi an hiss cr crititic ical al positionn to towa ward rdss th thee present administration off th thee Mi M ni n st s ry ry. Mr Mr.. Mlád Mládek dekk arg rgue uedd thhatt the ue he gro rowt w h inn nat wt atio ioona nall savings is a connse sequ quen ence ce off the crisis warnings comingg fro rom m th thee Mi Mini nist stry of Fi Fina nanc ncee an andd nnoote ted that thhat a thi his grow gr wth is no nott go goinng to boo oost st up Cz Czec echh ec econ onom omy. y

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AK TIENGESELLSCHAAFT

From left: Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Česká pošta, Markéta Karasová, Secretary of the Supervisory Board, Česká pošta, Július Kudla, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO, Euler Hermes Čescob, úvěrová pojišťovna, and Karel Nohejl, Head of Risk Management Department, Vemex

networking/discussion event

From left: Michal Procházka, Director, Avanti, Tomáš Čáp, Executive Vice President, Comenius, and Jaroslav Šafránek, Key Account Manager, S&T CZ

Petra Buzková, Partner, Law Office Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout

Jaroslav Šafránek, Key Account Manager, S&T CZ

Jiří Uklein, Chancellor, Senate of the Parliament

Josef Kotrba, Managing Partner, Deloitte Czech Republic

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

From left: Vlastimil Horkel, Advisor to the President, ELTODO EG, Libor Hájek, President, ELTODO EG, Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD and Stanislav Stejskal, Managing Director, VEGACOM

For a better future of the Czech Republic, Mr. Mládek suggested the Ministry of Finance should look for better ways to collect taxes, arrange better export conditions and should also start working on an effective exchange with China. Mr. Mládek concluded by stating that the main task of the Ministry is to search for a system with a potential to survive the turbulent changes within the Czech government.

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networking/discussion event

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

From left: Radka Bučilová, Director, State Environmental Fund of the CR, Albín Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises, and Adéla Syberová, Advisor to the President, Comenius

Miroslav Pavel, Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Banking Institute Stanislav Stejskal, Managing Director, VEGACOM

From left: Tomáš Uvíra, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Czech Export Bank and Vlastimil Halla, Director, Management Consulting, KPMG ČR

From left: Ivana Šindelářová, CS Data, Jiří Malý, Director, Securis, and Martina Brandová, CEO, MESTREY From left: Libor Hájek, President, ELTODO EG and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Jan Žůrek, Managing Partner, KPMG Česká republika, Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AK TIENGESSELLSCHAFT

From left: Martin Žáček, Managing Director and Chairman of the Board, UNIQA ČR and Janka Vozárová, Chairwoman of the Board and Managing Director, TV Barrandov

From left: Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board, Top Hotels Group, Stanislav Stejskal, Managing Director, VEGACOM, Jan Žůrek, Managing Partner, KPMG ČR, Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Libor Hájek, President, ELTODO EG, Marika Konečná, Partner, KPMG Česká republika, and Miroslav Sklenář, Prague City Hall

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

networking/discussion event MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

From left: Yan Yuqing, Councillor for Political Affairs, Embassy of the People´s Republic of China, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Zdeněk Škromach, Vice Chairman, ČSSD and Vice Chairman, Senate of the CR

Jan Birke, Mayor of the City of Náchod, Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, and other delegates of the Czech mission to China On 5th of June, 2012, Comenius Society organized a discussion Round Table with a number of important members of the Czech Social Democratic Party and the entire evening focused on the current state of the Czech-China relationship. The initial word was taken by Mr. Kohout, who presented the long-term efforts of Czech China Chamber of Collaboration and also its main vision that by 2015 the mutual business exchange between the two countries should double.

From left: Lucie Orgoníková, CEO, Orgmedia, Jakub Vít, External Relations Manager, ArcelorMittal Ostrava,and Martin Wichterle, Chairman of the Board, Wikov Industry

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networking/discussion event

From left: Jiří Malý, Director, Securis, Yan Yuqing, Councillor for Political Affairs, Embassy of the People´s Republic of China, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Tiantian Zhao, Li Yi Sen, President, Sino-Czech Economic Trade & Cultural Exchange Asso Shaoji Guan, and other Chinese representatives

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

Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Vysočina Region

From left: Tomáš Kočka, Vice President, Czech China Chamber of Collaboration and Jan Birke, Mayor of the City of Náchod

Radek Špicar, Vice President, Union of Industry and Transport of CR

From left: Adéla Syberová, Advisor to the President, Comenius, Michal Feix, Executive Director, SEZNAM.CZ, and Tomáš Pála, Executiove Director, China Investment Forum From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Alexander Turov, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Czech Republic

From left: Ladislav Britaňák, Vice President, Commercial Director, Česká zbrojovka, Vlasta Bohdalová, Member of the Parliament, Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD, Petra Buzková, Partner, Law Office Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Zdeněk Škromach, Vice Chairman, ČSSD and Vice Chairman, Senate of the CR, and Jan Oberman, CEO, Korado Consulting

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAIC AK TIENGESELLSCHAFT

This vision was supported by Mrs. YAN Yuqing, Councillor for Political Affairs of the Chinese Embassy, who stated that China is still a developing economy of vast dimensions and new opportunities. The most important debate topic was the improvement of travel conditions between the two countries, which would mean better flight connections and mainly the establishment of new visa centers within China. The Czech and Chinese participants of the event have agreed that due to its central location within Europe, Czech Republic has got the potential to become the new communication link between China, Europe and the rest of the world.

networking/discussion event

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Yan Yuqing, Councillor for Political Affairs, Embassy of the People´s Republic of China, and Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

From left: Zbyněk Eiselt, Executive Director, ABAS IPS Management and Bohuslav Cempírek, General Manager, ICZ

From left: Tomáš Pala, Executive Director, China Investment Forum, Martin Wichterle, Chairman of the Board, Wikov Industry, and Zbyněk Pardubský, Deputy General Manager, Public Relations, Huawei Technologies (Czech)

Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board, TOP HOTELS GROUP

From right: Fawad Nadri, President, Czech-Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Ivo Nechvátal, Chief Editor

H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador, Embassy of Slovakia

From left: Jan Kohout, President, Czech-China Chamber of Collaboration, Yan Yuqing, Councillor for Political Affairs, Embassy of the People´s Republic of China, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Zdeněk Škromach, Vice Chairman, ČSSD and Vice Chairman, Senate of the CR, Jan Birke, Mayor of the City of Náchod, Jan Mládek, shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD, Vlasta Bohdalová, Member of the Parliament, and Jan Oberman, CEO, Korado Consulting

From left: Tomáš Novák, DACH Sales Director, AMI Praha, Ivana Šindelářová, CS Data and Jiří Malý, Director, Securis

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networking/discussion event

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

TOP HOTEL PRAHA, JUNE 13, 2012

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From left: Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President, Police Presidium, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Col. Milan Majer, Director, Police Presidium

Round Table of Comenius with Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President

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IN PARTN NERSHIP WITTH IFIELD COMPUTTER CONSULTANCCY AND LAIC AKK TIENGESELLSCHHAFT

From left: Michal Čížek, Director Division Audi, Import Volkswagen Group, Ondřej Typolt, CEE Regional Manager, People & Communication, OLYMPUS Czech Group, and Jan Oberman, CEO, Korado Consulting

networking/discussion event

From left: Col. Milan Majer, Director, Police Presidium, Michal Fábera, General Manager, Mark 2 Corporation, Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President, Police Presidium ČR, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Jakub Joska, Partner, Kořán and Fiřt Attorney at Law, Jiří Staněk, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, VOP-026 Šternberk, and Václav Irovský, Director of the Branch, Lom Praha

The Round Table restricted to slightly lesser number of participants allowed for a tighter and more direct opinion exchange with the VIP guest of the evening, Czech Police President Col. Petr Lessy and as such the manifold discussion touched upon a variety of topics. By force of recent circumstances the dinner opened with the police role in political corruption fight and the (at the moment very rare) leakage of information during prosecutions. President Lessy pointed out the effective cooperation of police with state authorities and its growing productivity. After several positive remarks, the evening continued with a critical debate about the restricted funds of Czech police, which result in a very limited technological development in police centers and also in education. As President Lessy was very honest about the restrained conditions he is facing, a number of participants came up with useful suggestions for the future.

From left: Michal Donath, Managing Director, Donath Business & Media and Karel Novák, Editor in Chief, ČT

From left: H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador, Embassy of Slovakia, Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC VERSION AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ From left: Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman of the Board, Union of Czech and Moravian Production Cooperatives, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President, Police Presidium ČR, Dana Čírková, Spokesperson of the Police of the CR, Region Vysočina and Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Top Hotels Group

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networking/discussion event

From left: Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President, Police Presidium, Yan Yuqing, Political Representative, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Top Hotels Group, and Jan Oberman, CEO, Korado Consulting

Karel Janeček, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, RSJ

From left: Vladimír Dohnal, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Top Hotels Group, Dana Čírková, Spokesperson of the Police of the CR, Region Vysočina, and Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers and Entrepreneurs Association of the Czech Republic

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IFIELD D COMPUTER CONSULTANCY AND LAICC AK TIENGESELLSCHAFT

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

Antonín Fryč, General Director, WAREX

From left: Michal Čížek, Director Division Audi, Import Volkswagen Group, Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President, Police Presidium, and Jan Oberman, CEO, Korado Consulting

From left: Petr Toman, Partner, Toman, Devatý & Partneři and Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weill, Gotshal & Manges

From left: Michal Fábera, General Manager, Mark 2 Corporation, Col. Petr Lessy, Czech Police President, Police Presidium, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Petr Toman, Partner, Toman, Devatý & Partneři, Tomáš Hudeček, First Deputy Mayor, City of Prague, Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers and Entrepreneurs Association of the Czech Republic, and Jiří Šedivý, Managing Director, Generals

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE Photos: Jiří Herman

On June 14, 2012 the NATALI RUDEN fashion show did take place l in the beautiful gardens of the Riding School at Prague Castle.

This time, the designer presented her new collection with a telling title “Cherchez la femme”, or, in other words, there is a woman in every case.

As is typical for all Natali´s creations, the featured pieces are wearable and highlight femininity and individuality. They were made from the highest quality fabrics, which were selected at a prestigious fair in Paris.

fashion show

The designs were presented in their full glory by the most beautiful women – current and past Miss of the Czech Republic.

The evening was highlighted by orchestra of Felix Slováček jr. and violinist Alexander Schonert.

The event was moderated by Leoš Mareš, most probably the best moderator nowadays in the Czech Republic. In terms of attendance, the event proved more than successful even despite the poor weather conditions, and all the guests were left greatly impressed with the show.

Natali Ruden, Fashion Designer at the defilé

NATALI RUDEN Fashion Show www.nataliruden.cz

81 From left: Natali Ruden, Fashion Designer and Kateřina Brožová, Actress

Iveta Lutovská Vítová, Miss CR 2009

Tereza Chlebovská, Miss CR 2012

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From left: Mrs. Hagen, H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Mrs. Sanchéz, H.E. Fermín Gabriel Quinones Sánchez, Ambassador of Cuba, and Anton Hagen, Head of the Swiss Contribution Office, Embassy of Switzerland

NATIONAL DAY From left: Alexander Turov, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the CR, H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation, and Martha Gellová, Director, Česká pojišťovna and Member of the Board, AFIZ

From left: Vladimír S. Mikoyan, Representative in East Europe, Russian Chamber of Commerce and H.E. Stefan Gorda, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Moldova From left: Jiří Fárek, Professor, Technical University Liberec and Jan Struž, President, Czech Top 100 with his partner

82 Colonel Yury Bibik, Military and Air Attaché, Embassy of Russia with his wife

From left: Mrs. Tatiana Střelcová, JUDr. Vladimir Ermakov, CSc., Managing Director, Vemex, and Ing. Petr Kubernát, Director, Pekos s.r.o.

From left: H.E. Jose Luis Bernal, Ambassador of Mexico with his son and H.E. Marie Landaveri Porturas, Ambassador of Peru

From left: Army General Vlastimil Picek, Chief of Staff, Czech Army and Col. Zdeněk Jakůbek

From left: H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation and MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, 1st Vice President of the Senate of the CR

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Miro Smolák, Owner and Director, MIRO Gallery, and JUDr. Igor Ivanko, Court Executor

From left: Prof. Vladislav Dolgushin, Archbishop Mr. Kryštof, and Prof. Mgr. Oleg Machněv

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

On the occasion of the national holiday – Russia Day H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Russian Ambassador cordially welcomed all the guests. He has emphasised that the Russian Federation is moving forward on its way to an aconomically strong and stable democratic state.

He also noted with a pleasure positive approach of the Czech Republic leadership, business community and public to building relations to Russia.

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Ing. Valérie Ciprová, Head, Independent Protocol Unit, Senate Chancellery and MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, 1st Vice President of the Senate of the CR

From left: Mr. Vladimír Laštůvka, Yan Yuqing, Counsellor, Chinese Embassy, and Mr. Grégr, former Minister of Trade and Industry

From left: H.E. André Regli, Ambassador of Switzerland, H.E. Jean Faltz, Ambassador of Luxembourg, and H.E. Jan C. Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands

From left: H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA and H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia From left: H.E. Vicente Espeche Gil, Ambassador of Argentina, Marianne Gerber Szabo, Counsellor, Embassy of Switzerland, and Mrs. Gil

From left: Alexander Akulinin, Project Manager, Russia and CIS Operation, Comenius, Irina Alexandrovna Voloshina, Director, Moscow Academy of Industry and Finance, Ing. Alexander Stepanov, Managing Director, Akagemia s.r.o., and Nikolay Tresnchalin, Chairman, České centrum pro obchodní spolupráci

84 From left: Ing. Jiří Dolejš, Deputy, KSČM and PaedDr. Václav Homolka, Senator, PSP ČR

From left: Vojtěch Filip, Chairman, KSČM and Mr. Nicolas de Lacoste, French Embassy

From left: H.E. Celia Sandra Botha, Ambassador of South Africa, Tomáš Pernický, Director, Diplomatic Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR, and H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada

charity event

CHARITY-SOCIAL EVENING on the Boat Klára of the Lions Club Praha Ladies, Lions Club Bohemia Ambassador, and Lions Club Energetic For several years now, the members of the Lions Club have been giving worldwide support to those who cannot do without our help, or those whose quality of life will improve as a result of our support. At the beginning of May, the representatives of three kindred Prague clubs agreed to lay the foundation stone of a new tradition of charity-social evenings.

On Thursday May 31, 2012, the members of the LC Praha Ladies, LC Bohemia Ambassador, and LC Energetic met for the first time on a charity-social evening on the Boat Klára. Apart from the unconventional experience of viewing Prague from the water, and the performance of talented musician and singer Radek Žalud (who, incidentally, is a member of LC Energetic), the attendees of the Vltava night-cruise also took away a good feeling from meeting with friends and from helping those in need.

This first charity-social event registered a very positive response from the kindred members of the Lions Clubs, and so we can justifiably believe that the “Lions” will be organising a similar event again in the near future.

gala evening

H.E. Milan Štěch, President, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Embassy of the State of Israel and Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce organized a Festive Gathering at the beautiful venue of the Wallenstein Garden with the motto “Improving life through science and art”. The event represented a unique opportunity to meet four Israeli Nobel Prize winners in chemistry on the occasion of the Prague Nobel Get-Together conference.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

WITH ISRAELI NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS

From left: Doron Maoz, CEO, Delta Center, the Czech Republic and Veronika Jacobs, Press & Political Officer, Embassy of Israel

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From left: Petr Beneš, Vice President, Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce, Avram Hershko, Nobel Prize Winner 2004 with his wife, Zdeněk Havlas, Director, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, Ehud Keinan, Professor of Chemistry, Israel Institute of Technology, H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic, and H.E. Milan Štěch, President, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: Ehud Keinan, Professor of Chemistry, Israel Institute of Technology and H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic

From left: Martin Kult, České Radiokomunikace a.s., Jan Jaroslav Sterec, Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce and Petr Nebeský, Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce

Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize Winner 2011

From left: Ivan Wilhelm, Deputy Minister for Higher Education and Research, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Václav Pačes, former President, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Leaders Magazine

Bohuslav Svoboda, Lord Mayor of Prague

Jiří Drahoš, President, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

Zdeněk Havlas, Director, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR

From left: Pavel Smutný, President, Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce and H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Milan Štěch, President, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Jiří Drahoš, President, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize Winner 2011, Bohuslav Svoboda, Lord Mayor of Prague, Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel Prize Winner 2004, and Petr Očko,General Director, EU Funds, Research and Development Section, Ministry of Industry and Trade

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From left: Bohuslav Svoboda, Lord Mayor of Prague, Avram Hershko, Nobel Prize Winner 2004 with his wife, H.E. Milan Štěch, President, Senate of the Parliament of the CR, Alena Gajdůšková, Vice Chairwoman of the Senate of the Parliament of the CR, H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel to the CR, Petr Bratský, Member of Parliament of the CR, Zdeněk Havlas, Director, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, Jiří Drahoš, President, Academy of Sciences of the CR and Václav Pačes, former President, Academy of Sciences of the CR

From left: H.E. Milan Štěch, President, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel Prize Winner 2004, Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize Winner 2011, and Avram Hershko, Nobel Prize Winner 2004

Alexander Wlodawer, U.S. National Institutes of Health From left: Ehud Keinan, Professor of Chemistry, Israel Institute of Technology and H.E. Milan Štěch, President, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

From left: Zita Adamová, Head of Ambassador’s Office, Embassy of Israel, Šárka Stegbauerová, Secretary General, CIMCC, and Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize Winner 2011

From left: Ivan Wilhelm, Deputy Minister for Higher Education and Research, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and Bohuslav Svoboda, Lord Mayor of Prague

88 MORE MO RE P H HO OTO TOS AN AND EL ELEC EC C TRON TR RONIC ONIC VER ON ERSI SION SI SION O AVAI AV VAI AILA L ABL LA BLLE B LE O ON N W WW W.LLEA E ADE DERS RS SMAAGA G ZI ZINE N .C CZ

Czech National Symphony Orchestra

analysis

I Find Everything ONLINE!

To be online is certainly a practical and, most times, even a pleasant business. The internet helps us to solve small problems – there we can shop, book hotels and flights, and find interesting offers and sales.

From the internet we get first-hand information almost in real-time. We can also use it to find useful advice and tips.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Thanks to the internet and its sites, we are able to communicate easily with our friends and partners. Without a doubt, we can also find entertainment for all types and ages. If we are not paranoid, but naive enough, we can store our data on the internet, including personal information. The internet can apparently trigger and support revolutions. Furthermore, the internet can trigger a panic attack or even a phobia among some of us, should we not have the opportunity to connect to it for a couple of hours. From a desktop, the internet has also fought its way into our pockets. Its operation is run by armies of servers organised in server farms.

There are two sides to every coin; each good Dr. Jekyll has its own evil Mr. Hyde. Apart from the rose-coloured glasses, there are also the black ones in this world. The internet is crammed with bites, often making it difficult to find relevant and useful information.

Search engines are improving, but their commercial model is counterproductive. They give preference to paid information, either directly or indirectly, by being duped by optimization marketing strategies that are trying for your money, or to get information about you and your product on the first page. Another problem is the actualisation. A passage though the internet is often reminiscent of a journey to the Himalayas, lined with rusty, half-empty cans of foie gras. Did you also find and then look in vain for a Japanese tearoom and gallery at the Zbraslav castle? It exists only on the internet, because in real life it ceased to exist years ago. Everyone has encountered some of these “tearooms”. It can be a charming hotel, unfortunately placed right next to a train station and without a parking space, or someone who pretends to be a cat, while being a dog instead.

The internet does not solve complex problems, and it is difficult to find alternative viewpoints to questions there. In order to find connections when searching for a solution to

practical problems, or to gain a complex overview of alternatives, we need to do this “manually”. Furthermore, the traces of our activities are carefully recorded and not only used to our benefit. Unfortunately, we frequently do not even know where they are used.

Our image of the virtual world is often dramatically different from the real one, especially if we use unverified sources. The internet also has technical problems, be it the capacity, including the limited number of web addresses available, or the oscillating speed of connection.

It is said that people master technology at the moment they stop taking notice of it. The internet has achieved this at least in the “more developed” part of the globe, with a speed exceeding that of letter print, broadcast television, and the telephone. What we should not however stop taking notice of is that, as any other tool, the internet can be used as well as abused. Please do not mistake this statement for a call for internet regulation. Everyone has to deal with the overestimation or underestimation of this part of life on their own.

By Ivan Pilný President of Tuesdayy Business Network, former Chairman of Czech Telecom český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 89

interview A talk with Ivo Kaderka, President of the Czech Tennis Association

The Path to Success?

HARD WORK!

We talked to the President of the Czech TTennis i A Association, i ti Ivo I Kaderka K d k about b t the transformation of the Czech sport environment and about the great success of Czech tennis.

Czech sports, much like all of Czech society, have seen a great deal of transformation. In this respect, could you explain what made you establish the initiative “Czech Sport 2011”?

The whole impetus was my initiative to establish an association of sports federations. It was supposed to be some counterpoint and opposition group against ČSTV, which in a very silly way began to lose grip on the company Sazka. Moreover, it led Czech sports to the financial crisis and then to their doom. I was in fact among the first who said this aloud, once we got to the real financing figures of the Sazka Arena. So, the main aim was the creation of an association of sports federations, which would gather reasonable presidents of other sports unions in order to provide for the financing of Czech sports.

Can you be more specific?

The Association should have been an independent subject, and a trustworthy institution. At that point, the state said that ČSTV was not a reliable partner and thus won’t provide it any money. The only money that Czech sports had at their disposal was a direct subsidy from the Minister of Finance, Miroslav Kalousek. It was the only person who, at this point, helped Czech sports to survive.

What amount are we talking about?

This money was “assigned” by the Minister of Finance; it was 300 million CZK in 2010–2011. I stand by this figure as a friend and tennis partner of the Minister, and because I am also his advisor for the financing. Therefore, I tried to convince him that as an athlete and a reasonable man he should help Czech sports. At that moment, the money went straight to the particular sports unions. Thus came the idea of creating a new entity which would be a partner to the state. Some major unions joined us.

And some didn’t…

Yes. Unfortunately, neither the Football Association nor the Ice Hockey Association supported me. So we haven’t given it a legal status yet, established as the initiative “Sport 2011”. Within its framework 67 sport associa-

90 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

interview tions agreed. Finally, with this aim we approached ČSTV´s General Meeting, where we implemented essential changes and took over ČSTV´s management. We are presently trying to “reincarnate” this institution.

Also, a Lottery Act amendment and a change in tax legislation significantly affected the sport in this country. How does the present situation look with the money for sports in the Czech Republic?

Athletes now receive money directly from the state.

MŠMT received 800 million CZK, which was divided straight according to specific keys which we helped to create. In this way, the Ministry distributes the money transparently and very reasonably. Nonetheless, we lack some 2.5 billion CZK. Where do you think much of ČSTV´s failure lies? ČSTV clearly failed because a hired manager of SAZKA began to manage owners. It is a tragedy in which hundreds of millions of CZK “flew away”, and for what purpose? It’s hard to believe that the majority shareholder of SAZKA knew nothing about it. Those who were supposed to be informed knew nothing regarding to the so-called “trade secret”. Elected officials without any economic, legal or managerial skills and knowledge made decisions on multi-billion CZK properties and the inevitable result soon came – they don’t have the properties any more.

So what is going to change?

Well, unfortunately the productive assets have already disappeared. As we know, Sazka has a new owner, and underwent reconstruction because of its bankruptcy. The last creditworthy properties are mountain stock companies that can earn money, yet need to be managed effectively. For this reason we have established a Commission aimed at the administration of the mountain stock companies, i.e Špindlerův Mlýn; Harachov and Pec pod Sněžkou. I am the head of this Commission.

How do you want to turn a profit out of these centres?

Currently, we need to change our management system – we want to switch to a so-called German model. It basically concerns supervision of the supervisory board.

The really experienced sport managers are going to sit on the supervisory boards. Obviously, the rest is a problem, because ČSTV doesn’t have sources, and it requires a quick and reasonable response.

So what does that mean?

One problem, for instance, is our ability to obtain money from the EU and Regions. Also, ČSTV cannot do without new investment projects. But above all, the given system needs to work as a service organization for locations that directly require it. This system is currently being implemented by the executive committee and I believe it looks promising. Only the future will show whether we are successful.

On the other hand, Czech tennis has been experiencing great success. You took over the helm in 1998.

How are things with the Czech Tennis Association, and with Czech tennis in general.

Yes, I have been here for 15 years already. At that time, the Czech Tennis Association was without money, totally insolvent, with a debt of about 26.5 million CZK. How did the former management of the Czech Tennis Association come to such a loss?

It was obviously caused by an entire managerial shortfall, and I would even call it the obstinate foolishness of someone who thought that megalomaniac events, costing ten million CZK, were the right thing to do. There were

Ivo Kaderka (1963) – graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Charles University in Prague. He was engaged in the Prognostic Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in the years 1960–1990. He was the Director of the Office of the Minister of Health of the Czech Republic from 1994–1999.

He was the Deputy Minister for Regional Development in 1998. Ivo Kaderka was appointed the President of the Czech Tennis Association in 1998. Among other positions, he holds several positions in both the government and non-government sectors. In 1999 he was an advisor to the Deputy Minister of Finance. Since 2002, he has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Czech Sport Association (ČSTV) and, at the same time, the Chairman of the Board of the Skiareál Špindlerův Mlýn a. s. From September 2006 to April 2007, he was Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports (in charge of sport issues).

At present, he is the advisor to the Minister of Finance (concerning issues dealing with the financing of sports and physical education). Ivo Kaderka is married and has three daughters. dances on the Titanic, shrimp dinners and champagne, and yet there was not a single youth training centre. We’ve actually built everything from scratch. We had a hard start, and kept going doggedly, step by step. It was a fight.

Why is it that today’s tennis has strength and great success on the international scene?

It’s the fact that we managed to create a network of youth training centers across the whole Czech Republic.

We have five top tennis resorts, national tennis centers in Moravia, in Prostějov, in Prague. Annually, it costs tens, and indeed hundreds of millions CZK that I have been getting from 1998 to this day. Each year, we focus massive support on the youth, regions, and especially the abolition of megalomaniac events at which international stars earned millions of crowns, and after the first and second round just departed. I canceled these fiascos in 2000 and introduced a series of many smaller international tournaments.

Can you be more specific?

It is a network of ITF Futures and Challengers tournaments where the young Czech players can grow. In many places we have both indoor and outdoor series. Our players get free cards there; they get first ranking points there, their first experience. For example, Tomáš Berdych won his first tournament when he was sixteen years old, and it was the ITF Futures tournament – Hrotovice in Moravia that time. Of course, we need to invest a lot of money

in the national team tournaments, the individual “Cups”.

All of that is under our control, and we continue to collect one title after another.

This has obviously started up a huge boom and interest in tennis with the youngsters…

Yes, but kids are not very keen on playing sports these days. Moreover, the sport classes don’t work at schools any more, not the way they used to. Today’s kids just sit in front of the computer and are quite passive. Thus, we were looking for ways to make tennis attractive to young children. Tennis begins to speak to a man only when he knows it. Together with Zdeněk Kocman, I wondered how to make simpler tennis lessons. First, we chose a “mini tennis into schools” program, followed by competitions, and finally we have implemented a national project with baby and mini tennis, in which there are now hundreds of teams. This project is extraordinarily massive.

Why did the Prostějov Club suddenly grow?

Prostějov began to rise even before I came into the Czech Tennis Association. The famous era started with Mirek Černošek and his partner, Milan Matzenauer.

Nonetheless, we went together into my first election and carried that philosophy with us. Furthermore, Prostějov is a place that we support mostly because they work in the most effective way, and have the best results. It is certainly given great diligence, gentility and tremendous professionalism.

You are among the few presidents of the tennis associations across the world that have their teams in the World Groups of Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Moreover, you are the only one who can look forward to the semi-finals and finals in both competitions. What does it mean for you personally, and how does it really reflect on the prestige of Czech tennis?

Years ago, we were glad that we went through the first round and then played barrage. Today, everyone hopes to not play against Czechs, for God’s sake. There are obviously years of tremendous work, energy and money behind it. Today’s Czech tennis superstars like Petra Kvitová, Tomáš Berdych or Lucie Šafářová were, when we set up this system, small children. And the system that we have created, a system of competitions, training centers, senior centers, tennis national centers, the system of representation trainings, the smaller international tournaments - it is simply a return on our investment today. Of course it cannot grow five or ten similar players to Petra Kvitová or Tomáš Berdych. But the great strength of Czech tennis, which is here today, is a long, rational, systemic investment.

Today’s tennis is often very even, but what finally decides who is the best?

When you are watching two athletes play tennis, and one is in the 365th position within the ATP ranking, and the other in the 12th position within the ATP ranking, you would not tell the difference in performance. It is the mental power that decides the best, and of course the mind of a champion. And this cannot be learned. One has to be born with that. Just as Jaromír Jágr is in ice hockey or Nadal, Federer or Djokovič in tennis. One cannot learn this; it is the mental power which is received from the tennis Gods.

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

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 91

Infiniti Prague Centre, the only sales point for luxury performance cars of Japanese brand Infiniti in the Czech Republic, has celebrated its third anniversary of its presence on the Czech market. On this occasion, a party with a vocal performance of 4TET has been held, where the brand Infiniti has unveiled its new face. The new face came to be represented by singer, actor, dancer and member of the 4TET group Jiří Korn, who now criss-crosses the Czech roads in his new, white Infiniti FX 30d.

Auto Infiniti Palace Pavel Cigánik, Centre Director, INFINITI

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INFINITI PRAGUE CENTRE CELEBRATED ITS

From left: Mr. Miroslav Václavek with his partner and Edvard Mahr, Managing Director, Royal Services with his partner

Ing. Miloš Volf, Director, Ekoklima with his wife JUDr. Pavel Švarc, Chairman of the Board, Intras with his wife

92 Lenka Lexová and Anco van der Kolk

From left: Miroslava Hanetšlegrová, Business Development Manager, Automotive, CSOB, Alexej Kriakovský, Managing Director, Mayda Motor Logistics Europe, and Mrs. Markéta Strnadová

From left: Tomáš Vajda, Security Manager, Centr Group, a.s., Pavel Cigánik, Centre Director, INFINITI, and Mr. Marek Kraus

Ing. Pavel Doležel, Automotive Finance Director, CSOB Leasing, a.s. with his partner

Zbyněk Werner, Business Manager, REST CZ, s.r.o. with his wife

Pavla Drmotová, PR Manager, Infiniti and Josef Dušek, Marketing Manager, M Motors CZ, s.r.o.

From left: Mr. Jaroslav Crhonek with his wife and Mr. Jindřich Nevrla with his wife on the left

93 Jiří Korn 4TET

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Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR

A the endd of Ma At May, y, the h fouundder erss off the endo en dowm do wm men entt fu funnd nd of Li Livi v a an vi andd Vá Václ clav cl a Kla av laus aus mett fo me f r th thee nniint int n h titime m witth thei me thhei e r doonoors a d vo an volu lunt nttee eers ers,, th this thi is onc nce in Rothm nce othm ot mayyerr Halll at Pra ragu guee Caastle gu stle st le.. As Asid idee fr id from om the offffic i ia ic iall ppaart rt,, thhe pr prog ogra raamm mmee al a so incl ncclu lude lude dedd am muusi sicaal pe sica perf rfor rfor o ma manc ncee of the Barroc nc occo cco s mp se mpre re gio re iova vani va nnii enssem embl ble. bl e. e.

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Ing. Josef Krůžela, CSc. with his wife and Ing. Eva Kropová, Vice Chairman of the Board, Lobkowicz, a.s. with her husband

Ing. Ludvík Karl, Chairman of the Board, Preciosa, a.s. and Mrs. Livia Klausová

944 From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Ing. Petr Kubernát, Director, Pekos s.r.o.

From left: Arnošt Thon, Managing Director. A.T. Plyn, s.r.o., Alena Vitásková, Chairman, Energy Regulatory Office, and Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR

From left: Angela Tůmová, Marketing Communications Manager, Lukoil CR, s.r.o. with her husband and Hana Benedová with her partner

Ing. Jiří Hamšík, Financial Director, Pražská Plynárenská, a.s. with his wife

Mrs. Livia Klausová

From left: Mrs. Grazina Taurantiené and Mrs. Gil, wife of the Ambassador of Argentina

955 Guests of the gala evening of donors with the founders of Endowment Fund

MORE PHO MO OTO OS A AN N ND D EL EL EC EC TR TRON ONIC ON IC C VER ERSI S ON SI O AVAI AV AILA AI L ABL BLEE ON ON W WW WW.L .LEAADERS .L .LEA DEERS RSMA MAGAA ZI ZINE NE.C .C CZ

From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, Mgr. Josef Krečmer, Director, Barocco sempre giovane, o.p.s. and the musicians

From left: David Hájek, EMS, Mrs. Livia Klausová, and Ing. Pavel Beránek, Director, EMS

From left: Jiří Brodský, Foreign Affairs, Department, Deputy Director, Office of the President of the CR and Ing. Pavel Mikoška, CSc., Předseda správní rady, Albert

From left: Ing. Jiří Kunert, Chairman and CEO, UniCredit Band CR, a.s. and Mrs. Marie Wojcíková, Unicredit

Mrs. Jarmila Kučíková and Mr. Lee Barfield

Karel Losenický, Managing Director, Motortec with his wife

From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and Ing. Radomír Lapčík, LL.M., General Director, Moravský peněžní ústav with his wife in the middle

From left: Peter Palečka, Member of the Board, Senior Executive Director, Corporate Secretary, KB, a.s. and JUDr. Ladislav Petrásek, Executive Director, Member of the Board, Nadační Fond of Mrs. Livia and Mr. Václav Klaus

Mrs. Zuzana Albrechtová and Karel Hájek, Division Director, CDV s.r.o.

diplomatic event

H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada with her husband MGen. Tom de Faye (Ret.)

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

“Hadovka”, the Official Residence of Canada’s diplomatic envoys since 1947, has been the site of many happy Canada Day celebrations and many memorable moments in Canada-Czechoslovak, and Canada-Czech relations. This year’s Canada Day was a special occasion, as friends of Canada enjoyed the final Canada Day celebration in the beautiful Hadovka Garden. As Ambassador Valerie Raymond said: “As we extend a very fond farewell to this historic residence, we also look forward to the opening of our new Embassy and Official Residence in the summer of next year.”

CELEBRATION  A FOND FAREWELL TO “HADOVKA”

From left: Prof. Ing. Jiří Balík, CSc., Rector, ČZU and Prof. Ing. Jiří Drahoš, DrSc., dr. h. c., Chairman, AVČR with his wife in the middle

Martin Brož, Director Performance and Business Development, Bombardier with his partner

From left: H.E. Ayman Mohammad Aladsani, Ambassador of Kuwait and Tomáš Roule, Archbishop Secretary, Archiepiscopatus Pragensis

97 Serge Laquerre with his wife

From left: Apostolic Nuncio, H.E. Vicente Espeche Gil, Ambassador of Argentina with his wife in the middle

From left: Mrs. Hlinka, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Pavel Hlinka, Consulting, Lobbying, Education, AHP Connections

Mrs. Vladimíra Václavíková and Mgr. Jiří Kopenec, General Director, Agra Group, a.s.

From left: H.E. Toshio Kunikata, Ambassador of Japan, and Dr. Ingo von Voss, Deputy Head, Embassy of Germany

Mrs. Eisen, wife of the US ambassador and H.E. Aurimas Taurantas, Ambassador of Lithuania

From left: H.E. Nina Nakashidze, Ambassador of Georgia, Edvard Outrata, former Senator, and Marion Williams, GMS, Senior Partner, Svoboda and Williams

From left: Pavel Zelenka, CEO, Apiems a.s. and Ing. Jaroslav Pecháček, CSc., Swordfish s.r.o.

98

From left: Stephen Lukas, Vice Chairman, Medis International a.s., his wife on the left, H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada, her husband, and Matthew V. Duras, General Director, Johnny Servis with his wife

From left: Dominique Lecuyer, H.E. Michael Calcott, former Canadian Ambassador to the CR, and MUDr. Richard Sequens, former Senator

From left: Mons. Dominik Duka, the Archbishop of Prague and H.E. Jose Luis Bernal, Ambassador of Mexico From left: H.E. Abdulrahman Al Hamdi, Ambassador of Yemen and H.E. Mohamed Ibrahim Abdel Hakam, Ambassador of Egypt

From left: H.E. Jan C. Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands and Ing. Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

From left: H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey and Petr J. Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of the CR with his wife Dagmar Kalašová in the middle

From left: H.E. Daniela Anda Grigore Gitman, Ambassador of Romania, H.E. Celia Sandra Botha, Ambassador of South Africa, and H.E. Alison Kelly, Ambassador of Ireland

From left: MUDr. Richard Sequens, former Senator, Ing. Hana Pavlištová, Managing Director, Česká Informační Agentura, H.E. Valerie Raymond, Ambassador of Canada, and Col. Ing. Radim Studený, Director, Prague Castle Guard

99 M RE MO R PHO OTO TOS AN ND EL EL EC EC TR RON ONIC ONIC C VER ERSI S ON ON AVVAIILAABLLE ON N W WW W .LLEA E ADE DERS RS M MAAGAA ZI ZINE NE.C .CZ

diplomatic event From left: Tomáš Sedláček with his friend to the left, Mrs. Meg Hirshberg, and H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA with his wife to the left

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: H.E. Belaid Hadjem, Ambassador of Algeria, H.E. George Monteiro Prata, Ambassador of Brazil, and H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation

1000 From left: PhDr. Petr Hnízdo, Head of International Department, Ministry of Culture and H.E. Kaspars Ozolinš, Ambassador of Latvia

H.E. Sian Christina MacLeod, Ambassador of Great Britain and Cyril Svoboda, Director, Diplomatic Academy

From left: H.E. Tagir Taghizadeh, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, H.E. Daniela Anda Grigore Gitman, Ambassador of Romania, and H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey

Great Success for the 5th joint celebration of National Days at Museum Kampa: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.

From left: H.E. Kaspars Ozolinš, Ambassador of Latvia, H.E. Aurimas Taurantas, Ambassador of Lithuania, H.E. Stefán Skjaldarson, Ambassador of Iceland, H.E. Ole E. Moesby, Ambassador of Denmark, Milan Štěch, Chairman of the Senate, Interpreter, H.E. Jens Eikaas, Ambassador of Norway, H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Päivi HiltunenToivio, Ambassador of Finland, and H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia

From right: H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey and Radek John, Chairman, VV

From left: Karolína Peake, Chairwoman, LIDEM and H.E. Annika Jagander, Ambassador of Sweden Mgr. Drahomíra Benešová, Deputy Mayor, Náchod with her son

From left: Hannu Kasi, President, ABB CR, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Eva Anderová, Director, Department of International Relations, Ministry of Finance, Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech-Kuwait Trading Ltd., and Petr Hejma, former Mayor of Prague 1

Pavel Tobiáš, Executive Director, Elekta with his wife

Ing. Petr Kynštetr, Csc., Head of the Office, Chamber of Deputies CR with his wife

From left: Vladimír Šiška, MBA, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, H.E. Stefan Gorda, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Moldova, Dr. Ing. Jaromír Drábek, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Ing. Milan Hovorka, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, and Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech-Kuwait Trading Ltd.

101

From left: Pavel Musílek, Executive Director, Jahoda Arts Management and MgA. Světlana Jahodová, Managing Director, Talich Philharmonia Prague

From left: MUDr., Martin Jan Stránský, M.D., F.A.C.P., American Board of Internal Medicine, his wife to the left, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher From left: Marek Lokaj, Technical Director, YIT Stavo Ltd. and Michael Mustillo, PAMM Artists Management

From left: Cyril Svoboda, Director, Diplomatic Academy and Petr J. Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of the CR

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

From left: H.E. Ivan Grytsak, Ambassador of Ukraine, Martin Košatka, Department of Northern and Eastern Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR, and H.E. Vasily Markovich, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus

From left: H.E. Jan C. Henneman, Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mrs. Specking, Mrs. Henneman, Mrs. Gil, H.E. Vicente Espeche Gil, Ambassador of Argentina, and Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Prague and Hilton Prague Old Town

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Ája Vrzáňová Steindler, Chairwoman, International Coordination Committee for Czechs Abroad, the USA

AGIT AWARD 2012

On 1st 2012 in Czerniin in Pallac ace, e, the he f ir irst st vic icee pr prem emie ierr annd thhe Mi M ni n st s er of Fore Foore reig ignn Aff ig Affa Af fair irs of the h Czeechh Reppub u lic, Karell Schwarzenberg, did bestow the GRATIAS AGIT Award 2012 upon outssta t nd ndin ingg peers in rson onal on alit al lititie iess wh ie whoo ha have vee sig igni niffi ni f icaant fica ntly ly hel elpe pedd to pro pe romo m te the ren mo enow own of the ow h Cze zech chh Reppublic ub throughout the world. The Gratias Agit has been organised by the Minnis isttrr y off For orei eign ei gnn Afff airs aiirs sin ince ce 19997.

7. The minnisste t r an annu nual ally ly rec ecog oggni nise sess pe se peop ople op lee whoo hav avee co cont nttrib riibu bute tedd to cre reat ating a good image of the Czech Repuublicc in foreign countries thrroouugh g the heirr dililiggen ence c and work. ce oorrk. k. The awa ward rdd does oes no nott inncl clud udee an ud anyy fi fina nanc na n ia nc i l rreewa w rd rd. Th The he laaurea urrea eate t s ar te a e invi vitted to a three-day stay in Pragu gue, e, whi hich ch culminates with the aw awaarrd ce cere remo remo re monyy, dur duurriing whiich they hey re he rece ceeiv ceiv ive a diippllom ive ma annd a cr cr ys ysta t l ca ta carrv r vin i g inn the he shhaape pe of the thhe gl glob obe. ob e. Man anyy of the recipients are Czech coomp mpatriotss who live in different ppaarrtts ts off the he woorrldd but ut haavve ve no n t fo f rggot otte tenn wh te wher her ere re th they eyy com me ffrrom m, pr p ou oudl d y acckn k ow owle l dg d ing inng thhei e r ro root otss an ot andd spprreeading the fame of their motheer cou ount ntry ryy. ry.

The award is also giiven ttoo frriieennddss of th thee C Czzecch Re Repu Rep publlic ic, whho,, apa part art r fro rom th their eiir pr prof ofessssiion of on, aannd wiitho thhou out aanny ccllai aim fo forr pa paym ym ment, en promote our country. Theese en ese inncllud u e bohemi mici cist sts, s, tra rans nslattorrss, sscci cie ientis ntis nt ists ts, bu busine sinneeess si s sm ss ssme meen, n, art rtis ists, tss, writ wrrititer w ers aannd nd ppeeda dago ago gogu gues es. This es Thhis T is yeaar,r, 12 ppeers rson onal on alittie ies es ha have avvee bee eenn sseele ele l ct c ed for the Gratias Agit Award.

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and laureates of Gratias Agit 2012

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

103

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Natalia Tumarec, Director, Olbracht Museum Kolochava, Ukraine

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Eva Jiřičná, Internationally Renowned Architect, Great Britain

Nazmi Akimat, Diplomat, Businessman, Chairman, CzechTurkish Business Council

From left: Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Vladimír Bláha, Minority Rights Activist, President, Bohemian Club, the Bosnia and Herzegovina

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Lucie Slavíková Boucher, Physician, Founder, Czech School Without Borders, France

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Sylva Berková de Arredondo, Chairwoman, Czech Society in Misiones, Argentina

104

Karel Schwarzenberg, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Ladislav Pavlík, Chairman, Munich Chapter of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Germany

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Nazmi Akiman, Diplomat, Businesswoman and Chairwoman of theCzech-Turkish Business Council, Turkey

Ája Vrzáňová-Steindler, Chairwoman of the International Coordination Committee for Czechs Abroad, the USA

Vladimír Bláha, Minority Rights Activist and President of the Bohemian Club, the Bosnia and Herzegovina

Jiří Chmel, Charter 77 signatory, Founder of the Centre for Czech Exile Culture in Vienna, Austria

Ladislav Pavlík, Chairman of the Munich Chapter of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Germany

Lucie Slavíková-Boucher, Physician, Founder of Czech School without Borders, France

Antonín Tučapský, Music Composer, Conductor and Teacher, Great Britain

Nazmi Akiman, Diplomat, businessman and Chairman of the Czech-Turkish Business Council, Turkey

Eva Jiřičná, internationally renowned Architect, Great Britain

105 Sylva Berková de Arr edondo, Chairwoman of the Czech Society in Misiones, Argentina

Natalia Tumarec, Director of the Olbracht Museum in Kolochava, Ukraine

Byaruuzana Jalair Altan-Ochir, Puppet Theatre Director and Teacher, Mongolia

the good things in life

HAVANA

The Pearl of the Caribbean?

More than 500 years of history promenades itself in front of your eyes – the pastel coloured facades of the colonial architecture, the white walls, which remind you of the invasion of the Spanish conquerors – while the hospitality of the locals of this unique city, which is situated on the coast of the Mexican bay, will immediately enchant you.

The charm and richness of the city lays in its contrasts. It is truly an open air museum, a concentration of architectural jewels left behind by the builders of the Latino-Hispanic, neo-baroque, secession and American colonial times. With every step you pass neoclassical palaces, pieces of art, historical monuments and evidence of the various ages the city gradually went through. Since 1982, the historical city centre, which lies west of the port, has been classified as a UNECSO protected site.

THE HISTORY OF HAVANA San Cristobal de la Habana was founded on the coast of the Cuban island by Spanish conqueror Diego Velasquez in 1514. Five years later, as a consequence of its unfortunate location, which lacked a safe port and which, due to is swampy nature, became a source of many diseases that decimated the local population, the city “moved” to the north of the island. The new city was named Havana. Its strategic position at the mouth of the Mexican bay made the city an important port for Spanish flotillas, which traded gold and silver. An active trade in tobacco and sugar cane soon followed, and the city flourished both economically and culturally. For 200 long years, Havana was the most significant port of the Caribbean. It gradually grew, and in 1607 it replaced Santiago de Cuba as the capital city of Cuba. After the pro-

106 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

tective city walls were taken down in 1863, the historical quarter of Havana enlarged to the current city centre. Since its boom, Havana, or the Pearl of the Caribbean, as it used to be called, has been a logical target of the majority of the colonial powers. Its weak territorial protection also attracted many pirates, such as Jacques Sorre, who attacked, looted and burned the city in 1555.

The more the Cuban islands grew rich, the more they became objects of invasion and fell prey to the French, English and Dutch. During the rule of Philippe II., the protective walls were strengthened and the grand Castillo del Morro, whose barriers impress visitors today, was built. In 1762, the British army headed by Earl d´Albermarle invaded Havana, and subsequently the whole island. Thus began a seven year war between the French and the English over Cuba, which was controlled until then by the Spanish. The English won and quickly imported over ten thousand slaves to the island.

The Spanish regained Cuba within a year, in exchange for another of their colonies, Florida.

Trade flourished when the coffee culture fully developed in 1786, and the year 1818 marked the Cuban dominance in terms of its export of rum, tobacco and sugar to the whole world.

Since the late 18th century, the prosperous country underwent a technological boom: it built railways, telegraph lines, city transport and introduced electricity. New quarters such

as Vedado were built; palaces of rich tradesmen were raised, as well as hotels, theatres, art centres, administrative buildings etc.

HEMINGWAY Modern Cuba also attracted intellectuals.

In 1932, Ernest Hemingway occupied himself by fishing on his boat Anita in the north waters of Cuba. The very same year, he visited Havana, and moved into hotel Ambos Mundo, which was situated on Obispo Street and had a wonderful view of the city. It was an ideal place for a writer: beautiful, rich, calm and lively at the same time, and therefore inspiring. He left boring Key West in Florida, and commenced the last chapter of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. He wrote it only 200 meters away from a bar that soon became one the most famous in the world, thanks to the frequent visits of the author and the future Nobel laureate for literature.

Hemingway chose Havana as his residence and discovered, above all, the Floridita, the Daiquiri and, necessarily, the cigars.

DAIQUIRI Y EL MOJITO There is a story that upon entering the Floridita, Hemingway was enchanted by the elegance of the place and its bar made from precious wood, and even tried the local drink daiquiri: “It´s good, though I would prefer it without sugar and with double rum”, he allegedly said. So the Papa Hemingway cocktail

Loc LLo oocc aall ffo fol oollklo olkl kkllo lore r e – a wom ooma m n sm mok ookking k ing innngg ccoohi hib iibba

was born. Later the Hemingway Special was created with grapefruit juice. In these times, Hemingway used to sit on his stool in the Floridita every day from 10 o´clock in the morning, drinking his daiquiri and reading the papers, which were brought to him by his chauffeur from the hotel Plaza. A number of Hemingway´s guests also visited the Floridita.

Among them, there were the Duke of Windsor, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gary Cooper, Ava Gardner, Tenesee Williams, Spencer Tracy and others. In 1954, the year Hemingway received a Nobel Prize, a bust of the writer and the stool he used to sit on was unveiled in the Floridita. These remain there today, though out of respect for the writer, the seat remains free.

La Bodeguita del Medio is a typical bar-

Hemingway´s working place with his authentic Underwood typewriter

restaurant known, above all, for its invention of the Mojito, which has been served here since 1942. The fame of the place was further supported by visitors such as Salvador Allende and Pablo Neruda, a poet, who adopted the pseudonym of Czech writer Jan Neruda. Despite being full of tourists, La Bodeguita maintains its authentic charm and traditional live music performed by good musicians, such as The Buena Vista Social Club, who play typical, nostalgic songs. It is worth watching the documentary carrying the same name as the band. The movie sensitively captures the pure beauty and essence of the original music and vitality, while depicting the renaissance of the best times of Cuban history and celebrating life in a country tormented by the communist regime.

Visiting Hemingway´s villa in San Francisco de Paula, which is located about 20 km from Havana, is like going back to the year 1961, to the time of romantic, pre-revolutionary Cuba full of hope. You climb up a tower, from where Hemingway had used to observe nature and write on his typewriter “Underwood” while standing. The typewriter is there until present, in a room that looks as if Hemingway just left it for a while and is coming back again soon.

There magazines lie on a table, books are on shelves and the whole house is in the state he left it. Here he had written Old Man and the Sea, inspired by the fishermen from Cojimar, a nearby village. He did not return to the villa though, for he committed suicide in the USA to avoid the moment when he would not be able Centre off Ha Cen Havanna and and n its ts renow re nowned ned Am Ameri erican ca ca c rss as a old Chevr Che ole leets

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 107

the good things in life

Havana, yellow taxi

to write due to a paralysis that was slowly taking over his whole body. He died before knowing the destruction of the revolution, a year after meeting the young revolutionary Fidel Castro. In him, he saw the hope and bright future of Cuba.

CUBAN CIGARS Together with music, cigars are synonymous with Cuba. They are world famous, and dictate the highest standard of this commodity, which has not yet been surpassed, and remains the most important export article of the country.

They are also an irreplaceable part of everyday life, culture and history, and in this manner they are a main symbol of Cuba. Tobacco is called “cohiba” here. The original Amerindian Cubans used to draw smoke from the dried leaves of cohiba via a pipe called “tabaco” while calling upon the gods. The statistics are imprecise, but indicate that around 10 million pieces of “Havanas” (a trade mark introduced in the 1960s) are produced here annually, of which 7 million are smoked locally, locally despite the threatening signs and universally proven truth that smoking is harmful! More than 30% of the Cuban population is somehow connected to the production, export and trade of cigars, whic wh ichh ar aree pr prod oduc uced ed the here re in al alll si size zess an andd shapes. The quality of cigars is determined, as

108

it is in the case of vines, by the time of maturation. The highest quality cigars are also handrolled only and made from premium blends.

The famous type of thick cigar is called “Churchill”, who loved them; while other names are derived from the cigars´ shapes, or their famous smokers, such as robusto, magnum, torpedo, edmundo or the smaller and slimmer “cigarillos” for ladies. There are around thirty brands, including Cohiba, Partagas, Trinidad, Romeo y Julieta, Robaina, H. Upmann, Monte Christo, Hoyo de Monterye and others. The sort Behike BHK 56 of Cohiba brand is then regarded as one of the best. Despite the U.S. embargo raised soon after the revolution in the middle of the last century, it was precisely Cuban cigars that the Americans were not able to give up, and cigars continued to be smuggled to the USA.

CUBAN MUSIC Cubans are in no rush to work. Hot days alternate with pleasant nights, which pulsate with life and live music, life, music ranging from piano, piano through solo guitar, to the typical two-guitar-basspiano-percussion, or brass plays in almost every restaurant and bar. The ever-present stirring music of Afro-Latin rhythms of salsa, mixed with wi th Ame meririca cann bl blue uess at the tur urnn of the 19t 9thh and 20th centuries, compliments the magical

atmosphere of the night. The music lets one forget about everyday troubles postponed until later and the typical “vamos a ver, magnana todo irá bien”... (let´s see, everything will be fine tomorrow...) helps the people to survive.

The atmosphere of an irreversible destruction of what was once the cream of culture and economic prosperity, combined with a superficially carefree attitude of the city, is a great shock to foreigners. Beautiful palaces adjoin poor neighbourhoods; the habitants of Havana crowd in the ruins of mansions like squatters in infamous solares. For the past fifty years the city, the country and its people have suffered from a lack of provisions of the basic necessities of life, education and health. After Haiti, Cuba is the poorest country of the Caribbean, and the basis for the rescue of its historical heritage is not in sight. The Cuban revolution of 1959 might have solved the social problems in the short run; it has failed, however, to develop the economy and to secure the country a democratic, liberal policymaking. The American embargo imposed in Cuba in 1961 and the loss of an alliance between the regime of Fidel Castro and the USSR after the fall of the Berlin wall has deepened the crisis, which culminated in 1994.

From the mid-1990s, the government began to support foreign investment with the help of Cuban immigrants in Miami, and a degree of independence was installed even in private business. China, who has not missed the potential of the country, is becoming a new Cuban partner. More than ever, Cuba is struggling with the problem of how to save its capital - its heritage, culture and tradition - while maintaining its national identity. Will it be the Pearl of the Caribbean again? This is the wish of many who have stepped on the land of this beautiful country.

By Iva a Joseph Drebitko Photos: authors´ archive český překlad naleznete v elektroniické ké verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

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interview A talk with Petr Hora-Hořejš, Writer and freelance Journalist

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110 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

Petr Hořejš graduated in journalism at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts in Prague. Between the years 1961 and 1970 he worked as a copyreader. At the beginning of normalization he was dropped, and employed as a pumper at Vodní zdroje company. At the same time he started publishing under several nom de guerre. Since 1979 he has been working on the Czech history series Toulky českou minulostí, which were published under the nom de guerre of Petr Hora under communism. From the years 1990–1991 he was director of Albatros publishing house, and then worked as an editor at Mladý svět magazine for four years. Now he works freelance. In 1992 he co-founded Pangea foundation.

He is also involved in Elpida foundation and the League Against Cancer. In March 2012 Petr Hořejš was awarded the Božena Němcová Prize by the Czech Literature Academy for his Toulky českou minulostí.

interview Who came up with the idea of a series on Czech history?

My friend and mentor Milan Kopřiva, who was an excellent graphic designer and typographer, and I initially wanted to publish historical newspapers. But it was not possible to do it. I thus came up with the idea to write Toulky českou minulostí, because I wanted to try to write Czech history in a polyphonic way, so that I had enough space for a mosaic of digressions to period facts, cultural-historical interests and curiosities, profiles of personalities, etc. Milan Kopřiva designed the graphic format that I still use.

What attracted you to Czech history?

I began feeling that I should try to write a “national revival history” for normal people in the midst of the danger of the Russification of our nation. It was a time when I did not believe that the situation could change considerably in our near future. I told myself that we could not look forward in an occupied country, so then let’s look back.

Toulky began being published in Mladý svět magazine in 1979. What were the responses then?

Readers of the project complained that the graphic design of the text is too complicated and that nobody would read it. I was afraid as well how readers would accept it. During the whole 33 years I did not receive any reproach. If you don’t want to read the glossary, you don’t need to. However, I hear from many sides that the glossary to the basic story is most interesting.

You started to write and publish Toulky at a time when you weren’t allowed to publish freely. How did you manage to get on in Mladý svět?

It is a paradox. Mladý svět was a magazine of a Czechoslovak Socialist Youth Movement, and its editorin-chief was a big communist. However, she behaved very amiably to me and moreover, she took a fancy to Toulky.

She thought up my nom de guerre Hora. Later, after the Velvet Revolution I didn’t know what to do with it, because I didn’t want to remain Hora. On the other hand, readers would be confused if suddenly Hořejš appeared as a new author. I solved this problem by using both surnames and up to now I am Hora-Hořejš.

Did the nom de guerre Hora have any symbolic meaning?

No. Not at all.

Twelve volumes of your Czech history series have been published so far. How many volumes do you plan altogether?

The Toulky series has been ending slowly. There should be fourteen volumes. Currently, I have been working on the thirteen one.

Can you tell us which period the thirteen volume is devoted to?

The thirteen volume focuses on the transition from the end of the 19th to the 20th century. The period of National Revival ended, and thanks to the diligence and invention of Czech people, there are successful preparations for what few people believed could have then occurred – the restoration of the independent Czech state. There are thematic chapters that show partial successes of a young nation. One chapter is devoted to Czech architecture – from the eclecticism to the particularity of Czech architecture, cubism, and the functionalism of Jan Kotěra.

The second thematic bloc deals with the beginnings of cinema – Jan Kříženecký and the famous figure – Mr. Ponrepo. The other topic portrays the dramatic as well as cheerful beginning of our aviation with the remark-

able person and aviator Jan Kašpar. Attention is also paid to literature with the leading personality Jaroslav Vrchlický, who was several times nominated for the Nobel Prize, but never received it. One thing that takes me a lot of time and highly captivates me, is the beginnings of Czech feminism. It is not the feminism of our present type, but a phenomenon which is essentially a humanitarian action and a great rarity.

How does it come out in comparison with American and British suffragettes?

The Czech form of feminism is much more peaceful and very philanthropic. There were also aggressive suffragettes in our country at the beginning of the 20th century.

However, among the spearheads of Czech feminism were the wives of our nation’s leaders – for example Marie Riegrová-Palacká and her daughter Marie ČervinkováRiegrová, and above all our great female writers Karolína Světlá and Eliška Krásnohorská. Hardly anybody reads them nowadays, but what they did for poor women, for forlorn mothers, wives of alcoholics, was very important.

They founded the first nursery schools, first crèches, various manufacturing schools and work schools for poor, jobless women. So they gave them the initial qualification and created employment opportunities for them. After 1861, when the constitution and parliamentarianism were adopted, women started to struggle for education – firstly for the opportunity to graduate at grammar schools, and then for the right to study at universities.

And the last volume?

The fourteenth volume will cover Masaryk and the whole political elite of the First republic before and during the First World War, up to the restoration of statehood and the embedding of a new republic in the international political system. However, I don’t want to engage in the First Republic as such.

What is your working method while writing Toulky?

The basic procedure is a great impudence. If I were more self-critical at the beginning, I would have probably never dared to start such a project. The other is hard work and studies. It is not possible to write Toulky without extensive studies. I have to study a given theme until I get it into my head, and create a story. However complicated things are, it is always necessary to find a story. That’s why I like best when I can write about figures. I very much like branching off from the general history to the storytelling about personalities. After all, great personalities form history. And unlike history, it is possible to admire them, and you can even fall for them.

Do you go to the archives?

Yes, I do. I work with period newspapers in particular.

On the other hand, there is enough secondary literature.

At the level of knowledge I purvey to the reader, to amateurs, history lovers, it is not possible to carry out research. It is not even necessary. I am a writer, populariser, not a scientist. I try to make information plastic, having a certain epic and ethic. Maybe the most difficult thing is to choose the optimal extent of information. The majority of chapters or stories I write could be much longer.

I fear however that I would put readers off.

How do you view the radio adaptation of your history series that is very popular among listeners?

The adaptation is of very high quality. It can be seen that they do it with similar enthusiasm with which I once began. I am pleased that the radio gives joy to its listeners.

It is often said that a nation has its Golden Age

to which people refer. However, there isn’t mostly any agreement about which period can be referred to in our nation. In your opinion, what is the Golden Age of the Czech nation?

Generally, as a beautiful, shining period we regard the period of Charles IV. French culture appeared here; the country flourished in all possible areas. One of them was in building. The way Prague was built is absolutely amazing. The decorativeness of Gothic style presented in every detail was made with unbelievable precision. The city was built here at the boundary line that remained for six centuries. Furthermore, education, art and other areas were developed quickly.

Every period, if you start to perceive it through the lenses of people, has its beauty – even the ugly periods.

The period of Waldstein is typical. Albrecht von Waldstein is a real European figure by his stature. He has his elegance, generosity, vision; but it is not possible to omit that he was also a big thief and embezzler. Can we consider him a blackguard in retrospect? These issues are still enigmatic for me.

You have also been involved in many endowment activities. This year Pangea foundation celebrates a twenty year anniversary. Can you tell us what its mission is, and what you plan in the future?

Pangea foundation refers to the reforming and pedagogical legacy of Jan Ámos Komenský. It awarded a prize “For the effort to remedy the matters of humankind”.

Jaroslav Foglar was the first award-winner, followed by Hanzelka and Zikmund, Oto Wichterle, Zdeněk Svěrák, and Magda Vašáryová. However, the prize was then awarded to people and celebrities such as Ingmar Bergman or climber Reinhold Messner, which Pangea took rather as an honour for itself. And I didn’t like it.

Moreover, the practice led to the situation when Pangea ran into debt, and we didn’t award the prize for eight years. Now we are without debts and want to “resuscitate” the foundation for its 20th anniversary. I presented the programme that changes its conception. Pangea will award people, heroes in the shadows, who have really sought to improve the ordinary human issues for much of their lives inconspicuously. The other objective is the support for modern and alternative forms of education through small grants.

What do you think is the biggest problem in our society nowadays?

I think that society doesn’t pay attention to basic human virtues. There are people, groups of people, foundations, and institutions that, for example in the area of the handicapped, develop activities of great utility, and very moral activities. We try to put these people together and connect them. It has to start at the bottom, at human decency, with children, with the care of socially excluded people, and grow from the bottom up. On the other hand, it is increasingly seen that our political elites play a double game, which doesn’t concern exceptional cases, but almost normal behaviour.

What are your hobbies?

I come from a family of musicians. When I am tired, I sit at the piano and improvise. It is my musical relaxation.

I also like going to concerts and travelling.

By Zuzana Kasáková český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Prague Leaders Magazine IV/2012 111

personal enlightenment

Cosmic Consciousness – James A. Cusumano, PhD

A JOURNEY TO WELL-BEING, HAPPINESS, AND SUCCESS Part IV: Get What You Wish For A,B

“We are not only observers. We are participants. In some strange sense, this is a participatory universe.”

John Archibald Wheeler – Quantum Cosmologist KEY CONCEPTS: The presence of Cosmic Consciousness throughout the infinity of space and time is a means to manifesting your dreams and desires.

The confluence of modern science and ancient Wisdom Traditions has clearly demonstrated that manifestation is straight forward, provided specific time-tested guidelines are followed.

A specific procedure is presented for the successful practice of personal manifestation.

Over the past 5,000 years, numerous thinkers from the Wisdom Traditions have demonstrated that you can truly get whatever you wish for. More recently, quantum physicists have begun to uncover the science behind such manifestations. It’s not surprising that over the past several years, we have seen a number of books and films, e.g., “The Secret,” proclaiming the profound discovery of manifestation.

Profound, yes; a discovery, not really; this process has been known for millennia, but understood and practiced by very few. However, in recent times it has become clear that anyone can access this power to fulfill their dreams and desires. For success, you must understand the process and the rules of how to proceed. Allow me to explain.

COSMIC MYSTERY First, it’s helpful to understand your overall connectivity within the universe. As discussed in prior articles in this series, and in detail in my book on Cosmic Consciousness, the cosmos and your place and purpose in it are easy to state, but challenging to believe because of our programming since birth1,2,3,4. However, the exact same conclusions concerning the universe and our place in it have arisen time and again throughout the ages. This picture evolved from independent thinkers in every part of what was then an unconnected world.

Some of these wise men and women were part of the founding movement of various religions; others were philosophers from ancient cultures.

Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Druidism; the ancient Egyptians, Mayans, and Aztecs, among other peoples of antiquity, all discovered and developed similar pictures of “True Reality” and the conscious universe. These elements depict a common thread which, can be expressed as follows.

112 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

The Wisdom traditions tell us that Cosmic Consciousness is infinite and is responsible for all of the intelligent activity in the universe. Next we must consider Collective Consciousness, which is an infinite matrix of shared connections among every atom in the physical universe, i.e., all material things, and it operates as a unifying interactive force. That is to say, all things are connected, some more strongly than others.

Finally, Personal Consciousness – some call it Identity Consciousness to recognize that it is also present in inanimate objects is our spiritual identity and it too is infinite and intimately associated with every living and non-living thing in the universe (see Figure 1).

Personal Consciousness is responsible for orchestrating all of the physical and non-physical functions of every living and non-living thing in the universe. As discussed below, this provides incredible possibilities for interacting with, and influencing all persons and things in the world, and therefore a tremendous power to manifest what you wish, if the process is carried out properly.

EINSTEIN’S PICTURE Einstein’s theory of relativity proclaims that our universe is finite and curved in space and time, and lies within an infinite expanse of nothingness (see Figure 2). It is broadly accepted that our universe formed in an inflationary “Big Bang” about 13.7 billion years ago. However, because it is still expanding, the known universe is at this moment more than 200 billion light-years across. Although unimaginably large, this distance is miniscule when it is recognized that it exists in an infinite expanse of nothingness, i.e., no matter and no energy. However, this nothingness does contain “something.” In it resides an infinity of Cosmic, Collective and Personal Consciousness.

The Big Bang occurred by rapid expansion of an unimaginably tiny speck or singularity, smaller than an atom, smaller than an electron, incredibly small. All of the mass and energy of our universe were contained in that singularity. Most physicists believe that the expansion of the universe will continue forever. I don’t.

A DARK PICTURE A few years ago, cosmologists discovered that the structure of the known universe could not be explained if it were not for the existence of what are called dark energy and dark matter; both are invisible to our current technologies. And in fact, it is now believed that observable physical matter makes up less than a few percent of the universe. The rest is dark energy and dark matter, both responsible for much of the galactic gravitational effects we see. I believe, as do a minority of other physicists that when the properties of dark energy and dark matter are finally understood and their total contributions calculated accurately, we will find that the universe is indeed rapidly expanding. However, due to the structure and changing properties of dark energy and dark matter, we will also find that in time, this expansion will slow to a null point and then begin a process of contraction, ultimately resulting in what some physicist call the “Big Crunch.”

In my view, we can consider our universe expanding from a singularity over billions of years, ultimately slowing down and then contracting in the “Big Crunch” to the same singularity from which it was created, only to expand again and begin the process over and over again. I assert that this expansioncontraction process has been going on for eternity and will continue as such.

So what does this all mean for our place and purpose in our universe? Here is the picture that results when you merge the ancient Wisdom Traditions and modern quantum physics and cosmology.

THE COSMIC PICTURE Cosmic Consciousness has always existed and is responsible for all of the intelligent activity in our universe. Personal Consciousness has also always existed and may be considered as your individual consciousness, your spirit, or your soul, if you wish. It is responsible for orchestrating every physical and non-physical function in your body and mind. As noted previously5, your body is made up of more than 100 trillion cells, a number larger than all of the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, celestial home to our solar system and Planet Earth.

Each of these miniscule cells contains instructions within its DNA that would fill one thousand 600-page manuals. And each cell performs 100,000 reactions per second, yet every cell instantly harmonizes and correlates its activities with every other cell in your body. If it did not do so with clockwork precision, it would mean illness, and in some instances, death.

Your Personal Consciousness enables this coordination, day in and day out, every day of the year, year after year, until on average, after some 80 years or so, it “decides” to stop, at least for your current lifetime! The incredible capabilities of your Personal Consciousness is why a human body can think thoughts, play piano, kill germs, remove toxins, and make a baby, all at the same time. Although this function is very important to the evolution and operation of living species, the primary purpose of Personal Consciousness is even more important. As stated by Ekhart Tolle, “You are here to enable the purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are 6!”

Finally, Collective Consciousness is that consciousness that links us all together, both living and non-living things.

It is the consciousness that is at work when a mother’s child is injured at a distance remote from her and she knows it,

A) EDITOR’S COMMENT – This is the fourth article in a series based on the author’s recent book, “Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey To Well-being, Happiness and Success.” In this little book, published in both the Czech and English languages within one volume, and with an introduction by internationally-acclaimed author, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Cusumano explains in simple terms, the connection between Eastern Philosophical Wisdom, consciousness and quantum physics. He develops specific practices for living a successful and fulfilled life, regardless of your passion of pursuit.

B) The author may be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

personal enlightenment Figure 1: Cosmic, Collective and Personal Consciousness are infinite and connect all matter in the universe. They also completely penetrate the “nothingness” of infinity.

instantly – faster than the speed of light. It is the consciousness at work when you think of someone, and in a matter of minutes or seconds, the telephone rings with that person on the other end. And it is the consciousness at work when you seek to manifest something into your life. Cosmic, Personal and Collective Consciousness are infinite and intimately connected.

GETTING WHAT YOU WANT Some of the clearest interpretations and summaries of the works of the Wisdom Traditions over the ages that deal with manifesting abundance into our lives, have been produced by Deepak Chopra7,8. Some authors call it the Law of Manifestation, Chopra prefers the Law of Intention and Desire. Regardless of nomenclature, this law is based on the infinite presence of consciousness as discussed above and the fact that as quantum physics has clearly demonstrated that the physical universe is composed entirely of interconnected energy and information. We discussed this in a previous article in this series where we saw that True Reality is a vibrating quantum energy field, alternating continuously from off to on and back again9. In physics, we call this a discontinuity. In the off position there exist no energy, information or physical objects, just infinite possibilities, all described in quantum field theory by the Schrödinger Wave Equation. In the on position, there exists energy and information. We saw that the fields of consciousness permeate this matrix and as such, the quantum field and therefore reality can be influenced by intention and desire10.

A unique aspect of human beings is that our nervous system enables us to be “aware” of the energy and information content of the localized quantum field that is responsible for our perception of our physical body. We experience this quantum field in a subjective manner as manifested by our thoughts, emotions, desires, memories, drives and beliefs, and objectively as our physical body11. But the physical universe is made of the same “stuff” and the lines of demarcation between us and our environment are fuzzy at the quantum level. So at the quantum level, you can envision the energetic field of the universe as simply an extension of your own field.

You are connected with everything in the universe.

Because of this “awareness,” you can not only consciously affect the energy and information content of your physical body, but you can also affect your extended body – the world – and cause things to manifest in it. This ability requires two fundamental attributes that are intimate properties of human consciousness – attention and intention. Intention on an object of attention taps into the off part of the discontinuity

TO BE CONTINUED...

where there exist an infinite number of possibilities. Provided that you adhere to the guidelines set forth below, it is possible to manifest the most challenging objects of desire12.

In this process, intention is the powerful quantum conscious force behind desire, as pure intention is desire without any attachment whatsoever to the outcome (see Figure 3).

Desire alone can work to manifest things into your life, but it is a very weak force, and therefore requires much effort. When paired with unattachment, the quantum energy field is exponentially increased in intensity and is most effective to bring about manifestation of your dreams and desires. The other aspect that is important in this process of manifestation is what Deepak Chopra calls life-centered present-moment awareness, and Eckart Tolle calls the Power of Now13. This highlights the importance of a focus on the present, which is all that there ever is.

THE PRESCRIPTION Here are the steps to follow for effective manifestation: 1. Never try to manifest anything that requires violating the laws of Nature in our universe.

2. Meditate for 20 minutes and afterwards transition to “Choiceless Awareness” as described in Cosmic Consciousness14. Choiceless Awareness puts you in direct contact with the infinite number of possibilities that are present in the discontinuity. It is easily brought about whenever you become aware of the true observer in you in the midst of the observation15.

3. As you leave the state of “Choiceless Awareness,” focus on your specific intention and in doing so you will release your Figure 2: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity shows that the universe is curved in space and time and finite in an infinite expanse of “nothingness”

intention to the off part of the discontinuity in True Reality where infinite possibilities exist and can be accessed.

4. Upon completing steps 1–3, maintain self-focus on you intention, which means that you should not disclose it to anyone until it is manifested.

5. Most important, follow the Law of Detachment, which leads to the powerful state of life-centered present-moment awareness. Abandon even the slightest attachment to the outcome. In this state of being, essentially all obstacles to manifestation are removed. This takes practice and is the most difficult part of the exercise. Without unattachment, you are dependent on simple desire, which is a very weak force for manifestation.

6. There is an aspect of manifestation that has been stated throughout all Wisdom Traditions, but never fully understood. It is that “love” is the most powerful enabling force in the universe. In the Sanskrit writings of the Wisdom Traditions, there are numerous words that mean love, each a variation of positive intent, depending on the situation.

The best translation into English for the purpose of manifestation is that love means “concern for the whole.” And therefore, the more that a desired manifestation will benefit humankind, the world, or the universe, the stronger the force to create its reality.

7. Let the universe handle the details.

Figure 3: Through the infinite presence of Consciousness, it is possible to manifest your dreams and desires through intention and attention with detachment

8. Remain patient and passionately attentive to your intent, yet unattached to the outcome.

We often hear about the “power of positive thinking,” which is certainly a valuable trait; however, it pales in comparison to the “power of manifestation.”

James A. Cusumano, PhD 1

James A. Cusumano, “Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey To Wellbeing, Happiness and Success – Part I: Are You For Real?” Prague Leaders Magazine, Volume 1, 2012, p. 78.

2 James A. Cusumano, “Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey To Wellbeing, Happiness and Success – Part II: Where Do We Come From?” Prague Leaders Magazine, Volume 2, 2012, p. 102.

3 James A. Cusumano, “Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey To Wellbeing, Happiness and Success,” Fortuna Libra, Prague, 2011.

4 James A. Cusumano, “Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey To Wellbeing, Happiness and Success – Part III: Everything From Nothing,” Prague Leaders Magazine, Volume 2, 2012, p. 106.

5 Op. cit., Reference 3.

6 Eckhart Tolle, “The Power of Now,” New World Library, Novato, California, 1999.

7 Deepak Chopra, “The Book of Secrets – Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life,” Three Rivers Press, New York, 2009.

8 Deepak Chopra, “The Seven Laws of Success – A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams,” Excel Books, New Delhi, 1996.

9 Op. cit, Reference 2.

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid, p. 69.

12 Ibid, p. 73.

13 Op. cit., Reference 6.

14 Op. cit., Reference 3.

15 Here is a summary of the Choiceless Awareness process: Sit quietly with closed eyes in a darkened room, listening to soft meditative music. Take several deep breaths to reach a relaxed state.

Then, ask yourself, “Who is really listening to the music?” You will inevitably feel a quiet “stillness” inside. That “stillness” is your spirit, your soul, your Personal Consciousness. Try to stay in that state for a few minutes. Then as you begin to leave it, inject your intention into the universe.

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 environmentally-benign, low-cost, catalytic technologies. While he was Chairman and CEO, the latter – Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – grew in less than 5 years, to a $1 billion enterprise with 2,000 employees. He is coauthor of “Freedom from Mid-East Oil,” 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.

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 113

interview A talk with Barbara Nesvadbová, Writer and Editor in Chief of the Czech Version of Haarper´s Bazaar

Czech Women Are Beatiful Photos: Archive of Barbara Nesvadbová

Barbara Nesvadbová (1975) – was born into a family of two psychiatrists. Her mother takes care of emigrants and ethnic minorities and her father († 2005) was known as a sci-fi writer.

Barbara graduated from the Faculty of Social Science, Charles University in Prague, in the field of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Afterwards, she worked as the Editor-in-Chief of both “Xantypa” and “Playboy”. At present, she is the Chief Editor of the Czech version of “Harper´s Bazaar”. Barbara became, among other things, famous for her writing. Her first book “Řízkaři” deals with sex, relationships and the groping of a young journalist Karla.

Other books followed including “Bestiář” and “Život na nečisto”. “Bestiář” served as a model for the screenplay of the movie of the same title, directed by Irena Pavlásková. Apart from that, she enjoys writing books for kids.

She’s also been engaged in Rádio Impuls broadcasting, as a moderator of her programme “Mirror of Barbara Nesvadbová”. Barbara Nesvadbová has a daughter Bibiana with former Minister Karel Březina.

You were born under the Capricorn star sign, which has a rather ambitious connotation. Does it fit you?

I am not an expert on horoscopes; I don’t overestimate them and definitely don’t follow a daily routine according to them. However, the father of my daughter was born under the Sagittarius star sign, and I was also dating another man whose birthday was the same date as his. Both had much of the Sagittarius’s proverbial lightness. So, there’s something about it. And when it comes to the Capricorn’s ambitious side, it can also be melancholic and slightly depressive. The older I get, the more it fits.

Yet, I consider myself to be a little bit of a clown as

114 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

interview well, otherwise I wouldn’t have such bright hair, thus I am trying to override the Capricorn’s earthiness.

There are still only a few professionally successful women in our society. Don’t you think that we women have to make more of an effort to achieve something?

Fortunately, I am surrounded by women who pursue great careers, or are thanks to their talent distinct artistic personalities. Unfortunately, this talent comes mostly at the expense of personal life.

It is not that they wouldn’t have children, fortunately they have, but they don’t have a man.

What’s the problem?

Well, not many men are willing to make a “wife” within a relationship. Beyond this, dual-career relationships are very, very difficult.

So do we need men at all? Haven’t we become equal to them, after all, in many ways?

One needs friends by all means, much like family.

I could not imagine my life without my daughter. It would be immensely boring. However, I don’t think that we need a man to the intent that our grand-

mothers and perhaps our mothers needed. I suppose a classical family model, where a father works and a mother takes care, is an anachronism in Central Europe. Hopefully another institution is going to replace it. Or perhaps the so-called “patchwork family” might be the solution. I don’t know…

Yet, although it has been said that solitude is the ideal form of existence, I am not sure about it. Today, I am not missing a partner, as I have my daughter Bibiana alongside and my mother on the third floor. However, Bibi is going to grow up one day, and one enjoys visiting exhibitions in twos much better after all.

There are books like “Why Men Marry Bitches” (Bestseller by Sherry Argov – editor´s note). Do you find it a cliché?

Well, it has also been said that a good person means a stupid person. This is a really stupid cliché, much like the one about the “bitches”. After our first school love, we find out after all that the one who loves less is the winner. That, however, doesn’t mean that one should be a “monster” or shouldn’t fall in love. And honestly, what would finally become of us if we’d hold back our feelings. After all, I wouldn’t have written any book.

The powerful server InVogue set up (in the manner of the American CNN) a ranking of the ten most influential women within the Czech fashion business. You placed as the 5th most influential position. What does it mean for you?

I suppose it is quite good. I once won third place for reciting a poem at a competition. It was Pushkin that time. Well, third place was not bad at all (laughing).

Well, let’s talk about fashion. The Czech women are said to be too conservative, not free enough (compared to Italian, French or English women).

Do you feel the same?

The Czech women are beautiful. They don´t have the tendency to get excessively “mummified” up to 80 kilos much like Italian women, nor get too “uniformed” – preferring a Chanel jacket and pearls in their 40ties. And please excuse me, but I don’t know many beautiful English women apart from Kate Winslet. I don’t deny that women of the aforementioned countries certainly have a much longer fashion tradition, and we can imagine much with regard to their style. However, we are experiencing a congenial mix in the Czech Republic. In this respect, perhaps only Slovakian women are doing better… Concerning the dressing itself, it is different in the Prague Centre compared to Přerov, for instance. Yet comparing Munich and Hanau would be nonsense too.

So, what is a typical Czech woman concerning fashion, and what are her priorities?

The Czech woman is, I suppose, very easy going, and once she gets used to something, she doesn’t like changing it. And this might prove right. If you find that the suit to the knee fits you well, why should you be wearing a pleated maxi just because it was trendy, and yet it makes you look like an elephant…

In this respect, do the Haarper’s Bazaar female readers (much like the male readers) climb on the bandwagon or climb against it?

The female readers of Bazaar are practically very similar all over the world; they can be selected from society according to education, career or income; but definitely not according to nationality.

You inherited “writing” from your father. What about it attracts you most? And where do you get inspiration from?

It is definitely freedom. Writing is my love. And passion. I am surrounded by books at home. Although it is a very “secluded” profession, I have the passion for it. And as for inspiration? I am stealing stories from my friends, and beyond this, I like observing things. And last but not least, I make things up. It has been said that each author actually writes only about himself. It is not true; it rather comes out of him. Even a sci-fi or horror story author presents only his own imagination. In this context, I am really glad that I write on relationships and not on murder.

Have you ever had a desire to follow in your father’s footsteps and inquire about the depths of the human soul?

When I was choosing my University no, but later yes. Nonetheless, with my knowledge of physics, when I hardly scraped through it in high school, I surely would not have been accepted in medicine.

Meanwhile, I constantly feel more and more that

being a doctor is the only proper job. Maybe this is the reason why I devote so much time to charity projects – the Etincelle and Institution for mentally handicapped citizens “Zahrada na Kladně”.

Your books are about interpersonal relations and you wrote a book of fairy tales. Is it difficult to change the genre? What do you enjoy more?

The fairy tale book was a beautiful work. I am surrounded by a lot of kids, my daughter’s friends; and so I make kind of “small” – focus groups. I firmly hope I am going to write some fairy tales in the future again. I wrote “Garpíškoviny” about my lovely retriever, Garp. Recently, I got a second dog for us, thus the follow-up theme is at hand.

So, are you working on a new book?

I would like to write a book about age. How significant, isn’t it? Years ago, when Magdalena Dietlová made me the youngest Editor-in-Chief in Prague, people were commenting on that. I smiled that age was a myth. Well, today I am not sure about it anymore…

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

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 115

Photo: Archive

THE OSSUARY For two years residents and visitors to the city have had a chance to look into the complex and mysterious passages and vaults under the pavement of Brno streets and squares. The underground spaces have been made accessible thanks to a considerable contribution from the city budget and subsidies from the European Union. Apart from the Mintmaster’s Cellar in Dominikánské náměstí (Dominican square) and the Labyrinth under Zelný trh (Cabbage market) visitors can now also see the last part, the Ossuary under St. James’ Church. The underground realm which newly includes this mystical and contemplative space opened its gates for Brno residents as well as tourists on June 22nd, inviting them to a journey in time, through the colourful history of the city of Brno.

“TOUCHES OF DEATH” INSPIRE CONTEMPLATION Jakubské náměstí (St. James’ square) with the dominant St. James’ church and the modern Golden Fountain replacing an original well, form one of the most beautiful places in the historical centre of Brno. It is emblematic that the church is dedicated to St. James the Greater, patron saint of pilgrims and travellers. Local and foreign visitors are expected to peregrinate to this unique ossuary in large numbers.

The original St. James’ Church was built in the early 13th century and one of the town churchyards was founded around the church soon after its erection.

Funeral ceremonies had been held here until 1784 when the cemetery was closed during the Josephine reforms.

The area between Běhounská and Jakubská streets has been called Jakubské náměstí since 1867. In 2001, when the church underground areas were being explored during repair works, the remains of an ancient repository were found.

The Ossuary – a triple-chamber crypt under the floor of the western wing of the church – was probably founded in the 17th century, and in the 18th century it was extended, gradually filled and forgotten after the liquidation of the local churchyard.

Over fifty thousand buried individuals – adult men and women, children as well as animals – were found during the research and reconstruction. This number makes the Brno Ossuary the second largest in Europe after the Catacombs of Paris.

The ossuary unveiled unexpected secrets to the meticulous archaeologists in the form of twenty-four early baroque, and mostly polychrome coffins, and walls with unique arrangements of human bones. This was the reason for delays in the reconstruction work and increase in costs by CZK 2m totalling CZK 34m. It has been agreed upon with the conservation specialists that the wall made of human bones in the third chamber, which is part of the chantry chapel, will remain untouched and will be provided with protective glass. Two burial caskets with skeletons of the deceased have also been made part of the exhibition. Other unique features are the gravestones

116 Roman Onderka, Mayor of Brno, was captured by the sculpture of the “Pietà” which together with other works of art and burial caskets decorate the main chamber with the chantry chapel in the crypt under the church

from the original St. James’ churchyard with sculptural decoration showing an example of masterful stonework.

Visitors descend into the Ossuary through a specially built entrance where they can buy tickets and souvenirs and there are also toilets and an exhibition with information panels and display cases with skulls and small objects found during the exploration. Then the guided tour will take them into the crypt where the mortal remains are piously arranged together with modern works of art and gravestones. A 20-minute music piece composed by musicologist and composer Miloš Štědroň especially for the Ossuary enhances the experience from the realm of the dead.

Brno Tourist Information Centre is the operator and administrator of the Ossuary, also operating the Labyrinth under Zelný trh and the Mintmaster’s Cellar.

I am pleased that the renovated underground space has become one of the greatest attractions in Brno, which will attract more visitors to Brno. But this is not the only important feature of this successfully completed project. It is equally important that thanks to the knowledgeable exhibition, the citizens of Brno as well as other visitors will be able to learn about the historical development of the city and the lives of their ancestors. In today’s “uprooted” world it is more than ever important to know one’s roots.

By Roman Onderka Mayor of the City of Brno

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

BRNĚNSKÉ PODZEMÍ získalo mystický rozměr Už dva roky mají obyvatelé a návštěvníci města možnost nahlédnout do části spletitých a tajemných chodeb a sklepení pod dlažbou brněnských ulic a náměstí. Podzemní prostory se podařilo zpřístupnit díky nemalému příspěvku z rozpočtu města Brna a dotacím z Evropské unie. K Mincmistrovskému sklepu na Dominikánském náměstí a Labyrintu pod Zelným trhem nyní přibyla poslední část – Kostnice pod kostelem sv.

Jakuba. Podzemní království doplněné o tento mystický a kontemplativní prostor tak 22. června naplno otevřelo místním i turistům své brány a zve je na cestu časem do barvité historie města Brna. „DOTEKY SMRTI“ NUTÍ K ZAMYŠLENÍ Jakubské náměstí s dominantou kostela svatého Jakuba a s moderní Zlatou kašnou v místech původní studny tvoří jedno z nejhezčích míst historického centra Brna. Je přímo symbolické, že kostel je zasvěcen sv.

Jakubovi Většímu, patronu poutníků a cestovatelů. Lze totiž předpokládat, že za unikátní kostnicí připutuje nejen mnoho brněnských a tuzemských návštěvníků, ale také velké množství těch zahraničních.

Původní kostel sv. Jakuba byl postaven na počátku 13. století a následně byl kolem něj založen jeden z městských hřbitovů. Pohřební obřady zde probíhaly až do roku 1784, kdy byl hřbitov za josefínských reforem zrušen.

Prostranství mezi Běhounskou a Jakubskou ulicí se od roku 1867 nazývá Jakubské náměstí.

Když se v roce 2001 kvůli opravám Jakubského náměstí

zkoumalo jeho podzemí, bylo zde nalezeno starodávné úložiště ostatků.

Kostnice (osárium) – tříkomorová krypta pod podlahou západní části kostela – vznikla pravděpodobně v 17. století a v 18. století došlo k jejímu rozšíření, ale i postupnému naplnění a po zrušení zdejšího hřbitova se na ni zapomnělo.

Při výzkumu a rekonstrukci bylo nalezeno přes padesát tisíc pohřbených jedinců – dospělých mužů a žen, ale i dětí a zvířat – a tento počet řadí brněnské osárium na druhé místo v Evropě, hned za pařížské katakomby.

Pečlivým archeologům odhalila kostnice nečekaná tajemství v podobě nálezu čtyřiadvaceti raně barokních většinou polychromovaných rakví a stěny s unikátním uspořádáním lidských kostí. Z toho důvodu se také prodloužily rekonstrukční práce a náklady na ně se zvýšily o cca 2 miliony, tedy na 34 milionů korun. Stěna z kostí ve třetí komoře, která je součástí zádušní kaple, zůstala po dohodě s památkáři nedotčena a za ochranným sklem. Součástí expozice se staly také dvě pohřební schrány s kostrami zesnulých. K dalším unikátům patří náhrobní kameny z původního svatojakubského hřbitova, jejichž plastická výzdoba je ukázkou mistrovské kamenické práce.

Návštěvníci do kostnice sestoupí z náměstí speciálně vybudovaným vstupním prostorem, kde se nachází místnost pro prodej vstupenek a suvenýrů, sociální zařízení a expozice s informačními panely a vitrínami s lebkami a drobnými předměty nalezenými při výzkumech. Dále je prohlídková trasa zavede do prostor krypty, kde jsou

Jaromír Gargulák and Jiří Netík, Brno sculptors, are authors of the sculptures of St. James and the Angel decorating the first crypt chamber under the church Photos: M. Schmerková

Roman Onderka, Mayor of Brno, and other guests viewed the sculpture of “Charón” guarding the entrance during the inauguration of the Ossuary

pietně uložené a uspořádané ostatky doplněny moderními uměleckými díly a náhrobky. Zážitek z návštěvy v říši mrtvých umocňuje 20minutová hudební skladba, kterou speciálně pro kostnici složil muzikolog a skladatel Miloš Štědroň.

Provozovatelem a správcem kostnice je Turistické informační centrum města Brna, které již úspěšně provozuje Labyrint pod Zelným trhem a Mincmistrovský sklep.

Těší mě, že se zrekonstruované podzemí stalo jednou z největších brněnských turistických atrakcí a že do Brna přiláká zase více návštěvníků. Není to však jediný význam, který tento úspěšně dokončený projekt má. Neméně důležité je, že se sami Brňané, ale i ostatní zájemci díky fundovaným expozicím poučí o historickém vývoji města i o životě svých předků. A vědět, kde tkví naše vlastní kořeny, je v dnešním „vykořeněném“ světě velmi důležité.

Roman Onderka primátor statutárního města Brna

117

moravian-silesian region

Technical Monuments – a Unique Feature of the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region wishes to attract tourists by offering the technical attractions that the region boasts. Twelve sights have been identified – remnants of extraction, industry, and crafts – that have been included in the so-called TECHNO ROUTE. A plan of activities for the whole family has been prepared for visitors along the route, which shows off not only the most famous, but also lesser known remnants of historical crafts or industrial activity.

Photo: Archive

Installations that have been included in the route lie throughout the Moravian-Silesian Region. The main condition for their inclusion in the route was that the monuments must be open to the public, and their operators must be willing to actively participate and provide space for such things as promotional events, as well as providing guides and facilities for visitors. The 12 attractions now featured include experiences at unique and well-known sights, such as going underground at the former Landek Mine, and access to the blast furnace in the Lower Vítkovice Area, but also at sights that are not so well known, such as a very pleasant ride on a steam train – the oldest narrow-gauge railway in Europe – from Třemešná to Osoblaha; the feeling of being a soldier inside a fortress in Darkovičky and Bohumín; the process of brewing beer in Nošovice; and the making of flour in a traditional mill in Loučky u Oder. There is at least one attraction in each district.

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Narrow-gauge track Osoblaha

Given that the project is brand new, there are tasks that will be accomplished over the course of this year – such as the uniform marking of the sights along the route, and the training of guides, and we are also planning a series of summer events called “A Fine Summer”, with competitions for the whole family at all twelve sights. Current information will always be published on the web at www.msregion.cz.

Visitors who decide to visit all twelve sights can participate in a benefit programme, by obtaining a passport at one of the attractions, in which they will then collect stamps from the attractions they have visited. Rewards will be given based on the number of sights visited. Special passports are also offered to schools, which can compete for a special prize – “Children’s Day”.

Technical sights are attractive for all age groups, and we are taking advantage of a genuine increase in interest as well as an international trend. Our region boasts far more remnants of extraction and industry than the twelve identified. But some of them do not yet offer standard tourist facilities or are not open to the public, although they are indeed unique. We do not rule out that we will gradually increase the number of sights along the route in the coming years.

Three of the country’s twenty National Cultural Heritage Sites that enjoy the highest level of protection and are classified as Industrial Heritage Sites are in the MoravianSilesian region. They are: the Lower Vítkovice Area – the Hlubina Mine and blast furnaces; the Michal Mine; and the unique Slovenská strela motor-coach train from the 1930s, which can be seen on the premises of its manufacture – at the Tatra Kopřivnice Museum, which is one of the sights on the route.

Other sights on the current TECHNO ROUTE include: the Fire-fighter’s Museum of the City of Ostrava and Landek Park, directly in Ostrava; the Railway Coach Museum in Studénka; the infantry fortress in Bohumín; fortifications in Darkovičky; Wesselský Water Mill in Loučky u Oder; the Osoblaha narrow-gauge railway; the scythe manufacture in Karlovice in the Bruntál area, showing life in the countryside; and the Nošovice Radegast Brewery, which shows the preparation of this popular beverage.

The Moravian-Silesian Region welcomes you. Come, see, and learn!

Jaroslav Palas Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

TECHNICKÉ PAMÁTKY – ZVLÁŠTNOST

Moravskoslezského kraje Moravskoslezský kraj chce přilákat turisty nabídkou technických atraktivit, kterými tento region disponuje.

Bylo vytipováno dvanáct objektů, pozůstatků po těžbě, průmyslové nebo řemeslné činnosti, jež jsou součástí tzv. TECHNO TRASY. Pro návštěvníky je na trase sestaven plán akcí pro celé rodiny. K prohlídce jsou připraveny nejen ty nejznámější, ale i méně známé pozůstatky po historické řemeslné nebo průmyslové činnosti.

Objekty byly vytipovány po celém Moravskoslezském kraji. Hlavní podmínkou zařazení do trasy byla veřejná přístupnost památky a samozřejmě ochota se aktivně zapojit a poskytnout prostor například pro propagační akce, průvodcovský servis a zázemí pro návštěvníky.

Mezi dnešními 12 atraktivitami jsou unikátní a velmi známé památky jako je fárání na bývalé šachtě na Landeku nebo vstup do vysoké pece v Dolní oblasti Vítkovic, ale také objekty, které až tak známé nejsou jako je velmi příjemná jízda parním vláčkem – nestarší úzkokolejkou ve střední Evropě – z Třemešné do Osoblahy, pocity vojáka při pobytu v pevnosti v Darkovičkách a Bohumíně, ale třeba také proces výroby piva v Nošovicích nebo výroba mouky v tradičním mlýně v Loučkách u Oder. V každém okrese kraje je minimálně jedna atrakce.

Vzhledem k tomu, že se jedná o čerstvou novinku postupně bude ještě letos zajištěno například jednotné značení objektů na trase, proškolení průvodců a připravujeme seriál letních akcí pod názvem „Fajne léto“ se soutěžemi na všech dvanácti objektech pro celé rodiny.

Aktuální informace budou vždy zveřejněny na webové adrese www.msregion.cz.

Pokud se návštěvníci rozhodnou navštívit postupně

všech dvanáct objektů, mohou se zapojit do benefitního programu a pořídit si pas přímo na atraktivitě, do kterého návštěvník obdrží vždy razítko navštíveného místa. Podle počtu navštívených památek pak bude možné získat odměnu. Speciální pasy jsou připraveny i pro školy, které budou moci soutěžit o zvláštní cenu – „Den dětí“.

Technické památky jsou atraktivní pro jakoukoliv věkovou skupinu a my využíváme opravdu zvýšeného zájmu i světového trendu. V našem kraji je pozůstatků po těžbě nebo průmyslu mnohem více než těch vytipovaných dvanáct. Některé památky ale zatím nemají standardní zázemí pro turisty nebo nejsou přístupné, ač jsou to objekty unikátní. Nevylučujeme však postupné rozšíření počtu památek na trase v příštích letech.

V Moravskoslezském kraji jsou tři z celkových 20 českých Národních kulturních památek, památek požívajících nejvyššího stupně ochrany, zařazených do industriálního dědictví. Jedná se o Dolní oblast Vítkovic – Důl Hlubina a vysoké pece, Důl Michal a unikátní motorový vlak z 30. let 20. století Slovenská strela, který lze vidět u výrobce – v Muzeu Tatra Kopřivnice, zařazeném do zmíněné trasy.

Dalšími objekty na aktuální TECHNO TRASE pak jsou:

Area of Czecho-Slovak fortification Hlučín-Darkovičky

Hasičské muzeum města Ostravy a Landek Park přímo v Ostravě, Vagonářské muzeum ve Studénce, pěchotní srub v Bohumíně a opevnění v Darkovičkách, Vodní mlýn Wesselský v Loučkách u Oder, úzkokolejná dráha na Osoblažsku, kosárna v Karlovicích na Bruntálsku připomene život na venkově a nošovický Pivovar Radegast zase přípravu nejen u nás tolik oblíbeného nápoje.

Moravskoslezský kraj Vás vítá, přijeďte se podívat a také poučit.

Jaroslav Palas hejtman Moravskoslezského kraje

Water mill Wesselsky

119

ÄŒSĂšZ

Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

REVIEWS ITS ACTIVITY

For the following two years, the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute will be run by the management committee elected at its general meeting on May 16, 2012

120 Leaders Magazine IV/2012

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

ČSÚZ “The past two-year period can be considered successful,” the chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Jaromír Šlápota said when reviewing the activity of this independent citizen association, and he proved his statement by the list of 53 projects that the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute has finished successfully.

Chhairm Cha irm r an of of the the Cz C ech echosl o oova osl vaak Fore oreig ign ggn Ins n tit nstit tititute tte JJaarom arom omírí ŠŠlá om láápot p a r eevi v ewe vi w d t wo woo-ye yyeaar´s r´s aact ct c tivi tivi v ty t y of of the thhe IInnsti s tut tute. ute.

In the following two years, the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute is again going to perform its role assigned to it by the first Czechoslovak president T.G. Masaryk in 1928, which is meant to co-operate with fellow countrymen abroad who show their interest, to support teaching Czech in schools abroad and to spread Czech culture around the world. That was decided by the participants of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s general meeting on May 16th 2012, in Prague.

The general meeting in the Congress Hall of the Czech Union of Scientific and Technical Societies was attended by 55 members of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and by two dozen honorary guests – by representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mgr. Stanislav Kázecký, authorised representative for the countrymen agenda; by ambassador of Azerbaijan H.E. Tahir Taghizadeh; ambassador of Venezuela H.E. Victor Julian Hernandez; counsel of the Embassy of Belorussia Valentin Špak; counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Roman Rosina; counsel of the Ukraine Viktor Matsko; representatives of the Masaryk’s Democratic movement MUDr. Lidmila Ripová and doc. Ing. Milan Veverka, CSc.; and by Benke Aikell, the publisher of Leaders Magazine, which is regularly informing about the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s activities on its pages; as well as other honourable guests.

“We were quite a hardworking Cinderella which has become a well respected representative of the fellow countrymen abroad thanks to our new sponsors,” the chairman said. He also mentioned social gatherings in the St. Agnes Monastery that are attended by representatives of various nationalities or political movements unified by their useful activities for others. These social evenings were realised especially thanks to the vicechairman Ivo Valenta, who initiated them and financially supported their realization.

The list of associations and institutions with which the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute is nowadays cooperating is completed by philological faculties of European universities where Czech is being taught. These ties were made through the course of Czech language, organized annually by the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute in July, for fellow countrymen and others who are interested. Over the last ten years the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute is inviting two students from each of these European universities to improve their language skills and to learn more about life in the Czech Republic.

After finishing his positive report, the chairman handed out letters of thanks, and the medal of the Silver Lion to those who contributed significantly to successful activity in the past period: to Mrs. Hana Hlaváčková, who equipped a kindergarten in Daruvar and Končenice; to Ing. Jiří Musil for building a children’s playground in Daruvar; to doc.

PhDr. Ivana Bozděchová, CSc. for teaching Czech in Czech courses, and for translations for the Institute; and to Mrs. Jitka Valentová for her personal contribution to the renovation of the seat of the Institute.

The participants of the general meeting decided in the election that the Institute will be run by the present 23-member management committee with three changes. Jaromír Šlápota remains a chairman; PhDr. Libuše Benešová, Ing. Vladimír Kubiš, CSc. and Ivo Valenta remain vice-chairmen; and new members of the committee will be Miroslav Langr, Ing. Jiří Musil and Ing. Jiří Rudolf. Mgr. Marta Gellová will be a chair of the control and revising committee.

“We are acting according to our own decisions in the long run, without a necessity to adapt to changes in society. We are realising projects for fellow countrymen abroad. More and more of them are visiting us. The Institute’s leadership is working on a volunteer basis and its members are paying everything for themselves,” a re-elected chairman emphasized at the end of the general meeting.

HEBR

The ambassadors of Azerbaijan, H.E. Tahir Taghizadeh and of Venezuela H.E. Victor Julian Hernandez followed the general meeting very carefully as they both can speak Czech

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 121

IN PARTNERSHIP NERSHIP W WITH LEADERS ERS MAG MAGAZINE

An interview with Peter H. Chase, Senior European Representative, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

We Need to Address

U.S.-EU REGULATORY ISSUES SO THAT A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT CAN BE SOLD IN ONE MARKET COULD ALSO BE SOLD IN THE OTHER Photo: Archive of Peter H. Chase

The European Union and the United States strengthened transatlantic economic ties through a number of new initiatives in November 2011. At the Transatlantic Economic Council, senior EU and US leaders agreed to facilitate their customs procedures, to strengthen their cooperation on electric vehicle and smart grid research and in the fields of new technologies, such as cloud computing, and raw materials.

How far is the process now, half a year later?

We’ve comee a lon long wa way since the November 2011 U.S.-EU -EU Summit – and indeed are on the verge of launching laun negotiations on a co comp mpre rehe hens nsiv ivee ag agre reem emen entt to lib iber eral aliz izee transatlantic trade and investment. This new possibility has opened because Presidents Obama, Van Rompuy and Barroso decided at the Summit to set up a High Level Working Group on Transatlantic Jobs and Growth. That Working Group, chaired by EU Trade Commissioner De Gucht and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, released its Interim Report, on June 19. In the report, the two agreed that a comprehensive agreement covering trade in goods and services, investment, procurement and regulatory issues could bring significant benefits to our two economies – including of course to Czech businesses that sell to the United States, whether directly or as components to products made elsewhere in Europe.

We still have work to do – the Europeans want a better sense of how the United States can handle procurement and services issues

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at the level of our state governments, while the United States wants assurances that we can address some agricultural issues.

And both would like to know more about the U.S. Chamber/BusinessEurope proposal to address regulatory issues so that a product or service that can be sold in one market could also be sold in the other. All these steps build on the work done previously in the Transatlantic Economic Council on the things you mentioned – supply chain security, electric vehicles and the like.

now with new transport and communication tions technologies, we’re right next door, despite spi pite t the ocean between us. But those same techte nologiess have also brought br all countries closer together. er. This is definitely d a good thing, as hundreds eds of mill millions of people have seen their standards tandards of liv living improve. But not all governments share our o deep belief in the dignity of thee individual, ind and this too is something we – including in in particular the United States and tthe Czech Republic – must work together to improve.

Your work mainly focuses on the transatlantic economy with particular attention on the future of European international investment treaties under the Lisbon Treaty and ways to enhance transatlantic economic integration. How would you describe the level of integration today?

There was a huge debate and several demonstrations across Europe regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). How is ACTA perceived by Americans? Did your government encounter the same reaction from its citizens?

Investment would be one o of the main areas under a comprehensive transatlantic agreement. The United States and the EU already have one of the strongest investment relationships in the world: U.S. firms have invested more than $1.9 trillion in the EU, while EU firms have ave put $1.5 trillion into the States. And, as you know, tthe U.S. has bilateral investmentt treaties with many – but not all – EU members, including i the Czech Republic. c. This is one reason reaso U.S. firms have invested more mo money here than they have, for instance, inn TTurkey, and almost as much as they’ve putt into the whole of the Russian economy.

But even this high level of integration can be improved, as I’m sure even our very ver active AmCham in the Czech Republic would wo argue.

With Wi th the Lis isbo bonn Tr Trea eaty ty, thesee ag agre reem emen ents ts can now be negotiated otiated at the EU-level.

E The Working Groupp believes we can conclude a high-level agreement ent that could further liberalize investment, w which would open new opportunities for Czech firms as well as others.

It is often said, that financial crisis has brought the European Union and the United States closer together. Are there any other factors pushing the two sides together? (e.g. China) The U.S. and Europe have always been close; after all, the United States was built on immigration from Europe, including many from the area that is now the Czech Republic.

The events of the 20th century, both good and bad, brought us closer together. And

-

I find it ironic that ACTA became such a politically sensitive issue here. The United States and European Union depend on the ability of our citizens to innovate to stay competitive in today’s globalized world. As such, we have always had high standards of protection of intellectual property. ACTA would not have changed any European laws or practices, but would have encouraged other governments to improve their enforcement efforts. Given that it’s the European Championship, it seems appropriate to say that the European Parliament’s rejection of ACTA is very much an “own goal“.

According to the European Commission, the value of US procurement offered to foreign bidders is €34 billion, however €312 billion of EU public procurement is open to bidders from member countries of the WTO agreement on procurement. What is your opinion on the Commission’s proposal, which will allow EU members to reject foreign bids from countries that refuse to open up their public procurement markets to European companies?

The U.S. government disputes tthe European Commission’s numbers, arguing that in fact some $400 billion of government procurement in the United States is open to all bidders on a non-discriminatory basis. That said, the U.S. can do better. We should get rid of our “Buy America” restrictions, which prevent U.S. citizens from getting the best from their tax dollars. But the same is true in Europe, including in the Czech Republic, where many believe the procurement market is not as open as claimed. Government

budg budgets d are constrained,, aand our citizens rightly demand the best value v for the taxes they pay. Opening up all government contracts to transparent competitive bidding is the onlyy way to achieve that.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes. Unlike traditional European chambers, your organization participates in financial terms in the U.S. Congress. Is the Chamber considered as an independent organization?

And how is it perceived by US decisionmakers?

The U.S. Chamber is indeed the world’s largest business federation, and we benefit enormously from having such organizations as AmCham Czech Republic among our members. We press our government to provide the conditions businesses need to thrive, so they can generate jobs and help all our citizens achieve better lives. In this, we do work both oth directly on policy, and in the political field. d We do not, however, engage in Presidential politics, but only at the Congressional and state level. U.S. decision-makers see the Chamber as a strong advocate, but primarily because we always provide the facts and figures to back up our policy positions. This credibility is essential in an any effort tto improve policy.

Are there any differences between American and European style of lobbying?

How would you characterize them?

Yes, there are. Inn the United States, individuals and businesses are more directly involved in the policy process. We have many firms as direct members of the Chamber, and work closely with them, but they also engage actively themselves.

This is less the case in Europe, where most of the business associations are often federations of federations. This is changing, certainly in Brussels, where many European firms have now established government relations offices, and actively seek to educate policy-makers.

But even so, differences remain. For instance, firms in the U.S. frequently take politicians to their factories; I get the sense this is less common here.

By Alena Vlačihová Director of CEBRE

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EU matters debate

Štefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy

Photo: Archiv of CEBRE

The celebration of Europe Day gave an excellent opportunity to reflect on the priorities of the Czech Republic for the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–2020 (MFF). In order to stimulate the debate on this matter, the conference “Competitiveness and Growth” was held on 9th May 2012 in Prague. An effective and targeted use of available resources in the future MFF in line with the priorities set out in the Czech national strategy for international competitiveness, also includes timely preparations for the use of the biggest EU programme Horizon 2020 (with an available volume of €80 billion), and of the smaller programme in support of small and medium-sized enterprises COSME (€2.5 billion). Both programmes are aimed at facilitating access to finance for enterprises, especially SMEs. While Horizon 2020 supports start-ups, spin-offs and new innovative companies, COSME focuses on growth stage investments. Almost €1.4 billion within COSME and €3.8 billion within Horizon 2020 are dedicated to financial engineering which will take a form of loans, guarantees, equity or quasi-equity, debt investment or participations. In addition, new financial instruments will be complemented by financing from Cohesion Funds at national level.

Alena Vlačihová, CEBRE Director, Rudolf Strohmeier, Deputy Director, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, Daniel Braun, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic, Petr Kužel, President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, Jan Weisner, Chairman, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic, and Jan Hrušák, Director, Section for Science and Research, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic

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From left: Tomáš Hartman, Deputy Director, CEBRE, Karel Havlíček, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Crafts of the CR and Vice President, UEAPME, Petr Zahradník, Bureau for the EU of Ceska sporitelna and Member of NERV, Petr Očko, Director, EU Funds Research and Innovations Section, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, and Jan Weisner, Chairman, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic

From left: Daniel Braun, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Regional Development CR, Petr Kužel, President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, Štefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, and Vojtěch Belling, Secretary of State for European Affairs

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CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU celebrates this year the 10th anniversary of its existence in Brussels lobby arena. Apart from the celebratory evening held at the premises of Prague House, CEBRE also organized a business breakfast with Czech MEPs together with the top representatives of CEBRE founders’ organizations. Among CEBRE founders representatives, who participated in the celebrations, which were held on 4th and 5th June 2012 in Brussels, were Jan Wiesner, Chairman of the Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic, Stanislav Kázecký, Vice President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic and Radek Pažout, Secretary General of the Czech Chamber of Commerce. CEBRE office celebrated its anniversary together with the Delegation of Prague to the EU established in the EU capital also in 2002.

EU matters event

From left: Libor Rouček, MEP, Zuzana Brzobohatá, MEP, Richard Falbr, MEP, Oldřich Vlasák, MEP and Vice President of the European Parliament, Zuzana Roithová, MEP, Jan Březina, MEP, and Edvard Kožušník, MEP

The ceremony held on 4th June was opened by the speech of the Czech ambassadress to the EU, Her Excellency Milena Vicenová, who thanked both organizations for cooperation and wished them a lot of success in the years to come. Stanislav Kázecký, who spoke on behalf of the founding organizations, stressed the key contribution of CEBRE activities for Czech entrepreneurs, which are, thanks to the representation, closer to the EU legislative process, which they can therefore better and more effectively monitor and influence. The following day the representatives met with Czech Members of the European Parliament at working breakfast, which focused on “Competitiveness and growth”. Among the present MEPs were Oldřich Vlasák, Vladimír Remek, Richard Falbr, Zuzana Roithová, Miloslav Ransdorf, Jan Březina, Edvard Kožušník, Zuzana Brzobohatá, Pavel Poc and Libor Rouček. According to the majority of participating MEPs the Czech Republic lacks right information regarding European affairs. This might play a role in the negative attitude of the Czech public regarding the EU. MEPs also agreed on the fact that the Czech Republic desperately needs a concept of strategic planning for the distribution of European funds, which is still missing. The need is more urgent because the upcoming financial programming period 2014–2020 will be probably the last, when the Czech Republic will be the net beneficiary.

From left: Jan Wiesner, Chairman, Confederation of Employers´ and Enterpreneurs´ Association of the Czech Republic, Alena Vlačihová, CEBRE Director, Radek Pažout, Secretary General, Czech Chamber of Commerce, Stanislav Kázecký, Vice President, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Ivan Voleš, Advisor to the President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, EESC Member, Tomáš Hartman, Deputy Director, CEBRE, and Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman, Union of Czech and Moravian Production Co-operatives

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

EU matters business

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BUSINESS NEWS DID YOU KNOW THAT… …the Commission wants better single market governance?

The Single Market is a key driving force behind economic growth. But to deliver growth and jobs, better implementation of existing rules is essential. This is why the European Commission adopted in June a set of action to ensure that Single Market rules work better in practice. The Commission is proposing to focus efforts on sectors with the largest growth potential. In 2012–2013, the sectors identified are services and network industries. In these areas, the Commission calls on Member States to commit to zero tolerance for late and incorrect transposition of Directives. The Commission, for its part, will provide enhanced transposition assistance in order to smooth out potential problems. To make the Single Market work more effectively, the Commission recommends making better use of IT tools to empower citizens and businesses. …better transposition and implementation of EU legislation is essential for economic growth?

The Commission is proposing measures to improve the way the services sector works, which is vital as the Services Directive accounts for more than 45% of EU GDP and must play a strategic role in promoting economic growth. Based on the assessment of the progress made by the Member States on the implementation of the Services Directive, an economic analysis shows that its implementation will generate an additional 0.8% of EU GDP over the next 5–10 years. But this figure could be increased to 2.6% if Member States increase their level of ambition in opening up their services covered by the Directive. Furthermore, better transposition and implementation of EU legislation could promote growth by reducing administrative burdens for businesses by a third, leading to an overall saving of nearly 40 billion euro. …a European strategy for construction sector will be presented soon?

The construction sector plays an extremely important role in the European economy, generating 6.3% of GDP and providing 20 million jobs, mainly in micro and small enterprises. The performance of the construction sector can significantly influence the development of the overall economy and, in the context of the energy performance of buildings and resource efficiency, can have an important impact on the quality of life of Europeans. European Commission Vice-President Tajani presented in June the main lines of a strategy to boost the competitiveness of the construction sector which will be presented after the summer.

The proposed actions will include stimulating favourable investment conditions, in particular in the renovation and maintenance of buildings and infrastructures, by promoting financial instruments such as loan guarantees and project bonds; boosting innovation and improving worker’s qualifications by promoting mobility and the circulation of information; improving resource efficiency and environmental performance; providing standard design codes of practice to construction companies making it easier for them to work in other Member States. ...Member States reached an agreement on building our future infrastructure?

In October 2011, the Commission adopted a plan which will fund €50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe’s transport, energy and digital networks. The Connecting Europe Facility is one of the key initiatives proposed by the Commission in the context of its package for delivering sustainable growth and jobs. It shall concentrate on high EU

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added-value projects and shall finance projects which fill the missing links in Europe’s energy, transport and digital backbone and remove bottlenecks. At the beginning of June, the Transport Council reached a partial general approach on this initiative, the European Parliament is expected to vote on the proposal in late 2012 or early 2013.

LET’S TALK NUMBERS… Corporate and top personal income tax rates inch up after long decline in the EU27 The average standard VAT rate in the EU27 has risen strongly since 2008, says the publication „Taxation trends in the European Union“, issued by Eurostat and the European Commission. In 2012, the standard VAT rate varies from 15% in Luxembourg and 17% in Cyprus to 27% in Hungary and 25% in Denmark and Sweden. The average top personal income tax rate in the EU27 has increased in 2012 too. The highest top rates on 2012 personal income are observed in Sweden (56.6%), Denmark (55.4%), Belgium (53.7%), the Netherlands and Spain (both 52%), and the lowest are in Bulgaria (10%), the Czech Republic and Lithuania (both 15%), Romania (16%) and Slovakia (19%). Corporate tax rates in the EU27 have risen slightly in 2012, ending a long declining trend. The highest statutory tax rates on 2012 corporate income are recorded in France (36.1%) and Malta (35%), the lowest are observed in Bulgaria and Cyprus (both 10%) and Ireland (12.5%).

Eurobarometer survey shows strong support for coordinated EU action in dealing with disasters The Special Eurobarometer survey on Civil Protection shows that there is a high level of concern about various natural and man-made disasters among the citizens of the EU. The majority (84%) agree that EU Member States should be obliged by law to prepare and publish disaster management plans. About nine out of ten EU citizens agree that the EU should play an important role in coordinating protection activities. A vast majority agrees that a coordinated approach is more effective than actions by individual countries. 38% of EU citizens are aware of the EU’s co-ordination role of civil protection actions inside and outside Europe. Overall, the results show a high level of solidarity with victims of natural and man-made disasters outside the EU. Nine out of ten agree that the EU should help any non-EU country worldwide hit by disasters.

Many Europeans feel they are underemployed According to the data released by EUROSTAT at the beginning of May, 20.5% of part-time workers in the EU27 in 2011 wished to work more hours and can therefore be considered to be underemployed. In comparison with other countries the Czech Republic is doing well. The proportion of part-time employees who feel to be underemployed, is 10%.

Smaller proportion was found only in the Netherlands and Belgium (both 3%), where part-time working is common, and in Luxembourg (9%).

Czech Republic has ninth lowest hourly labour costs According to the recent data from Eurostat, the average hourly labour costs were estimated to be €23.1 in the EU27 business economy in 2011. However, this average masks significant differences between EU member states, with hourly labour costs ranging from €3.5 (Bulgaria) to €39.3 (Belgium). In the Czech Republic, labour cost per hour was €10.5, ninth lowest in EU27.

IN THE WORLD European Union and China step up cooperation in agriculture and rural development

The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloş, and China Minister for Agriculture, Han Changfu, signed in Beijing at the beginning of June a Cooperation Plan on Agriculture and Rural Development. The EU and China are two major trading partners in agriculture: the EU is currently the third largest export market of agricultural products for China and the fifth largest source of import for Chinese market. Building on established relations between China and the European Union, this Plan will give a new impetus to this partnership and bring mutual benefits by establishing a stronger and closer relationship in agriculture. It will bring results and mutual benefits through exchange of best practices, and sharing ideas in areas of common interests: research and innovation, climate change, food security and rural development.

European Union to negotiate free trade agreement with Vietnam In December 2009, the Council decided to pursue free trade negotiations with the ASEAN countries in a bilateral format, whilst preserving the strategic objective of a region-to-region free trade agreement. At the end of May the Council adopted a decision authorising the Commission to start negotiations with Vietnam on a free trade agreement. Vietnam will be the third ASEAN country to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU and talks are expected to start shortly. Negotiations are already underway with Singapore and Malaysia.

Union must not slash development aid to Latin America The European Parliament opposes the drastic cuts to EU development aid for Latin-America proposed by the Commission, in a resolution adopted at the beginning of June.

It points to the huge problems still faced by countries in the region, despite political and economic advances in recent years. MEPs highlighted that Latin America already gets less EU development aid than any other region and that one in three Latin Americans still live below the poverty line. Some of these middle-income countries are the most unequal in the world, they stressed, and some are among the most violent, continuing to suffer from drug-trafficking, organised crime, money-laundering, arms-trafficking and corruption. MEPs call, therefore, for the specific needs of each Latin American country to be taken into account in allocating development aid, rather than income and GDP. European Parliament urges Switzerland to cancel “discriminatory” quotas on Eastern Europeans Parliament has called on the Swiss government to revoke a “discriminatory and unlawful” decision to reimpose quotas on long-term residence permits for Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Slovene, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian citizens, in a resolution adopted by MEPs at the end of May. In the adopted resolution Parliament “highly regrets” the reintroduction of quotas restricting the free movement of people, which was the subject of an agreement between the EU and Switzerland in 1999. MEPs are concerned that the Swiss Federal Council is considering further restrictive measures and say the EU and Switzerland should improve cooperation to ease their citizens’ free movement. Parliament also asks the Commission to urgently raise this issue with the Swiss government.

Brought by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU (kindly supported by CzechTrade), www.cebre.cz

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marketing analysis

Brendan Donnellan is the Managing Director and Head of the PR Division of Passion Communications, a full service communications agency which specializes in bridging traditional media with the digital world. Please visit our website at www.passioncomm.com or follow us on Twitter @passioncomm or @passionnine.

The PR industry has been accused of lacking ‘big ideas’ following another disappointing performance at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June. One of the judges of the PR Lions, Golin Harris President Matt Neale, stated that campaigns that prioritise print coverage in the nationals ‚narrows industry ambition and creativity‘. The question is, how deep is the rot? Are PR agencies really stuck in the past, with archaic structures, little creativity and a dependence on outdated media channels?

In a world where much of business relies on the flow of information, there should be a huge opportunity for agencies who can help organisations get the right message out. But the PR industry continues to be assailed by a range of problems; apart from the perceived lack of creativity, the industry has also been hit by ethical and financial issues. All of this has gnawed away at how the PR industry is perceived, both from inside and out.

Few industries escaped the transformative effect of new media technologies, least of all one that peddles information management. In the past, a PR pro’s value was measured in the strength of their relationship with key journalists, of which there are increasingly few.

Today, mass media is becoming relatively marginalised as our world becomes one of multiple and varied inputs.

PR has shifted away from leveraging scarcity, to managing abundance.

Ross Dawson, business futurologist, author and CEO of consulting firm Advanced Human Technologies, in his article „The Six Facets of the Future of PR“ outlined 6 fundamental ways the rapidly evolving world is shaping the PR industry, as follows: 1. Clients expect more Clients increasingly see PR agencies as an expendable commodity, and whole divisions have arisen that help companies pin down suppliers, expose costs, cut fees and enforce accountability. PR agencies exacerbate this by positioning themselves as ‚outsourced providers‘, which makes them easy to replace. The future belongs to those firms that can successfully engage

their clients in true knowledge-based relationships that are based on deep mutual knowledge, and a high degree of collaboration in achieving outcomes.

2. Media is transformed Mass media will never disappear and there will always be a need for the newsroom, if nothing else than to provide balanced and well-defined debate. The fact is that self-publishing has become affordable to the man on the street. The guy outside your window on his iPhone may now be as important as the journalist sitting in the newsroom.

3. Business is a conversation People are people. We are all emotional creatures driven by similar sociological needs. Rarely, we want to be spoken to in the formal, self-promoting language of a press release. Companies poised for success are those who invite conversation with consumers and are prepared to utilise digital channels to manage those conversations effectively.

4. Information flows in every dimension Media is converging and cross-platform communications is becoming increasingly important. All messages should live across advertising, public relations, mobile and BTL channels. People nowadays consume media in very different ways than they did even 10 years ago. PR has traditionally been rooted in the medium of words.

More and more, PR agencies have to learn to work with images, film, production and digital media.

5. Transparency is a given „Information wants to be free“. In the new world, PR is about authenticity, not spin, and reputation is built on action. Consumers expect openness and transparency and a number of recent case studies show how some companies are doing it right, and some not. Ref. Volkswagen’s disastrous New Year‘s post or McDonald’s „Ask and we’ll answer“ campaign.

6. Influence networks are at the heart Nowadays, online CRM systems actively rank individuals based on their ‚clout‘ – meaning their total influencer network – and prioritise outreach based on the potential gain (or loss) from engaging with them first.

This is about putting the ‚public‘ back in public relations and understanding that media relations is just one, specialised channel.

SO WHERE IS IT ALL GOING? The agency of the future looks very different than it did even 10 years ago, and it is an exciting time for the industry as it looks to understand it’s new role in the marketing pantheon. The agency of the future... ...plays nicely with others. All arms of the marketing mix – advertising, digital, PR – need to rely more on each other, and cease operating in silos. The greatest results are garnered from cross-platform communica-

You can follow Emil Jimenez on twitter @passioncomm or on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/emiljimenez1

tions where every discipline works together seamlessly as a team. ...is full of polymaths. Polymath is just a fancy Greek word for someone who is good at a lot of things. As managers and owners, we must hire communicators who tick the box against a number of skills sets, so someone who can create a video, knows how to take good photos, has a working knowledge of design software, can brief a creative team and manage a production team and, if necessary, pick up the phone to a journalist and pitch in stories. ...is nimble and flexible. The fact is, people today operate at the speed of now. When you walk into a McDonalds and order a cheeseburger, you want it now, right, not in 20 minutes. The same goes for communications. Agencies no longer have time to deliberate for two weeks – they have to be able to mobilise immediately and turn around client requests in a short time.

The consumer’s not going to wait, so why should we?

At Passion, we’ve implemented this vision on a strategic level, bringing our advertising, digital, BTL and PR divisions under the same roof. This means that when a client brief comes in, the PR team sits with the creative team and works on cross-discipline ideation. This gives us a full 360 overview on the client’s business problem and allows us to develop a total marketing solution. For instance, we developed an augmented reality experience for a client recently. The ROI of this experience is not in the number of downloads, rather in the PR value, meaning how many people share the youtube video and talk about it on social and traditional media channels.

The world is made up of three types of people. 1% of people are creators, individuals, clients and organisations who actively create content. 90% of people are passive consumers, meaning they look and see, but rarely feel compelled to act. 9% of people are propagators, individuals with large influencer networks, journalists, bloggers and PR professionals. Passion’s PR division is called Passion 9, precisely because we believe that a key PR function nowadays is to propagate content, from the 1%, through the 9%, to the 90%. For those agencies that can find the right mix, the end of PR as we know it is actually just the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

By Brendan Donnellan, Managing Director of Passion Communications, co-author Emil Jimenez CEO/CCO

Leaders Magazine IV/2012 127

Presented by: y MIRO Gallery Prague and the Trebbia Foundation in cooperation with the Prague International Marathon (PIM) and Strahov Monastic Brewery.

Distance is 3365 m.

Main Partner: r Oční klinika JL

The Miroton was started by H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic

RUNNING FOR ART

From left: Růžena Nechanská, Cultural Manager and Eliška Coolidge-Hašková, former Assistant of US Presidents

Members of the music group ‚Prague Swingers‘ were playing to keep a cheerful mood Miro Smolák, Founder and Main Organizer of Miroton and Director of MIRO Gallery Prague, Regina Kejdová, Deputy of Mgr. Vladimír Drábek, Representative of Prague International Marathon

1228 Ing. Radomír Šimek, former President, GermanCzech Chamber of Commerce with his wife Kateřina and daughters Kateřina and Isabella

Dr. Chu, Center of Chinese Medicine, Prague with Mrs. Alena Kocourková

From left: Dr. Viliam Paulini, Chairman, Czech Union Prague, Josef Gáfrik, Journalist, and Jan Hadraba, Journalist

From left: Pavol Lešták, Oční klinika JL and Marián Hodoš, Art Collector

From left: Aleš Drahokoupil, time 10:56, Jan Pernica, time 10:52, Jiří Čivrný, Jr., time 10:59

From left: Zuzana Krlhová, time 13:46, Lenka Šibravová, time 13:21, Romana Breznická, time 15:26

From left: Georgi Stojanov, Painter, Juan Braun, Journalist, Writer and Shaman, Argentina and Raul Sorrosa

Ján Lešták, Owner, Oční klinika JL, Main Partner of Miroton with Eva Garajová, Opera Singer

Ing. Luděk Lukeš, REMAX Reality

Miloslav Mil, Aqua Studio, supported all sportsmen by levitated water

From left: Marek Kocvera, Coowner of Strahov Monastic Brewery and Sponsor of Miroton with Miro Smolák, Founder and Main Organizer of Miroton and Director of MIRO Gallery Prague

From left: H.E. Peter Brňo, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Ing. Jaromír Schling, former Minister of the Czech government at the after party. The monastery goulash and beer Saint Norbert was served.

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129

Shahin Novrasli – Piano Chris Hemingway – Saxophone Nathan Peck – Double Bass Alexander Mashin – Drums

prague castle event

with Shahin Novrasli Quartet

From left: Petr Bratský, Senator, PČR, Senate, Dagmar Raupachová, Attorney at Law, Černý-Raupachová, and Jan Černý, Attorney at Law, Černý-Raupachová

11300 13

From left: Rodan Šenekl, Project Manager, Advanced World Transport, a.s., Petr Bratský, Senator, PČR, Senate, Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech-Kuwait Trading Ltd., Mrs.Petra Helekalová, Amer A.K. El Jaroudi, Official Representative Bureau, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Brazil, Nora Stříbrná, Business Coordinator, Al Harbi Group, Saudi Arabia, and Fadi Fahrat, Architect, Atelier D´Architecture

From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and MUDr. Přemysl Sobotka, Vice Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the CR

Viktor Dvořák, General Manager, Gray Line and Veronika Šubrtová, O2

From left: Ladislav Mravec, Director, Foreign Affairs Department, Office of the President of the CR, and Ing. Miroslav Horňák, Economical Director, Member of the Board, PSJ, a.s.

In the middle: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, on his left H.E. Jan Pastwa, Ambassador of Poland, on his right, Remigiusz Górski, BOSSA, and his associates

From left: H.E. Ferdinand Trautmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria and Vojtěch Filip, Chairman, KSČM

From left: Dariusz Marcinkowski, Chairman of the Board, Club of Polish Capital in the CR, Karel Vágner, Music Publisher, and Krystof Kaminski with his wife From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and JUDr. Karel Brückler

From left: Remigiusz Górski, BOSSA, and Prof.

Václav Klaus, President of the CR

H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey with his family

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE The quartet

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From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, and Dariusz Marcinkowski, Chairman of the Board, Club of Polish Capital in the CR with his wife

Shahin Novrasli, Pianist

Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR

Ing. Miroslav Horňák, Economical Director, Member of the Board, PSJ, a.s. with his wife

From left: Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., Board Member and Chief Executive Director, CNB, Jan Zahradil, European Parliament, EKR with his wife on the left, and Ing. Stanislava Janáčková, CSc., Advisor to the President, Office of the President

H.E. Anarbek Karashev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan with his wife Ing. Jiří Pech, Director of Ground Buildings Department and Member of the Board, PSJ, a.s. with his wife

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

From left: Karel Vágner, Music Publisher, Martin Brunner, Musician, Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, and PhDr. Antonij Mishchenko, Doctor of Philosophy and Economy, General Director, Russkij dom v Praze with his wife

Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR and Karel Vágner, Music Publisher on the left with the sponsors of the new Jazz at the Castle CD

Jiří Mráz – Double Bass Rich Perry – Tenor Saxophone Joey Baron – Drums David Hazeltine – Piano

with Jiří Mráz Quartet

From left: Natali Ruden, Fashion Designer and Dagmar Raupachová, Attorney at Law, Černý-Raupachová

From left: Emil Viklický, Musician, JUDr. Andrea Césarová, and Mr. Karel Vejvoda Natali Ruden, Fashion designer with her mother

133 Miroslava Němcová, Chairwoman, Chamber of Deputies of the CR, and Jindřich Forejt, Protocol Director, Office of the President of the CR

From left: Elena Sonenshine, Jazz Singer, Mrs. Malisová, and Martin Šulc, Artistic Consultant, Jazz at the Castle

Ivo Velíšek, Director, Prague Castle Administration with his wife

From left: Karel Vágner, Music Publisher, Petr Kuchař, Business Strategic Development Abra Software, MUDr. Lucie Valešová, DuoVize Eye Clinic, Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, Mrs. Barbora Kociánová, and Petr Kocian, Director, DuoVize

Jiří Mráz, Bassist PhDr. Jan Šlajs, LL.M., Director, ÚZEI with his wife

From left: H.E. Ayman Mohammad Aladsani, Ambassador of Kuwait with his wife and H.E. Hussain S. Mualla, Ambassador of Iraq with his wife

H.E. Vicente Espeche Gil, Ambassador of Argentina with his wife

134 From left: Mgr. Luboš Vaněk, Deputy General Director, Czech Export Bank, and Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR

Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, on the right Ing. Vladimír Plašil, Chairman of the Board, ALTA Invest, a.s., and his company partners to the left

From left: Kristýna Kollerová, Marketing Communication, Air Bank a.s., Radim Ochvat, Director of Press Department, Office of the President of the CR, Rudy Linka, Jazz Musician with his wife Anna to the left, and Petr Hejma, former Mayor of Prague 1

H.E. Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of Israel with his wife

René Sion, General Manager, Alois Dallmayr Automaten-Service s.r.o. with his son

Ing. Radomír Šimek, DTIHK/ČNOPK with his son

From left: MUDr. Lucie Valešová, DuoVize Eye Clinic, Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, and Petr Kocian, Director, DuoVize

MORE PHO M H TO OS AN AND D EL ELE L EEC C TR T ON ONIC VER ERSI SIO ON ON AVAILA AV L BLLE ON N W WW W.LLEEAAD DEERS RSMA MAGA GA ZINE GA N .C .CZZ

From left: Miroslava Němcová, Chairwoman, Chamber of Deputies of the CR, Prof. Václav Klaus, President of the CR, and H.E. Norman Eisen, Ambassador of the USA with his wife

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

135

culture event

Martina Preissová, Draha and Jan Hartl, Fügner

A play after a night shift First night on May 18, 2012 in Kolowrat Theatre

Photos: Hana Smejkalová

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

First night on May 30, 2012 on the New Stage of the National Theatre From left: Igor Bareš, Jean and David Prachař, Bérenger

1336 Lucie Žáčková, Daisy and David Prachař, Bérenger

Prof. Josef Koutecký with his wife in a dialogue with Alena Hanáková, Minister of Culture of the CR

First night on June 9, 2012 in the Estates Theatre

culture event

The overall scene

David Nykl, Masetto and Lenka Máčiková, Zerlina

Svatopluk Sem, Don Giovanni and Marie Fajtová, Donna Anna

First night on June 14, 2012 in the State Opera

Ivan Kusnjer, Alfio and Helena Zubanovich, Santuzza

Anda-Luise Bogza, Santuzza and Emmanuel di Villarosa, Turiddu

Andrea Kalivodová, Lola and Ivan Kusnjer, Alfio

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

1377 13

culture event

The stage and life are not at all the same thing – Canio

Ivan Kusnjer, Tonio and Simona Procházková, Nedda

From left: Ivan Kusnjer, Tonio, E. di Villarosa, Canio, and Vladimír Doležal, Beppe

The final scene – Simona Procházková, Nedda and Emmanuel di Villarosa, Canio

Ondřej Černý, Director, National Theatre welcomes Alena Hanáková, Minister of Culture of the CR, accompanied by Milan Kupka, Director, Office of the Ministry of Culture of the left: Director, Ondřej Černý, Director, CR and MarkétaFrom Ševčíková, Ministers´s cabinetNatittional tio iona io naall Th TTheatre Theat ea ree welcom eatre eat wel welcomes lcom com mes e es AAl Alena lleen ennaa Ha HHan an anááko áková koová, v , Minister vá vá, M Ministe ini niste ssterr of st ste of Culture Cult ultllture ul tuure urrree of of the the CR, th CR, R, Hanáková, aac acc cc ccomp coomp om mpani mp ani anied an nieedd by

by Milan Mililaann Kupka, Mil Mi Kup Ku Kup upka, kkaaa,, Director, Diire D irector, rec re eecc to ttor or, or accompanied Office Off O Offi f f ice ff icee of of the the Ministry th M Miin Ministr inniistr str st tr y ooff CCulture ulltlttur uult urre ure r e ooff tth the he CCRR andd Markéta and Maarkéta M rkééta t a Ševčíková, Ševčíková, Še Šev eevvččí čík í koová ovvváá, Director, Dire irire r ecto ector, ctto ccto tor,r,

June 27, 2012 in Voršilská garden

1338 From right: Ondřej Černý, Director, National Theatre, Alena Hanáková, Minister of Culture of the CR and Jiří Drahoš, Chairman, Academy of Sciences of the CR with his wife

From left: Andrea Kalivodová, Soloist, National Theatre Opera, Alena Hanáková, Minister of Culture of the CR and František Mikeš, First Deputy Minister