Prague Leaders Magazine Issue 05/2013

now available in Brussels

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador of Canada in the Czech Republic

A LEGEND IS BACK NOV / DEC / 2013 / 199 CZK

www.leadersmagazine.cz incl. electronic version

Brno I Ostrava I Plzeň I Liberec I Olomouc I Ústí nad Labem I Hradec Králové I České Budějovice I Pardubice I Zlín I Jihlava I Turnov I Karlovy Vary I Mladá Boleslav

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politika • ekonomika • byznys

UDĚLÁME vám v tom JASNO

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29 10 13 20:37

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publisher’s note & contents

DEAR READERS, As I write these words the winter weather is here and it’s tempting to look back and remember the gorgeous summer and autumn we had. But winter has its own advantages, with cosy fireplaces, candlelight spreading warmth and cosy feelings at home, with Christmas not that far away and soon it will suddenly be January, with spring not that far away. Perhaps a year older, but we hope a bit wiser and more kindly towards ourselves and others. Of course there are mixed feelings while nature slowly slides into its long winter sleep.

But we don’t sleep, working hard to create a unique magazine that mixes high quality stories with exciting interviews and coverage of various top level events such as seminars, celebrations, charity benefits, art/culture, conferences, fashion shows, and diplomatic initiatives.

I think this reflects the large numbers of readers on our web page and the electronic version – approximately 65,000 visitors monthly and up to 500,000 page views. A third come from abroad. With those numbers in mind, I think we are doing a good job promoting the Czech Republic, its people, culture and business among many other countries.

In this issue we include coverage of many important events recently taking place, including the Austrian National Day, a Round Table by Comenius with outgoing Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Minister of Finance Jan Fischer and outgoing Minister of Transport Zdeněk Žák. Also the Aspen Institute Prague Annual Conference and Gala Dinner, CESES Prague Security Conference, Golden Crown Forum, CFO Club Excellence Finance Conference and the launching of the European PGA Tour. You’ll find the Speed Chain International Logistic Conference and a Mosaic of Events in Paris during November, arranged by the Czech Ambassador H.E. Marie Chatardová, to mention but a few.

I am more than thrilled to feature a good friend, H.E. Otto Jelinek, now Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic on our front page, followed by an interview. Ambassador Jelinek, a dual Czech/ Canadian citizen, left his homeland in 1948 for Canada where he held a number of prominent ministerial posts, including Minister of Sports. Returning to the Czech Republic 1994, he remained here until 2011. He is also a Word Champion figure skater, along with his sister.

I am equally happy that we managed to arrange an interview with a remarkable woman – former First Lady of the Czech Republic and recently appointed Czech Ambassador to Slovakia – Livia Klausová.

Other interesting interviews, to mention just a few, include Lutz Wächter, Managing Director of the prominent Company Demag, Jiří Pehe, well-known political analyst and Director of New York University in Prague, DrSc, Dr.v.c. František Šmahel, famous Medievalist and year’s winner of the Česká Hlava Prize. Still others include Petr Sýkora, Cofounder of joint endowment project Dobrý Anděl, RNDr. Miloš Kužvart, former Minister of the Environment and now head of projects at the Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague.

So, I sincerely hope you will enjoy this Nov/Dec issue and that it somehow brightens the cold, dark weather. I wish all of you a merry, happy, joyful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Yours sincerely,

events 12 State Visit of Miloš Zeman, the President of the Czech Republic in the Ukrainian People’s Republic 13 Honors at the Prague Castle, the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman Awarded State Decorations 15 Senate Silver Commemoration Medals 16

19th Leaders Magazine Advisory Board Dinner

23 Discussion Round Table of Comenius with Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, October 10, 2013 26 Discussion Round Table of Comenius with Jan Fischer, Minister of Finance, October 21st, 2013 29 Discussion Round Table of Comenius with Zdeněk Žák, outgoing Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic, November 6, 2013, TOP HOTEL Prague 34 Overcoming Barriers to Growth Aspen Institute Prague Annual Conference, 9–10/10/2013, Czech National Bank 36 Aspen Annual Dinner at Lobkowitz Palace 38 Developments on the CFO Market 40 European Union – China – Russia: Looking for Common Interests

discussion event/Developments on the CFO Market

From left: Petra Grabmayer, Pedersen & Partners, Martin Klika, Egon Zehnder, and Mark Hamill, SpenglerFox f page 38

52 Dragon Boat Fun 54 Zlatá Koruna Forum, before the Elections, Focused on the Economy 60 The CFO Club – 9th Annual Conference Excellence in Finance 64 6th Professional Meeting of Best of Magazine 68 Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador 69 Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador 82 International Logistic Conference SpeedCHAIN in Břevnovský klášter 102 Beaujolais Nouveau Tasting Organized by the Czech Management Association 104 International Christmas Festival at Hotel Hilton

B k Aikell Ai Benke ■ benke.aikell@leadersmagazine.cz www.leadersmagazine.cz 6 Leaders Magazine V/2013

contents interviews 10 Opportunities in Canada and Opportunities in the Czech Republic

sport events 50 Nordic Chamber Golf Tournament

Complement Each Other

66 The European Tour Tournament Returns to the Czech Republic

An interview with H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador of Canada in the

96 Zlatá Koruna Golf Cup 2013

Czech Republic

114 RUNCZECH – Runners‘ View of the Czech Republic

32 I Support Sustainable Construction A talk with Miloš Kužvart, the former Minister of the Environment and the Head Manager of projects at the Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague 44 I Have Been Carefully and Systematically Preparing for My Task A talk with H.E. Livia Klausová, former First Lady of the Czech Republic

culture events 116 Opening ceremony in the MIRO Gallery Prague Church of Saint Roch, Seat of MIRO Gallery Prague and Trebbia Foundation RENÉ WIRTHS (*1967) PODZIM / AUTUMN

and Now New Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Slovakia 58 The Customers Appreciate Unique Design

Opening Ceremony in the MIRO Gallery Prague

An interview with Ladislav Blažek, Owner of Blažek Praha Company 78 We Strive to Exceed our Customer’s Expectations An interview with Mr Lutz Wächter, Managing Director, DEMAG

Interview/We Strive to Exceed our Customer’s Expectations

PhDr. MgA. Miro Smolák, Owner and Director, MIRO Gallery Prague and René Wirths, Artist / Germany f page 116

An Interview with Lutz Wächter, Managing Director of company Demag f page 78

diplomatic events 20 Austrian National Day 70 November with the Czech Embassy in Paris

94 I Prefer to “do” Things First, and Then Talk About Them...

A talk with Petr Sýkora, founder of joint endowment project

diplomatic event /Austrian National Day

Dobrý Anděl 100 Intelligence as a Professional Status Cannot Possibly be Further Reinforced in the Czech Republic A talk with František Šmahel, medievalist and this year’s Winner of the Česká Hlava Prize 112 We Need a Comprehensive Change of the System A talk with Jiří Pehe, a foremost Czech political analyst and Director of New York University in Prague

From left: Mrs. Margrit Trauttmansdorff, Mrs. Veronika Stöger and Mrs. Heidi Waidmann f page 20

Leaders Magazine V/2013 7

contents & info contributors 43 Where Do We Go?/Ivan Pilný 46 Digital Services or Broadband Europe’s Dilemma?/Evžen Tošenovský 47

Gender Equality/Jonathan Wootliff

57 Why I Love Autumn – About Leadership, Transformation and the Spring in Sight/Cristina Muntean 75 The New Civil Code and Act on Commercial Corporations/Emanuel Šíp 76

Who and What is the International Institute for Advanced System Analysis?/Jan Koukal

85 A Fresh Look at an old Dilemma – Gender Integration is About Complementarity/Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy 86 Vladimíra Glatzová/Linda Štucbartová 88 Pavel Telička/Linda Štucbartová 91

The War of Communication/Martin Opatrný

92 Happiness – an Inside Job/Sanjiv Suri 98 Public Institutions and Technology in Europe: Quality Check/Jan Mühlfeit 103 ELAI Celebrates its Third Birthday/ELAI 106 With Art Against the Economic Crisis?/Iva and Joseph Drebitko 110 Balance: The Business-Life Connection Part II: Redefining Success/James A. Cusumano, PhD

With Art Against the Economic Crisis?

Juan Muňoz f page 106

EU matters 118 EU 2030 Energy and Climate Framework Should Focus Only on One Goal – Reduction of Emissions An interview with Karel Kovanda 120 EU Free Trade Agreements in North America and Their Impact on the Czech Republic 121 Climate and Energy Targets for 2030 Must be Feasible 122 Bussiness News

Publisher: Benke Aikell Head of Editorial: Lenka Helena Koenigsmark Office Manager/Head of IT: Michael Serences Office Assistant: Tatiana Fominykh Webmaster: Václav Kocourek EU Matters: CEBRE Czech Business Representation, CESES, Europlatform Contributors: James A. Cusumano, Iva Drebitko, Joseph Drebitko, Elisabeth Rodrigues Dennehy, ELAI, Karin Genton – L’Epée, European Leadership and Academic Institute, Pavlína Holancová, Martina Hošková, Lenka Helena Koenigsmark, Jan Koukal, Jaroslav Kramer, Jan Mühlfeit, Cristina Muntean, Martin Opatrný, Ivan Pilný, Sanjiv Suri, Emanuel Šíp, Linda Štucbartová, Evžen Tošenovský, Jonathan Wootliff, Photographers: Ondřej Besperát, Nikolos Bolkvadze, Roland Hilmar, Anna Chlumská, Jakub Joachim, Martin Janas, Jiří Janda, Jan Štverák, Martin Vlček, Vladimír Weiss Subscription service: Leaders Magazine, CEPONA, s.r.o.

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

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

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

The advertiser is responsible for the advertising contents.

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

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

Typos, tiskařské závody, s.r.o., závod Praha tel.: 266 021 230 techno@typos.cz www.typos.cz

Leaders Magazine is a member of 8

Photos from the last Advisory Board Dinner

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

Josef Drebitko, CEO, D&COMM Prof. Ing. Jiří Fárek, CSc., Professor, Technická Univerzita Liberec and former First Deputy Mayor, City of Prague 6 Mgr. Marta Gellová, President, EFPA Michal Heřman, General Manager, Star Communications Plk. Mgr. Vladislav Husák JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Law Firm JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra & spol.

Prof. Ing. Kamil Janáček, CSc., CNB Bank Board Member

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

and Chief Executive Director Ing. Peter Jusko, MBA, Partner, London Market Ing. Petr Kalaš, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of the CR and former Minister of Environment Ing. Josef Kreuter, CSc., former Czech Ambassador to the EU Prof. Dr.h.c. JUDr. Jan Kříž, CSc., Partner, Law Firm Kříž a partneři s.r.o.

Genmjr. JUDr. Lubomír Kvíčala, former Director of the Department of Protection of Constitutional Officials, Police of the Czech Republic Ing. Vladimír Laštůvka, former M.P. Ing. Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation Ing. Jiří Maceška, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Česká pošta a. s. and former Czech Ambassador to OECD George Parobek, Managing Director,

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

Ifield Computer Consultancy Šárka Parobek, Director, Ifield Computer Consultancy Doc. Ing. Václav Petříček, CSc., Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber SNS Ing. Jozef Piga, Managing Director, Servis Praha a.s.

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

Ing. Ivan Pilný, President, TUESDAY Business Network JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, former Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs MUDr. Richard Sequens, PhD., Head of Surgical Gastroenterology Center, Nemocnice Milosrdných sester sv. Karla Boromejského v Praze and former Senator PhDr. MgA. Miroslav Smolák, Owner, Galerie MIRO Mgr. Albin E. Sybera, Managing Director, Sybera Enterprises spol. s r. o.

PhDr. Jaroslav Šedivý CSc., former Ambassador and Minister of Foreign Affairs

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

JUDr. Josef Šesták, Assistant Professor, Vysoká škola obchodní v Praze, o.p.s.

Ing. Radomír Šimek, current member of numerous international boards

ADVISORY BOARD COMITTEE

Jaromír Šlápota, President, Československý

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

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

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

ústav zahraniční Chief of Defence and Special Programs, Tatra Ing. Helena Švédová, HR Director, PSG International, a.s.

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

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

interview

An Interview With H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador of Canada in the Czech Republic

10 Leaders Magazine V/2013

Otto Jelinek.

Businessman, former figure skater, and successful politician who became the Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic just a few weeks ago.

interview You have just returned to Prague, this time as Canadian Ambassador. How do you actually feel?

I feel honoured and proud to be able to represent Canada in the Czech Republic. I am happy to be back in Prague, and because of the unique situation my past has created for me, I feel confident that I can once again contribute to improving Canada –Czech relations while expanding the many opportunities that exist. These opportunities range from trade and commerce to tourism, culture and sport.

How long does it take to adjust in becoming Ambassador?

“In my case it’s a little different from the norm.

I am not a career diplomat but my experience in business and politics in both countries, has enabled me to understand the mentality and the needs of the Czech people. This in turn allows me to begin the process of fulfilling my obligations smoothly and quickly – and so just after a few weeks, I already feel comfortable in my new position. By the way, speaking Czech is a tremendous advantage.

How do you feel about the visa issue now that you were able to lift it?

I am very happy that I was able to announce that visas for Czech citizens travelling to Canada have been terminated as of November 14th, 2013.

The process of eliminating visas began with bilateral and multi-lateral consultations shortly after they were imposed in 2009. It was evident that Canada’s asylum and immigration systems had to be changed. To that end, massive reform did take place and the new system was implemented on December 15th of last year. After closely monitoring the results of these changes the government was finally in a position to terminate the visa requirements.

What effect will the new system have?

The asylum changes that are in effect will speed up the process of dealing with all legitimate claims quickly and reduce the benefits and time frames in dealing with fraudulent applications.

Prime Minister Harper and his government have been working towards this goal for quite sometime and I believe the new system will ensure that under current circumstances Canada will have no need to re-impose visas on the Czech Republic again.

What do you hope to achieve as Ambassador?

Now that the visa question has been settled, we can very quickly begin the process of rebuilding the relationship between Canada and the Czech Republic. Historically, Canada and the Czech Republic have always had very good relations. Because of the visa situation I think, some of those opportunities that have always been there, have been somewhat reduced. It is my wish and my objective to build on the historic traditions of building bridges, expanding trade, improving direct investments, encouraging tourism, as well as expanding cultural and educational programs. I feel

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

very positive that if we continue to look historically on our relationship, that we should have no problem in building up the successful objectives that I just stated.

In 2006 you said “the Czech Republic is a good place to invest in and to visit.” Is it still true?

In terms of tourism, it is absolutely true. Prague remains one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the Czech Republic itself has become a destination centre for tourism. In fact, last year was another record year for tourism. In terms of direct foreign investment, the Czech Republic has unfortunately slipped in global ranking as a good place to invest in. This “slippage” is primarily due to the perceived political instability, ongoing corruption issues as well as a complex bureaucracy.

Nevertheless, many opportunities still exist and I am confident that the Czech economy and direct foreign investment will rebound in the near future.

And what about Canada?

Canada has always been a great place to invest in and to do business with. We not only have vast natural resources but a solid manufacturing sector from aerospace products to the auto industry.

Just as importantly our hi-tech sector is experiencing healthy growth as is our innovative research and development initiatives and programs. Canada’s key structures such as banking are strong and stable. In fact, according to the IMF and the World Bank, Canada’s banking system is the best and most stable system in the world.

You would like to create opportunities. Is the Czech business community interested in that?

It is not for me or the Government to create opportunities. What we can do is to create an environment that is less bureaucratic, less regulated, free of red tape. In short, more open for business to be able to identify those opportunities and follow them to successful conclusions. I intend to open the doors and assist Canadian business in finding those opportunities which may exist for them here in the Czech Republic.

Czechs are known for great technical skills.

Are there any opportunities in Canada?

For sure there are opportunities. Canada is a world class science and technology nation and is highly respected among scientists and researchers worldwide. Key sectors we’re focusing on to develop new innovative technologies are health and life sciences, information and communication technologies, alternative energy and environmental technologies. International collaboration in science, technology and innovation is a priority for Canada and we look forward to supporting research and innovation linkages with the Czech Republic.

Are Canadian and Czech businessmen similar?

I believe there is an excellent compatibility and understanding between Canadian and Czech business people. Both are entrepreneurial, both

are innovative, both live in export oriented countries and both have something to offer. Those are just some reasons why I think we can identify opportunities and find success for both sides. Basically a win-win situation.

What was the most difficult decision you made?

There were many hard decisions. There was a decision after we won the world championship whether we should compete more or we should go on to studies or other things. A bigger decision was when I decided to move to the Czech Republic in the first place with my family. That was a big move. And now it was also a very important decision whether to accept this position or not, because we had just moved back to Canada, less than two years ago. We do not regret it, we’re happy to be here. I’m delighted that I’m in a position to serve Canada while contributing to the benefit of both countries.

You have had numerous successes in your life, have you experienced any failures?

Of course, I have had failures – numerous failures. In sports and in business. I think that is normal. Most people experience some failure in their life, but failure builds character and makes you a stronger and more determined person. I think I learned a lot from my mistakes and I feel that I am a more rounded and better person as a result.

Which place in Canada would you recommend to us?

Canada is blessed with a wide range of beautiful and diverse landscapes. From the quaint provinces on the East coast, through larger and beautiful lakes and countryside of Ontario and Quebec. The bountiful prairies and across the majestic Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast of British Columbia. All beautiful and unique. My favourite city (besides Prague) is Vancouver, because you can be swimming in the Pacific Ocean in the morning and skiing in the Rocky Mountains in the afternoon.

You are businessman – politician – sportsman. What fits most? Are you still an athlete in your soul?

Yes, I feel that way but my body doesn’t respond the way I would like it to. Winning the World Figure Skating Championship with my sister Maria for Canada, in Prague, city of my birth, was certainly a highlight of my life. Winning six consecutive federal elections in Canada was also a very big achievement for me. And obviously, coming here at this point of my life as Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic will certainly become a key highlight of my life as well. Particularly because it is here in Praha, here in the Czech Republic where my life began. So I suppose one could say that this is “closing the loop” or completing a full circle.

By Jaroslav Kramer ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 11

state visit

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Fotoarchive KPR, Photo: Hana Brožková

At the invitation of the President of the Ukrainian People’s Republic Viktor Janukovyč, Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic visited Ukraine, on October 20–22th, 2013.

President of the Czech Republic at the Czech – Ukrainian Economic Forum

From left: Viktor Janukovyč, President of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

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From left: H.E. Ivan Počuch, Ambassador of the CR in Ukraine, Miloš Zeman, President of the CR, Jaroslav Hanák, President, Confederation of Industry and Transportation of the CR, and František Masopust, CEO, Czech Russian Chamber of Commerce

Fotoarchive KPR, Photo: Hana Brožková

state honors ceremony

Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic

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On the occasion of Honors Day on October 28th, 2013, the President decided to reward outstanding civic contributions to the building of a free democratic society, excellent work results, contributions to homeland defence, and heroic and extraordinary deeds of some prominent personalities, and he granted or bestowed state decorations of the Czech Republic.

The President awarded the Medal of Merit to Jiřina Bohdalová for contribution to the state in arts and culture

The President awarded the Medal of Merit to Jana Kratochvílová for contribution to the state in sports

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The President awarded the Medal of Merit to Colonel VERSION Jaroslav Vodička for contribution to MORE PHOTOS AND ELECTRONIC the state in security of state and its citizens AVAILABLE ON WWW.LEADERSMAGAZINE.CZ

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state honors ceremony

The President awarded the Medal of Merit to Soňa Červená for contribution to the state in arts and culture

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The President awarded the Medal of Merit to Miroslav Grégr for contribution to the state in economic sphere The President awarded the Medal of Merit to Jan Dvořáček for contribution to the state in education and science

14 Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic in his speech

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

Photo: Martin Vlček

senate

Milan Štěch, President of the Senate, awarded silver commemoration medals of the Senate to fifteen significant personalities. The ceremonial event took place on September 27, the evening before the celebration of the Day of Czech Sovereignty.

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SENATE SILVER COMMEMORATION MEDALS • Professor Jaroslav Vostrý – for his work as a dramatist, drama theoretician, historian, director, program director, journalist and critic, theater organizer and pedagogue • Michael March – American poet, translator and a publicist living in Prague since 1996 • Mgr. Irena Lovětínská Šlamborová, Ph.D. –head of the team of medical applications in the Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technology and Innovation of the Technical University of Liberec • Libor Peška – who risked his life to save that of a drowning person during this year’s floods • Professor MUDr. Eduard Zvěřina, DrSc. – one of the most significant personalities in Czech neurosurgery • Robert Změlík – the first Czechoslovak winner of the decathlon at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics • Alena Gajdůšková, First Vice-President of the Senate

Professor Václav Hořejší is a leading molecular immunologist, whose long-term work is recognized and deeply respected in professional circles both at home and abroad.

Jiří Pavlica, head master of the Hradišťan folk music ensemble, is renowned among the personalities of the current music scene, having spread the good name of the Czech Republic abroad over many years.

• Graduate philologist Vlasta Winkelhöferová – a leading Czech expert in Japanese studies, translator and author • Prof. RNDr. Václav Hořejší, CSc. – a leading Czech molecular immunologist • Richard Konkolski – the most famous Czech sailor and first Czech to sail around the world • Gjon Perdedaj – who, in 2000, stood up to an armed robber threatening a senior lady • Milan Štěch, President of the Senate • Miluše Horská, Vice-President of the Senate • Mgr. Ilja Hradecký – founder and long-term director of the civic association Naděje (Hope) • Jiří Pavlica – since 1978 led the Hradišťan ensemble, the music of which is considered an original phenomena on the Czech cultural scene • Vojtěch Stříteský – a leading Czech music dramaturge and manager

Gjon Perdedaj received a medal for bravery, having intervened with an armed robber, saving the life of a lady pensioner in 2000. He still deals with severe health consequences.

Milan Štěch, the President of the Senate, also awarded Michael March, an American living in the Czech Republic since 1996, for organizing the famous annual Prague Writers’ Festival.

15 Professor Rudolf Zahradník received his silver medal from the President of the Senate at a later date in November.

Violist Jitka Hosprová, who provided significant contributions to cultural programs

networking / gourmet event

AT ALCHYMIST GRAND HOTEL & SPA

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador of Canada, H.E. Ed Hoeks, Ambassador of the Netherlands, and H.E. Christian Hoppe, Ambassador of Denmark

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19 LEADERS MAGAZINE

ADVISORY BOARD DINNER

From left: Jaromír Šlápota, President, ČSÚZ, Martha Gellová, President of the Board of the Association, EFPA, Ing. David Libiger, Advisor to the Minister of Transport, and Ing. Jiří Musil, Member of the Board, ČSÚZ

Jozef Kollár, Billateral Economic Relations and Export Promotion Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR with his wife

16 From left: Ing. Lukáš Melichar, Managing Partner, Elem Group and his partner

From left: RNDr. Ing. Peter Kozma with his wife PHDr. Jana Kozmová, and Ing. Miloš Janů, Managing Partner, Czech – Kuwait Trading Ltd.

networking / gourmet event

From left: Ing. Radomír Šimek, former President, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce and member of numerous international boards, Marta Ricci, Partners Relations, RUNCZECH, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Carlo Capalbo, President of the Organizing Commitee RUNCZECH and Founder of Czech Marathon, and Jiří Fárek, Professor, Technical University Liberec

From left: Karel Zelený, German Tourist Central, CR, SK and Josef Šesták, Vice-Head of Department of Air Transport, VŠO

From left: Jiří Fárek, Professor, Technical University Liberec, Ing. Radomír Šimek, former President, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce and member of numerous international boards, Veronika Ivanová Fárková, Relationship Manager, UniCredit Bank, Karel Zelený, German Tourist Central, CR, SK, and Josef Šesták, Vice-Head of Department of Air Transport, VŠO

From left: JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer and Jaromír Šlápota, President, ČSÚZ

From left: Vladimír Laštůvka, and JUDr. Čestmír Sajda, MBA, Aspira Invest

Carlo Capalbo, President of the Organizing Commitee RUNCZECH and Founder of Czech Marathon

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networking / gourmet event

From left: Joseph Drebitko, CEO, D&COMM, and Maureen Chang, Founder, Casa Serena Martha Gellová, President of the Board of the Association, EFPA, Ing. David Libiger, Advisor to the Minister of Transport

Ing. Zdeňka Indruchová, Executive Director, AČPM and JUDr. Václav Školout, Attorney, Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout

From left: Joseph Drebitko, CEO, D&COMM and Dr. Christian Kaltenbrunner, Senior Advisor, Meinl Bank

From left: Michaela Lejsková, Business and Editorial Director, Best, and Mgr. David Trunda, Sport Director, Relmost with his partner From left: Ing. Helena Leisztner, Artist and Fashion Designer and Lenka Koenigsmark, Head of Editorial, Leaders Magazine

18 From left: Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation and Jiří Hrabovský, Managing Partner, Ewing Public Relations

From left: MUDr. Richard Sequens, Senator and Jaromír Šlápota, President, ČSÚZ

networking / gourmet event

Michaela Lejsková, Business and Editorial Director, Best and MUDr. Pavel Kukla, Mettinum

From left: Ing. Lukáš Melichar, Managing Partner, Elem Group and his partner, Benke Aikell, your Publisher

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From left: MUDr. Richard Sequens, Senator, and Ing. Roland Leisztner, Entrepreneur

From left: Maureen Chang, Founder, Casa Serena, Carlo Capalbo, President of the Organizing Committee, RUNCZECH and Founder of Czech Marathon, and Ing. Radomír Šimek, former President, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce and member of numerous international boards

19 From left: H.E. Christian Hoppe, Ambassador of Denmark with his wife and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

diplomatic event

H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Austrian National Day From left: Pavel Dobeš, Mgr., Director, GNSS, Prof. Michal Mejstřík, Chairman, ICC CR and new Chairman of the Supervisory Board, ČEZ a.s., with his wife, Jaroslav Hanák, President, SPCR, and Daniel Braun, M.A., Deputy Minister, Ministry of Regional Development

20 From left: Jan Koukal, former Ambassador and former Mayor of Prague with his wife and H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador of Canada in the CR

From left: Prof. Václav Klaus, former President of the CR and H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria Mag. Christian Miller, Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy with his wife Mag. Helene Miller

From left: Ing. Petr Bajer, CSc., Chief Executive, Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce with his wife, Jozef Kollár, Bilateral Economic Relations and Export Promotion, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Jiří Kuliš, CEO and Vice Chairman, Veletrhy Brno

Mrs. Margrit Trauttmansdorff, wife of the Ambassador of Austria and Dr. Erwin Hanslik, TaylorWessing e|n|w|c advokáti v.o.s.

Zdeněk Kučera, Attorney at Law, Baker and McKenzie with his partner

From left: Niklas Bennwik, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden in Prague and H.E. Lembit Uibo, Ambassador of Estonia

From left: David Černý, Artist, Pavel Dobeš, Mgr., Director, GNSS, and H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria

From left: Tomáš Pernický, Director, Diplomatic Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CR and H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the CR with his wife in the middle

From left: Mrs. Margrit Trauttmansdorff, wife of the Ambassador of Austria and H.E. Mr. JeanPierre Asvazadourian, Ambassador of France From left: Ing. Pavel Balík, Vice Mayor, Město Znojmo with his wife and Cyril Svoboda, Director, Diplomatic Academy Mag. Georg Stöger, Managing Partner, Auditor and Mrs. Dagmar Dvořáková, Vamed Mediterra s.r.o.

21 Prof. Ing. Jiří Drahoš, DrSc., dr. h. c., Chairman, AVČR with his wife

From left: Ms. Olivia Knehs and Dr. Franz Vranitzky, former Austrian Federal Chancellor, and H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria with his wife Margrit

H.E. Mr. Peter Weiss, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic and H.E. Ms. Jan Thompson, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Mrs. Livia Klausová and H.E. Mr. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey

Ing. Martin Žáček, CSc., CEO UNIQA pojišťovna, a.s. and Ing. Marek Venuta, UNIQA pojišťovna, a.s.

H.E. Mr. Norman Larry Eisen, Ambassador of the United States of America and Dr. Franz Vranitzky, former Austrian Federal Chancellor H.E. Mr. Detlef Lingemann, Ambassador of Germany and H.E. Mr. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Ambassador of Austria

Mag. Georg Stöger, Managing Partner, Auditor and Mr. Luciano Cirinà, CEO Generali Pojišťovna a.s.

Mag. Christoph Pöll, SPAR Česká obchodní společnost s.r.o., Mag. Christian Miller, Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy and Mag. Robert Spiegel, SPAR Česká obchodní společnost s.r.o.

H.E. Mr. Prof. RNDr. Dalibor Štys, CSc., Minister of Education, Youth and Sports and Mag. Georg Stöger, Managing Partner, Auditor

Mr. Luciano Cirinà, CEO Generali Pojišťovna a.s. and Ing. Martin Žáček, CSc., CEO UNIQA pojišťovna, a.s.

Mag. Helene Miller, wife of Commercial Counsellor, Austrian Embassy and Mrs. Dagmar Dvořáková, Vamed Mediterra s.r.o.

22 Mrs. Margrit Trauttmansdorff, Mrs. Veronika Stöger and Mrs. Heidi Waidmann

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Prof. Václav Klaus, former President of the CR, Mrs. Livia Klausová and Dr. Franz Vranitzky, former Austrian Federal Chancellor

networking/discussion event From left: Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Iveta Rusnoková, and Karel Muzikář, President of Comenius

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DISCUSSION ROUND TABLE OF COMENIUS WITH JIŘÍ RUSNOK, PRIME MINISTER OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC OCTOBER 10, 2013 After eight successful Round Tables of Comenius with leading Czech politicians and Ministers, the highlight of the fall 2013 pre-election period was the Round Table with Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Despite a wave of criticism from several participants of the discussion, Prime Minister Rusnok defended the solid position of the Czech state within the European and international environment. Prime Minister Rusnok described his admiration towards Czech export companies whose businesses are growing, the low poverty rate of the CR as well as CR having the 6th lowest unemployment rate in the EU. While Prime Minister Rusnok praised the satisfying economic results of the CR, he also admitted that the governing system of the country is falling behind the international political standard. The discussion then touched upon issues like ineffective allocation of financial resources of the government, growing irresponsibility among political leaders and also the dreadful condition of state officers, which Prime Minister Rusnok considers to be the founding element of a democratic society.

From left: Jaromír Císař, Partner, Císař, Češka, Smutný & Co., Dalibor Zelený, General Director, České dráhy, and Petr Michal, Partner, Císař, Češka, Smutný & Co. From left: Jaromír Gajdáček, CEO, Zdravotní pojišťovna Ministerstva vnitra České republiky and Milan Kubek, President, Czech Medical Association

From left: Zbyněk Eiselt, Executive Director, ABAS IPS, Jan Přerovský, Director of Sales, Microsoft, and Robert Paskovský, General Director, WBI

Michaela Chaloupková, Member of the Board, ČEZ and Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges

From left: Petr Paukner, General Director, CarboUnion Bohemia and Jaroslav Javornický, Owner, Spielberg Winery

From left: Martin Procházka, Owner, Oksystem and Zbyněk Pardubský, Vice President, Huawei Czech Republic

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networking/discussion event

From left: Vladimír Šolc, CEO, Sberbank CZ and Zdenek Šíma, Regional Vice President for CE, Rusatom Overseas

From left: Roman Cabálek, General Director, Business Strategy, Microsoft Central & Eastern Europe, Bohdan Wojnar, Vice Chairman of the Board, Škoda Auto, Sanjiv Suri, Owner, Zátiší catering, and Benke Aikell, Your Publisher

Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Region Vysočina From left: Vlastimil Bříza, Chairman of the Board, Koh-I-Noor, and Antonín Fryč, General Director, Warex

Pavel Baštář, Executive Director, Invelt – BMW and Adéla Syberová, Advisor to the President, Comenius

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From left: Michaela Chaloupková, Member of the Board, ČEZ, Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Pavel Elis, Chairman of the Board, Pražská energetika, Josef Kotrba, Managing Partner, Deloitte, and Dalibor Zelený, General Director, České dráhy

Jaromír Gajdáček, CEO, Zdravotní pojišťovna Ministerstva vnitra České republiky

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networking/discussion event

From left: Dan Jiránek, President, Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic and Rostislav Dvořák, Chairman, Union of Czech and Moravian Production Cooperatives From left: Antonio Pasquale, General Director, Mattoni, Bohdan Wojnar, Vice Chairman of the Board, Škoda Auto, and Biljana Weber, General Director, Microsoft

Jiří Kolář, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration Standing ovation

From left: Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Pavel Elis, Chairman of the Board, Pražská energetika, Dalibor Zelený, General Director, České dráhy, and Jiří Kolář, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Czech Railway Infrastructure Administration

Sanjiv Suri, Owner, Zátiší catering

25 From left: Translator, Antonio Pasquale, General Director, Mattoni, Bohdan Wojnar, Vice Chairman of the Board, Škoda Auto, Biljana Weber, General Director, Microsoft, and Petr Paukner, General Director, CarboUnion Bohemia

networking/discussion event IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Karel Muzikář, Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Eva Anderová, Deputy Minister of Finance, Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Miroslav Deneš, Advisor to the Minister of Finance

ROUND TABLE OF COMENIUS DISCUSSION DINNER WITH MR. JAN FISCHER, 1ST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FINANCE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, PRAGUE HOTEL PYRAMIDA, OCTOBER 21, 2013 On October 21st Comenius Society presented a discussion dinner with Mr. Jan Fischer, the 1st Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic. Minister Fischer’s attentive reactions to questions and well-prepared commentaries were the best evidence that Mr. Fischer has already got much experience with guiding the Czech government from his former post as the Prime Minister, which lasted from April 2009 to July 2010.

Throughout the evening the discussion touched upon subjects like the economic recession of the CR, better distribution of money to sectors such as education and transportation and also the general budget plan of the Czech government for 2014. The evening concluded with several specific questions from participants some of which also touched upon the international competitiveness of the Czech Republic.

From left: Bohuslav Cempírek, General Director, ICZ, Antonín Fryč, General Director, Warex, and Jiří Kysela, General Director, Dell Computers

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From left: Martin Červencl, Investment Specialist, VSDK, Radomír Šimek, former President, German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce and member of numerous international boards, and Ivan Souček, Member of the Board, IMG

Jiří Uklein, Chancellor, Senate of the Czech Republic and Ivana Šindelářová, Business Development Manager, Neternity Group

Klára Dostálová, Director, Centrum evropského projektování

networking/discussion event

From left: Petr Pavlík, General Director, Stock Plzeň and Michal Donath, General Director, Donath Business & Media

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Jan Fischer, outgoing Minister of Finance Marie Rubišarová Medová, Executive Director, Authoria and Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor, Vysočina Region

From left: H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador, Embassy of Canada and Jan Fischer Jr.

Jan Fischer Jr. and Eva Anderová, Deputy Minister of Finance

From left: Fawad Nadri, President, Czech – Afghan Chamber of Commerce, H.E. Gary Koren, Ambassador, Embassy of Israel, Zita Adamová, Embassy of Israel, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

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

27 From left: Zbyněk Fibich, Director of Procurement, Air Navigation Services, Jaroslav Náhlík, First Secretary, Embassy of Slovakia, and Petr Hotovec, Executive Director, Zenova Services

Petr Pavlík, General Director, Stock Plzeň

networking/discussion event

From left: Zbyšek Jaroš, Managing Partner, Jaroš-Fojtíková Law Office, Eduard Pálka, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Česká energie, and Tomáš Čáp, Executive Vice President, Comenius From left: Jan Tašek, Owner, ASE, Klára Dostálová, Director, Centrum evropského projektování, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Miroslav Kosnar, General Director, Cimex Invest and Filip Kühnel, General Director, Orea Hotels

From left: Jan Wiesner, President, Konfederace zaměstnavatelských a podnikatelských svazů, Jan Mareš, Deputy Chairman, Union of Towns and Municipalities, and Miroslav Kosnar, General Director, Cimex Invest

From left: Vlastimil Halla, Director, Advisory, KPMG, H.E. Gary Koren, Ambassador, Embassy of Israel, and Zita Adamová, Embassy of Israel

Piotr Wielowieysky, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Unipetrol with a question From left: Jan Oberman, Executive Director, Korado, H.E. Otto Jelinek, Ambassador, Embassy of Canada, and Jan Fischer, Minister of Finance

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From left: Eva Anderová, Deputy Minister of Finance, Jiřina Nepalová, Owner, Renomia, Jan Fischer, Minister of Finance, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

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networking/discussion event

DISCUSSION ROUND TABLE OF COMENIUS WITH ZDENĚK ŽÁK, OUTGOING MINISTER OF TRANSPORT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC,

NOVEMBER 6, 2013, TOP HOTEL PRAGUE

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On November 6th Comenius Society held a discussion Round Table with the Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic, Mr. Zdeněk Žák. Despite his tight schedule, Minister Žák managed to find the time for our dinner, to share some of his opinions and to answer very specific questions from representatives of leading Czech transportation and building companies. Throughout the evening Minister Žák emphasized that the current government is interested primarily in supporting self-sufficiency of the sovereign Czech state and in catalyzing such political changes, which would contribute to making the Czech Republic more competitive on an international level. Some of the debated topics of the evening spanned disadvantages of the acquisition of money from the EU, challenges of smaller Czech airports, reconstructions of infrastructure and also the development of water transportation. In conclusion Minister Žák successfully justified his belief that the CR has got the capacity to become a European leader in the fields of energy and transportation and he argued that we all should work towards becoming an influential European state.

From left: Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations, Zbyněk Eiselt, Managing Director, ABAS IPS Management, and Mojmír Čapka, General Director & Chairman of the Board, Brisk Tábor From left: Pavel Míka, Managing Director, Pados and Richard Klíma, Director of Communication, Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic

29 Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor of Region Vysočina

From left: Jiří Uklein, Chancellor, Senate of the Parliament, Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Jiří Mihel, Export Manager, Mattoni

networking/discussion event

From left: Jan Wiesner, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations and Lubomír Fojtů, General Director, Directorate of Waterways

From left: Lubomír Fojtů, General Director, Directorate of Waterways, Tomáš Slavíček, General Director & Chairman of the Board, Sudop Praha, Jan Blecha, First Deputy General Director, Railway Infrastructure Administration, Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Petra Buzková, Partner, Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout Law Office

Richard Klíma, Director of Communication, Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic Mojmír Čapka, General Director & Chairman of the Board, Brisk Tábor From left: Vladimír Dvořák, Owner, TOP hotels Group and Libor Joukl, Deputy Governor of Region Vysočina

30 From left: Zdeněk Žák, outgoing Minister of Transportation and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

networking/discussion event

Karel Pilčík, General Director & Chairman of the Board, MP Krásno Jiří Uklein, Chancellor, Senate of the Parliament

From left: Petr Suchánek, Advisor to the owner, Synot, Vlastimil Halla, Director, KPMG, Radka Bučilová, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment and Albín Sybera Jr., Secretary, State Environmental Fund Martin Kačur, General Director, Vodochody Airport

From left: Josef Rada, General Director, Civil Aviation Authority, Miloslava Procházková, Co-owner, Avanti, and Jiří Vacek, Co-owner, Avanti

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Michal Štefl, General Director, OHL ŽS

From left: Karel Muzikář Jr., Managing Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Petra Buzková, Partner, Vyroubal, Krajhanzl, Školout Law Office, Jiří Kolář, General Director, Railway Infrastructure Administration, Zdeněk Žák, outgoing Minister of Transportation, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

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interview A talk with Miloš Kužvart, the former Minister of the Environment and the Head Manager of projects at the Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague

SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES MEANS EMPLOYMENT IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR.

Photo by Vladimír Weiss 32 Leaders Magazine V/2013

Miloš Kužvart – Is a former environment minister, a former MP (non-party, formerly ČSSD Party), a manager, and geologist.

He graduated from the Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, where he earned the RNDr. degree. Between 1986–1990, he was an employee of the Czech Geological Survey. In February of 1990 he started at the Ministry of the Environment as an officer, and later led the Department of Analyses and Concepts.

In 1994 he joined the ČSSD Party.

From 1998 to 2002, he served as the environment minister in Miloš Zeman’s government. In 2002 he was elected MP for the Social Democrats. He helped establish the civic association “The Party of Civic Rights – Zeman’s people”. Since 2012, he has been the Manager of Project Management at the Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague.

interview This November the Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague will celebrate its 60th anniversary. It is one of the largest testing institutes in the Czech Republic, and offers a wide range of services. In addition to maintaining the portfolio of the construction sector, it also plays a very important role in protecting the environment, including saving materials and energy, in order to find the right way out of our economic crisis. We spoke with Miloš Kužvart, a former minister of the environment, about how to ensure the competitiveness of the construction industry with regard to savings in material resources.

How is the construction branch doing at present?

Unfortunately, it has been showing a rather downward trend. Also, the size and number of construction contracts have been constantly dropping, and of course, there is also a huge problem with unemployment. On the other hand, the prices of construction materials are growing. These are also the subjects of a growing conflict of interest in the market. It is one of the reasons why the European Commission (EC) strives to find a solution and develop a common strategy for all EU Member States. In this context, we were approached by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to nominate representatives to the working group “Sustainable Use of Natural Resources”, which is an advisory body to the European Commission. The choice finally fell on me.

What is your professional focus?

I have a degree (RNDr.) in the field of economic geology from the Faculty of Science. Also, I was engaged (with a hiatus of eight years, while I was involved with Czech politics) in audit activities in the field of environmental management. The latter frequently uses various products which are also used by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In this regard, for me, LCA of Mineral Resources harks back to 1990, when the Ministry of Environment originated. Back then we looked for options that would limit the extraction of non-renewable mineral resources in the Czech Republic.

What exactly is the task of the European Commission working group?

The working group is trying to find common solutions for the management of natural resources in relation to the economic and social aspects. The Group does not intend to engage in industrial and infrastructure buildings. On the contrary, it is aiming to deal with residential buildings, offices, health and social objects. Energy consumption plays a significant role throughout the entire life cycle of a building – starting with the extraction of raw materials, their processing, and production of building materials and components up to the construction of the building.

Thereby, however, the cycle evaluation has not been completed. Furthermore, the building’s long-term use, costs and impact on the environment caused by its disposal are assessed as well. Thus, the EC Conclusion is as follows: at the moment, there is no binding EU objective for the adoption of any document.

What is the reason for such a conclusion?

The construction industry is literally very diverse across the EU member states. Obviously, our aim is

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not to create a pigeonhole in order to squeeze the entire market within. On the one hand, the harmonization of acquis communitaire is a highly desirable process, for instance in terms of security, etc. On the other hand, there are different traditions within the individual EU member states with regard to the lifetime of the residential buildings. There are countries where fifty years, or even a hundred years is standard. It demonstrates a different utilization and expectancy of building materials, which vary from state to state.

So, what output can we expect?

Defining the main issues addressed at the appropriate EU level, if necessary, and developing joint proposals that are yet not of a binding nature. Yet, at the same time, I believe in the introduction of such mechanisms that will lead to a more favorable treatment of non-renewable natural resources, with positive effects on employment. We must realize that the European construction industry now generates about 10 percent of the GDP of the European Union.

Do you estimate the growth of employment within this branch?

Yes, definitely, the employment could be increased by 12 million within the EU in the construction sector from the current 20 million.

In this respect, does the Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague bring any specific topic into the discussion?

The Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague is a great promoter of tools that relate to the assessment of buildings as such. It is an assessment tool in terms of building life cycles. Accounts shall be taken including information about how difficult it was to produce various building components, how difficult it will be to heat the building, and even lighting, up to the very end of the life cycle of the building. Our company publishes the internationally recognized certificate, called the “SB tool.” It is a comprehensive certification of buildings.

In what way is the certification attractive for the eventual owner?

The owner receives an overall evaluation of the quality of the building. To the various evaluation indicators belong a certain “well-being” of the object, i.e. an important aspect of utility and energy characteristics, whether it is an office building or a factory, etc. Moreover, it comprehensively covers the quality, and promotes sustainable construction in the Czech Republic. At the end of 2011, in order to promote sustainable development and construction in the Czech Republic, the National Platform SBToolCZ (NP SBToolCZ) was established. Its main objective is the operation, management and development of a certification system that adheres to the national guidelines of SBToolCZ. The founding members are The Faculty of Civil Engineering in Prague (CTU), The Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague, and the Research Institute of Building Construction – Certification Company Ltd. Thus, our certification is already running, and the certificate issued by our platform is recognized in any country participating in this “multiagreement”.

How does the certificate raise the quality, and hereby the price of real estate when purchased?

Obviously, especially in case of the lease or sale of a particular building, the certificate might prove to be a very helpful tool. It clearly shows the eventual

cost savings to the future homeowner. If you e.g. use the recovery system for ventilation heat, which receives the heat back into the building, and preheats the intake of clean air, there will be an interesting amount of savings on heating. It is very much about the improvement of the indoor environment. And another thing, it is useful when you count impacts during construction, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As a matter of interest, I’d like to add some comparison. If you invest one hundred thousand Euros in photovoltaic power plants, you can save 75 t of CO2 in 30 years of operation. On the other hand, if you invest the same amount into a lowcarbon concrete wall, you’ll save 663 t of CO2 immediately. In this context, I’d like to point out another important thing. The Czech Republic should, along with all EU members, find reasonable ways to enforce its environmental policy, i.e. the elimination of market distortion. The fight against global climate change is indeed necessary, yet it is de facto economic suicide.

Can you be more specific?

Once you invest big money within the EU to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, you immediately reduce the competitiveness of the economy with these costs.

And much worse: in the same period, in growing economies such as China or India, where the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has veered, newly built power plants are spewing many times more emissions into the atmosphere. If we approach this application for the protection of the environment, we will thus completely liquidate the competitiveness of the European economy. Moreover, we run the risk of global influences, as greenhouse gases will be reduced somewhat, but those who do not respect the environment will run over us with imports of nonorganically produced products.

Where do you personally see a solution?

Society as a whole must strive to be more ecoefficient. The concept of eco-efficiency combines the environmental and economic performance of companies. The point is to produce more efficiently and ensure the final effects at little cost to your wallet or business, with a lower impact on the environment.

The matter of eco-efficiency is relatively new.

What does it deal with, in particular?

Eco-efficiency compares products on the basis of certain mathematical formulas. In the case of two refrigerators that have the same volume, and the same cooling capacity, it compares not only power, but also the total LCA of the products. It simply concerns the fact that you won’t use chemicals that destroy the ozone layer, even during the manufacturing of the product in question. Or that a given refrigerator is more easily recyclable. The same is true, for example, in the automotive industry; the car can later be decomposed back into components, plastics, glass, metals, etc. Thereby, the basic principle of eco-efficiency should be market-based and also be able to save primary natural resources. Thus our work, much like the entire philosophy, is about long-term priorities and the future, and not about short-term prosperity, which does not take into account the environment and future generations.

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

Leaders Magazine V/2013 33

conference

Photos: Ondřej Besperát, Aspen Institute Prague

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OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO GROWTH ASPEN INSTITUTE PRAGUE ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 9–10/10/2013, CZECH NATIONAL BANK The Aspen Institute Prague Annual Conference seeked to stimulate debate on the future of the Czech Republic and of the region of Central Europe. While its first day had a domestic focus, the second one revolved around the future of transatlantic relations. Following the 2012 Annual Conference, which debated that relationship in the midst of an economic crisis, this year’s event was centered on removing the barriers to growth in the Euro-Atlantic area. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US is expected to stimulate growth and support innovative technologies by tackling existing constraints to trade and economic development. But is the TTIP a sufficient measure to address today’s economic obstacles on both sides of the Atlantic, given the reservations and qualifications of some of the major players? And how can the Czech Republic and Central Europe benefit from it?

Those were the fundamental questions of the conference. The event was organized in cooperation with PRK Partners, attorneys at law.

From right: Petr Pithart, Politician and Political Scientist, H.E. Michael Žantovský, President, Aspen Institute Prague and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom, and Marek Procházka, Partner, PRK Partners, attorneys at law

Marek Procházka, Partner, PRK Partners, attorneys at law

Petr Pithart, Politician and Political Scientist

34 Michal Horáček, Writer and Lyricist

Michaela Maláčová Bakala, Chairwoman of the Board, Luxury Brand Management

Martin Doktor, Sports Director, Czech Olympic Committee

conference

From right: Jiří Schneider, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Karel De Gucht, EU Commissioner for Trade, Jan Kohout, outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Malcolm Harbour, Chairman, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, European Parliament, and Peter Chase, Vice President, US Chamber of Commerce

Libuše Šmuclerová, General Director, Ringier Axel Springer CZ

Karel De Gucht, EU Commissioner for Trade

From right: H.E. Michael Žantovský, President, Aspen Institute Prague and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom and Ivan Hodač, Founder and Member of the Board, Aspen Institute Prague

From right: H.E. Martin Povejšil, Ambassador, Head of the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU; Matt Blunt, President, American Automotive Policy Council; Ivan Hodač, Executive Director, CEITEC, Peter Stračár, CEO, General Electric Central & Eastern Europe, and Kamil Čermák, President, Czech Institute of Directors

Jiří Schneider, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

From right: Radek Špicar, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Prague, Jiří Dědeček, Songwriter and Poet, Markus Dettenhofer, Executive Director, CEITEC, Libuše Šmuclerová, General Director, Ringier Axel Springer CZ, Martin Doktor, Sports Director, Czech Olympic Committee, and Zbyněk Frolík, CEO, Linet Group SE

Zbyněk Frolík, CEO, Linet Group SE

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From right: H.E. Michael Žantovský, President, Aspen Institute Prague and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom, Gabriel Eichler, Founder, Benson Oak Capital; Michaela Maláčová Bakala, Chairwoman of the Board, Luxury Brand Management, Michal Horáček, Writer and Lyricist, and Marek Procházka, Partner, PRK Partners, attorneys at law

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gala evening

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From right: Alexandr Vondra, former Minister of Defence, Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President of the Aspen Institute US, and Radek Špicar, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Prague

ASPEN ANNUAL DINNER AT LOBKOWITZ PALACE Aspen Institute Prague Annual Dinner celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Czech Republic. The last two decades have been marked by great changes and challenges. Many political, social, economic and psychological barriers had to be overcome. At the same time, the transformation and its fundamental reforms opened the door to positive economic trends, gave rise to a number of prosperous brands and facilitated the emergence of numerous outstanding personalities, whose significance has often transcended the country’s borders. The success of such individuals and companies may well not have been possible without the fundamental changes of economic structure, public administration and the political system. The event was organized in cooperation with PRK Partners, attorneys at law.

From left: Karel Janeček, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, RSJ and philanthropist and Francois Veit, Partner, PRK Partners, attorneys at law Jiří Mádl, Allumni, Aspen Institute Prague Young Leaders Program and Lucie Rytířová, Allumni, Aspen Institute Prague Young Leaders Program and Member, Friends of Aspen Institute Prague

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From right: Jan Michal, Head of Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic, H. E. Pasquale D’Avino, Ambassador of Italy to the Czech Republic, and Benke Aikell, your publisher

From right: Karel Schwarzenberg, President, TOP 09 and Ondřej Liška, President, Green Party

gala evening

From right: Petr Kolář, Chief of Foreign Affairs, PPF, Tomáš Halík, Roman Catholic priest, and scholar, and Jan Zahradil

From right: Eliška Coolidge Hašková, Lecturer and Consultant, Jan Pirk, Director, Cardiovascular Surgery Department, IKEM, and Zbyněk Frolík, CEO, Linet Group SE

From right: Marek Procházka, Partner, PRK Partners, attorneys at law, Václav Bílý, Partner, PRK Partners, attorneys at law, and H. E. MarkusAlexander Antonietti, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Czech Republic

From left: Martin Wichterle, CEO, Wikov Industry and Michal Mejstřík, Chairman of IES Advisory Board, Charles University in Prague

From right: Tomáš Klvaňa, Member, Board of Directors, Aspen Institute Prague and H. E. Norman L. Eisen, Ambassador of the USA to the Czech Republic

From right: Jan Kaláb, Artist and Krištof Kintera, Artist

From right: Tomáš Bouška, Strategy & Development Manager, Aspen Institute Prague, Pavel Doležal, Director, Zlatá koruna, and Miroslav Kozler, Relationship Manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Visa International

Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

From right: H.E. Petr Kolář, Chief of Foreign Affairs, PPF, and Radek Špicar, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Prague

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Photo: Jakub Joachim

discussion event Dean Brabec, President of the CFO Club and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little

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DEVELOPMENTS ON THE CFO MARKET “Developments on the CFO market” was the topic of the CFO Club session held on October 23 in the Grand Hotel Bohemia in Prague. The speakers Petra Grabmayer, Country Manager Czech Republic, Pedersen & Partners, Mark Hamill, Chief Executive Officer, SpenglerFox, and Martin Klika, Consultant, Egon Zehnder gave the answers to the questions: “Has the role of the CFO changed? How to find a suitable CFO? How the CFO should promote himself?” The discussion anchored by Patrik Choleva, Member of the CFO Club Council, CFO, Skanska, a.s., resulted in agreement that the CFO should be self-confident but unaffected and when looking for a new position shouldn´t rely on head hunters only. The CFO is regarded as an important partner to the CEO – both together managing the company and creating its strategies.

From left: Jakub Hlavica, CFO, Pražská teplárenská and Jiří Volf, CFO, TOP HOTELS GROUP

Petra Grabmayer, Country Manager Czech Republic, Pedersen & Partners

From left: Patrik Choleva, CFO, Skanska, Member of the CFO Club Council, Dean Brabec, President of the CFO Club and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little, and Martin Klika, Consultant, Egon Zehnder

38 Lenka Hejduková, CBO, Havel, Holásek & Partners Law Office and Martin Jeřábek, CFO, Havel, Holásek & Partners Law Office

From left: Zbyněk Solecký, Head of Finance & Risk Controlling, RWE Česká republika and Patrik Bauer, Head of Participation Management & Org. Development, RWE East

discussion event

Martin Novák, CFO, ČEZ, Member of the CFO Club Council and Světlana Jahodová, Sales and Marketing Director, Czech Top 100

View of the conference room at Bocaccio Bohemia Hotel From left: Ivana Goossen, Director, EMBA – Europe, University of Pittsburgh and Irena Prášilová, Senior Manager, Accenture Central Europe B.V.

From left: Petra Grabmayer, Country Manager Czech Republic, Pedersen & Partners, Martin Klika, Consultant, Egon Zehnder, and Mark Hamill, Chief Executive Officer, SpenglerFox

From left: Martin Klika, Consultant, Egon Zehnder and Mark Hamill, Chief Executive Officer, SpenglerFox

From left: Aleš Barabas, Member of the Board, UniCredit Bank Czech Republic, Vice-president of the CFO Club Council, Eva Barabasová, Česká spořitelna, and Michal Mareš, CEO, NB Financial Advisors From left: Irena Prášilová, Senior Manager, Accenture Central Europe B.V. and Mrs. Iva Brabcová

From left: Jaromír Šorf, Global Financing Manager, IBM Česká republika and Michal Žižka, Managing Partner, Sunberg

Performance of jazz singer Jana Švenková

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From left: Dean Brabec, President of the CFO Club and Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little, Patrik Choleva, Member of the CFO Club Council and CFO, Skanska, Petra Grabmayer, Country Manager Czech Republic, Pedersen & Partners, Martin Klika, Consultant, Egon Zehnder, and Mark Hamill, Chief Executive Officer, SpenglerFox

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security conference

From left: Mirko Hempel, Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Representation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, H.E. Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, H.E. Aurimas Taurantas, Ambassador of Lithuania to the Czech Republic, Major General Zhu Da, Vice Chairman of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy, and Jan Kohout, outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs

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EUROPEAN UNION – CHINA – RUSSIA:

LOOKING FOR COMMON INTERESTS

On November 15, 2013, the National Technical Library hosted the 9th annual Prague Security Conference “European Union – China – Russia: Looking for Common Interests”. The conference has traditionally been organized by the Center for Security Policy, CESES, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic, and, this year, also with the China Institute for International Strategic Studies. The conference was attended by more than three hundred participants. The conference was organized as a part of activities within the Lithuanian presidency in the Council of the European Union and supported by Embassy of Lithuania to the Czech Republic.

On November 14, 2013, at the Charles University, a bilateral meeting between representatives of the Center for Security Policy and China Institute for International Strategic Studies; head of Chinese delegation Major General Zhu Da is fourth from the left

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From left: Mirka Kortusová, Project Manager, Center for Security Policy, Simeon Hinov, IBM CEE, Business Operations, and Veronika Havlíčková, Pandora Czech Republic

Informal discussion at the reception by the Lithuanian Embassy on November 14, 2013 at the American Center. H.E. Aurimas Taurantas, Ambassador of Lithuania to the Czech Republic, Lev Voronkov, Head of the Nordic Department of the Center for Nordic and Baltic Studies, MGIMO, Stanislav Cherniavskiy, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO)

From left: H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Czech Republic and Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy

security conference

Conference audience, at the front from left Hu Yumin, Senior Research Fellow, China Institute for International Strategic Studies, Tomáš Dub, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petr Kolář, Director for Foreign Relations, PPF, Paul Freiherr von Maltzahn, Secretary General of German Council of Foreign Relations, and Alexander Lukin, Vice President of Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

From left: Mirko Hempel, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Representation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, H.E. Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic

H.E. Yu Qingtai, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Czech Republic

From left: Major General Zhu Da, Vice-Chairman of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, Du Weisheng, Military & Air Attaché and H.E. Yu Qingtai, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Czech Republic

From left: Paul Freiherr von Maltzahn, Secretary General of the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP) and Hu Yumin, Senior Research Fellow, China Institute for International Strategic Studies

From left: Sergey Afontsev, Head of the Department of Economic Theory, Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomáš Dub, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Cheng Yongru, Economic Counsellor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Czech Republic

H.E. Sergey B. Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Czech Republic

From left: Alexander Lukin, Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy, Paul Freiherr von Maltzahn, Secretary General of the German Council of Foreign Relations, Hu Yumin, Senior Research Fellow, China Institute for International Strategic Studies, and Stanislav Cherniavskiy, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO)

41 Konstantin Kokarev, First Deputy Director, Russian Institute of Strategic Research

security conference

Lev Voronkov, Head of the Nordic Department of the Center for Nordic and Baltic Studies (MGIMO)

From left: Olga Sehnalová, Member of the European Parliament, Liu Xiaoguang, Associate Research Fellow, China Institute for International Strategic Studies, and Algirdas Šakalys, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University

From left: Jiří Schneider, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Gen. Markus Bentler, German military representative to the NATO and the EU Military Committee, and Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy

Representatives of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies from left: Liu Xiaoguang, Associate Research Fellow, Mu Changlin, Senior Research Fellow, Major General Zhu Da, Vice Chairman, Hu Yumin, Senior Research Fellow, and Zhu Xiaojing, Research Assistant

Jan Ludvík, Research Fellow, Center for Security Policy

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From left: H.E. Aurimas Taurantas, ambassador of Lithuania to the Czech Republic, and Miloš Balabán, head of the Center for Security Policy, during opening speeches on the reception organized by Lithuanian Embassy on the eve of the conference

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analysis

Where Do We Go?

Warren Buffet, the famous and successful American investor, said regarding crises, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

So how are we swimming in our Czech tide? The state policy in the area of business support, revitalization of the economic growth and competitiveness in the long term, more resembles a rearrangement of chairs aboard the Titanic.

Our Forefather Czechs came to a country abounding in milk and honey. These days we have nearly no reserve natural resources, or they are depleted. The ‘family silver’ was stolen, sold off or devastated. The illusion of our cheap work force and the onset of further assembly plants fizzed out. Building more highways, solar power plants, Temelíns, or bureaucracy-supported overpriced IT

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projects are highly controversial for many reasons and overly expensive.

Nobody bothers to measure the return on investments made from tax-payer money. The decrease of energy consumption through insulation is prize worthy and, just like the construction of transport infrastructure, creates at least a shortterm stimulae of the economy and employment.

Is that enough?

The modern politics of a state using new, creative and global projects must actively pursue the development of innovation, entrepreneurship in sophisticated fields of production, with high

returns on investments and maximizing modernization of industries and services.

It is apparent that the size of the state deficit is less important than what kind of activity tax payers actually finance.

As long as state finances support areas that increase productivity and, therefore, also economic growth, then this positively changes the ratio between indebtedness and economic output.

The state should support innovative entrepreneurship on the principles of venture capital – demand returns on invested capital from successful projects and stop unsuccessful speculations in the pilot stage. It should focus on the transfer of technologies and applied research, with the quickest possible entry to the market. It should make efforts and put money into educating startup entrepreneurs, support shared production and technological facilities for developers, inventors, innovators and global entrepreneurs.

The Presidents quip “politicians don’t support the development of infrastructure, because it doesn’t vote in elections” is now being addressed by the parliamentary parties in their election programs. I’d like to add that if we want to follow a dictator, he should be enlightened, not embedded in concrete.

By Ivan Pilný ■ President of Tuesday Business Network Former Chairman of Czech Telecom český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 43

interview

A talk with H.E. Livia Klausovรก, former First Lady of the Czech Republic and now new Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Slovakia

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Photo by: Martin Janas

interview Ing. Livia Klausová, CSc., an economist, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Slovakia and a former first lady in an interview for the Leaders Magazine.

The Livia and Václav Klaus Endowment Fund (Nadační fond manželů Livie a Václava Klausových) has been around for a whole decade.

When you look back at the ten years that have passed, which moments are the first ones to come into your mind?

“An important moment that comes into my head was the establishment of our fund, the first meeting with representatives of dozens of charities from all around the Czech Republic that took place in Lány. Reunion with the children and students to whom our endowment fund had helped through scholarships and language courses or assisted in coping with difficult life situation several years later was a wonderful experience, too.

I also greatly enjoy meeting the senior citizens who learn to work with computers in our courses.

We could not invite all the participants at once since there are almost ten thousand of them.”

What are your visions for the future of the endowment fund?

“The fund continues in all its activities. We keep concentrating on the education area, also after March 2013, when the term of office of president Václav Klaus, one of the founders of the fund, has finished. We are of course considering broadening the scope of our activities and possible changes in our programme.”

For you personally, which decision connected to the endowment fund was the most difficult to make?

After my cooperation with the Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation and the ŽIVOT 90 Civic Association in the 1990s, the most difficult decision was to establish our own endowment fund together with my husband and to decide on its orientation and scope of activities.”

One of the hot topics in the media at the moment is the position of the first lady. Did you succeed in developing this post further? Did you manage to meet your expectations?

Each president’s wife performs her role in her own way, according to her approach and her feel-

ings. I tried not only to represent our country well but above all to act as a little “ombudsman” and personally react to issues troubling the citizens.

I was given the opportunity to meet a vast number of people, to visit many places both in the Czech Republic and abroad, and I also found myself in extraordinary situations. When I say extraordinary, I do not mean only meeting kings and queens, outstanding politicians, scientists, and artists, but also many people who do wonderful things, as well as those who have been in need of our help.”

As the first lady, you were a significant personality; however, you probably did not have much time left for the area of your studies – economics. Are you able to keep an overview over the market and international trade?

“My life does not consist only of the period when I was the president’s wife. For many years, I worked at the Economics Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, at a foreign trade corporation; I was an executive secretary of the Czech Economic Society, I participated at many international conferences devoted to economic topics, especially international finance, I held a presentation for the Canadian Bankers Association, etc. Recently I worked on an analytic study comparing various groups of countries from the point of view of international trade.

Naturally, I was forced to follow much broader aspects of the development abroad, not only in the field of economics. By the way, this year‘s Nobel Prize in economics was awarded to three economists, Eugene F. Fama, Robert J. Shiller a Lars Peter Hansen, for scientific contribution to evaluating rationality and regulation of capital and financial markets. Interestingly, the first two economists are known to differ substantially in their approach.”

Would you like to comment on your new role as the ambassador to Slovakia?

“I was pleased by the offer to become the ambassador to the Slovak Republic and I was happy to accept it. I have been carefully and systematically preparing for my task. I believe that I will make use of not only my knowledge and experience, but also of everything I have learnt during my very intensive internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that I will be able to enhance the extraordinary mutual relationship between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. I do not like talking about my work theoretically.

I wish my actions and results to speak for me.”

Livia Klausová with her husband Prof. Václav Klaus, former President of the Czech Republic and Mgr. Kamila Kryštofová, Director, The Livia and Václav Klaus Endowment Fund

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What barriers must be overcome in order for the Czech Republic to develop both economically and socially?

In your opinion, is the country strong enough for that?

“I am convinced that the Czech Republic meets conditions for both.”

Can you imagine starting a career as a freshly graduated economist today? What would pose the greatest difficulties?

“This question is very hypothetical. I can imagine that my options and opportunities would be substantially broader than at the time when we did not choose our first job as it used to be assigned to us. These days, university studies and preparation of students for life and future career differ substantially from what I experienced during my studies. There are more career opportunities; however, the pressure of competition has grown as well.”

How do you perceive your current placement in the list of the 50 most powerful Czech women published by the Forbes magazine? How did people around you react to that?

“I was pleased to find that I was included in the list together with many women whom I deeply respect. I received some congratulations on my position in the list, but most people around me did not react to it in any significant way.”

In your opinion, what is the main prerequisite for a successful career? Ideas, personality, leadership?

“In my opinion, the main prerequisites are knowledge, hard work, motivation and ability to cooperate with others.”

Many of our readers surely remember the splendid social events held at the Prague Castle under your auspices. Don’t you miss the opportunity to host such – in many ways beneficial – events?

“I took great pleasure in organizing all the events that you have mentioned. They were connected to my then role of the president’s wife.

I established a new tradition of inviting foreign female ambassadors and foreign male ambassadors’ wives, as well as Czech female ambassadors and foreign male ambassadors’ wives to Lány. Furthermore, I invited political representatives’ wives, as well as representatives of foundations and endowment funds. Delightful annual events include the reception of multiple blood donors or finalists of the Zlatý Ámos competition for best teachers at the Prague Castle and many other occasions. I am glad that some of these gatherings will continue also under the auspices of the new first lady.”

By Jaroslav Kramer ■ Translated by Zuzana Halamíčková český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 45

analysis

DIGITAL SERVICES

OR BROADBAND EUROPE’S DILEMMA? In October 2011, the European Commission presented a detailed plan to significantly improve the trans-European infrastructures. The so-called „Connecting Europe Facility“ is one of the most innovative funding programmes of the EU‘s next financial period 2014–2020. The core idea behind was to complete the missing links in Europe‘s energy, transport and digital core infrastructure. More specifically, it should support the building of new railways, roads, electricity grids, pipelines and high-speed internet (broadband) networks. The planned overall investment in infrastructure networks amounted to around 50 billion euro.

Regarding investment in broadband and pan-European digital services, the Commission intended to earmark 9.2 billion euro, predominantly for deployment of high-speed internet connections. The original proposal also envisaged attracting additional funding from both private and public sources – and in some projects anticipated a multiplier effect of up to 15!

In the meantime, the sands have changed.

Due to austerity measures, the EU‘s 27 leaders assembled in the European Council in February this year and agreed to decrease the budget under the digital heading of the Connecting Europe Facility to 1 billion euro. Some people say that cutting the subsidies for broadband is penny wise but pound foolish. I am deeply convinced that it is not worthy to waste time in such debates. As a parliamentary rapporteur responsible for the file, from the very beginning I broadly welcomed and supported the main elements of the Commission‘s proposal. However, there is a clear necessity for budgetary discipline. Today, all three EU institutions – the Commission, European Parliament and Council of ministers – must respect the current state of play including the allocated budget. Now, the time is ripe for negotiations on the revised proposal.

With a budget of only €1 billon to work with, the European Commission will certainly put more emphasis on digital services and leaving only a small amount for high-speed internet projects. One could say that first, the broadband infrastructure should be built to deliver the services to the citizens. Though, this is not a chicken and egg situation, both are equally important! There should be no dilemma.

Let me start with broadband. I believe the key shortfall is associated with differences between urban and rural regions, where citizens and businesses cannot connect to high-speed internet

46 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

and benefit from online services. As rapporteur, bridging the digital gap was the core objective that I have been defending. Another point I have repeatedly underlined in the past is becoming an even more topical issue. Every European cent must primarily aim at encouraging private sector investment. The priority should be given mainly to sparsely populated areas where competitive private markets do not exist, due in the main to a lack of recovery of initial costs. In any case, public funds must be prevented from distorting the competitive environment wherever it exists.

For such “seed funding” other sources should predominantly be activated, such structural and cohesion funds and also national and regional sources.

With a newly defined budget the cross-border digital services such as electronic identification, e-procurement, eHealth or network security have gained more prominence in our discussions, although the original proposal assigned a considerably smaller share compared to broadband. The

shortlisted digital services are of public nature and therefore the public investment is well justified in addition to the use of grants to support the development of these services.

Information and communication technologies represent a dynamic and rapidly developing field.

In line with my long-term position I am ready to advocate a decisive influence of the EU’s Member States in setting the priorities and selection of projects of common interest.

All actors involved hope to have a final deal on the digital part of Connecting Europe Facility in the autumn of this year. I will be pleased to update Leaders Magazine readers on the progress and also on other interesting topics discussed in the European Parliament.

By Evžen Tošenovský ■ Member of the European Parliament český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Photo: Archive

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sustainable development

GENDER EQUALITY TIME TO SHATTER THE GLASS CEILING We’ve come to expect movie ratings to tell us whether a film contains nudity, sex, profanity or violence. Now cinemas in Sweden are introducing a new rating to highlight gender bias. To get an A rating, a movie must pass the so-called Bechdel test, which means it must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man.

This may not seem unsurprising in a nation known for its gender equality. Indeed, this initiative may appear somewhat quirky. But doesn’t it make sense for films to reflect something of reality? After all, 50 percent of the world’s population are women.

Try telling that to the dominant male elite in the Czech Republic – the last European Union state to adopt anti-discrimination law which guarantees the right to equal treatment and bans discrimination in areas including access to employment, business, education, healthcare and social security on the grounds of sex, age, disability, race, ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and faith or worldview.

Former President, Vaclav Klaus, had initially vetoed the passing of the anti-discrimination bill which delayed its adoption for over a year on the grounds that existing legal protection against discrimination in the Czech Republic was adequate.

But the facts don’t support his argument.

Today, four years after the passing of the AntiDiscrimination Act, Czech women are earning one quarter less than their male counterparts, in comparison to the EU average of 16 percent. Less than two out of 10 Czech university students are female, in contrast to 25 percent across Europe. And Czech men significantly dominate management positions, with only 14 percent of woman currently sitting on company boards of management. Even the photo-pages in this illustrious Prague Leaders magazine reflect the gender equality deficit in our society.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Czech Republic ranks 76 out of 190 countries in Jonathan Wootliff A former director of Greenpeace International, Jonathan Wootliff lives in Prague and works throughout the world as a sustainability consultant to business. He is a special advisor to the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development. He has consulted many large corporations including BP, Colgate-Palmolive, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and Whirlpool, and providing counsel to companies on the development of sustainability strategies that benefit the environment, society and business. Among his many activities, he helps companies to resolve disputes, forge productive relationships with non-governmental organizations, and build long-term sustainability strategies. 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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terms of female representation in politics, with only 15 percent of women in the Chamber of Deputies and 17 percent in the Senate. In fact, this nation has one of the lowest representations of women in parliament in the developed world.

The recent re-election of Angela Merkel as German Chancellor, the appointment of Janet Yellen as the first female head of the United States Federal Reserve, combined with Christine Lagarde as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, gives strong credence to the argument that the world’s economic recovery is in the hands of women.

It may still be less than 100 years since women gained the right to vote, but isn’t it high time for the Czech Republic to improve its record on gender equality? Isn’t it more than just about morality and the right of both boys and girls born into today’s society to expect the same opportunities? Surely it’s fundamental to the future sustainability of this country.

More women at work means good news for the global economy, writes Christine Lagarde in a recent article in which she attests that the removal of obstacles for women to achieve parity with men is inextricably linked to higher economic growth.

The IMF chief presents five reasons as to why both halves of our population matter, to which Czech business should take careful note: 1. Women help economic growth: In many countries, growth could be much higher if more women were in paid employment. In Japan, for example, raising female labour force participation to northern European levels would permanently raise per capita GDP by 8 percent. Increasing women’s employment rates in line with those of men would boost the level of GDP. 2. Women bring a better balance of risk and reward in business and finance: There’s a higher culture of risk in male dominated organisations.

Men trade up to 45 percent more often, and risk taking can be mapped to trading room profits and losses. Mixing the genders can help. Companies with more women on their boards have higher sales, higher returns on equity, and higher profitability.

3. Women are the next “emerging markets”: Globally, women control about two-thirds of discretionary consumer spending. It is simply good business and good policy to understand the market.

4. Women invest more in future generations: Women are more likely to spend on health and education, building human capital to fuel future growth and savings to finance it.

5. Women are agents of change: Women naturally bring a different voice to the table. As managers, women tend to be more open to diverse perspectives, more likely to sponsor and develop new talent, and more inclined to encourage collabora-

Former Greenpeace International director, Jonathan Wootliff, is now a sustainability consultant living in Prague.

Photo: Archive of Author

tion. Diversity–in all its forms–can create a cradle of ideas and innovation.

Sexual equality is clearly a sustainable development issue. It’s fundamental to the advancement of Czech society. Yet, in spite of the overwhelming evidence that gender inclusion makes sound economic, business, and social sense, this great nation is failing to close the gender gap.

As a sustainability consultant to business, here are my recommended basic steps that companies should take to address the challenge: • Raise awareness among school-leavers regarding the full spectrum of career opportunities available to both boys and girls • Attract top talent irrespective of sex, with human resources departments encouraged to be completely gender-blind in searching for the best available talent • Actively promote career advancement of women by introducing specific initiatives to supporting the career advancement of female employees • Strengthen the work-life balance by exploring ways to provide for more part-time jobs, flexible hours and other conditions more helpful to women • Evaluate the remuneration system from a gender perspective to ensure that both men and women are financially rewarded according to equallyevaluated Key Performance Indicators • Internally and externally communicate the company’s commitment to a true and vibrant culture of equal opportunity.

I am proud of the multitude of significant achievements made by men. There’s no doubt that a world without us would be unsustainable in every respect, not least biologically speaking. But I am embarrassed that we are still debating the right of women to be afforded equal opportunities in the twenty-first century.

No doubt, the seemingly immovable glass ceilings which persist will eventually be shattered to smithereens, and future generations will look back and laugh about how strange it once was that women weren’t equal in every respect.

But sadly, based on the evidence, we’ve a long way to go. The Czech Republic will only truly flourish when it replaces its glass ceiling culture with blue sky thinking.

By Jonathan Wootliff ■ Leaders Magazine V/2013 47

interview

THE NEW BMW i3 GOES TO TOWN SOBĚSLAV

THE WINNER OF THE E.ON ENERGY GLOBE AWARD CZECH REPUBLIC SYMPATHY PROJECT “In November this year, BMW presented the new BMW i3, the world’s first premium car designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle – “Born Electric” as we say. It offers driving pleasure typical of BMW cars while it is emission-free and running costs are very low” said the Managing Director of BMW Group Czech Republic, Dr. Josef Reiter during the E.ON Energy Globe Awards Czech Republic cer-

From left: Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director, BMW Group CZ, Ms. Dagmar Havlová, and Prof. Pavel Kolář

48 Leaders Magazine V/2013

emony in Vinohrady Theatre. Then he handed the BMW i3 keys to the winner of the Sympathy project.

The winner was chosen by public through Internet and SMS text voting. Soběslav town was awarded for rescuing and reconstructing an old castle. A glass frame was set in the bowels of the historic structure and is now serving as the town library. The town Soběslav gets the BMW i3 in-

cluding Wallbax charging station for three years.

The main price was personally handed over to the mayor of Soběslav, Mr. Jindřich Bláha. When asked what purposes the car will be used for he answered: I would like to give a ride to everyone who helped make our successful project happen.

“BMW Group Czech Republic was pleased to become a partner of the E.ON Energy Award espe-

From left: Ing. Jindřich Bláha, Mayor of Soběslav and Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director, BMW Group

interview

From left: Aleš Háma, Ing. Jindřich Bláha, Dr. Josef Reiter

cially because this project combines interesting ideas and clever use of modern technologies together with efforts to innovate and inspire – which is exactly the approach of BMW brand and its innovative vehicle BMW i3” added Dr. Reiter after he handed over the keys.

The ceremony was attended by well-known and important personalities such as Dagmar Havlová who drives BMW 5 Series for several years now, and prof. Pavel Kolář, a world-renowned physi-

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otherapist who was the first man in the Czech Republic to drive the BMW i3.

Prof. Kolář opted for the BMW i3 for several reasons: “I drive about 120 km in Prague daily, so the BMW i3 exactly matches my needs. It allows me to travel in a manner respectful to the environment and at the same time with the technologies of the future. Besides, I hope to inspire more people to use this method of transport and to participate in new forms of mobility this way.”

E.ON ENERGY GLOBE AWARD CR 2013 As in the past years, the E.ON Energy Globe Award Czech Republic 2013 was met with a great interest by Czech businesses and organizations. The competition which annually rewards original projects that contribute to environmental protection had a total of 217 entries.

Leaders Magazine V/2013 49

golf tournament From left: Zdeněk Musil, Stora Enso Praha, Michal Nevrkla, Xerox ČR, Luboš Kotouč, Stora Enso Praha, and Marcel Rusinko, Stora Enso Wood Products

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Nordic Chamber Golf Tournament

Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber of Commerce Hannu Kasi, CEO and President ABB and Zuzana Martínková, Marketing & Sales Manager, YIT Stavo

Prizes for winners

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From left: Yvette Sander, Trainee, Ambruz & Dark, Zdeněk Majer, Vice President Sales, ŠKODA Transportation, Lea Turcarová, Executive Director, Nordic Chamber, and Jaroslav Krajíček, CEO, ACCOM holding

golf tournament

From left: Petr Bureš, General Director, Veskom Group, Renáta Váchová, Managing Director, Alfa Laval, Ladislav Lněníček, General Director, ESL, and Jiří Křivský, Technical Director, JDK From left: Mr. Jan Vaisar, Yvette Sander, Trainee, Ambruz & Dark, and Andrea Colantoni, Country Manager Czech Republic & Slovakia , HUDSON

From left: Ivan Vertenten, Director Credits, ČSOB, Frank Versaevel, Managing Director, VOLVO Cars and Mr. Clive Watkins, Director of Development, ISP

Winners in category 0-18, 2. Mr. Petr Bartoň, 1. Mr. Tomáš Večeřa, 3. Mr. Danillo Manghi

Stefan Lager, CEO, Sweden Telecom and President of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce

Winners in category 36-54, Mr. Pavel Brychcín and Mr. Ivan Verteten

From left: Martin Blažek, PCV ALFA, Martin Kubišta, Owner, Belvec, Alice Undusová, Head of Offset Program, SAAB Czech, and Augustýn Kohoutek, Managing Director, Pelikán Krofta Kohoutek

Winners: Nearest to Pin Zdeněk Majer, Vice President Sales, ŠKODA Transportation and Longest Drive Men Jaroslav Kocián, Chairman of the Board, GEFO

From left: Miroslav Záhorec, Chairman of the Board, Česká Inženýrská, Jaroslav Krajíček, CEO, ACCOM holding, and Zdeněk Majer, Vice President Sales, ŠKODA Transportation

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Rotary Fundraising The motto of Rotary Club Prague International is having fun doing good and the annual Dragon Boat Charity Challenge held on September 14 was a great demonstration of that motto in action. Despite the event had been delayed from June 1st because of the flooding, 21 teams from companies and organisations took part. They all competed with great spirit and energy but no one could take the trophy from last year‘s winners, the veteran team from Rotary Club Staré Město.

The real winners were the two main charity partners of ŽIVOT 90 and Nadace Naše dítě who each picked up a cheque for 130,000 Kč at the celebration lunch held on 4 October. Everyone who took part agreed that it was a great result from a fantastic fun day.

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The race is on!

From left: Václav Chalupa, Czech Olympic Silver Medalist and Petr Klíma, Race Organisator, Czech Dragon Boat Association From bottom left: Rotarians Stuart Amesbury, Tomáš Pour, Staffan Erenmalm, and Casey Holt wih Václav Chalupa, Czech Olympic Silver Medalist in center

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From left: Petr Klíma, Race Organisator, Czech Dragon Boat Association, Václav Chalupa, Czech Olympic Silver Medalist, Miroslav Zelený, Mayor, Prague 5, in background Irena Brichta, District Governor Czech and Slovak Rotary Clubs and Gerry Tipple, President and TRF Chair, RC Prague International

Rotary meeting

Rotarians and guests listening to the Club President From left: Duane Callahan, visiting Rotarian from Alaska and George Csaszar, past President, RCPI

From left: Irena Brichta, District Governor Czech and Slovak Rotary Clubs with Staffan Erenmalm, Rotarian, and Gerry Tipple, President and TRF Chair, RC Prague International

Zuzana Baudyšová, Nadace Naše dítě and Gerry Tipple, President and TRF Chair, RC Prague International

From left: Rudolf Skolnik, Rotarian RC Prague Bohemia and Dr. Sc. Prof. MUDr. Michael Halaška

Zuzana Baudyšová, Nadace Naše dítě and Gerry Tipple, President and TRF Chair, RC Prague International

From left: Rotarians Sanan Phutrakul and Thomas Tietjen, past President

From left: Dr. Jan Malát, M.D., Secretary 2012–2013, NASA Miri – Neuroradiology, Rotary Club Prague International and Stuart Farleigh, Rotarian with Irena Brichta, District Governor Czech and Slovak Rotary Clubs

From left: Jan Lorman, Život 90 and Gerry Tipple, President and TRF Chair, RC Prague International

Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Irena Brichta, District Governor Czech and Slovak Rotary Clubs

From left: Naomi Sullivan – Callendar, Rotarian and Irena Brichta, District Governor Czech and Slovak Rotary Clubs

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discussion forum

Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

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Zlatá Koruna Forum took place on October 15, 2013 in the TOP HOTEL Prague, titled The Economy Versus Politics or ELECTIONS 2013.

ZLATÁ KORUNA FORUM, BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMY Among those present were Jiří Rusnok, the outgoing Prime Minister, as well as the representatives of major political parties and movements running in the elections. The ODS was represented by its current Chairman, Martin Kuba; TOP 09 by its First Vice-Chairman, Miroslav Kalousek; the Green Party by its Chairman, Ondřej Liška; KDU-ČSL by its First Vice-Chairman Marian Jurečka; movement Hlavu Vzhůru, by its Chairwoman, Jana Bobošíková; ČSSD by the shadow cabinet Minister of Finance, Jan Mládek; The ANO movement by the businessman, Ivan Pilný; and SPOZ by the economist, Ilona Švihlíková.

The forum focused on urgent economic issues that are expected to be solved after the election by the newly elected political representatives. The main interest focused on the strategy of future economic policy, public finance, the competitiveness of the economy and support of entrepreneurship.

The three-hour panel discussion was also attended by the representatives of business and economists – Jaroslav Hanák, the President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic; Václav Matyáš, the President of the Association of Building Entrepreneurs of the Czech Republic; Jan Mühlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation; Prof. Michal Mejstřík; Daniel Münich; Jiří Weigl; Petr Knap; Ondřej Jonáš; and Vít Samek.

In the spirit of its tradition, Zlatá Koruna Forum, which took place before the parliamentary election, reminded us of the necessity to solve essential issues in the Czech economy at a time when the economy should overcome its recession and come back to growth.

Let’s hope the bilateral dialog between economists and politicians, established at the Zlatá Koruna Forums, will continue after the elections.

54

From left: Jana Bobošíková, Chairwoman, Hlavu vzhůru, Marian Jurečka, 1st Vice Chairman, KDU-ČSL, Miroslav Kalousek, 1st Vice Chairman, TOP 09, Martin Kuba, Chairman, ODS, Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Přemysl Čech, Moderator, Jan Mládek, Shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD, Ivan Pilný, ANO

From left: Marian Jurečka, 1st Vice Chairman, KDU-ČSL, Miroslav Kalousek, 1st Vice Chairman TOP 09, Martin Kuba, Chairman, ODS, and Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

discussion forum

From left: Marian Jurečka, 1st Vice Chairman, KDU-ČSL, Miroslav Kalousek, 1st Vice Chairman, TOP 09, Martin Kuba, Chairman, ODS, and Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Prime Minister of the Czech Republic From left: H.E. Peter Weiss, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic and Jiří Rusnok, outgoing Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

From left: Daniel Münich, Academic Economist and Jiří Weigel, Institut of Václav Klaus

From left: Přemysl Čech, Moderator, Ondřej Liška, Chairman, Green Party, and Jan Mládek, Shadow Minister of Finance, ČSSD

From left: 1st row: Jan Műhlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation, Michal Mejstřík, Institute of Economic Studies, FSV UK, and Jaroslav Hanák, President, Industry and Transport Association of the Czech Republic; 2nd row: Petr Knap, Partner, EY ČR, Ondřej Jonáš, Finance Expert, and Václav Matyáš, President, Association of Building Entrepreneurs of the Czech Republic From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Jan Műhlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation

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55 Participants of the debate

discussion forum Pavel Doležal, Director, Zlatá Koruna

From left: Petr Knap, Partner, EY ČR, Ondřej Jonáš, Finance Expert, Václav Matyáš, President, Association of Building Entrepreneurs of the Czech Republic, Daniel Münich, Academic Economist, Jiří Weigel, Institute of Václav Klaus, and Vít Samek, Member of Legislative Council, ČMKOS From left: Ondřej Jonáš, Finance Expert, Václav Matyáš, President, Association of Building Entrepreneurs of the Czech Republic and Daniel Münich, Academic Economist

56 Jan Műhlfeit, Chairman Europe, Microsoft Corporation

From left: Petr Knap, Partner, EY ČR and Ondřej Jonáš, Finance Expert

media power

WHY I LOVE AUTUMN ABOUT LEADERSHIP, TRANSFORMATION AND THE SPRING IN SIGHT I used to hate autumn. As a child, this was the time to put on the raincoat and high rubber boots and walk the three kilometers to school and back. The wind would intensify as soon as we would leave the village; the water in the Mureș River was fast and grey; the backpack full of heavy books. The only joy was the prospect of meeting fellow pupils, and, maybe, one day, being allowed to take the same road by bike.

Now, 20 years later, I grasp the autumn in a different perspective. One more year has passed; what have I done with my life for the last 300 and so days? Have I taken any step that would bring me closer to live my life with purpose? How did the energy I spent this year make a difference in people’s lives? What imprints am I leaving behind?

I am sure many of us who dare to take a moment to breathe and glance through the window at the sea of dying leaves outside ask themselves the same questions. This is why I dare to write this column in a slightly different tone than the ones before.

Accepting the winter For numerous companies founded after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, the years 1998–2007 have been years of splendid growth. Summer at its best: money flowing in, markets opening, consumers willing to spend beyond their means. Autumn came abruptly with the fall of the invincible Lehman Brothers in September 2008; for those who hadn’t been wise enough to secure reserves, the winter that followed has wiped their names from history.

Cristina Muntean is a professional communications advisor, media trainer and coach. She has more than 12 years’ experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media. In August 2010 Cristina founded Media Education CEE, a Prague-based premium PR advisory and training agency. Her clients are top managers, diplomats and public officials who aim to make their voice heard in their community. In June 2011 Cristina was elected president of the Czech PR Klub; in January 2012 she was elected chairwoman of the Marketing Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Prague. Cristina speaks Romanian, French, English and Czech and can be reached at cm@mediaed.cz.

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The first signs of relative recovery started to show up only this year — even though our political reps in the Czech Republic do their utmost best to keep us in the cold for as long as possible. Yet, mild recovery seems to be in sight for the next year – not the buoyant years prior to 2007, but the new real.

Many leaders matured by decades in just a few years; the merciless economy taught us all we needed to know in order to be ready for the new spring. Yet, there are also managers who haven’t understood the purpose of “winter.” As the small seed that blooms in spring, rejoices in summer, returns to the earth in autumn, and hibernates in winter in order to get energy for the new spring, our companies’ lives are cyclical. We just have no habit of admitting it.

We still act as if we are possessed by a hunger for growth for the sake of growth and empty higher profits. But what if winter is necessary in the life of each company, to make sure it doesn’t completely exhaust its environment and can come up successfully after hibernation? What a scary thought for the managers paid in close connection to the level of growth of the company in a given year.

How does this relate to communication?

Numerous studies show that human resources, people who are there to bring companies’ visions to life, have been exhausted in the process of surviving the last five years. At the beginning, they accepted the effort, hoping it would be temporary. In time, they started to pay the price: health-related issues, relationships falling apart, frustration and a feeling of neverending tension and overall meaningless.

A study published in June 2013 by the international consultancy Hay Group shows that one in four employees are ready to leave their company within the next two years. Employees point at numerous reasons for their decisions, including their manager’s leadership style and communication skills. Very often they feel they are being left alone in the dark, to do more with less, while no one seems to see the outcome or to care.

Here is where communication comes into place. One of the major trends on our Czech market, and other markets in CEE, is company culture transformation. With the generation swap at the top of numerous local companies, there is an ongoing need for doing things differently. This doesn’t mean that young managers

Photo: Jakub Stadler

are necessarily better communicators. However, quality internal, external and client communication seem to get deeply rooted in companies’ DNA in this transformation process. And this is a good thing.

And here is where true leaders come into place. The truly successful companies — like Student Agency, Bernard, Linet, Agrofert and many others — are those lead by people who are not afraid to share their personal story, step out of their comfort zone, forget about knowing everything, speak less, listen more and open themselves to the new, to the different, to the vulnerable, to the authentic.

The reason why I now love autumn is because life brought me in a position where I can observe and support such amazing people as they open up and transform themselves and the lives of others around them through communication.

By daring to bring their minds and hearts aligned to the table, such leaders create a more sustainable world. Transformation is already happening; it was the highest time. And spring is in sight, even though it might not appear so obvious now, in November.

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

Leaders Magazine V/2013 57

interview An Interview With Ladislav Blažek, Owner of Blažek Praha Company

THE CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE

UNIQUE DESIGN Ever since its founding in 1992, the Blažek fashion house addresses men who seek out quality clothes and the best services. The customers appreciate unique design, the high-level of tailoring and top-class Italian materials. The men’s collections are produced in small series and sold exclusively in their own brand stores. Men came to understand how to express their personality and style by wearing trendy clothes. In today’s era of unprecedented conformity, it’s increasingly natural to seek out something unique and original. This led the fashion house to come up with a new VIP service Blažek Made to Measure.

In 2013, the Blažek brand came up with a new VIP service of tailoring suits and shirts to measure. What led you to this step? Who is the typical customer for the Made to Measure service?

When creating new collections, we constantly ask ourselves, ‚Why do people need this? Who is interested in this?‘ Our customer club has over 120,000 members and we often ask them what

58 Leaders Magazine V/2013

they like and what we can do for them. In the last two years the frequency with which our clients asked for the possibility of a tailor-made suit significantly increased. We became interested in this and did several surveys, finding that in fact there is interest in such a service. It’s a gap in the market we decided to fill. The preparation took us two years. We had to learn many new things and had to conceive everything from scratch.

A custom-tailored suit stands at the very peak of the tailoring craft. Everything must be perfect. The customers are successful men who want to contribute to the creation of their suit and create their own original. They all share one thought: owning fewer things, but excellent ones.

Can you tell our readers the process for measuring and the selection of a custom suit? What can a client decide in regard to their customtailored suit?

In order for us to better and more quickly provide our customers with an idea about how their new suit will fit, we use test sets of pre-made suits that are prepared in three cut lines – slim, regular and comfort. The initial procedure takes approximately thirty minutes, during which the tailor takes all the client’s necessary measurements, selects the best fitting test suit and, using pins, simulates the necessary cut adjustments. Subsequently, the clients selects the way the jacket closes, the shape of lapels, the number of pockets and slits, whether the pants will have hems or cuffs and, naturally, many other tailoring details. Popular and practical are two pairs of pants with one jacket, possibly accompanied by a vest. The last and very important step is the selection of the fabric from which the entire suit will be tailored.

You mentioned the importance of materials. What are the differences

between suit materials and which options does the customer have when selecting them?

LB: The correct choice of material is absolutely essential. In our tailor shop Blažek at Wenceslas Square, we offer hundreds of types of luxurious fabrics in a wide selection of designs and colors.

The selection is practically limitless. All fabrics come exclusively from Italy and we chose the best producers with long traditions and worldwide fame. The exclusive wool fabrics and blends of wool and cashmere, or possibly wool and silk, are supplied for our suits from Loro Piana and Vitale Barberis Canonico.

The quality and weight of a suit fabric is mainly determined by the fineness of the yarn.

Our customers can select materials from Super 110’s up to luxurious Super 170’s. The higher the number, the thinner the fiber and smoother fabric.

Our luxurious cotton, usually double-weave shirt fabrics, are supplied by the Albini Group and their brands Thomas Mason and D&J Anderson, founded in England over 180 years ago.

Men seeking such special services tend to be very busy and usually don’t have much time. Is it time-demanding to get a custom-made suit or shirt?

LB: We try to reduce the amount of time our customers spend in our tailor’s shop to a minimum and in an absolute majority of cases, two visits are sufficient. During the first one, they get measured, select the material and all other details. The second one is a fitting of the finished suit and if everything fits as it should, they can take their new suit home that day. The process is very similar in the case of shirts, only the time for measurements is shorter. If the customer wishes, we can visit them in their office or home, so they can save time, which tends to be very precious for them, so we do our best to save it.

The actual tailoring takes five weeks and all customer measurements remain stored in our database, so during the next order they only select materials.

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

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www.blazek.cz

Photo: Jakub Joachim

conference

From left: Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club, Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little, Jiří Rusnok, Prime Minister of the Government of the Czech Republic, and Prof. Jan Švejnar, M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University and CERGE-EI

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THE CFO CLUB – 9 ANNUAL TH

CONFERENCE EXCELLENCE IN FINANCE 9th Annual Conference Excellence in Finance was held on November 13 in the Grand Hotel Bohemia in Prague. The afternoon of workshops was crowned by the discussion on key parameters of the Czech economy after the elections lead by the Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok and Professor Jan Švejnar.

Jiří Berger, expert in the field of cybernetics – IT, e-FRACTAL

From left: Thomas Merker, Executive, CFO, RWE GasNet and Daniel Buryš, CFO, Kofola ČeskoSlovensko From left: Bořivoj P. Pražák, Council Member of the CFO Club and Václav Loubek, Partner in the Audit Department, Deloitte Czech Republic

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From left: Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club, Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little, Thomas Merker, Executive, CFO, RWE GasNet, Daniel Buryš, CFO, Kofola ČeskoSlovensko, and Patrik Choleva, Council Member of the CFO Club, CFO, Skanska a.s. and winner of the 2012 CFO of the Year poll

Marcel Hominda, Principal, Arthur D. Little

conference

View of the conference room

Eva Kislingerová, Vedoucí katedry podnikové ekonomiky, Fakulta podnikohospodářská, VŠE Prague and Pavel Musílek, Vice Chairman of the Board, Comitia zdravotní

Ondřej Kadaník, Active Sales Department, J & T BANKA and Eliška Hašková Coolidge, Lecturer

From left: Eva Kislingerová, Vedoucí katedry podnikové ekonomiky, Fakulta podnikohospodářská, VŠE Prague, Jakub Holubec, Partner, dolphin consulting, Jaromír Šorf, Global Financing Manager, IBM Česká republika, and Tereza Křivinková, Owner, Cognac bar U staré studny

From left: František Vašek, Partner, ConPro, Eva Vašková Čejková, Managing Director, ConPro and ŽENY, s.r.o., and Karel Šimůnek, Managing Director, AvantGarde Restaurant & Café

Pedro Gomez, CEO, KCT Data and Tatiana Purdiaková, CFO, Partners Financial Services

František Korbel, Partner at Havel, Holásek & Partners s.r.o., legal office and co-author of the new Civil Code

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61 Evžen Mayer, Business Development Manager, KCT Data

conference

From left: Jolana Příhodová, Raiffeisenbank, Mrs. Iva Brabcová, and Eva Barabasová, Česká spořitelna, a.s.

From left: Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club, Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little and Prof. Jan Švejnar, M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University and CERGE-EI

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE From left: Martin Novák, CFO, ČEZ, Member of the CFO Club Council, Zdeněk Jandus, Managing Director, RBS, and Martin Herrmann, Council Member of the CFO Club, CEO, RWE East

From left: Michaela Kovářová, CFO, ICZ and Lucie Urválková, CFO, UNIQA pojišťovna

From left: Mikael Zakarian, CFO, Microsoft and Martin Tolar, SMS&P Lead, Microsoft

From left: Igor Zahrádka, CEO, B:TECH and Petr Pauřík, CFO, B:TECH Performance by opera soloist Helena Krausová

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From left: Dean Brabec, President, CFO Club, Managing Partner CEE, Arthur D. Little, Marcel Hominda, Principal, Arthur D. Little, and Jiří Polák, CEO, CACIO, Jiří Berger, expert in the field of cybernetics – IT, e-FRACTAL

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Josef Rokos tells us about Christmas at Aquarius Restaurant

There is a lot to be told about Czech traditions and even more when it comes to Czech Christmas dishes. Josef Rokos, F&B Manager at The Alchymist Luxury Group shared with us what culinary secrets are being prepared for the upcoming festive season.

For Czechs, dining is always a very important part of every feast and especially when it comes to Christmas. The gastronomic peak of the Christmas Eve has always been the festive dinner. Traditionally, the Christmas table was always full of products that people had grown themselves the previous year. There were always meals such as black kuba made from mushrooms, groats and garlic, also typical was cooked and dried fruit or lentils and peas. According to the tradition, eating legumes will secure the expansion of family

Aquarius Restaurant – Festive Menu Amuse Bouche ✷✷✷ Fresh sea bass carpaccio marinated in lemon sauce and oregano with small rocket and red tropes onion salad ✷✷✷ Zucchini cream with burrata and tempura shrimps ✷✷✷ Tortellini stuffed with pheasant meat in strong chicken broth with grana padano cheese ✷✷✷ John Dory fillet in almond crust served with traditional Czech potato salad ✷✷✷ Fresh lemon sorbet with drop of Campari ✷✷✷ Slowly baked duck breast with oranges, carrot purée and snap peas ✷✷✷ Chocolate mousse trio with mango and raspberry jelly The Ch Christma mass me menu nuu iss av avaailaabl blee at Aquarrius Restaurant nt for 1.950 CZK from m the 23 3rdd to 26 2 th of Deceember inc ncl.l. lunnch is open from 12–1 15 and diinner e fro rom m 19 1 –2 –23 hours.

wealth. Another symbol of Czech Christmas, and an indispensible part of the festive table, is the Christmas carp. The Czechs even believe that if they put a carp’s scale into their purses, they will have enough money for the following year. Most of households nowadays would serve as a Christmas dinner fish soup and fried Christmas carp served with potato salad.

At our Aquarius Restaurant, we are serving a slightly modified Christmas menu which brings to the old recipes a fresh and modern twist. Our Chef, Tomáš Sysel, is very creative in combining various ingredients and tastes, so the outcome is always a little gastronomic miracle and certainly an outstanding culinary experience.

Aquarius Restaurant Tržiště 19, Prague 1 www.alchymisthotels.com

From left: Olga Menzelová, Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine, and Jiří Menzel, renowned Film Director

best of event

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Vlastimil Harapes, famous Dancer, Marie Párová, Opera Singer, and Jindřich Sobota, Director, Chateau Lednice Janek Ledecký, Singer and Michaela Horká, Singer

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From left: Eliška Hašková Coolidge, renowned Etiquette Lecturer and prof. Eva Syková, Director, Institute for Experimental Medicine ASCR and Senator

From left: Eva Vašková, Founder, Project ŽENY s.r.o., Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine, and Karel Havlíček, Chairman of the Board, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Entrepreneurs

From left: Pavla Gomba, CEO, UNICEF ČR and Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine

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Pavel Kohout, Economist, Project Author, Nová ústava.cz and Chairman of the Board, Partners, Investment company at his photography exhibition named Konstrukce

Pavlína Senić, Opera Singer with her daughter Karolína Lili Úlehlová

From left: Ivan Vyskočil, Actor and Jaromír Janeček, Film Director

From left: Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine and Dana Smolková, Director, GOLDWELL CR

Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Petr Mach, Economist and Chairman, Party Svobodní and Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine

Michaela Lejsková, Editor in Chief, Best of magazine and Felix Slováček, Musician with his won in raffle – set of glasses designed by Osmany Laffita

From left: Petr Vágner, Actor and Miroslav Hejhal, Director, GANIMED

From left: Cyril Svoboda, Director, Diplomatic Academy, RNDr. Karel Oliva, Director, Institute for the Czech Language AS CR, and RNDr. Zdeněk Hostomský, Director, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR

@

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WWW.IBESTOF.CZ

Ing. Miloslav Křížek, Director, FUJIFILM and Sylva Lauerová, Writer

sports

THE EUROPEAN TOUR TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC Petr Dědek : Czech Golf Promoter nr. 1 Petr Dědek is a perfect example of a person who turns dreams into reality. Petr, a pragmatic developer and investor decided one day to enter a field of business where many others have failed miserably. He set his mind on organizing men’s golf tournaments of the highest European category. Just to be clear, these are not any recreational events but full-on tournaments for the top professional players; events where millions of Czech crowns circulate. Similarly to all of his big development projects, there was a vision at the beginning. To reach to the top, he takes small steps, one by one. In 2014 his company called RELMOST will be hosting three big European Golf Tournaments. Such pace is quite rare among the golf-promoting associations in Europe. The number one event will take place on the 21 to 24 August 2014 – the D + D Real Czech Masters. Finally, The European Tour Tournament is to return to the Czech Republic after three years. ‘’When the representatives and managers of the world’s front players found out we had three tournaments on schedule, they immediately expressed the desire to meet with us.’’ says Petr Dědek. This go-getter has earned himself a huge respect around Europe.

Besides the European Tour Tournament which will take place on the Albatross Course near Prague, RELMOST is organizing the third European challenge tour tournament in a row. This event will take place on the Kunětická Hora Course at the turn of May and June 2014, followed by the Slovakia challenge tournament on the Penati Course.

Photo: Archive Petr Dědek, Chairman of the Board , RELMOST, a.s.

66 Leaders Magazine V/2013

An Experienced Developer In the last thirteen years, Petr Dědek has managed to establish one of the most eminent development companies on the market – the D + D Real company based in Vrchlabi, Petr’s hometown. D + D Real is focused on a broad scale of multi-functional facilities and commercial and residential real estate, to be seen in the vicinity of Vrchlabí as well. Moreover, D + D Real are also engaged in the construction of manufacturing and warehouse spaces. On that note mainly the noticeable giant Škoda warehouse in the industrial zone of Mladá Boleslav is worth mentioning. The business activities of this forty-year-old started to

sports take a new shape last year – the shape of golf. The hobby became business. ‘’One Sunday afternoon, I was chatting with my son over a cup of coffee, discussing together which path to take next with our further activities.

That is where the idea of bringing the big golf tournaments back to the Czech Republic was born.’’

It all happened quite quickly. Under the auspices of RELMOST, the European Challenge Tour Tournament was held in the autumn of 2012.

The Prize money climbed up to 160 thousand Euros. There had only been a few months left for preparations, nevertheless, the event was a huge success and Dědek’s Relmost and its team were flooded with commendation. ‘’This tournament was one of the best ones we have had this year on the Challenge Tour’’ claimed Gary Butler, the European Challenge Tour representative. ‘’We have managed to attract a huge entry, the atmosphere was great’’ adds Petr Dědek. ‘’Without hesitation we booked the venue for the next year, although we aimed for a more convenient time period. Instead of mid-October we aimed to move everything to the beginning of June and finally succeeded. ‘’ The second D + D Real Czech Challenge Open took place not later than nine months after the first successful event. Organization, facilities and quality of the Course – these attributes earned an excellent reputation for the tournament and have helped to lure in better players for this year’s tournament. Brooks Koepka, an American leading the series, was surely the top seed of the tournament.

Though he did not win, Koepka dazzled by firing a new course record – 62 shots. Moreover there was a Hole-in-One on the 17th. The credit – and also a brand new car – went to the Italian named Ravano. The overall victory was attributed to the Frenchman Francois Calmels.

The European Tour in Czech for the next 5 years RELMOST proved to be a highly successful promoter and the door leading towards the European Tour was opened. ‘’Those two seasons at Kunětická Hora contributed significantly to the fact that the European Tour is being brought back to the Czech Republic. ‘’ stated Ben Cowen – the Head of the Tour’s international relations department – at a press conference in August of this year. At that time it had

David Trunda, Sports Director, RELMOST

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

From left: Pavel Poulíček, Speaker, David Trunda, Sports Director, RELMOST, a.s., Petr Dědek, Chairman of the Board, RELMOST, a.s., Ben Cowen, Director for International Relationships, European Tour, and Stanislav Lisner – General Manager Albatross Golf Resort at the press conference held at the occasion of D+D REAL CZECH MASTERS 2014 tournament presentation

already been confirmed that RELMOST licensed to host the European Tour for the next five years! ‘’This for us means reaching the objectives we set for ourselves when entering the golf environment. It is a huge honor and an immense commitment for us. At the same time we know we are able to guarantee the continuity to our existing and future partners. I want to start a tradition. D + D REAL Czech Masters will be an important gala and sports event, easily comparable with the Karlovy Vary film festival. The impact this event will have abroad reaches much further. For three days there will be a live TV broadcast in more than 130 countries worldwide! That brings a great publicity for the country as such.’’ explains Petr.

Public and Private Sponsorship There will be the budget of total of 75 million Czech crowns designated for the Tournament. It shall be contributed to by different private and public entities. ‘’We have been dealing with a number of local and supranational enterprises and associations connected with golf. Such activities definitely help put this country on the map. Due to its distance from the Albatross Golf Course, Prague will naturally become the heart of events. It is the beauty of our capital city that creates a great enticement for the players. This is also the reason why we cared to start a dialogue with Prague’s City Hall, the municipal authorities of the Central Bohemian Region and the headquarters of Czech Tourism – a key player when it comes to promoting this country abroad. ‘’ The Sports Director of the Tournament – an Optimist With a Tight Schedule The Tournament’s organizational team has its key soul – David Trunda, the sports director of RELMOST. A former hockey player, graduated from Palacký University in Olomouc, further studied in Sweden where he moved to pursue his promising career on ice. The Swedish language has become a second mother tongue for him and he is also fully fluent in English. This creates a clear advantage during the negotiations. You will hardly ever see him down or sad, David’s optimism and zeal are commonly known about. He is the head of trade, marketing and overall communication processes.

‘’When I was planning my meetings in Dubai where we travelled for the European Tour Finals, there was not a spare minute left in my diary. For example, we met the heads of IMG straight upon arrival at the airport. The company represents stars such as Luke Donald (world’s former number 1), Padraig Harrington (a double British Open winner and PGA winner) or Mateo Manassero. Francesco Molinari wanted to meet with us in person, and I could go on listing… I cannot confirm names yet; nevertheless I can assure you there is a high interest coming from the side of the players. ‘’ The RELMOST team has decided not to invest large sums in bringing in the top golf stars.

Instead they will put emphasis on catering the highest comfort and luxury. They will provide an overall service and backup for the players and their families. ‘’There will be a tournament taking place in Denmark a week before the D + D REAL Czech Masters. We are planning to establish a special airline route to transport the players from Copenhagen to Prague and to the next event afterwards. There will be an opening party prior to the event where we will introduce the top players to our partners. We are also planning to set up a tented village where families with children will be able to enjoy some quality time. It is the family itself where we aim to direct our focus. We want everyone to enjoy their time at Albatross. We are also planning to hold press conferences opened to public after each round, autograph signing, to open an amusement golf theme park for children and provide a special lounge area for ladies. Our vision is to welcome up to 20 thousand visitors over the course of four days of the event. ‘’ There will be 156 players participating in the tournament. Eight of these come from the Czech Republic. All of them must be members of the RELMOST ProGolfTeam. ‘’We are long distance runners. Our goal is to build a team that will receive a full service and support. More importantly we wish for the members of the team to earn the possibility to participate in similar tournaments worldwide. They are under the supervision of a brilliant former pro player – an Englishman David Carter. This is the way to go if we want to bring up competitive players’’ concludes David Trunda, the sports director of RELMOST.

Leaders Magazine V/2013 67

networking/charity

From left: Ing. Jiří Málek, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Petr Laštovka, Entrepreneur, and Ing. Antonín Novotný, CEO, CSI, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

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From left: Ing. Vladimír Páral, Writer, PhDr. Martin Komárek, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic, ANO party, JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, and Ing. Jiří Nejezchleb, Tax Advisor

From left: Ing. Pavel Barák, Economist and Ing. Jiří Opichal, Executive Head, Allimex Trading s.r.o. and former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Secretary LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic and Ing. Antonín Novotný, CEO, CSI, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Ing. Jiří Nejezchleb, Tax Advisor, and Ing. Vladimír Páral, Writer Guest speaker MUDr. Roman Joch, talking about “Europe and Islam“

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From left: Ing. Antonín Mika, Regional Director for Foreign Trade, Fra. Karel Paar – Prince Grand Prior of Order of Malta, and JUDr. Jan Kotous, Pedagogue, Faculty of Law, Charles University

From left: Miroslav Hříbal, Entrepreneur and Mgr. Kamil Košina, Executor

Guest of Honor: MUDr. Gabriela Pecková, TOP 09 Parliamentary Candidate Topic: Current political situation and the balance of political forces

networking/charity

From left: Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Secretary LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Ing. Antonín Novotný, CEO, CSI, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, guest speaker MUDr. Gabriela Pecková, TOP 09 Parliamentary Candidate, JUDr. PhDr. Oldřich Choděra, Lawyer, Charterpresident, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and former Governor, LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

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From left: Ing. Antonín Mika, Regional Director for Foreign Trade, Oldřich Hořák, Owner, Hotel Bílá Růže in Poděbrady, and PhDr. Ladislav Říha, Owner, CK RI-Tours and former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

PhDr. Ladislav Říha, Owner, CK RI-Tours and former President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Ing. František Chaloupecký, former President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

From left: Mgr. Jan Haur, IS Administrator and Ing. Petr Humpolík, President LC Praha Heraldic

From left: Ing. Jiří Nejezchleb, Tax Advisor, Ing. Antonín Mika, Regional Director for Foreign Trade, and Doc.MUDr. Martin Mates, CSc., Cardiologist

Guest speaker MUDr. Gabriela Pecková, TOP 09 Parliamentary Candidate

From left: Ing. Anton Gerák, CSc., Commercial Director, former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Secretary LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Ing. Antonín Novotný, CEO, CSI, President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, and guest speaker MUDr. Gabriela Pecková, TOP 09 Parliamentary Candidate

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events

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER WITH THE CZECH EMBASSY IN PARIS

Michèle Alliot–Marie, former French Minister of Defence, Interior, Justice, Foreign Affairs and of Youth and Sports and Benoît Chatard, husband of the Czech Ambassador

From left: Philippe Martin, French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy with H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France and Bernard Gendre, Deputy President of the General Council of the Gers Department on the right From right: H.E. Mr. Duong Chi Dung, Ambassador of Vietnam in France, H.E. Cristina G. Ortega, Ambassador of Philippines in France, H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France, and Philippe Martin and Philippe Martin, French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy

STATE RECEPTION 4 NOVEMBER TH

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Philippe Martin, French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy and H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France

Guests of the state reception

events

Philippe Martin, French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy and H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France with a folk band OLiNa z Hodonína From left: Karine Gloanec Maurin, Deputy President of the Regional Council Centre and H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher and Christian Poncelet, former President of the French Senate

From left: Ditmir Bushati, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania and H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France with her husband To the left Adrienne Gräfin von Korff-Schmising-Kerssenbrock

Benke Aikell, your Publisher in the middle with a charming family of H.E. Marie Chatardová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France

71 Guests arriving to the Czech embassy in Paris

events

From left: H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France, Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, Daniel Vaillant, Mayor of the 18th Arrondissement of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, Deputy Mayor of Paris, and Alain Maenen, Director, Václav Havel Library

Václav Havel Library building in Paris

V. HAVEL LIBRARY IN PARIS (7 NOVEMBER) B– RECEPTION RNO CITY THEATRE AT THE EMBASSY

From left: Christian Lechervy, Advisor of President F. Hollande for strategic issues and Asia, H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France, and Stanislav Moša, Director, Brno City Theatre

(6 NOVEMBER) AND “JACQUES AND HIS MASTER – A TRIBUTE TO DENIS DIDEROT”

BY MILAN KUNDERA PERFORMED BY BRNO CITY THEATRE (7 NOVEMBER)

Brno City Theatre ensemble and representatives of the City of Brno at the Embassy in Paris, 6 November 2013

Viktor Skála, Actor of Brno City Theatre and H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France

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“Jacques and His Master – A Tribute to Denis Diderot”

by Milan Kundera performed by the Brno City Theatre at Alliance française; Paris, November 7, 2013

“Jacques and His Master – A Tribute to Denis Diderot” by Milan Kundera Brno City Theatre at Alliance française ; Paris, November 7, 2013

events

H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France and guests of the ceremony

FIRST„WELCOMING BABIES INTO THE COMMUNITY“ CEREMONY AT THE CZECH EMBASSY IN PARIS, NOVEMBER 8

Composer Kryštof Mařatka and guests of the ceremony

Guests of the ceremony

PRYCHETSKÝ RESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT MR. PAVEL MEETING STUDENTS AT THE CZECH EMBASSY IN

PARIS COMMEMORATING THE 17 NOVEMBER 1989 EVENTS, NOVEMBER 15

President of the Czech Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetský discussing with participants of the meeting

Meeting of the President of the Czech Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetský with students; H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France in the middle

Meeting of the President of the Czech Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetský with students

President of the Czech Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetský and students of the Czech section of the Lycée Alphonse Daudet in Nîmes. To his right H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France and Janine Barbé, Director of the Lycée standing at the end of the row on the left

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events

RECEPTION FOR CZECH AND FRENCH

BUSINESSMEN ATTENDING THE MIDEST (INDUSTRIAL SUBCONTRACTING SHOW) TRADE FAIR AT THE CZECH EMBASSY IN PARIS, NOVEMBER 20

Reception for participants of the MIDEST trade fair, from the right Commercial Counsellor Karel Zděnovec and H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France

From left: Ivo Stachovec, Managing Director, Fimes company, Dagmar Kublová, Sales Manager, Česká Zbrojovka, H.E. Marie Chatardová, Czech Ambassador to France, Martin Hoza, Sales Manager, Česká Zbrojovka, and Robert Kaňovský, Head of Export Department , Fimes company

Reception for participants of the MIDEST trade fair

From left: Radovan Šabata, Mayor of Louny, Dagmar Zvěřinová, Mayor (and Member of the Senate) of Žďár nad Sázavou, H.E. Marie Chatardová, and Rudolf Salvetr, Mayor of Klatovy

MEETING OF MAYORS OF CZECH AND FRENCH PARTNER CITIES ORGANISED BY

From left: Jiří Burian, Mayor of Sedlčany, H.E. Marie Chatardová, and Claude Farrandon, President of the „Friends of Sedlčany“

From left: Dagmar Zvěřinová, Mayor (and Member of the Senate) of Žďár nad Sázavou and H.E. Marie Chatardová

THE CZECH EMBASSY IN PARIS, NOVEMBER 21

74 From left: Juraj Thoma, Mayor of České Budějovice, H.E. Marie Chatardová and Zuzana Thomová, wife of the Mayor of České Budějovice

From left: Vincent Seve, Mayor of Cairanne, H.E. Marie Chatardová, and Dagmar Zvěřinová, Mayor (and Member of the Senate) of Žďár nad Sázavou

analysis

THE NEW CIVIL CODE AND ACT

ON COMMERCIAL CORPORATIONS

The Czech legal system will obtain a new private law basis as at 1 January 2014 when the new Civic Code, denoted as 89/2012 Coll., is to replace the previous Civic Code stemming from as far as 1964. The former Code was updated and developed by many amendments and supplemented by more specialized acts and stipulations. Such structure became rather complicated and, in a way, struggled hard to reflect dynamic changes in both the society and economy that had occurred since the Velvet Revolution. The new Civic Code contains all the necessary parts and also incorporates gained social and business experience to create a reliable anchor of the Czech legal system.

It can hardly be required from this short article to cover all major changing parts in the scope of the new legislation; only main features can be dis-

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played here. The article specializes more or less in what concerns business in the Czech Republic. The reader should therefore consult more detailed texts that are available1.

The new Civil Code builds on stability of positive legal achievements in the past, with greater accent on preserving freedom of choice and legal security of contract parties. The bona fide principle and information duty between parties on substantial facts of the contract are the most prominent new factors of the regulation. Also unreasonable interruption of negotiation on a contract will no more be tolerated. The role of usual or published commercial terms is enhanced with due protection against “surprising clauses”. If an unexpectable and extreme change occurs in the circumstances of the contract the Code facilitates a new negotiation on the contract conditions. The new Code also brings more liberty in limitation periods of actions that can be newly contracted by parties unless there is major inequality between the parties.

Non-negligible changes come in the sphere of real estate as well. The internationally acknowledged principle of material publicity of the Land Register was fully introduced. This supports the position of an honest buyer in belief of the Register entries. On the other hand, this stipulation prompts the real estate owners to care for the correctness of the respective entries to prevent potential problems. Another new principle is the priority of the property of land before that of a building. Buildings and their legal status will henceforth subside to lands, but it may take a long time when the ownership of both unifies.

The Code at the same time guarantees stability of already existing legal facts. Such facts like contracts and their conditions concluded under the force of previous legislation will continue to be governed by that legislation. Also trade condi-

tions and proposals valid and effective in the moment of the conclusion of a contract will remain in force unless parties agree otherwise. Nothing prevents, however, the parties to agree that they subordinate their existing contract relations to the stipulations of the new Code.

The Civic Code contains general regulation of legal persons and corporations. As to more detail, it is complemented by the new Act No. 90/2012 Coll., on Commercial Companies and Cooperatives (on Commercial Corporations) effective also from the beginning of the next year, which offers, in comparison to the previous legislation, a broader choice of options concerning sorts of shares, management schemes, representation etc.

The new Act on Commercial Corporations2 replacing the existing Commercial Code defines jointly with the Civic Code more precisely the relation between prudent care of a proper manager of a corporation and inherent managerial risk. If the manager acts loyally, carefully and with the necessary knowledge, and in good faith reasonably assumes that it is in an informed and defensible business interest of a corporation, no legal sanctions can apply. Similarly, also the responsibility of influential persons (e.g. mother companies, creditors etc.) for a harm induced to a business corporation may result in a recovery of the harm unless the person proves that it acted in good faith and reasonably assuming that it was in a defensible interest of the influenced corporation.

The abolition of the current Civil Code and the Commercial Code and with them of a number of stipulations in more legal regulations, and their replacement by the new Civil Code and Act on Commercial Corporations is another step in adjusting the Czech commercial legislation to proven international practice. Only time will show whether it will execute its function without further corrections and amendments.

Emanuel Šíp ■ Partner, Allied Progress Consultants Association 1

provisional machine English translation of the new Civic Code can be found e.g. at http://www.czechlegislation. com/en/89-2012-sb while an authoritative translation may come even by the time this article is published. A specific assistance should be sought at prominent local legal offices.

2 provisional machine English translation in http://www. czechlegislation.com/en/90-2012-sb český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine IV/2013 75

analysis

Who and what is the International Institute for Advanced System Analysis?

IIASA was founded in 1972 and is based in Laxenburg, near Vienna. In order to see, and therefore better understand the reasons for its formation, as well as perceive its thematic development, we must go back nearly half a century.

‘European’ or ‘Europe’ appeared 11 times whereas ‘German or ‘Federal Republic of Germany’ were only mentioned twice.”

In the issue of Time of January 3, 1972, President Nixon is quoted as follows: “We must remember the only time in the history of the world that we have had any extended period of peace is when there has been a balance of power. It is when one nation becomes infinitely more powerful in relation to its potential competitor that the danger of war arises…. I think it will be a safer world and a better world if we have a strong, healthy United States, Europe, Soviet

1972 was a year that was rich in events that will be long remembered in history. For example, it was the year of the Olympic Games in Munich, with a tragic terrorist attack on Israeli athletes or, at home, the launching of the first Czech nuclear power plant in Jaslovské Bohunice. In fact, the foundation of IIASA was based on a longer term issue, which was a fundamental paradigm of last century, i.e. the division of the world into East and West.

In the January 1972 issue of Foreign Affairs, R.G. Livingston, former president of the postwar Marshall Plan, writes on this issue. After 17 months of complex negotiations between the Second World War victors responsible for Germany, both German states, the North Atlantic Alliance and the Warsaw Pact, the so called Berlin Agreement was signed. It was the first joint agreement signed between the East and West since 1955, when the Austrian State Treaty was signed. De jure, it was this step and subsequent treaties that finally ended the Second World War. Or if you prefer, in the jargon of the Cold War, it was a breakthrough moment in this subsequent war, foretelling a time of potential willingness to build bridges between the two camps.

German Chancellor, Willy Brant, who was long reluctant to recognise the German Democratic Republic (GDR), describes his meeting with American President Nixon as follows: “After President Nixon and I met at Key Biscayne, on December 28 and 29, 1971, a commentator pointed out that the joint statement issued on our talks seemed more like an American-European than an H.E Jan Koukal, former Czech Ambassador to American-German communiqué.

Austria and former Lord Mayor of Prague.

This, he felt, showed itself even Photo: Archive on the surface in that the terms

76 Leaders Magazine V/2013

Union, China, Japan, each balancing the other, not playing one against the other, an even balance.”

It’s clear that the foundation of IIASA was a wholly politically motivated step, where academia became the bridge between the East and the West. Representatives of the USA and the Soviet Union, together with 10 other countries founded the Institute in London in October 1972.

It was the culmination of years of effort begun by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexej Kosygin. This was a joint scientific research project designed to address global challenges

analysis

with which the world was confronted on an international scale. The process was actually started with a speech by American President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.

He said it was time that the scientists of the United States and the Soviet Union worked together on problems other than military and space matters, on problems that plagued all advanced societies, like energy, our oceans, the environment, health. And he called for a liaison between the scientists of East and West.

Who were the founding countries? Choosing countries in so-called Eastern Europe was not easy at the time and had major political implications. For us existing GDR, was not even recognised by the USA at the time. In Czechoslovakia, there was a battle for, let’s say, a more humane form of socialism. We know how that ended.

It was Jermen Gvishiani, the Deputy Minister of the Soviet State Committee on Science and Technology, who pushed for the participation of the GDR, which was the first serious conflict in negotiations. This effectively led to the international recognition of the GDR. A symbolic gesture was also the inclusion of so-called consolidated Czechoslovakia, following the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops. In the end, the agreement was signed in London by representatives of the USA, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and Britain on one side and representatives of the USSR, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria and Poland on the other. We were represented by the Chairman of the IIASA Government Committee, Dr. T. Vaško.

Finding a suitable location for the Institute was also difficult, and was eventually won by the generosity of our southern neighbour, and the Institute was based in Laxenburg near Vienna.

Laxenburg Castle was the summer residence of the Habsburg imperial family. The castle park is famous, as it was largely developed by Empress Maria Theresa and her grandson Emperor Franz I. The castle underwent major reconstruction for the purposes of the scientific institute in 1975.

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The main objectives of IIASA are clearly formulated in the Institute’s Charter and can be schematically formulated as follows.

IIASA uses advanced systems analysis to conduct policy-oriented research into the most pressing areas of global change – energy and climate change, food and water, poverty and equity – and their main drivers.

In the system architecture of research, these areas can then be divided into – Global Problem Areas – Drivers of Global Transformation – Advanced System Analysis Today, the scope of activity of this brain trust also includes doctoral and post-doctoral studies.

Thanks to its renown, which today mainly consists of quality scientific and educational activities, the IIASA is an expert partner for the governments of member countries. Its studies are presented at most conferences on issues with a global impact organised around the world. Its collaborators and research partners include a number of Nobel Prize winners, academics with political experience and many important thinkers of our time. It is probably no surprise that in Vienna, a partner designated as an ambassador of good will is the Vienna Philharmonic. Most countries are represented by national academies or government institutions.

Why am I presenting IIASA here today in the Czech Republic? There are currently 21 member countries and the new strategy for 2011 to 2020 has paved the way for negotiations with other countries. It’s somewhat symptomatic for development in former Soviet Bloc countries that many withdrew in the nineties and that, through experts and students, they are now slowly returning. For example, in the research section, Drivers of Global Transformation, these countries, us included, have unique experience. There is also another challenge here for the Czech Republic, not unlike us being the first former Soviet Bloc country to chair the EU. The Director of IIASA, newly appointed from February 2012, is Prof. Pavel Kabát, who comes from a family that left Czechoslovakia with the onset of totalitarianism. The opportunity to utilise the symbolic fulfilment of the original purpose of IIASA and re-enter the world of solving global challenges is clearly offered here. Let’s take advantage of this and do something for the name of our country. It’s true that negotiations with the Czech government are quite frequent, but unfortunately Czech partners change at almost the same pace. I would like to express the hope that this return to the worldrespected global studies centre will be ultimately successful and that it will be possible in Czech.

By Jan Koukal ■

Prof. Pavel Kabát…

As I begin my journey with IIASA, I hope to build on the excellent progress already made by the Institute’s talented and committed staff and partners; to strengthen IIASA’s transboundary collaborations in South East Asia, Central Asia, South America, and Africa; to extend our relationship to the Middle East; to build capacity in new disciplinary areas and within the next generation of young scientists, and to ensure that systems analysis is applied to deliver viable and practical options for policy makers globally.

Leaders Magazine V/2013 77

interview An Interview with Lutz Wächter, Managing Director of company Demag

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Photo: VladimĂ­r Weiss

interview As Managing Director of Demag Cranes & Components in the Czech Republic, Mr Wächter is in a truly multi-national manager. He is German yet speaks English in the office. He lives in Prague, and manages a substantial, American-owned company based in Slany, a medium-sized town a little outside Prague.

Mr Wächter shares with us some unique insights into his business, his multifaceted role, and some of the key ingredients that have driven both his personal, and his business success.

First, can you tell us a little about your company?

Our company, Demag, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of industrial cranes, crane components and material handling equipment. We recently became part of the American Terex group.

Our knowledge, experience and technological know-how is based on a company history that stretches back nearly 200 years. These things enable us to better understand our customers and truly fulfil their expectations. We offer a wide range of products in the field of cranes and material handling technology. We help our customers solve problems with the transport and handling of loads in their workplaces. We also strive to exceed their expectations in relation to internal material flow and inventory management.

Can you tell us more about any interesting projects you have been involved in recently?

We have recently implemented a number of major projects, but perhaps the most interesting was for Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o. in Žatec, part of the Caterpillar group. They are one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial combustion turbines.

The tender was for the delivery and commissioning of a range of lifting equipment. Several companies were involved in the tender but we won. This was due to our good reputation and many years of experience in the field. What was also critical was our ability to fully meet our customer’s needs by delivering everything they required – from the smallest equipment to the biggest – and all in a very short time. The project was implemented through the whole of 2012. We delivered and commissioned more than 40 items of lifting equipment. These ranged from hoists to pillar and wall jib cranes to large overhead cranes.

Another project that I would like to mention was for VW in Bratislava. Again, our extensive product portfolio, our automotive industry experience, and our strong reputation were key ingredients in ensuring we won the tender. We also offered the best value for money. We supplied VW with two process overhead cranes with a load capacity of 80t, one with rotary telescopic pliers for manipulating heavy machine tools and the other able to work in semiautomatic mode. In line with VW’s global “Think Blue” philosophy, we equipped both cranes with regenerative drives to recover electric power and connected them to a central integrated controller to ensure they operate at optimal efficiency.

It’s very difficult for our readers to imagine the entire process – from sending the offer to final

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commissioning – can you explain the process in more detail?

We begin by making sure we correctly establish our customer’s requirements, needs and real expectations. Each of our cranes is an individually made-to-measure product designed for specific technological processes. As a result, we individually design and manufacture each one. This also includes assembly, installation and commissioning.

After-sales service and warranty service are also integral parts of the process.

How has the GFC affected your business?

I would say that it isn’t any more difficult than it was few years ago. Of course it’s harder to get orders from customers and it takes longer than before.

However there is steady demand for our products irrespective of economic conditions.

Your company is celebrating an important anniversary – 50 years since the launch of KBK. What is KBK? KBK is an innovative component system of lightweight suspension cranes, monorails & jib cranes. In other words it‘s a very flexible network of overhead girder structures and hoists that allow workers on the factory floor to very easily lift, manipulate and move heavy items.

Each installation is modular and is designed to meet individual customer requirements.

Components can be easily combined and built into overhead cranes, wall and pillar jib cranes.

It’s simple to integrate KBK equipment into the production infrastructure and it is easy to adjust.

One major advantage of KBK is that it uses the space under the ceiling of the hall. This keeps valuable floor area free for production. Another benefit of KBK is its low weight, which also allows for easy and quick assembly or disassembly.

These days efficiency is critical to success. How does KBK improve the employee effectiveness?

The KBK system makes physical work easier and reduces employee absence, illness and injuries. For example, hanging tools reduce stress on workers’ backs and greatly reduce occupational illness. Work with KBK is easier and more accurate. We design our products to satisfy not only the employer, but also their employees.

And on a personal note, how long have you been working in the Czech Republic and how long for Demag?

I joined Demag in June 2008 as Managing Director and since that time I have been based in Slany. I was initially responsible for the manufacturing of process cranes, finance and HR. Later, my role expanded, and I took on responsibility for both sales and service.

Can you tell us something more about your working career?

In my career I have worked for several groups.

I have focused on roles specialising in both reorganisation and business development and as CEO. Years ago I owned a company which handled stainless steel for filtration systems and food plants.

How do you find life in the Czech Republic?

The Czech Republic is a wonderful country with different dimensions; industry, countryside, culture and history. It is this mixture that makes it especially interesting, That’s one of the reasons you find so many tourists in Prague and other beautiful towns and cities.

I personally love Prague. It has an amazing flair, a lot of different communities and always I get the feeling that we, as foreigners, are welcome.

What would you praise and what would you criticize about the Czech Republic?

This is a simple question but the answer is much more difficult. I would praise the fact that most people are open-minded, that they are multicultural and open to different languages. On the negative side I see a lot of bureaucracy and that some things happen really slowly. A good example is road building, I believe everybody knows what I mean.

Is there a big difference between Czech Republic and Germany?

Certainly, I see some differences. But anybody who wants to live in a foreign country has to adapt and accept that the mentality and behaviour is different. We, as foreigners, have to recognize that we are guests in the Czech Republic. We have to accept it as it is. Of course we can try to influence our business environment but we can’t really influence the culture and mentality and nor should we try.

What do you do in your spare time?

My hobby is running. It’s more than a hobby, it’s a passion. I go running four or five times a week. Twice a year I run a marathon. At the end of September I ran in the Berlin Marathon and In January 2014 I’m running on the Disney Marathon in Florida.

What’s your favourite place in the Czech Republic?

Definitely Prague. This is the most amazing and interesting city I have ever seen. It takes a while to find all the nicest places, restaurants, clubs and of course running trails, but after more than five years I know a lot and I’m well-connected. From my point of view building up a network is the most important thing. Without a good network it’s hard to enjoy a city like Prague, and of course a good network can open the door to new business opportunities.

Prepared by LM ■

Leaders Magazine V/2013 79

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From left: Martin Drábek, President, Association of Forwarding and Logistics, Václav Štefl, Fleet Manager, Domanský, and Miroslav Rumler Senior, RELIANT GROUP

events

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INTERNATIONAL LOGISTIC CONFERENCE SPEEDCHAIN IN BŘEVNOVSKÝ KLÁŠTER

Reliant Group rallied top leaders from logistics and transport again!

On November 13th and 14th, the annual logistic conference SpeedCHAIN, the top logistics event of the year in the Czech Republic, organized by Reliant Group, took place at the historical site of Břevnovský klášter in Prague. The eighth year of SpeedCHAIN was organized under the motto „Logistics – catalyst for change.“ The first day filled with professionally focused presentations and case studies intended mainly for top managers of logistic service providers, suppliers of technologies, consultants, representatives of public authorities, academic institutions and broad logistics community was followed by a gala evening where the GRYF 2013 Supply Chain Award to the logistic personality of the year was handed over.

Reliant group, the organizer of the event, celebrated their 20 years of professional consulting and training in international logistics in the evening full of delicious food, great drinks, live music and competitions for their over 600 partners and guests.

The second day of SpeedCHAIN continued by visit of modern VPS Logistics site in Zdice. VPS Logistics showed it is important logistic operator in automotive industry for such brands as Mercedes, VW, Fiat, Ford and others.

Martin Pichl – Head of Galileo Department, Ministry of Transport

From left: Lucie Padevětová, SpeedCHAIN Conference Manager, Reliant Group, Pavel Lamacz, Member of Board, ČD Cargo, and Rudolf Rabas, Business Manager, ČD Cargo

82 From left: Pavel Petkov, Reliant Group, Goran Tačevski, Ferretti Group, Marta Gellová – Chairperson, €FPA, and Jiří Musil – Member of Board, Allowance Group

From left: Jiří Tuvora, Owner, MODEST, Miroslav Wöllner, CEO, Menert, Jaroslav Petik, CFO, Menert, Pavel Petkov, Reliant Group, and Monika Riedlová, Owner, AirBay

events

Bohumil Průša, Managing Director, Hafen Hamburg Marketing Praha

From right: Michal Bílý, Business Director, GS1 Czech Republic, David Holman, VŠE – Prague School of Economics, František Kyncl, President, Czech Logistics Association, and Václav Cempírek, Professor, University of Pardubice

From left: Václav Živec, Association of Chemical Industry of the Czech Republic, Aneta Szrerer-Piernicka, Marketing Director, Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority, and Ryszard Warzocha, President of Board, Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority

From left: Jitka Kocyanová, Corporate Business Manager, Czech Railways, Lada Hlaváčková, Head of Marketing and Communication Department, DPP Prague, and Karel Laube, Commercial Director, SSI Schäfer Czech Republic

Marek Holešovský, Sales Manager Eastern Europe, Honeywell From left: Jiří Vybíhal, CEO JIPOCAR Logistic, Martin Šumera, Head of Industrial Agency, Simona Černá, Leasing Manager IMORENT Group, and Martin Polák, Vice President, Market Officer Czech Republic & Slovakia at Prologis Czech Republic

From left: Tomáš Krejčíř, Moderátor, Miroslav Rumler Senior and Miroslav Rumler Junior, Partners, Reliant Group

@

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

Don Taylor – Professor, Virginia Technical University, USA

83 From left: Milan Ludvik, CEO ZETES Solutions and Jakub Železný, Moderator Logistic HYDEPARK

events

From left: Martina Korbelová, Project Manager, Prague Congress Company, Michaela Bruková, Editor of Logistic News, Reliant Group, and hostesses

From left: Martin Drábek, President, Association of Forwarding and Logistics and Miroslav Rumler Senior – Reliant Group

From left: Tomáš Krejčíř, Moderator, Lucie Padevětová, SpeedCHAIN Conference Manager, Reliant Group, Martin Špryňar, Secretary General, ČESMAD Bohemia, and Miroslav Auzký – Owner, D&COMM

Congress Hall at Břevnovský Klášter during V.I.P. Logistic Rendezvous Martin Tlapa, Deputy State Secretary, Czech Government

Heike Clausen, President,International Tank Container Organisation (ITCO)

Goran Tačevski, Ferretti Group

84 From left: Jana Stoklásková, Dekra, Ladislav Špaček, Association of Chemical Industry of the Czech Republic, and Jan Sixta, Regional Authority of the Ústí Region

Marek Vinš, Owner, VPS Logistics

Dasha, Czech Singer during her performing

analysis

A FRESH LOOK AT AN OLD DILEMMA GENDER INTEGRATION IS ABOUT COMPLEMENTARITY I might sound like a broken record, so bear with me and hear me out. If you have been reading current trends as they relate to the new world economic order, workforce issues continue to come up as one of the top three main topics keeping you “awake”. Finding, retaining and promoting talent that will help your company grow and commit to win more market share is an essential part of your day to day reality.

What I continue to observe, through the work I am doing, is the amount of efforts in time and money applied to gender issue and the lack of real bottom line traction and results these efforts yield. Yet companies are hesitant to take a look at why their efforts are not working and continue to entrench their activities and resources to models and strategies that will not work because they do not address the root cause of the problem.

What is most interesting and most significant is the gap of understanding at a strategic level, what is gender integration, and the impact gender balance (complementarity) has on business performance.

This blind spot is keeping us busy!

One of the reasons I wrote my book, Can You Afford to Ignore Me, how to manage gender and culture at work, is precisely to give you the tools and insights that will help you invest your time, money and efforts in programs and initiatives that will yield the result you need. Many companies still require both Millennia’s and women to adapt to cultural and social norms that are quite defined as male oriented cultures with traits such as a high degree of competitiveness, hierarchical tendencies and emphasis on maximizing individual performanceI tell you – you follow. Coexistence of female AND male attributes is not the norm.

May I suggest a path towards solving, yes, solving this gender dilemma?

First seek for and engage experts who can explain and offer you strategic ideas on how to promote gender integration.

Next offer targeted programs to your directors and managers on this topic they will thank you for making their lives easier.

Let me share just two pieces of data with you: Qualities affecting team performance peak when there is a 50–50 gender balance, including “psychological safety” “experimentation” and “efficiency”. Self-confidence peaked when females had a slight 60–40 advantage. (London Business School 2007) The IQ of individuals in a group is not as important as how gender-diverse it is. Bringing women into the group causes the collective intelligence to rise. (The Female Factor-HBR) What my work shows is that when we reframe your strategy and create a dialogue around how women and men can complement each other and exploit their complementarity, both men and women behave and perform better and companies win in revenues, innovation and overall performance.

Can you afford to ignore that?

By Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy, President Rodriguez and Associates LLC ■

Leaders Magazine V/2013 85

ambassadors without diplomatic passport

Vladimíra Glatzová Glatzová & Co. Vladimíra Glatzová is one of the founding partners of the Glatzová & Co law firm. In 2010, her firm was evaluated as being the top firm, according to Who’s Who Legal. In 2009, 2011 and 2012 it was evaluated as being the best Czech law firm, according to Chambers Europe.

Even though her company employs more than 60, as well as a branch office in Slovakia, Glatzová considers herself first a lawyer, rather than a manager. Regardless of these facts, managerial work is never postponed or considered a secondary matter.

She values the team spirit of her coworkers (introducing the tradition of common lunches), so her colleagues characterize her as a very humane person, along with strict, decisive and demanding.

Within the Czech legal environment, Glatzová is an exceptional woman. Her clients are not her rivals, the lecturing Photo: Archive style of some lawyers is unknown to her and she has a great respect for them.

She earned her reputation thanks to a profound knowledge of the legal system, her delicate approach towards client business issues and a positive attitude in solving legal issues.

She studied law at the Law Faculty of the Charles University and at the London University; then studying corporate finance at the London School of Economics. With two children, she experienced a turnover in her career at age 30, deciding to experience the unknown and move to London for an internship at the Freshfields multinational law firm. Her original three-month internship turned into a two-year stay, during which she gained a great deal of experience. Apart from London, she has also worked in Frankfurt and Paris. A day after her return from Paris, on 1st April, 1994 she opened her own law firm with one very clear vision: to provide clients with legal services of international quality, comparable to the foreign firms where she gained the tools. Her 20 years of success in the Czech legal market and the reputation of her firm inside and outside the country, along with being on top in the Czech Republic, indicate that her decision was no April Fool’s joke.

Vladimíra is demanding of herself and towards others as well. Everything she does, she does fully. In her leisure time she manages to dedicate herself to horseback riding, marathon running and, despite her altitude sickness and several unsuccessful attempts, she managed to climb Gokyo Peak in the Himalayas. She also embarked on a one-month tour to Santiago de Compostela, where she walked almost a thousand kilometers, alone and with only a backpack. Still, she finds time to play in the theatre.

A first traditional question – how do you perceive the contemporary world?

I see the present world definitely more positively than negatively. I do not fancy laments about where the world is heading. The world is constantly changing rather fast these days. Yet the fundamental things remain the same. The elderly do not like the lifestyle of the young, because it is different and, from all that, they conclude that the world is

86 Leaders Magazine V/2013

heading for the worse. That’s been the unfortunate truth throughout the history of the world. To me, the young seem no worse than what we used to be.

They possess the same purity and honesty and are careless and full of hope and trust, just as any other young generation. Compared to us, in my opinion, they are more diligent and certainly more motivated than the youth during our totalitarian regime, when they could succeed only by protecting or cooperat-

ing with that regime. The current young generation has the courage to aim higher than these subjugated generations, who were led to mediocrity and where no one stood out.

What do I perceive negatively? I do not like that the world is hasty, that people read less, give less time to their families and spend more in front of the television and on their computer. People are obsessed with surfing the net for a kind of pointless search of information. I shudder at the thought of our fast-growing population and the madmen in power, who have nuclear weapons at their disposal.

Thanks to globalization, from an economic aspect, the world is becoming more complicated.

We are trying to take advantage and in all spheres benefit from size, but what is sizable is also cumbersome, confusing and poorly controlled. I experienced the growth of many clients, for whom I began working 10 years ago, when their businesses were still small, private and flexible. It was a pleasure to work with them back then; everything went lightly, easily and with no waiting for the “board” to make a decision the second Monday of the month. As these companies grew larger, they introduced new rules.

More and more people had to be copied in the mail, internal intrigues and communication noise appeared, with new and newer announcements.

Today we write reports on things no one knows, for instance, how much we may charge someone in the next quarter of the year for legal services.

However, this doesn’t only apply to companies, the European Union strives for a united and largescale economy. Even there, we emphasize issues that root from clumsiness, bureaucracy and the inability to control reasonably and effectively. For Western Civilization, the greatest pitfalls are high expectations. In the past, mankind was humbler, more prepared for disaster, famine, poverty, wars and plague. Today, Europe is spoiled and complains about how the crisis hit it. In Greece, bombs are being thrown as a sign of protest against the cuts and savings and nobody realizes that, despite this crisis, we still live in prosperity. However, no one will explain to the masses that not having two cars in the family is okay, that 20 years ago even one car was a luxury and yet people survived with just that.

To let yourself become spoiled is incredibly easy.

Each generation takes for granted the environment in which it grew up. The stories of our parents living modestly are simply an embarrassing and trite cliché.

We live above our means and spend more than we earn. When my parents bought me my first car from their savings, my grandfather crossed himself: “You are not supposed to touch your savings in the bank!,” he said Today, it’s natural to live in debt.

The savings accounts offered are so tempting and suggestive! Who could persuade people that living in debt is a route to hell, since advertisements all around us claim just the opposite? Even whole

ambassadors without diplomatic passport states are in debt. In the world there is such a high accumulation of debt that, in reality, the option to pay them doesn’t exist anymore. And no one counts on that.

It’s a paradox that rich countries are in debt, and practically everyone owes everyone. When there is a financial deficit, more money is released into circulation, which supports the economy but provokes inflation. We are accustomed to the security we have and governments are trying to preserve it by all possible means. Even though it is humane and important in order to obtain votes, it’s not promoting responsibility, which is what we need in order to recuperate from the crisis. In this relation, many sin consciously and then others pay for that. The richer we get, the fewer children we have and yet we want to have pension security. How? It is not known.

Despite all this, it seems to me that the world is evolving. We have never been better, life used to be harder and full of wars. Of course, we Europeans see the world from a European perspective and judge according to the views of the western world.

Few in their assessment of the world take into account what is happening in Asia. For instance that, in China over the last twenty years the number of university students has quadrupled; that the Internet allows access to information, of which twenty years ago the Asians could only dream. Asia is moving, there are a lot of talented young people who are prepared to work hard and do not expect any guarantees of prosperity. How will this reflect on Europe, we still don’t know. So far, the vast majority of the world’s wealth is in the hands of the Western countries. When Asia achieves wealth, it will stop being a source of cheap labor. On the other hand, this will greatly increase the market, which should have a positive overall effect for everybody. But what exactly does this imply for the West--we do not know – will it have a smaller share of a larger pie? And, if so, how big will it be?

The number of people who suffer from famine is decreasing. We live longer, are more educated, are learning to solve conflicts other than with wars. The world made enormous progress over the past 100 years regarding the protection of human rights, minority rights, equality of races and the emancipation of women. Over the past 20 years our responsibility towards the environment increased. People are more eager to help. Currently, for the first time in history, a movement among the richest men is being born, as men are more ready to give up part of their property to charity.

The essential good news, that concerns our part of the world, is that all the developed countries are democratic. That has its negatives, but it is democracy and today’s teenagers have no idea what totalitarian regimes looked like.

I would summarize all this by saying everything is getting better in our world.

You are a legal advisor to entrepreneurs in the field of solar energy who decided to oppose the bill on supported energy sources. Is it difficult to fight against your country, or is this just a case, like any other?

It is a sad affair for me, as if I was scoring an own goal. On the other hand, I do not believe that because of this I should not represent the investors.

If I am convinced that the state had violated international treaties and constitutional principles, I will fearlessly fight for the rights of the victims.

Are your clients mostly Czech or international companies?

It is difficult to distinguish them today. Most of the Czech company owners are foreign, so the number of pure Czech clients is considerably lower. Many of our clients are foreign investors, whom we advise on the acquisition or sale of their businesses in the Czech Republic, while resolving various problems related to investment, such as financing or restructuring and we deal with relationships with other shareholders or various other disputes. In the past few years, we are focused more and more on the Czech market. We advise Czech companies, whether they are owned by domestic or foreign investors, on dealing with their everyday legal issues.

We outline contracts for them, advise on labor law, competition in the market and lead disputes or communal agendas.

You successfully compete with large reputable international legal firms. In the Czech Republic there is a long-lasting tendency to assume that everything foreign is automatically better. How did you manage to reverse this stereotype?

With twenty years of hard honest work and by searching for the right people and a relentless selection of who should be part of the team, as well as who does not belong here. People from the business spheres often say that they never heard anything negative about our firm. This is exactly what I always wanted. The quality must be balanced. Some firms employ very competent and also not so remarkable lawyers who are being assigned different cases, depending on the importance of the client, meaning that the more important ones get the high-caliber lawyers. I do not like this approach, because a firm must be coherent and the work – exceptional. This is the only way to stand out and maintain a privileged place in the market.

Do you believe in coincidences, or external influences on a career?

To a certain extent, yes. He who has the poise, will not drown and he who carries the marshal’s baton in his pack will probably pull it out. Certainly there are a lot of coincidences that drive people in diverse directions, but not all of us have the ability to take advantage of them. It is said that fortune favors the

prepared and so it is, indeed. I see talent in the ability to take this advantage, to be in the right place at the right time and recognize an opportunity. Those who complain they never got it, probably just did not recognize it. Or perhaps they did not have the courage and strength to utilize it.

You have been identified as the third most influential woman in Czech business. How does this influence manifest itself in practice and how do you actively apply it?

I have a lot of opportunities to publicly express my opinion concerning certain questions and I do respect that. I am pleased when I can inspire someone, if only to a simple change in perspective, just as I am inspired by the numerous articles I read. However, I do not consider myself an influential person.

This evaluation is more a reflection of the practice than vice versa. It is certainly not the case that, because of this evaluation, I gained an advantage while doing my work or in obtaining new clients. The question could therefore rather be why I obtained this appreciation. The answer would then be that it is mainly due to the firm I founded, but which is far from being only my doing. We are 5 partners and 30 lawyers and many others who contribute their efforts to the firm, their enthusiasm and a piece of themselves.

During your work in foreign countries, your husband did not accompany you and you left with only your sons. According to your experience, is a dual-careered marriage possible?

Certainly, yes. The single-career marriage is simpler though. It is valuable to be a married man with a loving wife who has enough time to care for the children, her husband and the fireside. On the other hand, such relationships often face problems due to an imbalance in the social importance of the partners. When a woman manages to organize her life in a way that she has enough time for her children, while a third person is taking care of the household, she can then dedicate herself to her career, be a good mother and an equal partner to her husband. It requires good organizational skills and a great amount of energy, if one strives to have the strength and mood for children after work.

Translated by Beatrice Sevdalovova, Anglo-American University ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Linda Štucbartová graduated from the Institute of International Territorial Studies. After a one year scholarship at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, she obtained a Diplome d’études supérieures from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Between the years 2002 and 2006, she worked in senior positions at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2006 she has functioned in the private sphere, and lectures at the Anglo-American University, where she was named the Chair of the Department of Diplomacy.

In addition to training in negotiation and communication of clients from the private, public and non-profit sector, she regularly collaborates with Photo: Archive NGOs in the projects of the International Global Young Leaders Conference and the Women and Leadership Programme. Linda Štucbartová is a member of the Rotary Club Prague International. She currently works as HR Director at Centra a.s.

Articles are extracts from her book Velvyslanci i bez diplomatického pasu (Eng. “Ambassadors without a Diplomatic Passport”).

TO BE CONTINUED WITH OTHER AMBASSADORS WITHOUT DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT

Leaders Magazine V/2013 87

ambassadors without diplomatic passport

Pavel Telička I first met Pavel Telička at the Faculty of Social Sciences, when he came to a discussion with the students, in which he also mentioned a diplomatic career being one of the opportunities for them. I also remember him from his time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where I worked at that time as well. When working in the government, it is quite difficult to motivate people and create attractive working conditions for them, yet the negotiating Brussels team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he directed was indeed the “cr`eme de la creme”.

Pavel Telička graduated from the Law Faculty of the Charles University and, in 1989, joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the beginning, he devoted himself to international public law, followed by private international law and then to issues related to the problems of European Photo: Archive Communities. From 1991, he handled the Permanent Mission of Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic in Brussels and, in 1995, became director of the department of the European Communities.

Since 1998 he has been the chief negotiator with the European Union and, a year later, he became first Deputy Minister and State Secretary for European Affairs.

In 2004, he became the first Czech EU Commissioner and, together with David Byrne, was in charge of health and consumer policy. After the government crisis in 2004 he terminated his work for the European Commission, because the government canceled the originally approved mandate for the Barroso Commission. Near the end of 2004 he helped establish the BXL Consulting company, which specializes in strategic consulting in European affairs.

In 2003, Telička was awarded a commemorative medal by Vaclav Havel for his contribution to the integration of the Czech Republic into the European Union and, in the same year, also received the commemorative medal of King George for the propagation of peace, security and development of mutual understanding between European nations.

He described his experiences in the negotiation process and preparations for the EU accession of Czech Republic in a book entitled “How we entered”, issued by the journalist Karel Bartak.

Pavel Telička participated in a charity project called “Signed by heart”, which can be classified among the prestigious projects at a European level due to its range. Among the donors are European personages from politics, artists and prominent figures.

First question – how do you perceive the current European Union?

This is a difficult question to begin with, as just the answer to it could be issued in an extensive separate publication. If I have to be brief, I would say that I perceive the present European Union with mixed feelings.

It still remains to me a successful integration grouping, which still has a huge disproportion – if I am to use a cliché – between the benefits on the one hand and the disadvantages and costs, claims or problems on the other.

For me, this regards the disproportion that is unequivocally prevailing in favor of the positive aspects.

This grouping brought us huge advantages – we naturally perceive peace as a matter of course, although history and the current situations elsewhere indicate that peace is not so natural after all. Other benefits are customs union, internal markets, economic and monetary union, policies that blur the differences between various regions, policies that provide personal

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and corporate freedom and consumer rights. Many countries would like to follow this set of achievements. In Europe, the integration steps mentioned are perceived as something natural. We would like the European Union to respond to current challenges, set real priorities and objectives, settle the issues around us – arising, for example, as a result of economic recession or inadequate solutions to “immature” problems. We would like to see how it is able to evolve, what is its strategy and what would be offered to EU citizens, whether it is able to fulfill the future visions, how it anticipates problems and how they are then settled. At this point my feelings begin to muddle. If I was to compare the EU to a machine, although I think that it is not just a machine, because it has more than parts and mechanics, it would be a machine that reduced speed, hesitates and cannot endure in all weather conditions. From the EU citizens’ perspective, who expects a lot from the EU, his ambitions remain yet unfulfilled.

What kind of reputation does the Czech Republic currently have in the European Union?

I do not like to repeat myself, but again the answer has to do with somewhat of a mixed reputation. I personally devoted twenty years of my life to the EU, therefore I am truly sorry to see that the potential of Czech Republic in the EU not yet met. This is partly due to our long-term and often ideologically tinged attitude towards the EU, which was based on the perception that there is no alternative to membership and thus this attitude turned towards superficiality and ignorance.

Such a position could not predispose us to gain knowledge about the Union or grow closer to its citizens, as we were not even ambitious enough to be more active and influential.

According to the statements of Czech leading representatives, we were supposed to dissolve like a sugar cube in a cup of coffee and, if it did not come to this proverbial dissolution, it was generally assumed that after all, we would not have much of an impact. Many of our politicians did not feel comfortable in the EU and, perhaps, we all suspect why. This approach fundamentally affected our preparations for membership, as well as our ability to anticipate further development and the potential efforts to bring our own ideas into discussion.

Our ignorance, our shallowness and especially our attitude towards the EU as something hardly wanted, or as seen through the lens of our politicians, as something unwanted, led to the fact that we gave up our efforts to be influential, because we a priori assumed that we cannot. From this attitude is rooted the cause of unfulfilled potential and, therefore, this is the reason the Czech Republic provokes mixed feelings in the EU. We fail to come up with interesting ideas, we don’t have the ambition to seek solutions, we are less knowledgeable about various issues and much more passive than other countries.

This is why nobody relies on the Czech Republic and this is why the country does not belong to the core countries that influence events in the EU. The Czech presidency in the European council had the opportunity to prove that we have certain abilities and mastered certain mechanisms in order to function. An opportunity to create positions arose, positions from which we would have benefited later. Instead of taking advantage of this unique opportunity, our country overthrew the government…

In addition, a lot of criticism was addressed towards the EU by the Czech Republic, without any further constructive attitude. It would be ideal if we had the ability to anticipate future developments, and thus constructively influence events. We constantly criticize the bureaucracy in Brussels but, unlike European institutions, do little to reduce the administrative burden for businesses. Key issues in our domestic policy are being reduced to a debate about whether, on an EU level, we would solve more problems or whether the Commission would have more competencies. We don’t think about whether this is the only or most effective way to reach a solution.

Activity and proactivity are the keys I see here. Problems on an EU level exist and more will come, but it depends on whether the Czech Republic will be at the helm or not. We ourselves are responsible for the mixed perception the EU has about the Czech Republic, because we often marginalize, deviate and are not part of the core.

ambassadors without diplomatic passport With some exceptions, we had no representation in key positions of EU institutions, we were not invited to special key meetings, such as the inner circle of ambassadors in the COREPER, where there is a group of ambassadors who meet frequently. Just to explain – in COREPER we are of course being represented, nonetheless not in the narrower circles.

Our politicians did not consider how to target our policy toward the use of the European funds properly, but only how to fill the party’s coffers and their own pockets. The opposite would be rather an exception.

The effect of the lobbyists is shrouded in mystery.

The Brussels concept of lobbying is completely different from the Czech one, though. This practice is based on the strict regulation of lobbyists in Brussels and the fact that, in Brussels, lobbyists are relied on as a legitimate part of the legislative process. Could you describe your work specifically?

To begin with, I will defend the lobbyist designation.

The first reason is the fact that, in practice, we are focused primarily on strategic consulting. The second reason is the fact that we want to be associated with only the Czech environment, because we do not identify with the Czech concept of lobbying. We operate on the European market, but did not operate at all in the Czech Republic for a long time because, there, lobbying was a synonym of the application of various client bindings. We declined several orders in the Czech Republic. Finally, we began working for our long-term established clients here, but it is still only in a small percentage of cases.

How does strategic consulting look in practice?

Seventy percent of our focus is on the territory of the European Union, but we are beginning to focus on territories outside the EU as well. We present our services as a complex product. For some clients with whom we have a long-term cooperation, for example in the field of energy, we process an overall agenda of the EU energy policy. In our work, we focus on how existing EU policy effects a particular company, as well as also anticipate the development of a particular EU policy and its direction, in order to analyze the possible future impact on the company. We are looking for ways to maximize benefits and reduce potential threats.

Part of our job is to influence specific aspects of policy at a certain stage of development and find arguments for understanding the interests of our clients by the EU. It certainly is not in the interest of the EU itself to approve a policy that will be excessive, in the sense that it will bring a small advantage or will even restrict the operation of individual subjects. In addition to working in the sphere of counseling, I am a member of the Stoiber Group for reducing administrative burdens and I see that, in some cases, administrative burden itself can be a considerable issue. Each standard is inevitably accompanied by an administrative burden, some are necessary, but in some cases it is superfluous and needs to be faced. The fact that I have an insight into the emerging legislation, allows our company to better perceive the direction the new standards will take.

On the other hand, we have clients who are not interested in such a complex product, but they are concerned with resolving specific cases – for example, in the field of competition. Another area is represented by grants from various programs. Normally, do not deal with grants, but a strategic partner expressed an

interest to draw from one of the funds, and asked half the amount that could have been achieved. The argument arose from concerns from the fact that the project also involved other applicants. Thanks to the quality of the project, success was achieved and a maximum amount was attained.

What is the reputation of Czech firms in Brussels?

Can they effectively assert their interests?

Some of them. Generally, Czech companies are not well known and this fact itself is a disadvantage.

If a dispute occurs between a major company that the EU already knows, which has its representation in Brussels and the EU already dealt with it (whether it is the German Siemens or American Microsoft on the one hand or a newly formed type of energy holding subject on the other), then the obscurity itself can be a disadvantage. Czech firms start their concern with the agenda of the EU in cases of already occurring problems, when it comes to adopting new legislation or when they are in a dispute with a particular company. But it is too late.

The bigger players should work more conceptually with the EU. I would give CEZ as an example, which has offices in Brussels and, if necessary, hires outside advisors. It is important to be present in Brussels, get to know the European institutions better, understand their laws and future direction and become known. Another poor representation of Czech companies is the fact that they often reflect the behavior of our politicians.

It is a pompous and egocentric behavior – their leaders probably do not realize that there are thousands of companies of similar type in the EU. The general rule for the Central and Eastern European companies is that it is necessary that they act with humility, but at the same time they must be able to “treat” their own interests.

I will use this example: if you see a wave coming, it would be foolish to try to destroy it with a breakwater, instead, you should learn how to surf and ride the wave.

It should be noted that many companies have built up a good reputation and these companies are then the proof that it is worth investing in reputation building.

You lived in Brussels for a very long time. Do you consider yourself a Czech or a European?

I feel like a Czech, although as a negotiator, State Secretary for the EU or EU commissioner, many people expect something else. I still think that a person has a certain identity. I perceive the European interests, the European identity, I am a European, but I also see in myself the Czech, that will remain there forever. If the

EU was to build a football or rugby team, I would wear a Czech jersey and I would be cheering the Czechs. In each of my positions, I was stressing the fact that I am wearing a Czech jersey (except when I was a Commissioner, where we had to show independence). I feel a certain compatibility between Czechness and Europeanism; they are not two worlds going against each other.

You were known as a tough negotiator. However, during our conversations I realized that the supposed toughness was caused by your precise preparation. How would you characterize yourself as a negotiator?

I did not know that I have this reputation, especially because some politicians argued that at times Poles, at times Hungarians negotiated harder and more.

I think that the toughness of the negotiator is only one feature or tool and, if used incorrectly, it can be a considerable disadvantage. There are situations when you face a stronger opponent and the EU was stronger, more experienced, with a huge machinery, ready to expand, but did not crave for it, we were the ones who wanted in.

The tactics was thus to become tougher, but proceed with caution, tactically not to sacrifice important things for marginal, be able to set priorities and arguments in order to succeed. It is important to have a quality analysis, know the facts and numbers and be aware of the counterparty’s weaknesses. When negotiating with someone stronger, toughness may not always pay off.

Rather, balance and intelligence are more useful.

With the YES movement you return to the world of politics. What are your feelings and expectations regarding your return?

This can be said very concisely. People are rarely satisfied with the situation in our country, but also hardly strive for any change. I would like to contribute to that change and not reproach myself with the fact that I held back and that I preferred a calmer more comfortable life. I feel that I owe at least one attempt.

Not to mention that I would like to contribute to the supervision of candidates in European elections, so that Czech Republic becomes a more relevant player on the European scene and Czech subjects will be more emancipated in the EU. Translated by Beatrice Sevdalovova, Anglo-American University ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Linda Štucbartová graduated from the Institute of International Territorial Studies. After a one year scholarship at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, she obtained a Diplome d’études supérieures from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Between the years 2002 and 2006, she worked in senior positions at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2006 she has functioned in the private sphere, and lectures at the Anglo-American University, where she was named the Chair of the Department of Diplomacy.

In addition to training in negotiation and communication of clients from the private, public and non-profit sector, she regularly collaborates with Photo: Archive NGOs in the projects of the International Global Young Leaders Conference and the Women and Leadership Programme. Linda Štucbartová is a member of the Rotary Club Prague International. She currently works as HR Director at Centra a.s.

Articles are extracts from her book Velvyslanci i bez diplomatického pasu (Eng. “Ambassadors without a Diplomatic Passport”).

TO BE CONTINUED WITH OTHER AMBASSADORS WITHOUT DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT

Leaders Magazine V/2013 89

18. LEDEN 2014

MAHENOVO DIVADLO

NÁRODNÍ DIVADLO BRNO

VEČEREM PROVÁZÍ

MAROŠ KRAMÁR

ZAHÁJÍ

HVĚZDA FILMŮ HIGHLANDER , TA R Z A N A TA H J E Z D C E M

WWW.PLESVOPEREBRNO.CZ

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analysis

THE WAR OF COMMUNICATION Martin Opatrný is a Communication expert and advisor on Media and Crisis Communication. He gained his present experience both in the private sector and in civil service. Before his previous engagement as spokesperson and advisor for the Prague City Hall Opencard project, Martin worked in Interel – the European strategic communications group that offers an integrated approach to top level public relations and affairs. He also worked as press secretary and spokesperson for the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. He obtained most of his professional experience and skills in the Public Relations Department of the Ministry for Regional Development, where he served as acting departmental head, spokesperson and Editor-in-Chief of their official website. Martin also acquired his practical work skills as a journalist for Czech Television, a PR agent at a private PR agency and a professional freelance writer. He now teaches Media and Crisis Communication at Charles University in Prague, conducts courses and trainings on communication and gives freelance advice across his field of expertise. Martin graduated from the Philosophical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, where he obtained his PhDr. degree in cultural studies, with a specialization in mass communication and psychology. He also studied management and marketing.

You can find more on: http://cz.linkedin.com/in/martinopatrny and reach him at: martin.op@centrum.cz.

Anger is a bad counselor. This is true, especially in interpersonal communication. Under the pressure of anger, stress, anxiety and nervousness, we completely change our verbal and

nonverbal communication. Our otherwise reasonable thinking and distinguished manner disappears and one can change to a roaring monster, completely out of control. It is natural.

Every living organism selects escape or attack in case of serious threat. This attack means aggressive communication. Under our anger we can say many things we may regret afterwards.

Is it possible to suppress these natural instincts and improve our communication when excited? Yes indeed, but it requires keeping cool and realizing several principles.

Communication means exchanging information – verbal and nonverbal, to exchange words and emotions. Especially when communicating in anger, words are much less significant than emotions. All quarrels worldwide, despite the fact they are full of words, solve only emotions.

Moreover, stress or anger are not only emotions, but physiological states of organism as well.

Breathing becomes shallow, pulse rapidly accelerates, blood pressure increases, the body perspires and the mouth is very dry. This is really not a good circumstance for calm and pleasant communication.

At moments like these, it is crucial to stop to breathe and think. If we do not answer an aggressive verbal attack immediately, it does not show timidity or weakness. Just the opposite.

If we hold our reaction or answer, we become stronger than our communicating counterpart.

While he or she begins a verbal attack by losing energy and strength, we have an opportunity to gather power and prepare our reaction. This is an essential moment. If we react immediately, a war of words breaks out and, in that moment, there are no winners or losers, there are only losses.

So what can we do if a verbal war is close?

First of all, it’s necessary to calm our emotions, only after that can arguments work. The more we defend ourselves during the beginning of a verbal attack, the more aggressiveness increases and the fight becomes emotional. Better to be silent, listen, wait and use facts and arguments after the initial exhaustion of your counterpart. Why fight with an unnecessarily strong opponent?

Moreover, the victory of communication wars should always be a common understanding.

By Martin Opatrný ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

Leaders Magazine V/2013 91

thoughts about alternative ways...

HAPPINESS

– an inside job “I was knocking at the door of happiness all my life. When the door opened, I realized that I was knocking from the inside.” RUMI Happiness has historically been either short lived or elusive & at least so it was for me till I realized that it is a state of the mind that comes from ‘Sharing & Giving‘ although we are under the illusion that it comes from ‘Getting & Consuming‘ & collecting material things. I have now realized that there is no way to Happiness, Happiness is the way and it starts from the inside. It is a path, a journey, not a goal or a destination. It is an Inside job.

The famous Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib once wrote “I have made my life Happier. I have asked some people to forgive me and others I have forgiven“.

It is so simple but to do it we need to rid ourselves of the ego. I tried for a long time to be free and Happy as the Ego till I realized that I have to be free from the Ego, not free as the Ego. It’s maybe a fine difference in words but the real difference is like a stormy moonless night and a tropical sunny day. ☺

Sanjiv Suri Photo: Archive of Author

92 Leaders Magazine IV/2013

thoughts about alternative ways...

The other thing I realized is that the challenges in my life that threw me out of my comfort were the times when I was able to really grow as a Human Being. I now know that the Universe always gives me what I need, not necessarily always what I want. So, I now feel that I don’t need to be unhappy with what I really need even if it may not be what I want at that point in time.

On a more basic level, I have seen that INTEGRITY, TRUST & LEADERSHIP lead to Happiness.

I have noticed that praise, encouragement & caring create the space for building INTEGRITY. I have also experienced that when I TRUST people, they always live up to the expectations they set for themselves. In my experience everyone wants to make a difference in the world, no matter how small that difference may be so our role as LEADERS is to create the space in which they

THE MAN IN THE GLASS When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day Just go to a mirror and look at yourself And see what THAT man has to say.

For it isn‘t your father or mother or wife Whose judgment upon you must pass The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people may think you a straight-shootin‘chum And call you a wonderful guy.

But the man in the glass says you‘re only a bum If you can‘t look him straight in the eye.

He‘s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest.

For he‘s with you clear up to the end.

And you‘ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life And get pats on your back as you pass.

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you‘ve cheated the man in the glass.

DALE WIMBROW

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can realize their potential – just like a conductor who does not make a single sound himself, but is all powerful because he helps bring out the best in everyone else.

For those of you who love numbers, the latest HARVARD research shows that no more than 10– 15% of Happiness is determined by the external environment & 85–90% is internal to the person.

Events in our lives remain the same. It is our reaction to those events that determines our level of Happiness.

The research also shows that when people are Happy, productivity goes up by over 50% and creativity by over 300%. It is a state we call ‘in the flow‘ or ‘in the zone‘. I can only imagine what happens to profitability when this happens on an ongoing basis. ☺ The research from HARVARD clearly reaches the conclusion that ‘when I am successful I will be happy‘ is a myth. The research shows that when people are happy, they become successful & prosperous & more ethical & have higher INTEGRITY & become mentally and Spiritually more affluent.

The other good news is that Happiness is a skill that can be learnt just like football or piano or Golf and there is even a recipe for everyday Happiness. Something for our ‘to be’ list as opposed to our ‘to do’ list. I always had a to do list till I realized that if doing was so important we would be called Human doings – so now I have a ‘to be’ list and the first item on the list is – TO BE HAPPY. ☺

Many years ago, Joseph Epstein wrote “We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents or the country of our birth. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time of our death. But within the realm of this ‘choicelessness’, we do choose how we live.

Abraham Lincoln also said: “Whether U think U can or U think U cannot, you are right.“ RECIPE FOR EVERYDAY HAPPINESS: Research at Harvard lays out a recipe for everyday Happiness which should not take more than 30 min every day: 1. Be grateful for 3 things in our life every day.

2. Exercise for at least 10–15 minutes.

3. Meditate for at least 5–10 minutes.

4. Write a positive message to someone (we don‘t necessarily have to know this person).

5. Start to journal our most positive experience over the past 24 hours.

I see that if we decide to be Happy, we have Hope & some Amazing possibilities to live into – not just for ourselves but for all future generations to come – but it’s an inside job. ☺ Sanjiv Suri, President & CEO, Zátiší Group ■ sanjiv@zatisigroup.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 93

interview A talk with Petr Sýkora, founder of joint endowment project Dobrý Anděl

94 Leaders Magazine V/2013

Photo: Radovan Šubín

„Dobrý anděl“ (Good Angel) – is a joint endowment project of Petr Sýkora and Jan Černý. In 1993, they founded the company PAPIRIUS, supplying office stationery. Thirteen years later, they sold it, and they both committed themselves to gradually invest in Good Angel a total of 25 million crowns. All running costs, including employee wages, are paid from this amount. They are fully devoted to the project – even though they do not have to work anymore.

interview The characteristic feature of our time is social networks. When reading through the comments of people on your website, there is an apparent feeling of joy and gratitude.

What are Czechs like when it comes to a “good cause”? Do they share the „Angel’s values“?

One of the four basic “values” on which we are trying to build “Dobrý anděl” is joy. Families with children, where someone is treated for cancer, suddenly feel that they are not alone in this. That people unknown to them – the socalled “strangers” have helped them. At first glance, they get a few thousand a month. When you take a closer look at the whole thing, you will learn that, above all, they get some energy. And those who have decided to become good angels and help financially on a regular basis might feel gratitude. Gratitude for the fact that the problems of everyday life may, in fact, not be such big problems. They realize the relativity of things. And you may find that from gratitude it is not so big a step to joy and possibly even happiness. That is why JOY is the first of Angel’s values. And what are Czechs like? To be honest, I really do not know.

I only know that some of them – the Good Angels – sometimes share this joy on social networks…

During quite a short period of time, you have managed to build a system that has a name and steady contributors. Did you expect such a rapid development at all?

I do not look back too much. And I also try not to assess “Dobrý anděl” on the grounds of success – failure. Nor do I dare guess how many people will wish to join the around 20,000 current Good Angels. This does not by far depend only on me and my colleagues. Rather, it depends on the willingness of the media to help and also the sensitivity of people towards their surroundings.

We only know that in the Czech Republic there are several thousand families with children with cancer or other serious long-term childhood diseases which suddenly and unexpectedly turned the life of the whole family upside-down. And we know that the health problems and suffering that people feel can be soon joined by financial difficulties. Disease is expensive nowadays. And when a child is fighting for their life, the parents are ready to do anything to cure him.

What was the hardest decision concerning Good Angel that you have had to make?

You know what would have been the hardest thing? Not to have founded “Dobrý anděl” at all.

That would probably have been “the most difficult decision”. Prior to the project’s foundation, we met with the first families. One of them was a Slovak mother, a single parent from a city in Central Bohemia. She has a healthy daughter – about six years old. She also had a little boy who developed a brain tumor as a baby. And this mother spent weeks and months in Motol hospital, her daughter being looked after by her mother-in-law. I was at her house, then in the hospital, and then at the funeral. I saw what the whole family went through and how hard it was, also from a financial aspect.

And before us lay a devised system that had already been working for several years in Slovakia.

The system, where people become Good Angels, contribute any amount per month and thus help specific families with children where someone is seriously ill. The system which ensures that all donations go to families in need, down to the last penny. The system that families can transparently file for and, if their application is approved (and every six months reconfirmed) by the attending physician, then automatically be included in the help network. As businessmen, we saw a project that is not only perfectly devised, but also really needed. So… I guess the most difficult thing would be not to have founded “Dobrý anděl”.

Yet, you may not want to rest on your laurels.

There are still many families in need of help…

Yes, several thousand in the Czech Republic. By the end of the year, Good Angels will have been helping the first thousand families. There are now 912 of them.

What are your plans for the turn of the year, or for the next year?

Could I leave this question open? I prefer to “do” things first, and then talk about them... The year 2013 has been eventful – the Good Angels themselves voted for the inclusion of some other child medical conditions that we proposed together with pediatricians. My colleagues introduced the new site, a massive campaign was launched at the beginning of the year, a new software was installed plus many other things.

If Good Angel were a company, I would say that we have shrunk three years into one. That is only thanks to the clever people around us. We could never have managed on our own.

DOBRÝ ANDĚL (Good Angel) is a system through which as many as tens of thousands of donors, known as “Good Angels”, can provide much-needed help to thousands of people facing serious illness, even through relatively small regular monthly payments. GOOD ANGEL is a unique system because: 1. It distributes the donations down to the last “penny”. The donations from thousands of donors, or Good Angels, received in a given month are distributed evenly through the GOOD ANGEL System among hundreds of families. 2. You can see who you are helping.

Each donor, or Good Angel, has their own Angel ID and password, allowing them to access their Angel Account at www.dobryandel.cz. There, they can check the current amount of donations they’ve made, as well as the names, addresses, and life stories of the people to whom the GOOD ANGEL System has delivered the given donor’s donations. 3. It provides help every month on a regular basis. The GOOD ANGEL System makes it possible for thousands of donors, or Good Angels, to provide monthly financial assistance to thousands of families in need. It’s easy to become a Good Angel. All you need to do is register on www.dobryandel.cz and start sending you contributions.

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To what extend has Good Angel influenced you as a person, your personal life?

As a businessman, I followed the motto: “Every man is the architect of his own fortune.”

That way I also implicitly claimed that everyone is the architect of their “misfortune”. Neither is completely true. It is an inaccurate simplification of reality. I am now more aware of how fragile everything is, not just health. When my sons frollick at home, they tear it to shreds, but I think that‘s nice. It means they are healthy. You get to appreciate the ordinary things. And most of us probably get to realise that.

Can “big donors” engage more in the project and are they interested? After all, you have met personally with the families…

Jan and I have designated 25 million crowns for the operation of “Dobrý anděl”, which we have gained by selling the company PAPIRIUS to Office Depot Inc in 2006. We believe that this money will last 5 years. Two years have passed. My job will be to convince someone else to pay for the operation after the money runs out. This will be a thrilling time, I look forward to it.

Is there any other way of helping Good Angel, in addition to finances?

The most important things are often simple.

To become a Good Angel and tell others about it. Companies may also get involved, more specifically the employees of companies.

There are a number of small businesses, where practically everyone is a Good Angel. Each sends a different amount – according to their consideration. There are large companies with more than 100 Good Angels within the company.

Quite amazing things happen then.

Do you have any time for relaxing ? And how much relaxation do you need – given that you encounter pediatric patients on a daily basis...

I do not think much in the “work-relax” mode. I like being with children, outdoors, in the mountains. Or alone. Just like that. I try to distance myself a little from the stories, which is not always possible. Family and physicians play an important role. What we do is an important addition so that the family can concentrate on the essentials and so that they feel some good energy – if you like…

By Jaroslav Kramer ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 95

sport events

From left: Jiří Mrózek, B2B Sales Manager, Samsung, Simona Klufová, Marketing and Business Manager, GOLF magazine, and Erik Osuský, Asset Management Manager, AXA životní pojišťovna

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Zlatá Koruna Golf Cup 2013 Zl K Zlatá Koruna G Golf lf C Cup hhas already l d bbecome a traditional di i l peakk off the h prestigious i i Zl Zlatá K Koruna, evaluating l i the h bbest fi financial i l products d off the h year on the h Czech market. This year, the tournament took place on October 3rd and its host was Golf Park Slapy St. John. This year included an informal thanks to the financial companies and their representatives for their participation in the Zlatá Koruna competition. They met here for the seventh time and, regardless of their company affiliation, indicate they intend to continue developing this relationship. Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna (Czech Entrepreneur Insurance Company) won the main prize of the tournament for company teams this year.

From left: Radek Dohnal, General Manager, TOP HOTELS GROUP, Pavel Doležal, Director, Zlatá koruna, Tomáš Voharčík, Director, Top-pojištění, and Petr Koblížek, Director, External Sales for the Czech Republic, Union poisťovňa

96

Bořek Těžký, Director, Section of disposing of vehicles insured events, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna and behind him Václav Školout, Partner, Vyroubal Krajhanzl Školout Law Office

Petr Kučera, CEO, CRIF

From left: Tomáš Rzounek, General Manager, Toyota Financial Services, Sven Lundquist, Sales Manager, Toyota Financial Services, Radim Kotrouš, ČSOB Asset Management, and Yudai Hata, President, Toyota Tsusho

sport events

Tomáš Friedel, Key account manager, ČSOB Leasing

From left: Ladislav Kročák, CEO, AXA Bank Europe, Michal Šrubař, Director, ČP INVEST investiční společnost, Karel Švec, B2B Sales Manager, Samsung, and Pavel Mužík, Marketing Manager, Česká pojišťovna

Absolute winner award: From left: Libuše Makovičková, Marketing Specialist, OVB Allfinanz, Pavel Doležal, Director, Zlatá koruna, and Lumír Zeman, Compliance Officer CZ&SK, AXA Bank Europe

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Winners in category HCP 21,1 – 37: From left: Radek Potužník, Purchasing Manager, FK ROS, Michal Šrubař, Director, ČP INVEST investiční společnost, Karel Švec, B2B Sales Manager, Samsung, and Ondřej Peca, Marketing Manager, Česká pojišťovna

Category 3rd place – Team of Česká pojišťovna From left: Pavel Mužík, Marketing Manager, Česká pojišťovna, Ondřej Peca, Marketing Manager, Česká pojišťovna, and Radek Jalůvka, CEO, IPSOS

Category 2nd place – Team of AXA Bank From left: Ladislav Kročák, CEO, AXA Bank Europe, Lumír Zeman, Compliance Officer CZ&SK, AXA Bank Europe, Jiří Kordule, Deputy CFO, AXA Bank, and Radek Jalůvka, CEO, IPSOS

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global perspectives

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

global perspectives The quality of public institutions is very important to the economic competitiveness of a country. The Global Competitiveness Report 2013–2014 from The World Economic Forum, lists several factors that hinder the strength and quality of public institutions, and ultimately impose significant economic costs to businesses and slow the process of economic development. These factors include excessive bureaucracy and red tape, overregulation, corruption, dishonesty in dealing with public contracts, lack of transparency and trustworthiness, inability to provide appropriate services for the business sector, and political dependence of the judicial system. These are all very important factors and age-old pointers used to benchmark strength (or lack of it) of public institutions. However, in my view, these indicators do not currently capture the full picture of what constitutes the strength of public institutions. Quality in this case should include elements of efficiency built on investments in information and communications technologies (ICT) and staff training. Efficiency is especially important since how public money is spent is more scrutinized than ever in the current economic landscape.

More than ever, public institutions are asked to do more and better with fewer funds, which is why I think efficiency should also be a dimension that determines quality.

Efficiency in public institutions is more than just a means to an end. The use of ICT is not only intended to have a focus on effectiveness but, for example, to also empower citizens and give them interactive access to and use of public information. Therefore, I believe we may also measure quality of public institutions on their investment in ICT infrastructure, use of electronic governance (e-governance), and development of ICT skills and expertise of the staff. Managing skills sets is as important as updating the ICT infrastructure, yet promoting digital skills is often overlooked in public institutions. Talent management and providing staff with the skills and tools needed to adapt to the global economic landscape is often not a public institutions best practice, but a business one. This is an area that the public sector could draw from the business sector.

ICT cannot be a competitive advantage of any institution until the staff’s expertise can make it so.

Czech Republic: the good, the bad and the future In the above report from The World Economic Forum the Czech Republic scored lower than last year in terms of quality of public institutions. The country fell by seven places to the 46th position. The report outlined concerns about quality of institutions, which ranked an 86th. I believe part of this low ranking is also due to limited ICT and e-governance

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use, as well as staff training in digital skills.

Nevertheless, the report also admitted that Czech businesses are quite sophisticated and innovative, supported by a strong uptake of new technologies. Investment in ICT and digital skills across the country has been growing over the past years, which I believe will help sustain and make our economy more innovative and competitive in the next years. It is nevertheless important for public institutions to also invest in these areas and become competitive next to businesses to such an extent to which public institutions are able to compete with businesses for the best professionals.

In addition, it must be mentioned that the country’s overall competitiveness will also be further enhanced by injecting innovation into the educational system.

Finland: not just best in class in education In Europe, Finland is not only an example of best practice in education, but also of excellence in terms of the quality of public institutions. In the same report, Finland’s public institutions scored 3rd place. Similar to other Nordic countries, Finland boasts well functioning and highly transparent public institutions (the country scored 1st place in this area). Finland topped several indicators I mentioned earlier that measure the strength of institutions.

On the backbone of a strong education system in which professionals are well trained for the job market, both public and private institutions have been able to maintain their excellence. According to the same report, in addition to a strong public sector, private institutions in Finland are also seen to be among the best run and most ethical in the world. The strong focus on education over recent decades has given way to excellent higher education and training. This has provided the workforce with the skills needed to adapt rapidly to a changing environment and has laid the groundwork for high levels of innovation, allowing Finland to become a highly innovative economy.

The importance of higher education, and onthe-job training in both the public and private sectors, has given way to quality institutions in Finland. Quality of public institutions across Europe could improve down the road if the educational system goes through a big restructuring – this is not a new topic of discussion. However, public institutions must also invest more in talent management – a practice private enterprises are used to doing in order to keep their staff and business competitive. In Finland, professionals are well trained in university, and then continue to build on their training in their professional career – in both the public and private sectors.

Therefore, the public sector in Finland is able to attract the best talent and compete for the best and brightest with the private sector.

In Finland, it is not uncommon for professionals to change roles from the

public to the private sector. One such highlevel example is the Former Prime Minister of Finland, Esko Aho who not only joined Nokia in 2008 as Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations and Responsibility, but also became a member of its executive board until last year.

The benefits of well prepared professionals (not just in such high level roles as Mr. Aho) to be able to move back and forth from public to private sectors are obvious: transfer of knowledge, synergistic public-private ideas put in place, quality collaboration between the public and private sectors. As economies compete on the global scene, multinationals are not the only institutions that must adapt to change and maintain their edge.

Public institutions in the European Union Member States need to also keep in mind their changing role in maintaining welfare and global competitiveness. Therefore, attracting and training professionals for the public-private job market is very important in current economies. Today’s public problems and opportunities increasingly require effective collaboration between public and private institutions – between business and government – which can be partly constructed on well prepared and skilled professionals building careers across sectors.

Cross-sectors competitive edge: ICT skills and personal development Bridging the skills gap from education to the work place is important because it will also bring us closer to bridging cross-sectors careers and perspectives. However, as the example of Finland teaches us, improving the educational system across Europe is only the beginning. The quality of public administration must also improve and include better onthe-job trainings, with focus on technology skills and personal development. Investing in ICT infrastructure is not enough. Public institutions must follow companies in also investing in building up and updating the e-skills of the talent – only then can ICT be turned into a competitive advantage for any institution. Only then can public institutions compete with private ones for attracting and retaining the best talent. Surely to have a workforce that is able to move back and forth from the public to the private sectors, and can bridge perspectives, enabling the collaboration necessary to solve some of the most intractable public problems, will add to the quality of public institutions and beyond, to the competitiveness of economies. We need to extend the discussion of quality into how technology can be a competitive advantage for any institution, public or private. We need more discussion of how to nurture the e-skills and talent in public institutions.

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

Leaders Magazine V/2013 99

interview A talk with František Šmahel, medievalist and this year’s Winner of the Česká Hlava Prize

Photo by Vladimír Weiss 100 Leaders Magazine V/2013

interview Medals, honors and awards to Prof. Dr. František Šmahel, DrSc, Dr.h.c. are countless. They include the Medal of Merit of the First Grade and the Medal of the Academy of Sciences. Our leading medievalist, Šmahel is also this year’s Winner of the Česká Hlava Prize. In the words of Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok, Šmahel has been awarded the prize for his life’s achievements, as well as his lifelong civil and scientific attitude.

You are the leading Czech medievalist. How would you define this discipline to someone who has never heard of it?

Yes, it’s true not everyone may understand the term. But when I say that it is a historian who deals with the history of the Middle Ages, then I merely need to specify that I mainly deal with 14th and 15th centuries. With regard to those territories, my horizons roughly comprise the borders of Central Europe. I try to conceive of history in its entirety.

Although the timeline is constrained by political events, I try to take into account everything that overlaps, from the standards of education of the times to their works of art.

For your lifetime achievements at the Centre for Medieval Studies – a joint department of the Academy of Sciences and Charles University within the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences – you are this year’s winner of the National Prize of the Government Ceska Hlava. What were your first thoughts?

Embarrassment. Suddenly the attention is focused on you and you realize others might have been in your place, those who may have had achieved more. It is very difficult to compare results in the various fields of science. On the other hand, I cannot question the qualifications of those who nominated me ...

The Award Ceremony is held on November 17th and this interview thus takes place beforehand. What are your expectations concerning this ceremony?

To be honest, I must admit that I am not overly fond of such ceremonies. They are perhaps necessary for the popularization of achievements in the realm of the spirit, but I still feel like I‘m a trained bear, put on display. This, however, is a part of the times we live in, where culture is assessed by television viewer ratings.

Besides for lifetime achievements, you also won the prize for your „civil and scientific attitude.“ What specifically might have convinced the expert jury?

This is not a question for me, but for others.

Perhaps it means that in certain serious moments I acted as a scientist should act. But let’s not fool ourselves, for others it might have been an eyesore.

The Ceska Hlava Prize is a project aiming to promote scientific and technical intelligence.

What is this „intelligence“ like in the Czech Republic and what is your recipe for its increase?

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Intelligence as a professional status cannot possibly be further reinforced in the Czech Republic. Universities are crowded with students, hundreds of young specialists will soon be looking for a job in the fields where the labour market is not interested. But for sure, one can only wish that intelligent thought and action will increase not only in politics, but also in the media and elsewhere.

In your incredible list of employment, mainly associated with history, I was impressed by two things. You worked as a miner and a tram driver.

Why? You can see how time flies. Before November 1989, there would probably have been no need to explain. I did not come from a well connected family. I agreed to work in the mines for one year in order to be able to study at university. Driving a tram for five years was a reward for my above mentioned attitude. But I chose the tram myself, after being dismissed from the Institute of History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, to ensure myself a decent living and inner freedom. At the age of forty-two, it was also the first time that I drove something.

Is there any period in history that remains unknown to you and that you would like to explore further?

I only know but a little fragment of the history of mankind. If I should choose one more period to study, it would be the 19th century, the traces of which in many ways remain within us.

If you could travel back in time for a single day, where would it be and why?

Because of hygiene, it would be Ancient Rome at its peak.

Finally, what are you currently working on?

I have finished the book on the life and work of Jan Hus, since we will soon be celebrating the 600 years that have passed since his death on the stake. I am clearing my head now. Towards the end of my life, I would like to deal with the sphere of education at the close of the Middle Ages.

What mankind already knew and with what they emerged into the modern era.

By Jaroslav Kramer ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 101

Photo: Jan Štverák

wine tasting

From left: Ivo Gajdoš, Executive Director, CMA, Míla Petrová, Director, Otto Blanc, Martin Marek, Sommelier, Eva Kislingerová, Professor, VŠE, Pavel Kafka, President, CMA, Benke Aikel, your Publisher, Michaela Kaplanová, Owner, BIOOO cosmetics, and Peter J. Kalaš, Vice President of the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development

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BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU TASTING ORGANIZED

BY THE CZECH MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Beaujolais (Nouveau) is perhaps the most famous French wine. Every year on the third Thursday in November, millions of people around the world enjoy it. What was once a local custom has become a world cult. However, this appellation is not just about nouveau. In the narrow strip of land between Lyon and Macon wines have arisen that can successfully compete with the famous wines of the Bourgogne region.

A wine tasting was held on November 21, 2013 for members of the Prague Management Club of the Czech Management Association. The tasting was conducted by Martin Marek, sommelier for the Vins de France company.

Participants in Golem Club

Ivo Gajdoš, Executive Director, CMA introducing the speakers from left: Mila Petrova, Director, Otto Blanc, and Michaela Kaplanová, Owner, BIOOO cosmetics

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Council of Sages: Ira Saul Rubenstein, Traficon and Michael Vít, Director of the National Institute of Health listening to the sommelier Martin Marek’s presentation of Beaujolais Nouveau wines

Sommelier Martin Marek, Vins de France introduced selected wines for degustation

From left: Petr Beneš, Director, Sdělovací technika magazine, Peter J. Kalaš, Vice President of the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development, and Ivo Gajdoš, Executive Director, CMA with the statue of Golem

Group of young managers from the Czech Management Association

From left: Ivo Gajdoš, Executive Director, CMA, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Pavel Kafka, President, CMA, Benke Aikel, your Publisher, and Filip Čabart, Advocate, Law Firm Schönherr

Photos: ELAI archive

event

CELEBRATES ITS THIRD BIRTHDAY The European Leadership & Academic Institute (ELAI) invited its patrons, supporters and friends to the Chemistry Gallery in Prague on the 7th October to celebrate its third anniversary.

Themed as an art exhibition, with the works of Michal Cimala, a Czech artist and multitalent, and Lukáš Sedláček, founder of ELAI, on display on the first floor, the rare treat of the celebration was the performance of Gwyn Ashton (UK), a blues/rock guitarist and singer, who’s performed alongside artists like B.B.King or Ray Charles.

Lukáš Sedláček, Executive Director, European Leadership – Academic Institute Gwyn Ashton Petr Hájek, Owner of The Chemistry Gallery and Lukáš Sedláček, Executive Director, European Leadership – Academic Institute

Cyril Svoboda, Director of the Diplomatic Academy, and Ondřej Závodský, Lawyer, MP candidate

Dr. Hrishabh Sandilya, Vice President of External Relations and Development, AAU, Bojan Misic, Team Leader for COS UK, Armstrong World Industries, Tomáš Potměšil, Manager, KPMG

Michal Šamánek, CEO and Owner, Sherwood Media

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Leaders Magazine V/2013 103

Photo: Nick Bolkvadze

Christmas Charity Event In the middle: Odilia de Ranitz, President of the DSA welcoming guests together with Ivana Zemanovรก, the First Lady of the Czech Republic

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INTERNATIONAL CHRISTMAS

FESTIVAL AT HOTEL HILTON The International Christmas Festival is a prestigious annual event organised by the Diplomatic Spouses Association in Prague (DSA). It has become a tradition, that the Festival is organised under the auspices of the First Lady. This year the Festival was opened for the first time by Ivana Zemanovรก, the First Lady of the Czech Republic.

For already 14 years, DSA donates collected money to selected charities in the Czech Republic. Since 2000 DSA donated more than 55,000,000 CZK.

Mrs. Odilia de Ranitz, President of the DSA, Mrs. Hye Song Jong, wife of the Ambassador of Korea, Mrs. Ivana Zemanovรก, the First Lady and H.E. Mr. Kwang Il Ri, Ambassador of Korea H.E. Mr. George Monteiro Prata, Ambassador of Brazil, with his wife Miriam Prata H.E. Ferdinand Trauttmansforff, Ambassador of Austria with his wife Margrit Trauttmansforff

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In the middle: Ivana Zemanovรก, the First Lady of the Czech Republic at the Russian table with H.E. Mr. Sergey Borisovich Kiselev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation with his wife

In the middle: Mrs. Ivana Zemanovรก, the First Lady of the Czech Republic and H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey at the Turkish table with volunteers

charity event

From left: H.E. Pascual Ignacio Navarro Ríos, Ambassador of Spain, Ivana Zemanová, the First Lady of the Czech Republic, and Monika Kapraliková, PR & Charity coordinator of the DSA

In the middle: Sun Liping, wife of the Ambassador of China and Ivana Zemanová, the First Lady of the Czech Republic with volunteers at the table of China

In the middle: Ivana Zemanová, the First Lady, Gaukhar Karasheva, wife of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan, and Armana Zhunisbayeva, Second Secretary at the Kazakhstan Embassy with volunteers

From left: Ivana Zemanová, the First Lady of the Czech Republic and Mrs. Mathilda Nostitz

From left: Michael Specking, General Manager, Hilton Hotels in Prague and H.E. Cihad Erginay, Ambassador of Turkey

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FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT: HTTP://WWW.DSAPRAGUE.ORG

Russian Kids Choir

the good things in life

WITH ART AGAINST

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS? FIAC (international trade fair of contemporary art), the largest art fair in the world, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. „I don’t want to disappoint you, but there will soon be a serious and long-term crisis of contemporary art. I don’t know when it will come, whether tomorrow or in ten years, but the public will be fed up with the number of contemporary art exhibitions, with these worthless works.“ So wrote Auguste Renoir in 1908 to his art dealer, who else but Paul Durand-Ruel.

How often since then have we heard such prophecies about contemporary art, in the value of which only few people believe. Was there a cri-

Kaws

106 Leaders Magazine V/2013

sis after Renoir? Not really. There was only a war, the First World War, and after it a certain revision of art and rearrangement of values, to which art quickly became accustomed.

So, is there a crisis in art during the current economic crisis? Not at all and perhaps even the opposite. Why do people crowd exhibitions of contemporary art? Because it‘s in fashion? Perhaps. Fashion is a luxury and fashion houses and fashion brands readily associate themselves with art. Parisian Lanvin shows César sculptures in their displays at Faubourg St. Honoré and jeweler Boucheron at the Vendome square showcases the photography of Japanese photographer, Hiroshi Sugimito, next to their watches.

And there is another reason, besides the fashion phenomenon. Art is a reflection of its times and artists hope to analyze the times and provide keys to them. Artists talk about their times much like scientists or philosophers, but they speak their own language and, thanks to visual presentation, they are closer to people. They show the consequences of war terrors, with irony the possible result of ecologic disasters, provoke our minds and thoughts about our present and future, some with humor, others poetically and yet others drastically.

In any case, art always brings about new visions and feelings. Art can be interesting, strange, provocative, playful, absurd, comical or simply har-

the good things in life

Eva Kotatkova

monious and beautiful, but it always awakens feelings in us. Of course, contemporary art in its volume and meaning is often inflated and triggers many lively discussions and only time will sort out the quality, allowing the unimportant to disappear. Additionally, troubled times are always fertile ground for art. Some let art inspire them, others use it to escape reality and some may see it as a good investment in times of crisis.

Parisian FIAC was never this prosperous. Over 200 galleries are crammed one next to the other under the gigantic cupola of the Grand Palais. New York, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Seoul have never been represented as copiously as today. There are over 50 other events outside the palace, running concurrently for four days across the entire city. The stars

of contemporary art, Julio Le Parc, John Chamberlain, Ai Weiwei, Martial Raysse, Anish Kapoor, Nikki de Saint Phalle, Richard Jackson, Doug Aitken, Georg Baselitz or Damien Hirst, shine side by side the modernists such as Soulage, Jean Tinguely, Yves Klein, Poliakoff, Miro or Kupka.

Among the well established values, new artists peek out in the first gallery. Among them, for example, Czech artist Eva Koťátková, the recent laureate of the Chalupecký prize, who brings something new to the world stage of young artist with her exceptional intimate approach to expressing family values and ordinary life. Contemporary art is certainly attempting to bring answers to new questions and poses new questions to new problems, which the current course of life fails to answer at this point.

By Iva Drebitko Photos: Iva Drebitko ■ český překlad naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.leadersmagazine.cz

Anish Kapoor

Darren Lago Mickey de Balzac

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Juan Muňoz

Leaders Magazine V/2013 107

ČSÚZ

From left: JUDr. František Imrich, Deputy of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava, Mgr. Martin Plíšek, Deputy Minister of Health, Member of the Managing Board of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Ing. Jiří Musil, Member of the Managing Board of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Mgr. Radoslav Baran, Vice Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute – Bratislava, Mrs. Ivana Zemanová, First Lady of the CR, Miloš Soboňa, Vice Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Hana Hlaváčková.

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The first lady of the Czech Republic Ivana Zemanová, a Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman, Mgr. Radoslav Baran, Vice Chairman, Ing. Vladimír Bezděk, a Member of the Managing Board and a few others witnessed the opening ceremony of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute operation in the Slovak Republic. Slovak members have chosen their seat in the centre of Bratislava, inside a historical complex in Kapucínská 7.

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From left: Vice Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Miloš Soboňa, Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Senate of the Czech Parliament Mgr. Miloš Malý, Member of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic Mgr. Martin Poliarčík, Member of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Viera Kučerová, Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Anna Vitteková, Vice Chairman of the constitutional committee of the Senate of the Czech Parliament Mgr. Miroslav Nenutil, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Dr. Katarína Csefalvayova, Vice Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Mgr. Radoslav Baran, Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic doc. JUDr. Radoslav Procházka, PhD., J.S. D., Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Senate of the Czech Parliament Miroslav Antl, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Róbert Madej, Senator MUDr. Radek Sušil, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Slovakia PhDr. Jakub Karfík, Secretary of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava JUDr. František Imrich

ČSÚZ

From left: Secretary of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava JUDr. František Imrich, Vice Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Miloš Soboňa, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Senate of the Czech Parliament Miroslav Antl.

Mrs. Ivana Zemanová, First Lady of the CR, presenting a gift to the Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Mgr. Radoslav Baran

A number of personalities and journalists arrived to Kapucínská 7 in June to follow closely a visit of the first Czech lady Ivana Zemanová, accompanied by her secretary Mgr. Jana Bartošová. Her presence at the opening of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute in Bratislava was a part of her programme within the official visit of President Miloš Zeman in Slovakia. Journalists therefore followed also members of the board of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, its Chairman Jaromír Šlápota, Vice-chairman Mgr. Radoslav Baran, director of a new office Miloš Soboňa, Ing. Vladimír Bezděk, member of managing board and general director of the Pension Association of the Czech Insurance Company, Mgr. Martin Plíšek, deputy of Minister of Health and a member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute managing board. The ceremony was also visited by few other members of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute.

The Chairman Jaromír Šlápota presented significance and function of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and thanked to all who helped to open its office in Bratislava. „We have been considering that idea over several years. Thanks to the Vice-chairman Ivo Valenta we met with Mr. Baran, Soboňa and Šmilňák, who were interested in our activities and became our members. They prepared everything to spread our activities to Slovakia“, he remembered historical moments.

He also thanked to JUDr. Jiří Hartmann and JUDr. František Imrich, who prepared registration in Slovakia legally. „Members of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute in Slovakia are going to address Slovak fellow countryman associations in the world and they will work on projects with them according to their wishes. Members from Prague will also participate. Similarly the members from Slovakia will take part in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute projects prepared with associations in the world, both Czech and Slovak“, he described briefly directions of activities of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute in Slovakia. And not to talk only in abstract way, he informed that the first joint project already exists. It is collecting of Slovak textbooks, arts tools and interactive blackboards for a large number of Czech schools in Comenius School association in Vienna. The project that will last for a longer time period started to be discussed already in Vienna in April when President Miloš Zeman visited Austria.

Mgr. Baran, a leader of activities of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute in Slovakia informed then about other project in which they will co-operate with fellow countrymen in Serbia where about 14.000 Slovaks are living. „I wish success to the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute. It is an excellent idea shared within our society to improve Czech-Slovak relations,“

Mrs. Ivana Zemanová said at the festive meeting. „I believe in success because I have known the Institute’s activities for a number of years and goals that it decided to reach, it truly realized“, she added. In that sense, she also wrote the first note into the Visitors’ Book of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute in Slovakia. Then, she gave a gift to the Slovak members of the Institute to decorate their office – velvet Czech and Slovak flags. Also other guests signed the Visitors’ Book followed by TV cameras.

When the first lady left the Institute’s office in Bratislava, the first working meeting about co-operation in project and paying financial expenses took part there.

The managing board of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute welcomed a Czech-Slovak delegation of deputies from constitutional committee of the Senate of the Czech Parliament and of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic at the beginning of October in the Bratislava office.

Czech Senate members and members of Slovak National Counsel appreciated opening of Bratislava seat of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute and they promised their support, for example by creating scholarship fond allowing talented fellow countrymen from Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine to study in Slovakia.

Hebr ■

From left: Member of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic Mgr. Martin Poliarčík, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Róbert Madej, Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic, JUDr. Radoslav Procházka, PhD., Member of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Viera Kučerová, Vice Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the National Counsel of the Slovak Republic JUDr. Anna Vitteková, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Dr. Katarína Csefalvayová, Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava Mgr. Radoslav Baran

Mrs. Ivana Zemanová, First Lady of the CR, signing Visitors’ Book of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Bratislava.

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personal enlightenment James A. Cusumano, PhD

BALANCE: THE BUSINESS-LIFE CONNECTION A,B

PART II: REDEFINING SUCCESS

“Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.”

Winston Churchill ■ Arianna Huffington, founder and President of the world-famous, free, online newspaper, The Huntington Post, has committed to globalizing a new platform that she has developed for redefining success.

She calls it the Third Metric.

■ She asserts that the old Two Metric system which is based exclusively on Money and Power is antiquated and cannot address critical world issues, and it will not survive.

■ She adds a third leg to the proverbial “Success Stool” to produce long-term stability. It is Gratitude and is created by living Balance between your Personal and Professional lives.

■ The complementarity between the Third Metric and the tenants of the author’s recent book on Balance is discussed.

■ An insightful, some may say arguable, gender issue is raised by Third Metric supporters. “Could feminine intuitive decision-making leadership be precisely what is needed to address many of our critical global issues?”

I attended Deepak Chopra’s annual conference, “Sages & Scientists,” held in August at La Costa Resort & Spa, home to his Wellness Center in Southern California. It was my second year in attendance and both times it was an amazing experience. Deepak invites leading scientists and wise thinkers (“Sages”) from around the world to discuss the most challenging global issues, with the intent to develop viable solutions.

It was a rewarding and enlightening experience to be part of the conversation. Attendees included Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico; Tim Shriver, CEO of The Special Olympics; Ray Chambers, successful entrepreneur and U.N. Special Envoy; Rudolph Tanzi, Harvard Professor and Nobel Award nominee for his discovery of the Alzheimer gene; Vishal Sikka, Member of the

110 Leaders Magazine V/2013

Executive Board of SAP A.G.; Dean Ornish, world authority on preventing and curing heart disease; Ervin Laszlo, Founder of The Club of Budapest; General Wesley K. Clark, author and former Supreme Commander of NATO Forces in Europe; Leonard Mlodinow, California Institute of Technology physicist and author of popular science books; and many others.

There were numerous stimulating presentations and discussions over three days, but one that especially touched my soul was given by Arianna Huffington [Figure 1], founder and President of the Huffington Post [www.huffingtonpost.com/].

The Huffington Post is an amazing free publication and is considered one of the most widely-read and influential online newspapers in the world. As a consequence Forbes Magazine voted Arianna one of the most powerful women in the world, up there with Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton.

She is passionate about a new platform she has developed called the Third Metric. Arianna points out that most of society defines success based on only two metrics, money and power.

She uses a two-legged stool metaphor to paint the picture, maintaining that in our current complex, online, connected world, there is instability without a third leg, which she calls gratitude, which is the basis for a fulfilled life of purpose.

In my discussion with Arianna, I realized that we were in total alignment as laid out in detail in my new book, BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection. I gave her a copy of BALANCE so that we could compare notes. I asked Arianna Figure 1: Arianna Huffington, founder and president of the Huffington Post is considered one of the most powerful women in the world.

how she came to be so passionate about Third Metric concepts. She said that a few years ago, she accompanied her daughter on a trip to assess several colleges her daughter was considering to attend. Knowing her mom to be a hard-driving entrepreneur, her daughter made her promise to be totally present during their travels; so there were to be no e-mails or cellphone calls during the time they were together. As a consequence, Arianna did her work in the wee hours of the early morning, getting very little sleep during the trip. At the end of her travels with her daughter, she was thoroughly exhausted. On her first day back at work, she fainted and required several stitches to close a wound on her cheekbone. That’s when she knew things had to change. There was something wrong. She was burning the proverbial candle from both ends and following the antiquated Two Metric model.

There is much to be said for Arianna’s campaign. Most of us have been subjected to what Carl Jung termed “collective unconscious.” This subjective force, based on ideas and values created over the years by others, has influenced us since early childhood: “Work hard, put your nose to the grindstone and aim for success, for a great job.” Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago, success has been defined by great pay—money—and great position— power. In our modern complex society this often leads to personal “burnout.” You have likely seen cases around you. Perhaps you have had a taste of it yourself. I know I have in years past.

Arianna rightly points out that because of the Two Metric value system, long propagated and admired by the majority of society, healthcare costs continue to escalate. Anti-depressants are growing at nearly 10 percent per year,1 soaring more than 500 percent over the last 20 years.2 Prescriptions for sleeping pills are skyrocketing.3 Most of this increase is due to stress and high blood pressure in the workplace. Women in particular are experiencing the impact with a 40 perA

EDITOR’S COMMENT—This is the second article in a new series based on the author’s latest book, “BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection, SelectBooks, New York, 2013.” The book is based on three decades of personal experience on how to achieve success and long-term fulfillment in both your personal and professional lives.

Details concerning the book and points of purchase can be found at www.JamesCusumano.Com. B The author may be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com..

personal enlightenment cent increase in the threat of heart disease and a 60 percent increase in the threat of diabetes.

At the first conference on the Third Metric, organized this past year by Arianna in New York City, mainstream corporate attendees agreed.4 “When your work defines what your work-life balance is, you’ve lost control,” warns, Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc. “When you’re under chronic stress, your life is shorter,” adds Dean Ornish, world-renowned heart health physician.

George Stephanopoulos, journalist and advisor to former U.S. President Bill Clinton exclaims with enthusiasm concerning his experience with meditation, “It’s been a lifesaver. I’ve been meditating for about two years now—consistently. I did it … to manage a frenetic life … I was always overly tired, over-stressed, feeling a kind of constant low-level impatience, and I didn’t like it.” And as for those who think they are efficient because they are constantly multitasking, well-known neuroscientist Amish Jha warns, “Multitasking is a myth—what we actually do is task-switching … Out of all of the things our mind does, that switching function is the most depleting.” Perhaps the current Two Metric system is why in the U.S. 75 percent of healthcare costs are due to preventable chronic diseases!

I am not making a case for perfect work-life balance. There will be times you will miss your son’s soccer game or your daughter’s ballet performance because of a critical meeting that could not be missed without damaging your company; or perhaps in the other direction, you missed an important but not so critical business meeting with a customer to attend your son’s graduation.

Over the long haul, in order to achieve long-term personal and professional fulfillment it is important that when you look back over a month, a year, a lifetime, you can say, “I did it with balance between my personal and professional lives, and I feel good about it.”

I know of only one practical way to achieve this goal. You must first find out what you’re good at and then connect it with a need in the world that makes it better place. At that point, you will have found your life purpose. Everyone has one inside them. That discovery will generate enormous levels of passion to succeed. You will find creative solutions to challenges you face and before you know it you will get a return for your effort—financial, emotional, psychological, perhaps a combination. The result will be a strong sense of gratitude, the basis for long-term fulfillment. However, as discussed in great detail in BALANCE,5 to maintain this sense of fulfillment, it is necessary to create a life plan that is solidly based on your personal values, i.e., a Balanced Values-Based Life Plan [Figure 2].

In my study over the years of people who have pursued this path of Balance, I have found that employees, partners, and family members not only feel a sense of fulfillment, but they function with a strong increased sense of wisdom. They make great decisions. They solve tough problems. They are team players. They love to serve rather than demanding that they be served. Everyone wins, and the old way of doing things – “Put your nose to grindstone and work hard,” – is seen as ineffective.

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Figure 2: In creating a Life Plan, it is critical that you identify with complete honesty, the values that underpin the decisions in your life. There is no right answer, only your personal truth.

Healthy, wise and fulfilled employees achieve not only employee engagement, but employee enjoyment as well, and their capabilities to perform increase exponentially. That’s why, as Arianna points out, 25 percent of corporations in the U.S. have now instituted some kind of mindfulness program, e.g., meditation, yoga, etc. And I am not talking about cutting-edge Silicon Valley firms. This includes the likes of, multibillion dollar companies like Target, Aetna and staunch Midwestern firms like General Mills. They understand that companies which embrace Balance and the elements of the Third Metric not only do good, but they also do very well on the bottom line. There have been numerous studies to demonstrate this is unequivocally true.6 Arianna is fond of saying somewhat tonguein-cheek, but not entirely, that “Men created the current model for success, perhaps it will take women and a ‘few good men’ to put the Third Metric on sound global footing.” I think there may be something to this. Allow me to share a story.

Several years ago, my wife Inez and I were vacationing on the big Island of Hawaii. While there, we were introduced to a shaman, the Hawaiians say, “Kahuna.” His name was Hale Makua. He was a huge virile man, probably weighing more than 175 kilograms. I say “was” because sadly, Hale was killed in an automobile accident a couple of years after we met. During our visit he drove us to the peak of a large active volcano on the island. It’s a place that Hawaiians say emanates a special spiritual energy. It was a magnificent experience.

Figure 3: There is increasing discussion that feminine intuitive decision-making and leadership may be what is needed to deal with today’s critical global challenges.

Afterwards, we were having tea together in a lovely grass hut on the mountain top and I asked Hale, “What is the one thing that could happen that would go a long way to solving many of the serious global challenges we currently face?” Without any apparent thought, he said, “When women have more to say about the direction of the world.” I immediately asked him, “Why is that?” He said, “You know when men and women are born, they both have an energetic connection of Cosmic Consciousness between their mind and their heart. Nearly all women maintain that connection for their entire life.” “But we men,” he continued, “We are taught early on by our family, our friends, the media, and society in general, to sever that connection. We are hunters. We are protectors. We don’t cry. And that’s too bad because the challenges we face today require the kind of balance and intuition created by that mind-heart connection [Figure 3].”

I thought for a long moment and then declared to Inez, “You know, maybe there is more than a grain of truth to what soul singer James Brown had to say!” — “It’s a man’s world but it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl.”

Enjoy your journey!

James A. Cusumano, PhD ■ 1

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/08august/Pages/ becoming-nation-of-happy-pill-poppers-fears.aspx 2 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2356902/ Prozac-Nation-Use-antidepressants-UK-soared-500 -past-20-years.html 3 http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/may/11/ nhs-spending-sleeping-pills-50m.

4 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/ redefining-success-takeaway_b_3444007.html.

5 James A. Cusumano, BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection, SelectBooks, New York, NY, 2013.

6 Rajendra S. Sisodia, David B. Wolfe, Jagdish N. Sheth, Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, Pearson Prentice Hall, February 10, 2007.

James A. Cusumano is Chairman and Owner of Chateau Mcely (www.ChateauMcely.Com), chosen in 2007 by the European Union as the only “Green” 5-star luxury hotel in Central and Eastern Europe and in 2008 by the World Travel Awards as the Leading Green Hotel in the World. It is home to Chateau Mcely Forum™ (www.

ChateauMcelyForum.Com) which offers programs for teaching the principles of Inspired Leadership. 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, lowcost, catalytic technologies. While he was Chairman and CEO, the latter – Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – grew in less than 5 years, to a $1 billion enterprise with 2,000 employees. He is coauthor of Freedom from Mid-East Oil, released in 2007 by World Business Academy Press (www.WorldBusiness.Org) and author of Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey to Well-being, Happiness and Success, published in English and Czech by Fortuna Libri, 2011. His new book, BALANCE: The Business—Life Connection was published in April 2013 by SelectBooks in New York City. It will be published in Czech in November 2013 by Fortuna Libri.

Leaders Magazine V/2013 111

interview

Photo: Vladimír Weiss

A talk with Jiří Pehe, a foremost Czech political analyst and Director of New York University in Prague

“PEOPLE NEED TO GET USED TO THE FACT THAT THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE THROWN OUT EACH TWO YEARS JUST BECAUSE THERE WERE 101 VOTES AGAINST IT.”

Jiří Pehe – is a political analyst and author of several books. From September 1997 to May 1999 Pehe was Director of the Political Department of Czech President Václav Havel and later served as President Havel’s adviser. He was a member of the Program Committee of the Forum 2000 Foundation that organizes annual international conferences under Václav Havel’s auspices. Jiří Pehe is currently Director of New York University in Prague and the head of NYU’s Prague Institute for Democracy, Economy, and Culture (PIDEC). He teaches at Charles University and New York University in Prague. He also frequently gives public lectures. Jiří Pehe published several books; novels: Na okraji zmizelého; Tři tváře anděla; Mimořádná událost; and political books: Vytunelovaná demokracie; The Prague Spring: A Mixed Legacy; Demokracie bez demokratů; Klaus: Portrét politika ve dvaceti obrazech.

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interview In our post-communist history, there were only two prime-ministers who were able to survive the full term. Thus, the post-election reality has embedded a protracted government crisis and political stalemates, characterized by a rather fragile “101 of parliamentary majority” for several years. While the current government coalition has only just formed, the early election has clearly shown that especially those parties that went ahead were clearly fighting against the established order. Can we expect a critical review of the existing political system from them as well? And what can eventually decide on its future features? We spoke to JIŘÍ PEHE, the Czech foremost political analyst.

How do you perceive the sustainability of the Czech political system?

I don’t think the Czech democracy has been fundamentally compromised in the long run. Rather, I feel that a certain fatigue for democracy in our country has emerged.

In what sense?

Fatigue for how policy has been practiced in our country for 24 years. I am not afraid of a total collapse of the democratic system, as our network of external relations is too strong to allow it. At the same time, if such a thing began to happen, it would be met by considerable economic losses. Hereby, politicians would think twice.

However, taking into account the political system in terms of functionality, in your view should the system itself undergo a considerable change in the foreseeable future? I mean e.g. the revision of the electoral system?

In my opinion, a change of the Czech electoral system wouldn’t contribute to a better working of our political system, in a special way. The functionality of the system is better derived from other things. First of all, we should focus on the strength of civil society and the quality of government. In addition, the Czech Republic is no exception, as the political crisis is concerned. The situation is very similar in many other democratic systems. On the other hand, the truth is that in our country governments have been replaced more often than in other stable democracies in recent years. Hereby, the changes could contribute to a modification in the existing proportional system.

So what might the modifications be like?

I mean those changes leading to the emergence of stronger majorities or even constitutional amendments requiring the “constructive vote of no confidence to the Government”. If a political opposition expresses confidence to the government, it needs to have prepared a variant, in this case the majority. If it is unable to offer such, the vote cannot take place. People need to get used to the fact that the government cannot be thrown out each two years just because there were 101 votes against it. The main problem, however, I see elsewhere. In one book I call it democracy without democrats.

We now find ourselves in a situation where almost after a quarter of a century of building the system, we are facing a democratic deficit, which is seen as the culture.

Can you be more specific?

It is a culture of democratic behavior. We have institutions, a facade, and it all works somehow. If we look beneath the surface, however, we discover a huge deficit of democracy as a culture of behavior.

In your view, what caused it?

First, there is a generation gap. People who spent most of their time in the previous regime have difficulty adapting to a truly democratic behavior. They’ve embraced certain rituals and language. Yet, once you

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get into any deeper discussion within a family, you immediately encounter barriers to democratic culture. It is especially obvious with the minorities. Another problem is related to the immaturity of the media, which should function as a public voice. The development of civil society is a long term project, at least for one generation. Masaryk even spoke of two generations.

Well, what if we want to achieve immediate improvements?

The fastest way is to improve the quality of the administration. Unfortunately, the politicians in our country keep resisting it. It seems, however, that we are probably at a turning point. The EU seems to be tired of it after nearly a decade of various obstructions and delays in the adoption of the Civil Service Act. In fact, there is a risk that we won’t be paid our money.

You see the pressure from outside. Nonetheless, what if we focus our efforts on readjusting the rules? Perhaps the introduction of a direct presidential election turned out to be a rather catalyzing process …

I have nothing against the strengthening of the elements of direct democracy, including the introduction of a majoritarian electoral system. However, as a political scientist, I have to distinguish between different types of that system. A single-round majority system eventually leads to the establishment of two political parties. Hereby a political majority government has been established, left or right. Given what I said about the political culture and the weakness of civil society, I am rather opposed to its introduction in the country.

Politicians get enormous power from this system, and are not effectively controlled by the opposition, because in a system where you have two political parties, the government is not revocable.

Does it entail that the opposition a priori fulfills its role well within the proportional system?

Obviously, we cannot state it that way either. However, a considerable correction exists within. We could have seen it, after all, relatively recently in the former Prime Minister Nečas coalition. The coalition was quite strong in the very beginning. We may think that it was kind of bad that the government could not rule organically. In fact, it was a defensive element of democracy.

The opposition operates here at two levels. It concerns the parliamentary opposition with regard to the government, and then within the coalition. Thus, in case of imbalances, the opposition is established right within the coalition itself. In this case, the TOP 09 Party controlled the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) to a certain extent.

The majority system also has another alternative, a two-round majority system. Might this option better suit our country?

Yes. It leaves pluralism, producing a composition similar to what we see in the proportional system, with the only difference that the MPs are elected directly.

Their responsibility is not only to political parties but also to particular voters. This is a fairly strong control element, which can be further strengthened by the fact that voters can hold a referendum in a district and can appeal the MP. I think that this system is not bad. Of course, if the electoral system to the Chamber of Deputies has to be changed, it would require the change of the electoral to the Senate as well, if we are to meet the Czech Constitution.

Do you perceive it to be a rather problematic solution?

No, on the contrary. I’ve already voiced that opinion for some time. In my view, the Senate should be more interconnected with the regions. Moreover, the upper Chamber was established more or less artificially.

81 circuits were formed without inner logic. It would

make more sense for senators to be elected within the regions. Each region could have 3–4 senators. Consequently senators could represent the regions as well.

Regions should vote at the central level, i.e. would receive additional voices, except for the governors speaking for them. The regions would have their own senators who could directly influence legislation from the position of the regions. They would have to build a coalition of regions when voting on certain laws.

So, the time is ripe for change...

I consider the time ripe for change indeed. However, it must be a complex change. We need to proceed with it. However, this change must be comprehensive. It should be an amendment to the Constitution, specifically some basic provisions. It must be clear how the highest institutions are to interact with each other, i.e. the president, government, parliament, etc. Furthermore, I think it would be good to implement an institute called „constructive vote of no confidence“. Finally, it would make sense to generally strengthen the role of government at the expense of the president. Of course, it would have to be accompanied by a change in the electoral law, and also by adoption of a high-quality civil service act. If such a complex change would be completed, it could really help in the stabilization of Czech democracy. I‘d like to point out that a number of crises have been caused mainly from uncertainties.

What kind of uncertainties?

Mostly constitutional ambiguity. The president may interpret its powers. It should also be part of the legislative changes that there is not great freedom of legislative initiative for individual MPs. In some democracies, it works so that when a proposal comes from the government, is either accepted or rejected. Yet you cannot change it. Legislative changes may be done only by a group of a particular party. It is not possible to have two hundred MPs and each of them initiatively changing the law.

So is it rather rare that MPs abroad have so much power?

It‘s rare and it does not make much sense. At the same time, the Czech constitution is inconsistent in its internal logic. On one hand, we have a system based on competition among political parties, and on the other hand, it (the Constitution) gives absolute freedom to MPs. I think this is another thing that should be corrected.

In what way?

I am talking about the “binding mandate”, for instance. If the MP regularly departs from his party‘s mandate in case of some major approval, his mandate ends. Hereby, the MP will be automatically replaced.

An explicit formulation with regard to the MPs nomination on the ballot within a proportional system could be embedded into the Constitution as well, stipulating that the MP cannot in certain major decisions deviate from the decision of a political party.

What is your view with regard to the post-election negotiations? Have you been taken by surprise by the fact that the left hasn’t won the full line?

A major issue of the election wasn’t whether the Social Democratic Party (CSSD) and hence the left was going to win it. What I consider essential is whether CSSD acts as an independent political force or as a „presidential party“. This is one of the crucial points also deciding on the future of the Czech political system. So far, unfortunately, it seems that Miloš Zeman remains the dominant player on the Czech political scene. Let‘s see who can eventually stop him.

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

Leaders Magazine V/2013 113

sport

RUNCZECH RUNNERS‘ VIEW OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC If you like running just as much as travelling RunCzech might be the missing element in your running routine! Join the RunCzech Running League 2014 to explore the beauties of the Czech Republic on the run! Each of 7 races offers a unique running experience in some of the most charming

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cities. Being the only race organizer in the world to hold 6 IAAF Road Race Labels, RunCzech assures the highest quality organization and service a runner can get.

The race season opens with the traditional Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon (5 April), the

biggest running event in the Czech Republic and the Central Europe. Join the 16th race edition surrounded by 12,500 fellow runners from around the world and admire the view of the famous Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, Dancing House and other inspiring sites of Prague.

sport Czech experience is not complete until you visit the Baroque town of Olomouc, famed for its numerous churches, unique astronomical clock, UNESCO Holy Trinity Column and other attractive sites in Olomouc region. Enter the 5th Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon (21 June, 2013) with your family and friends to enjoy the summer evening run in Czech Moravia.

The 19th O2 Prague Grand Prix (7 September, 2013) adds a whole different sensation to running in Prague. Taking place early September Prague Grand Prix offers runner friendly weather conditions as well as a unique opportunity to run at night through the illuminated streets of the city. You may choose from two disciplines: adidas Women’s Race 5 km and 10k Race (open for men and women) and save-up some energy for sightseeing!

Have you ever run cross a chemical factory?

Join the 4th Mattoni Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon (14 September 2014) for a diverse running experience that surprises with how industrial envi11th May 2014 will be a historical moment for endurance sports in the Czech Capital as the Volkswagen Prague Marathon will celebrate its 20th Anniversary. Bearing the memory of its founders the Olympic champions Emil Zátopek and Gelindo Bordin this international race attracts a record number of 10 000 runners willing to experience what it feels like to run in one of the most beautiful European capitals. Give it a try this spring!

Running passed by the colonnades, hot water springs and fountains is offered by another jewel of RunCzech Running League – the 2nd Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon (24 May 2014). The famous West Bohemian Spa resort will charm you with its exquisite architecture and breath-taking surroundings enjoyed by numerous celebrities and yet to be experienced by you…

For fast track lovers and record breakers the 3rd Mattoni České Budějovice Half Marathon (7 June 2014) is a race worth a sweat. Along the calming rivers of Vltava and Malše it will take you through the South Bohemian metropolis, known to be the home of the world renowned Budweiser beer. Get ready for a real Czech experience! ronment compliments the hilly landscapes, calming river and romantic view to the Střekov caste.

A unique ranking system of RunCzech Running League allows runners to compare their results with other participants by profession, age and gender. Runners aim for the highest score, combining the points given for completed races, time achieved and distance travelled.

This summer the RunCzech team also introduced the Running Mall – a running centre that makes home for every runner. Professional trainings and advice, the Running Club, all the necessary equipment, sport lounge, water bar, adidas Running Base... Like from your house porch, just lace up and go to greet he city of Prague!

For more information visit www.runczech.com Best accommodation offers available at www.runczechhotels.com

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Leaders Magazine V/2013 115

culture events IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

OPENING CEREMONY IN THE MIRO GALLERY PRAGUE Church of Saint Roch, Seat of MIRO Gallery Prague and Trebbia Foundation RENÉ WIRTHS (*1967) PODZIM / AUTUMN

From left: Anna Štofiková, General Director, Chronology LLC and Alena Miro, Soprano, Soloist of the Prague National Theatre

From left: PhDr. MgA. Miro Smolák, Owner and Director, MIRO Gallery Prague and René Wirths, Artist / Germany

Rudolf Zwirner, world famous gallerist with his wife Dorothea Zwirner Sergey A.Choshenko, Member of the Supervisory Board, Russian-Czech Chamber of Commerce with his wife

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From left: František Řezník, Art Manager, Ulrika Poock, Art Historian / Berlin, Mirko Lachman, Art Manager and Businessman, and Prof. Ludvik Feller, Artist / Berlin

Rumen Sazdov, Artist, PhDr. and Svetlana Michajlova PhD., Art Historian, National Gallery in Prague

events

From left: Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Director, Kunsthalle Krems / Austria, René Wirths, Artist, Alexandra Hennig, Curator and Research Associate, Kunsthalle Krems, and Michael Haas, Owner of the Michael Haas Gallery Berlin – Zurich, Main Partner of MIRO Gallery Prague

From left: JUDr. Jan Černý, Law Office Černý – Raupachová, Miloš Jaro, Advisor to the CEO, European-Russian Bank Prague, and Karel Michal, Journalist, Czech Radio

Ondřej Hájek, piano and Tatiana Roskovcová, vocal

From left: PhDr. Ludvík Kašpárek, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra with his wife and Stanislav Vaněk, TV Director, Czech Television

From left: Regina Rázlová, Actress, Petr Pavlík, Artist, and Mgr. Zdeněk Freisleben, Director, The Museum of Czech Literature Prague

Sandra Lehnertová, Vice Director, MIRO Gallery Prague and Ivan Smetáček, Pavel Smetáček & Traditional Jazz Studio

From left: Pedro Roth, Artist / Argentina, Jana Sorrosa, Logopedist / Argentina, Raul Sorrosa, Journalist / Argentina, Nicoleta Pavlova, Designer, and René Wirths, Artist

Miroslav Krupička, Czech Radio Praha and Petr Štěpán, Art Historian

Alex Dolgyykh, Artist, and Sergiy Barkovsky, Artist

117 Renata Retrová-Brierley, Owner, Circle Gallery with her husband

Vladimír Skalský, Chairman, World Association of Slovaks Living Abroad and Ondrej 4. Zimka, Sculpture / Slovakia

EU matters interview

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EU 2030 ENERGY AND CLIMATE FRAMEWORK SHOULD FOCUS ONLY ON ONE GOAL – REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS Karel Kovanda is one of the most important Czech diplomats with vast experience in various international organisations. He worked as Deputy Director General at the Directorate General for External Relations of the European Commission, as Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO and to the United Nations and also as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Earlier this year, he started a new mission as Head of the Brussels Office of ČEZ, the biggest energy company in the Czech Republic.

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

Photo: archive CEBRE

EU matters interview Mr. Kovanda, you have vast experience in the field of security issues. What do you think threatens the EU energy security these days?

The unusual aspect of EU energy security is that these days, it is mostly threatened by policies both of the European Commission and of EU Member States. In my earlier career, when I focused on security issues from the point of view of NATO, energy security threats for the EU would for example include the risk of cutting gas supplies from Ukraine, as we witnessed in 2008. Today, energy security covers the notion of reliability of energy supplies under all weather conditions and in all circumstances.

This is nowadays endangered from many sides.

Due to different energy policies of the European Commission and of Member States, we are losing our stable energy sources. European energy companies are often balancing on the edge of existence. Modern facilities are being mothballed. The Economist recently published an article quantifying that over the past few years, European energy sector has lost half a trillion Euros in assets. This is unacceptable, even if we don’t face the threat of hours-lasting blackouts which I remember from my childhood.

The current situation is a result of several factors, independent of each other, which together threaten EU energy security. In this context, CEOs of 10 of Europe’s largest energy companies, such as GdFSuez, Vattenfall, E.On, RWE but also including ČEZ, held a press conference in early October in Brussels, where they launched an initiative to communicate the severity of the situation to the European Commission in order to search, together, for solutions to these problems.

Do you feel that the attitude of the Commission is changing?

The Commission is currently preparing several important documents that will shape EU’s energy policy in the coming decades. A harbinger of positive changes is the current deliberation concerning the backloading of emission allowances in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). But the main document will be the 2030 framework for climate and energy. The main focus is, of course, on EU ETS as a whole. The system is not functioning correctly, if at all, and the price of allowances has consequently dropped very dramatically. Even if a certain volume of allowances are backloaded, there will still be too many of them on the market. So what to do next?

The Commission has prepared several scenarios, and we will see how it will handle the dramatic surplus of allowances.

Another big issue is renewable energy sources.

The support for renewables is perfectly fine as far as R&D is concerned, as well as for introducing new technologies to the market. Nevertheless, we think that many of these technologies have matured over time and ought to fight for themselves on the market. If a certain technology has been on the market for 10 or 20 years, it ought not be financially supported anymore. If it is not able to survive, then it probably isn’t the kind of technology we want to use and buy. And

of course, large support to renewables, paid, in fact, by taxpayers, dramatically increases the end-user’s electricity prices compared to production costs and creates serious market distortions. Not surprisingly, ČEZ thinks that these distortions should be eliminated and we should let the market decide which technologies are feasible.

In your opinion, what is the biggest bottleneck of the EU energy system?

Several years ago, the Commission decided to pursue not one, but three big goals – lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 20% compared with 1990, producing 20% of energy from renewables, and increasing energy efficiency by 20%. What nobody realized at the time was that as laudable as these three goals are, they aren’t necessarily compatible and cannot be all pursued at the same time. Therefore, industry and many non-governmental stakeholders push for the Commission to focus only on the most important one of these goals – reduction of emissions. That is the problem that directly influences us and our children, and in my view contributes to climate change processes. Let renewables and energy efficiency work their way through the market and let policy focus on emissions only.

Do you think the Commission will hear these voices and will focus on a single goal in its 2030 framework?

That is hard to say. We know that within the Commission itself there are diverging voices.

However, the 10 energy companies I mentioned earlier, and many others, are doing their best to explain to the Commission that this is the way 2030 framework should be drawn.

Let me get back to the EU Emissions Trading System. It is quite obvious that the system isn’t working properly. What incentives or interventions do you think could change it?

I would say that there are two issues that should be solved. I have already mentioned one – there are plenty of emission allowances out on the market.

No matter how the new framework will be shaped, the Commission has to face this issue. While “old” allowances haven’t been used up, there are “new” allowances on the market every year and nobody wants them. There is consequently no pressure on industries to modernize their plants. The second issue relates to the system of free allowances calculation. In a very simplified manner, we can say that nowadays, there is a certain volume of allowances that are thrust on the market automatically, irrespective of good the economy is, and the market sets their price.

But what to do now when there is too many of them for example as a consequence of the recent economic downturn, and market mechanisms aren’t working? ČEZ proposes a system where the volume of allowances put on the market would be determined as a function of the desired emissionreduction goals and of economic performance.

The more we want to reduce emissions, the fewer

allowances we place on the market. This will of necessity increase their price, which will stimulate companies to seek and install new, more efficient and ecological technologies. Details of this intricate proposal can be found on the ČEZ web site.

What energy sources do you think should the EU promote more?

The energy mix is within the competence of each Member State. That is why Germany could decide to turn off all the nuclear plants by 2022, while France will keep on using them. The European Commission cannot force a particular Member States to do anything specific in this area. However, the Commission should ensure that the fundamental market principles are being kept and strive to develop a smoothly functioning pan-EU internal energy market.

According to you, how should the EU deal with the increasing prices of energy? And how should it deal with the loss of competitiveness in comparison with other countries in the world, e.g., the United States, where energy prices are much lower than in the EU? I think the Commission should push Member States much more assertively to implement principles that have been on the books for a long time now. That is the Third Energy Package, which has been implemented rather spottily by Member States so far. Decreasing consumer energy prices would then be much simpler and no subsidies or state aid, especially for mature renewables, would be needed. That would have a positive impact on end-users’ energy prices, energy companies would benefit, and competitiveness of EU businesses vis-a-vis their US counterparts would increase. We hear about European businesses moving to the US, where energy prices are very attractive. The chemical industry is one which really struggles to survive in the EU. You have lived in the US for a long time, so I’m sure you watch very closely the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. Do you think that this agreement could have a positive impact on the energy sector as well?

We are at the beginning of the negotiations, both sides are deciding what areas and sectors should be included in the agreement. Energy may well be included – I’m not aware of any fundamental difficulties there, comparable perhaps to the issue of genetically modified organisms in agriculture. It could be very interesting for the EU to import shale gas from the US, which won’t be drilled very much across Europe, except for Poland and maybe the UK. And of course, everybody could benefit from the elimination of customs tariffs.

Mr. Kovanda, thank you very much for your time.

Tomáš Hartman, Deputy Director of CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU ■

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EU matters debates Photo: Jiří Janda From left: Pavel Fára, International Relations Manager, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Anna Teličková, Director, Multilateral and Common Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Jaroslav Jelínek, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Office in Canada, and Alena Vlačihová, Director, CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

EU FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Both the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), that are currently being negotiated, aim at removing trade barriers in a wide range of sectors to make the trade exchange between the EU and the North America even more intensive. Successful conclusions of these two agreements will not only bring significant economic benefits, but will also strengthen political relations between both sides of the Atlantic. The impact of the agreements on the European and Czech economy was discussed by representatives of Czech government and business organizations during a debate organized by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and Czech Trade Promotion Agency CzechTrade on the 9th October 2013 in Brno.

From left: Representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Tomáš Hartman, Deputy Director, CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU, and Jaroslav Jelínek, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Office in Canada

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From left: Pavel Fára, International Relations Manager, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Anna Teličková, Director, Multilateral and Common Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Jaroslav Jelínek, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Office in Canada, and Alena Vlačihová, Director, CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU

From left: Jan Rovenský, Greenpeace Czech Republic, Josef Zbořil, Honorary Member, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic and Member of European Economic and Social Committee, Pavel Zámyslický, Director, Energy and Climate Protection Department, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, and Marten Westrup, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

EU matters debates Photo: archive CEBRE

TARGETS FOR 2030 MUST BE FEASIBLE

IN COOPERATION WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

By the end of the year, the European Commission is to submit a proposal for a 2030 framework for climate and energy policies. Before that, wide range of questions regarding the main aspects of further development after 2020 and specific actions and targets to be taken by 2030 needs to be answered.

A Green Paper on a 2030 framework for climate and energy policies, adopted by the Commission on 27th March 2013, covers the set of related questions. With a few exceptions, the EU continues fulfilling its 2020 targets quite successfully. Now it is time to come up with new targets for post 2020.In order to find out the opinion of Czech public and professionals in the field of energy and climate policy in the EU and thus contribute to the European debate, CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU together with the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic, European Parliament Information Office in the Czech Republic and Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic co-organized a debate in the European House in Prague on 9th September.

Participants of the debate

121 Josef Zbořil, Honorary Member, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic and Member of European Economic and Social Committee

Marten Westrup, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission

EU matters business

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADERS MAGAZINE

BUSINESS NEWS September–October 2013

DID YOU KNOW THAT…? ...the European Parliament backed proposal for an optional Common European Sales Law? The great majority of the Committee for Legal Affairs (JURI) of the European Parliament supported the proposal for an optional Common European Sales Law for consumers and businesses which is aimed at harmonizing contract law rules in the EU. The purpose of the proposal is mainly the removal of barriers to cross-border trade and the promotion of small and mediumsized enterprises. The 28 different sets of national rules can lead to additional transaction costs, a lack of legal certainty for businesses and a lack of consumer confidence. With the principle of subsidiarity in mind, the proposal uses an innovative approach to deepen the Single Market, providing a harmonised set of contract law rules which will co-exist with national contract law and not replace it. The view on CESL is quite different in the Council and it seems not to be easy to get all members on board.

From a business’ and consumers’ point of view it can create rather more complex environment difficult to put in practice. ... a new banking supervision system will be created?

The European Parliament approved the creation of a new banking supervision system, which aims to establish a single supervisory mechanism for the banks in the euro area. The European Central Bank (ECB) will have a direct oversight over approximately 150 largest banks in the EU. The system will be mandatory for members of the euro area, but also other EU Member States may join the single supervisory mechanism if they wish so. The Regulation will enter into force following the approval by the EU Council and publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Thereafter, the ECB is enabled to formally initiate all the key preparatory activities, so that it is able to fully assume its supervisory tasks in September 2014. ...the Single Market Month event was held?

Between 23rd September and 23rd October 2013, the European Commission launched a campaign called “Single Market Month”, which aimed to create an opportunity to share opinions, ideas and remarks regarding the future development of the Single Market and the way EU is focusing on European citizens, entrepreneurs and experts in the area of the Single Market. The public discussion on this topic took place on the Internet via online debates and chats, so the participants had a chance to interact directly with policy makers. The month was divided into four thematic areas: Jobs, Social Rights, Banks, and e-Commerce. The most promising ideas of this campaign will be collected and included in the report which is to be published by the end of the year. These could also possibly feed into the EU legal proposals in the future. ...ITRE approved COSME and Horizon 2020?

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament approved the research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 and the SMEs programme COSME for 2014–2020. Parliament’s negotiators ensured that €740 million of the Horizon 2020 budget will be used to introduce new measures to expand the group of researchers in this programme.

COSME (Competitiveness of Enterprises and small and mediumsized enterprises), the other approved programme, is entirely dedicated to SMEs. For this programme, MEPs managed to reduce bureaucracy and earmark 60% of its budget for riskfinancing or loan guarantees, which are the programme‘s main tools to help SMEs with lack of finances. Finally, it was ensured that the European Institute of Technology (EIT) will have a budget of its own amounting to €2.5 billion. The budgets for the new programmes are expected to be €77 billion for Horizon 2020 and €2 billion for COSME for 2014–2020. …the European Commission identified about 150 new trade restrictions?

EU Report on Potentially Trade-Restrictive Measures dealing with protectionist measures in the world carried out by the European Commission identified about 150 new trade restrictions introduced over the last year. Over the same period, it has been managed to remove only 18 of them. Although the global protectionist trend is slower, there has been a worrying

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increase in the adoption of certain highly trade-disruptive measures which slow down the trade liberalization between the EU and its main trading partners, including the G20. The main conclusions of the report were a sharp increase in the use of measures applied directly at the borders, measures forcing to use domestic goods and unjustified support of some domestic industrial sectors.

LET’S TALK NUMBERS… Red tape for EU businesses reduced by up to €32.3 billion a year President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso pointed to the successful completion of the EU Action Programme for reducing administrative burdens. Thanks to measures taken by the Commission for the last five years, the administrative burden for businesses in the EU was reduced by up to €32.3 billion annually which represents an excess of 1.1% of the target value which was set in the Action Programme. The measures included switching to a fully electronic VAT invoicing system and reducing the number of companies that need to provide data for intra-EU trade statistics. The latest initiative, adopted in June this year, further simplified accounting rules for small companies (with max. 50 employees), with an estimated annual savings of about €1.5 billion.

35% of jobs in the EU rely on IPR-intensive industries A study of the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) revealed that approximately 39% of all economic activity in the EU (estimated €4.7 trillion per year) is generated by intellectual property rights intensive industries. A publication entitled “Industry intensive use of intellectual property rights and their contribution to economic performavvnce and employment in Europe” has focused on intellectual property and evaluated its importance for the EU economy. Approximately 26% of all jobs in the EU (56 million persons) are provided directly by the surveyed sectors and a further 9% of jobs indirectly, resulted from the study. Other findings include the fact that the average remuneration in IPRintensive sectors is more than 40% higher than in other sectors.

Examples of IPR-intensive industries include manufacturing of power-driven hand tools, manufacturing of basic pharmaceutical products, manufacturing of watches and clocks or book publishing.

Billions lost in VAT Gap According to a new study on the VAT Gap in Member States released by European Commission, an estimated gap of €193 billion in VAT revenues (1.5% of GDP) was recorded. The so-called VAT Gap, which is the difference between the amount of VAT due and the amount actually collected, amounts to 1.5% of EU GDP. The lower VAT income is not only a result of frauds, but unpaid VAT is also due to bankruptcies and insolvencies, statistical errors, delayed payments or legal avoidance. According to a released study, a multi-pronged approach to tackle the VAT Gap effectively should be introduced. The study recommended to simplify the system for taxpayers to comply with the rules, to reform national tax systems of Member States and finally to act strongly against frauds and tax non-payers.

26,595 million men and women in EU28 were unemployed in August 2013 According to the latest data of the EU statistics office, EUROSTAT, the unemployment rate in the EU28 and euro area in August was stable compared to the previous month. The unemployment rate was 12% in the euro area and 10.9% in the EU28. In comparison with the previous year, both indicators have risen, by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.3% in the whole EU. EUROSTAT reported that across the EU there were 26,595 million men and women unemployed in total. Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9%) and Germany (5.2%), while in southern European countries – Greece and Spain, the unemployment rate exceeded 25%. Both of these states have been also struggling with the highest unemployment rate of young people (under 25).

EUROSTAT observed an enormous youth unemployment rate of 61.5% in Greece in June 2013.

IN THE WORLD EU and Thailand concluded second round of FTA negotiations EU-Thailand negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) have finished its second round. Negotiations were held from 16–20th September in Thailand and followed up on the work done in the first round which took place in Brussels.

During this round, negotiation teams discussed a wide range of issues which included goods, rules of origin, services and investment, public procurement, intellectual property, trade remedies and trade and sustainable development. Trade between the EU and Thailand reached nearly €32 billion in 2012. Both sides have agreed on a next round of negotiations which will be held in Brussels from 9–13th December 2013.

EU-Singapore negotiations: Door to Southeast Asia The EU and Singapore released the text of the future Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) they have negotiated on 20 September 2013. It is the first EU deal with a Southeast Asian economy which brings the opportunity to open door for EU trade negotiations with other ASEAN members. Beyond this regional perspective, the EUSFTA is also expected to have significant economic effects, for example growth of EU real GDP by around €550 million in comparison to an increase of €2.7 billion for Singapore. The draft agreement is currently being translated into all 24 EU languages and will then be submitted to the European Commission and the Council of Ministers for formal approval before the final ratification in a plenary vote in the European Parliament.

Taiwanese high-level business delegation in Europe Taiwanese business delegation visited Brussels to discuss current business conditions in Taiwan and in the European Union and the level of cooperation between the two partners. The group of 16 business leaders has been accepted by the Director General of BUSINESSEUROPE Markus J. Beyrer. Both sides agreed that the European Commission and the government of Taiwan should evaluate the current state of cooperation and explore possible future initiatives to further strengthening the bilateral trade with the goal of reaching an agreement on economic cooperation.

Europe has been the biggest source of Taiwan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years, with US $1.7 billion invested in 2012, or 31% of the total FDI for the year.

Serbia – a step closer to the EU membership On 1st September the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Union and Serbia entered into force.

This step should help Serbia in convergence with the EU legal framework, while reinforcing positive economic results of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade related matters. Serbian export to the EU grew by 32.5% in 2010 and almost 15% in the following year.

Moreover, during the first 11 months of 2012, Serbia exports to the EU grew by 4.8% and its imports from the EU grew by 9.2%. Serbia follows its Balkan neighbours – Macedonia, Croatia, Albania and Montenegro, where have similar SAAs already entered into force.

Mission for growth to Israel In order to increase bilateral business relations and market integration in mutually beneficial ways to boost strong sustainable growth and create jobs, the Vice-president of the European Commission – Antonio Tajani conducted a mission for growth to Israel on 22nd–23rd October. The mission targeted numerous industry sectors; however, innovative and environmental technologies were crucial topics on the agenda since the Mission has been organised in conjunction with the Water Technology & Environment Control Exhibition and Conference in Tel Aviv on 22nd –24th October.

The main objectives were to promote innovation and sustainable growth, help EU companies, in particular SMEs, to operate in Israel and promote EU industry in targeted sectors by participating in matchmaking events with local entrepreneurs. The mission addressed the following industrial sectors: environmental technologies, raw materials, space technologies, processed agricultural products, fashion & high-end industry and automotive industry.

Brought by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU (kindly supported by Ministry of Industry and Trade of the CR), www.cebre.cz

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Here comes some philately with real power!

We have created this unique book of stamps with two of the most celebrated automotive jewels in Czech history. You don’t have to be a huge car enthusiast to appreciate its beauty. Will you send letters with style, or spark up your prized collection?

Good news – each book holds eight stamps, you can do both.

Letter marked stamps can be used for any mail instead of equally priced stamps.

www.ceskaposta.cz

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6.11.2013 17:12:40