Czech & Slovak Leaders 03/2018

THE PLACE WHERE LEADERS ARE SEEN MÍSTO KDE JSOU LÍDŘI VIDĚT

Czech & Slovak Leaders III/2018

AUGUST – NOVEMBER 2018

Greg McStravick, President SAP Database and Data Management

www.czechleaders.com

INTERVIEWS | EVENTS | PR | EU MATTERS

Data Transformation and Future Beyond 2018

available worldwide online

P hoto : A rchive

www.czechleaders.com incl. electronic version Praha I Bratislava I Brno I Ostrava I Plzeň I Liberec I Olomouc I Hradec Králové I České Budějovice I Pardubice I Zlín I Jihlava I Karlovy Vary I Mladá Boleslav

diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, Ludmila Holková, Scientist and Pedagogue, and Professor Oldřich Kašpar

Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic awarded two distinguished Czechs citizens with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award given by the Government of Mexico to foreigners for their outstanding services rendered to the Mexican nation or to humanity. The honor was given to Dr. Ludmila Holková and Professor Oldřich Kašpar with warm words from the ambassador: "Your excellent work represents a bridge of friendship that unites Mexico and the Czech Republic and it is an immense honor to impose the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, symbol of the origin, identity, and strength of Mexico."

Ludmila Holková interviewed by Czech Radio

Dr. Ludmila Holková, scientist and pedagogue recognized both in the Czech Republic and in Mexico, where she has been living since 1965. Mexicans appreciate her untiring work and effort in favor of the relationship between Mexico and the Czech Republic, which has been reflected in many scientific works and literary translations that bring the Mexican history and culture closer to the Czechs.

Professor Oldřich Kašpar, who has dedicated his career especially to the scientific and pedagogical activities related to the history and the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Latin America, especially Mexico, and the relationship of Mexico with the Czech Republic.

Professor Oldřich Kašpar interviewed by Freddy Valverde from Radio Prague - Czech Radio

diplomatic event From left: H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, Ludmila Holková, Scientist and Pedagogue, and Professor Oldřich Kašpar

H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic interviewed by Czech Radio

From left: Ludmila Holková, Scientist and Pedagogue, H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, and Professor Oldřich Kašpar

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P ublisher ’ s

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DEAR READERS, Hot, hot, hot!

As I write these words, it is around 33 Celsius. I have never experienced such a heatwave in the Czech Republic for such a long time. In Sweden, where I come from, it is the same with dire consequences such as droughts, wildfires and big problems for the farmers.

events 8

State Visit President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman representing the Czech Republic 10 Senate Israel after 70 years and its relations with the Czech Republic 11 Senate President of the Senate in Israel 12 Senate 100th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Agreement 20 Summer party of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce 26 Round Table of Comenius Discussion Dinner with Ms. Karla Šlechtová, Minister of Defense  page 11

I think, Dear Readers, that we must all of us take this climate changes seriously and do our utmost to be more kind to our Nature. We owe this to our children, grandchildren and the coming generations. Increasingly we know that we all must take a personal interest, raising awareness and shouldering the responsibility to do our part in reducing carbon dioxide – the main cause of pollution in the atmosphere.

In this issue we have great interviews such as, Greg Mc Stravik, the extremely capable President of SAP Database/Data Management, William E. Soteroff and Jana Hrstková from the launch of the worldwide Keller Williams real estate franchise in the Czech Republic, Prof. MUDr Richard Češka, President of the Czech Society of Internal Medicine, H.E. Christoph Israng, Ambassador of Germany, Mr. Milan Hnilička, the famous Czech Hockey Goalkeeper and now member of Parliament, and Mrs. Silvia Lepiarczyk, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist to mention a few.

You will also find a lot of interesting and important events – a few of them are the SBP Security Conference, Czech/German Chamber traditional Summerfest, 17th Annual International TREBBIA Award at Prague Castle, Round Table by Comenius, Berlin Global Female Forum, Uniqa Insurance 25th Anniversary at Žofín Palace, Zlatá Koruna Award for Best Financial Products of the Year, Judaism Progressive Conference in Prague Municipal House, Embassy of Pakistan Mango and Fashion Gala Event at Žofín Palace, Insurer of the Year 2017 by AČPM, Presidential visits, Senate activities, and Farewell Reception for the Chinese Ambassador.

Dear Readers, have a great end of summer and enjoy the colours of autumn. Wherever you are, whatever you do and whenever you can, save some energy for the future, both to inspire and to help and care for others.

Benke Aikell benke.aikell@czechleaders.com www.czechleaders.com

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From left: Milan Štěch, President of the Senate with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

28 Round Table of Comenius Discussion meeting with Eduard Muřický, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade 40 Hilton Prague Old Town Celebrates 25th Anniversary 50 5th Annual Global Female Leaders Summit 2018 in Berlin 52 Insurer of the Year 2017 63 The first European Conference on Innovative Politics 2018 in Prague 66 Endowment Fund of Mrs Livia Klausová and Mr Václav Klaus 67 Praga 1968 72 Keller Williams at the US residence 76 UNIQA celebrates its 25th Anniversary at Palace Žofín 84 Global Forum 2018 86 The tune is "Leaders voice" 87 Charity Golf for Paraple 90 ELAI Innovation Week 2018 92 Zlatá Koruna Awards 96 Culinary event for the promotion of Greek gastronomy 102 ECCE held its annual Grand reception at the Grand Mark Hotel 108European Union for Progressive Judaism conference Regeneration Building Progressive Jewish Life in the Czech Republic 114 Wiener Grindzinger Heuriger at the Austrian Ambassador’s Residence

C ontents

interviews

culture events  page 5

30 17th International Trebbia Awards 80 Reflections by Helena Kroftová Leisztner  page 80

diplomatic events

Greg McStravick, President, SAP Database and Data Management

1 Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle - la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca 16 Events organized by the Embassy of Pakistan 25 Morocco National Day 46 Egypt National Day 54 Farewell Reception of Canada Ambassador 56 Italian National Day 104China National Day

5 Interview with Greg McStravick Data transformation and future beyond 2018 42 Interview with William E. Soteroff and Jana Hrstková On Keller Williams as an extended family, values and changing people´s lives 48 Interview with Jiří Homola Science today is a team affair 58 Interview with Christoph Israng Let us look for answers together 60 Interview with Richard Češka On prevention, exercise and food 68 Interview with Silvia Lepiarczyk One woman, thousand opportunities 94 Interview with Milan Hnilička Getting the Czech Republic exercising 98 Interview with Kateřina Falk Make sure you get enough rest.

A tired brain cannot be creative.

 page 54

 page 94

From left: Mr. William Lobkowicz, Mrs. Mína Muchová, Marcus Mucha, President, Mucha Foundation, Mrs. Alexandra Lobkowicz, and H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada Milan Hnilička, Member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

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contents

contributors 19 Cristina Muntean LQ: your career journey into the future 45 Petra Sršňová Effective time management, importance vs. urgency 64 James A. Cusumano Life is beautiful! Part X: The Black Panther In Our Family 70 Alena Huberová What a bitch!

82 Eva Gáboríková How does an intercultural coach support leaders doing business at an international level?

88 Jan Mühlfeit and Kateřina Novotná Who we are? Self-awareness as anxiety prevention 100 Tereza Urbánková Have you got licence to fail?

101 Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy More connections ... and less communication!

106 Iva Drebitko Saint Petersburg 111 Jonathan Wootliff Czech society continues to discriminate against women, it’s time to welcome a new era of enlightenment

Jan Mühlfeit, Kateřina Novotná

 page 88

Publisher: Benke Aikell Head of Editorial: Lenka Helena Koenigsmark Office Assistant: Tatiana Fominykh Webmaster: Petra Kubernátová DTP: Šárka Krausová EU Matters: CEBRE Czech Business Representation, CESES, Europlatform Contributors: James A. Cusumano, Martina Hošková, Lenka Helena Koenigsmark, Jan Mühlfeit, Eva Gáboríková, Alena Huberová, Linda Štucbartová, Tereza Urbánková, Jonathan Wootliff, Alena Huberová, Elisabet Dennehy, Jan Muhlfeit, Cristina Muntean, Petra Sršňová Photographers: Vladimír Weiss, Hana Brožková, Martin Janas, Katarina Gritt, Stanislav Milata, Jaromír Zubák, Eva Davidová, Tereza Šlápotová, Stanislava Kyselová Subscription: Czech & Slovak Leaders, Rumunská 1, 120 00 Praha 2 We appreciate your opinions of Czech & Slovak Leaders.

EU matters 116 EU matters interview Interview with Christian Verschueren, Director General of Eurocommerce 118 EU debate Online platforms in accommodation services (Prague) EU budget framework after 2020 CEBRE founders met with Czech MEPs 120 EU matters business

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E xclusive I nterview : G reg M c S travick , P resident SAP D atabase

and

D ata M anagement I nterview P hoto : A rchive

Data Transformation and Future Beyond 2018 Greg McStravick is the President of Database and Data Management at SAP, leading development and go-to-market (GTM) teams for SAP’s core technology innovation platform – SAP HANA® – as well as for SAP® databases (including SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise and SAP IQ), SAP solutions for enterprise information management, middleware, and SAP® Vora™.

Formerly, Greg led the GTM teams and strategy for some of SAP’s largest and fastest-growing areas of business including SAP HANA, Analytics, Database Software, and SAP Cloud Platform. With more than 20 years of progressive experience as a leader in technology solution sales management and strategy, Greg has held senior leadership positions throughout SAP, including President of U.S. operations, where he was responsible for driving customer success and developing new opportunities for SAP to expand the business across the entire United States.

My interview with Greg took place on the occasion of his visit to Prague where he delivered a keynote speech at the conference BI & HANA organized by SAPinsider, SAP’s global partner. It was a privilege for the Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine to have the opportunity to interview Mr. McStravick on the latest development in the fast growing and changing IT industry. Despite the fact that issues such as digital transformation, Industry 4.0, market trends and disruptions due to new technologies have dominated the media coverage for a couple of years, there seems to be still a huge gap between awareness and execution. According to a poll of 1,000 CEOs with regards to digital transformation, 90 % of CEOs understood the need for digital transformation, 25 % of CEOs had a strategy and a vision how to leverage it and only 15 % went ahead and funded specific projects to take advantage. During our interview, we did not discuss only SAP HANA being the fastest growing product, but also many related issues, such as innovator’s dilemma and future trends in data management.

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I nterview Prior to looking into the future, let us just take a step back to reflect the past. SAP HANA was launched in 2010. If I can make a parallel with a child’s development, psychologists claim that first seven years are the most crucial in a life. So now turning to SAP HANA as your child, how well did you manage as a parent?

SAP HANA is the fastest growing product in the history of SAP. I like the timing of the question because this year is truly the pivotal year in the history of SAP HANA’s development. During the first seven plus years, we spent the majority of our time implementing SAP HANA in customer environments mainly for SAP applications.

Technically speaking, SAP HANA was designed from the ground up organically, as we did not take any existing product, instead we matured our own, because we leveraged a lot of advances that were happening in technology in general. We re-architected the way the software applications were written. This year, we realized that we have reached critical mass with our existing customers base. In order to continue SAP HANA’s growth trajectory, we needed to start positioning for being utilized outside the existing SAP applications. We have begun to look for non-SAP user cases.

We have always known that SAP HANA is not only for SAP environment. But we are more and more opening our own eyes inside SAP as well as world’s eyes towards SAP HANA and a combined environment.

Let us continue along the child development analogy. Being a proud parent of SAP HANA, now maturing on her own, do you fear adolescent years coming?

You have examples of children that mature immediately with no worries and I am a confident parent knowing we have a mature child. I am not worried about getting a driver’s license and giving the child more freedom. (laughing) As you mentioned, SAP HANA is the fastest growing product. What other achievements of SAP HANA are you the proudest of?

We have already talked about market uptake, adoption and utilization of SAP HANA. The company is and should be proud of all these three elements. The second element is pushing the frontier what can be done. We continue to challenge ourselves to differentiate SAP HANA as opposed to the competition. When you introduce a product to the market, it is pretty easy for fast followers to copy your intellectual property and to catch up with you. With our development company, we have spent a huge amount of energy and engineering effort to make sure we are ahead of the market, by doing anonymization in our databases or connecting data sources and cloud on data hub. The third element, being the result of the previous ones, we have demonstrated, both internally and externally, that SAP is not just an ERP company.

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(ERP: enterprise resource planning – remark by the author). Companies that get comfortable in their existing environment do not last very long.

The innovators dilemma was one of the themes of your keynote in Prague titled Future Beyond 2018 and data transformation. For those who could not have attend it, can you summarize your main message?

I call companies that fail to innovate “digital dinosaurs”. One example of such a business is Blockbuster. But there are many more. Look at the list of Fortune 500 companies. 40 % of those companies featured now were not mentioned 10 years ago. I am truly proud that SAP has been able to reinvent itself and put itself into data management and database market.

We have reached Industry 4.0 phase. This one is defined by cyber-physical systems triggered by technology. These intelligent systems use the available technology which allow us to change not only the way we run businesses but the way we run our lives. All is connected to technology data and creation of data. These cyber-physical systems will leverage features like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to self-correct, to learn and to evolve.

The vision aims at companies that can run themselves in a lot of ways more effectively just by putting these systems. However, the systems need data, as they are fueled by them.

Can you provide one specific example of an industry that can transform itself and data is the only thing that is limiting it?

I use the example of auto insurance industry.

The practice goes as follows: they compare two males, approximately the same age, geography, type of a car and perhaps few other details such as driving history or average mileage and based on the limited and rather similar data sets, they issue the same price for the two individuals, charged either monthly, bi-annually or annually.

This model does not work. There are 1.4 billion cars in the world and their collective utilization rate is 4 %. That means there is 96 % excess capacity. Those having their car parked in the garage should realize that they are paying to park something they are not using. Does it make sense? Not to the young generation that does not want to be anchored to a car anymore. Most insurance policies are anchored to a car, at least in the US. This is going to change. But look at other data available: what time of a day one is driving, what is the weather generally like, what are personal driving patterns such as exceeding speed limits, changing lines frequently or getting too close to other cars? All these geospatial data are available, most of them in mobiles already.

Start-up insurance companies will completely change the traditional pricing models. The future model will be dynamic, based on the individual driver and his capabilities, actual time and conditions. Basically, it will be a utility bill per time when driving.

I have mentioned this example how a digital native could come and disrupt existing

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

enterprises companies dilemma or I started by so often.

in the industry. The existing must face either innovator’s fear being disrupted. That is why mentioning Fortune 500 flipping

We have discussed data a lot. How can we make sure that we distinguish data quantity from data quality? In past, we have seen that certain innovations were not as successful as they were expected, for the very reason of being based on the wrong set of initial data. The example often cited is the first generation of seat belts that used to be harmful for smaller women and men, as the dummies testing those were based on data available based on the sample population of army soldiers.

Are you familiar with the saying perfection is the enemy of good? Had not we tested the first generation of seat belts, we would not have learned how to improve them. Fear of not having a perfect solution for me is not a reason not to move forward. The same thing applies to AI and machine learning. Having said that, I need to stress that the entire world of cloud infrastructure allows you, as a data scientist or a business analyst, to try and safely fail on new cases and scenarios. Elastic computing, elastic infrastructure and software as service, which is provided by the cloud, can quickly spin up and try use cases that might change the way the business works. Six months later, you might find that the solution is not working. However, as you did not have to invest into hardware, software, infrastructure and others, the fear of failure is reduced. Barriers of execution have come down through the advances in the cloud.

At the same time, there are many tools available that provide data cleansing, data nomenclature and other tasks. Our system SAP Data Hub, a part of SAP HANA Data Management Suite, is designed to connect SAP HANA to other data sources. You rightly pointed out that we need track and traceability. We need to know where these data were sourced from, we need to know how old the data is or whether the data has been transformed since it was created. All of these functions are capable through Data Hub and Data Management Suite, so you begin to prequalify and know that you have the right data and the right data needed for the right algorithm or the process you are trying to create. Most companies have six to eight different clouds, so data truly sits everywhere.

Digital transformation can be characterized by a huge gap between awareness and action. What can be the wake-up call?

As we have discussed the potential of disruption, I would really challenge companies to leverage cloud infrastructure to try different scenarios. By 2025, a 40% increase in labor productivity is expected due to digital transformation. This will happen in seven years!

Are companies ready? On top of that, 70 % of data used for digital transformation

I nterview projects will come from outside of the companies. I have mentioned auto insurance, cars providing driver performance data will enable car companies to enter data business.

Likewise, one US sports apparel manufacture is collecting data about perspiration, nutrition, work out etc. and hospitals have already talked to them interested about acquiring the data. We have GDPR on one hand but on the other hand there are movements that require

companies to value data and put them on the balance sheet.

What is your final message to Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine readers?

It was my pleasure to talk about Industry 4.0 and the consequences on the future of business and society as a whole. Companies do need to challenge themselves and I encourage them to think through some innovative use cases how

to leverage data to digitally transform. Last but not least, I ask them to challenge SAP to help them. We offer design thinking, we have both tools and people available that will allow them to try and fail or even better, try and succeed.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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P residential

P hoto : A rchive KPR, H ana B rožková

PRESIDENT MILOŠ ZEMAN

Zlatý Amos - rewarding the best teachers in the Czech Republic

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The Village of the Year Award

Gold Rescue Cross Award

The Apostolic Nuncio Giuseppe Leanza receiving the State Honor - The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

The state visit of Slovakia

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P residential

Celebrating 70th anniversary of the Independence of the State of Israel

Official appointment of the army generals

Act of piety

The state visit of Poland

The state visit of Poland

The state visit of Poland

The official visit of Moravian-Silesian Region

The official visit of Moravian-Silesian Region

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The presidium of the Conference in the Senate (from left): a publicist from Czech Radio Jefim Fištejn, Minister of Foreign Affairs in resignation Martin Stropnický, the 1st Vice-President of the Senate Miluše Horská, the Vice-President of the Senate Jiří Šesták and the Ambassador of the State of Israel in the Czech Republic Daniel Meron

"Israel after 70 years and its relations with the Czech Republic" In the Waldstein Palace, there was held a conference to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Czech Republic. The top representatives of the Upper Chamber of the Parliament Miluše Horská and Jiří Šesták, the Ambassador of the State of Israel in the Czech Republic Daniel Meron, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in resignation Martin Stropnický and other invited guests attended this event.

During a conversation in the Main Hall (from left): Minister of Foreign Affairs in resignation Martin Stropnický, the Vice-President of the Senate Jiří Šesták and the 1st Vice-President of the Senate Miluše Horská

2nd panel conference with speakers (from left): former Minister of Culture Daniel Herman, former director of the Czech Center in Tel Aviv Lukáš Přibyl, the 1st Vice-President of the Senate Miluše Horská, the Vice-President of the Senate Jiří Šesták and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Israel Ivo Schwarz

The Vice-Presidents of the Senate during the conference

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The Ambassador of the State of Israel in the Czech Republic Daniel Meron (on the right) with invited conference guests

Conference participants had a spot available information panels

President of the Senate in Israel

S enate

100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia

President of the Senate, Milan Štěch, visited Israel with three other senators. He opened the “Masaryk and the Holy Land” exhibition, which recalls for the Israeli public the first Czechoslovak President’s visit to Jerusalem in 1927, alongside Speaker of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) Yuli-Yoel Edelstein and Andrej Danko, Speaker of the Slovak National Council. He also met the Israeli President and Prime Minister.

Robert Řehák of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrej Danko, Speaker of the Slovak National Council, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Milan Štěch, President of the Czech Senate, and Robert Mikoláš, Director of the Czech Centre in Israel

Milan Štěch, President of the Senate with Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Speaker of the Knesset and Andrej Danko, Speaker of the Slovak National Council

From left: Milan Štěch, President of the Senate with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

Meeting in the Knesset with Yuli-Yoel Edelstein

From left: H.E. Daniel Meron, Israeli Ambassador in the Czech Republic, Milan Štěch, President of the Senate and Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Speaker of the Knesset

Milan Štěch, President of the Senate and delegation visit the Israeli memorial to the victims and heroes of the Holocaust, Yad Vashem

Also participating in the meeting with Knesset Speaker Edelstein were representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, left Secretary Tomáš Kraus, right President Petr Papoušek

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S enate

P hoto : S enate C hancellory

A commemoration ceremony took place in the Senate marking the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Pittsburgh Agreement, in which Czechs and Slovaks living in the USA supported the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia. Senate Vice-President, Jaroslav Kubera, alongside Slovak Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Peter Weiss, and American Ambassador, Stephen B. King, recalled the importance of the document for the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic. A copy of the Pittsburgh Agreement is on permanent display in the Senate Chamber.

From left: moderator Michaela Sahulová, Slovak Ambassador Peter Weiss, Vice-President of the Senate Jaroslav Kubera, American Ambassador Stephen B. King and an interpreter The ceremony took place in the Waldstein Garden in Prague, part of the Parliament of the Czech Republic’s Senate seat

American Ambassador Stephen B. King, Slovak Ambassador Peter Weiss, Vice-President of the Senate Jaroslav Kubera and an interpreter

American Ambassador Stephen B. King is speaking, to the right Slovak Ambassador Peter Weiss and Vice-President of the Senate Jaroslav Kubera

Garden celebration guests

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Senator and Chairperson of the Standing Senate Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad Tomáš Grulich

Archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka with USA Ambassador Stephen B. King

Senator Lumír Kantor with a guest

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S ecurity P olicy - S pring S ecurity C onference

Strategic Autonomy

Stronger Europe in a Turbulent World?

From left: Aleš Chmelař, State Secretary for European Affairs, H.E. Roland Galharague, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, Lubomír Zaorálek, Chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, President EuroDéfense-CZ, Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy, Edward Rhodes, George Mason University, Washington, D.C., Claudia Major, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin, and Vincenzo Camporini, Vice President of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome

The annual Spring Security Conference with a provocative title “Strategic Autonomy: Stronger Europe in a Turbulent World?” took place on Friday, May 25th, 2018 in the House for Professed, Prague. The conference with more than 180 attendees was traditionally organized by the Center for Security Policy, IPS, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. representation in the Czech Republic. On the eve of the conference, the Ambassador of Italy in Prague hosted a reception for speakers and partners.

From left: H.E. Aldo Amati, Ambassador of Italy to the Czech Republic, Vincenzo Camporini, Vice President of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome, former Chief of Defence General Staff of Italy, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Pavel Mička, Center for Security Policy, and Dana Kovaříková, Head of European Commission Representation in the Czech Republic

From left: Robert Prokop, Owner of URC Systems, Milan Janíček, URC Systems, and Kateřina Smrčenská, Institute of Joint Cooperation, a.s.

From left: Gabriela Balabánová, spouse of Miloš Balabán, Zlata Vodenková, Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Mirka Kortusová, Center for Security Policy, and Pavlína Bláhová, Center for Security Policy

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S ecurity P olicy - S pring S ecurity C onference

First row from left: Vincenzo Camporini, Istituto Affari Intenazionali, Rome, Claudia Major, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin, Edward Rhodes, George Mason University, Washington, D.C., Jan Ludvík, Center for Security Policy, Charles University

From left: Michal Smetana, Center for Security Policy, and Jan Ludvík, Center for Security Policy

From left: Martin Uher, Chairman of the Board of Directors, CyberGym Europe, a.s., Andrej Čírtek, Spokesperson of Czechoslovak Group Holding, Pieter Taal, Head of Unit Industry Strategy and Wider EU Policies, European Defence Agency, Libor Stejskal, Center for Security Policy, Tomáš Kopečný, Director of Defence Industrial Cooperation Department, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, Patrick Bellouard, President of EuroDéfense-France, former Director of OCCAR, and Dušan Švarc, Deputy of Executive Director, Defence and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic

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S ecurity P olicy - S pring S ecurity C onference

From left: Aleš Chmelař, State Secretary for European Affairs, H.E. Roland Galharague, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic, and Lubomír Zaorálek, Chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, President EuroDéfense-CZ

From left: Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy, Edward Rhodes, George Mason University, Washington, D.C., and Claudia Major, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin

From left: Jan Ludvík, Center for Security Policy, Charles University, Arnaud Danjean, Member of the European Parliament, Chairman of the French drafting board working on a Strategic Review of National Defence and Security, and Bogdan Klich, Member of the Senate of Poland, Deputy Chairman of the Senate´s Committee on Foreign Affairs, former Minister of Defence

From left: Miroslav Žižka, former Military Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO and the EU, Vincenzo Camporini, Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome, and Claudia Major, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin

From left: Patrick Bellouard, President of EuroDéfense-France, former Director of OCCAR, Radka Wildová, Vice-Rector of the Charles University, Anne Seyferth, Director of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Representation in CR and Slovakia, Miloš Balabán, Head of the Center for Security Policy, Dana Kovaříková, Head of European Commission Representation in the Czech Republic, and H.E. Aldo Amati, Ambassador of Italy to the Czech Republic

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culture event

Embassy of Pakistan Prague organizes Single Country Exhibition, Mango Show, Fashion Show and Food Festival in Prague

Ambassador Dr. Israr Hussain and family with former Miss Prague

Pakistan is one of the largest and most important countries in South Asia with a population of 207 million. The economy of Pakistan is the 24th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) and has joined the coveted club of trillion dollars in 2017. Pakistan is a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven countries with a potential to be among the world’s large economies in the 21st century (World Bank). Pakistan achieved economic growth rate of 5.7% in 2017-18 which is one of the highest in the region. In 2016, BMI Research report named Pakistan as one of the ten emerging economies. According to the World Bank report, Pakistan has lifted 34 percent of its population above the poverty line (Gini -coefficient) in 2014. Moody’s have upgraded Pakistan’s credit rating as “stable”.

Pakistan follows one of the most liberal and transparent investment policies in the region with no restrictions on equity investment and profit repatriation along with tax incentives. Pakistan is on the Center of China’s BRI Initiative with Chinese investments hovering around USD 50 billion.

‘‘Jeem Show’’ presented traditional handmade delicate embroideries

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Ambassador Dr. Israr Hussain with Representatives of leading Czech Defence Companies

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Commercial Counsellor Muhammad Daud Pirzado and Deputy Head of Mission Dr. Rana Tahir Jamil

culture event

Economic development of Pakistan provides countless investment and business opportunities for overseas companies in the sectors of infrastructure, agro- food processing, automobile, energy and information and communication technologies. Pakistani IT experts are known worldwide for their IT skills. Pakistani visual effect artists have produced animations and visual effects in a number of Hollywood movies such as The Golden Compass, Life of Pie, Frozen, Transformers 3, Malficient, Gravity and many others. Title animation sequence of Game of Thrones has also been produced by a Pakistani artist.

Pakistan’s population consist of the largest youth population ever recorded in its history i.e. 64% of its population is under the age of 30 years offering enormous opportunities for the EU countries suffering from aging populations.

The Embassy of Pakistan, Prague has organised several trade promotion and cultural events over the period of last one and half year.

Grand Fashion Show was held last year on 22nd September 2017 at Žofín Palace to commemorate 70th anniversary of Independence.

This year also, on 27th June 2018, Žofín Palace again, all day long and till late night, glittered with colors of Pakistan with multiple trade promotion and cultural events. The day started with first ever Single Country Exhibition of Pakistan in the Exhibition Hall of Žofín Palace organised jointly by Embassy of Pakistan, Prague in coordination with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and Faisalabad Small Industries Association. Leading defence companies of the Czech Republic like Česká zbrojovka, Omnipol and Aero Vodochody also supported the event. Ten export companies from Pakistan dealing in different sectors such as home textiles, leather goods, sports goods, food items, gloves and footwear displayed their range of products. Another important feature of the Exhibition was Mango Show. Famous Pakistani mango variety named Sindhri was displayed at the event. Besides, all the guests at the event were served with traditional mango delicacies like mango cubes and mango shake. A ten member delegation of FPCCI also attended these events.

Radek Vondráček, Chairman, Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

Ambassador of Pakistan along with Czech Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade, delegates of FPCCI, FSCIA and OPWC

H. E. Dr. Israr Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan along with Veronika Blažková, Spokesperson of Mayor of Prague 1, and Mr. Daniel Pawlas accompanied by fashion designers from Pakistan and Czech models

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culture event

Ambassador of Pakistan and Ambassador of Turkey along with spouses

Czech Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Eduard Muřický with Ambassadors of Sudan,Tunisia,Indonesia,UAE, Yemen, representatives of Czech Ministry of Industry & Trade, FPCCI & FSCIA

Bridal couture by Ms. Sonia Azhar

Single Country Exhibition of Pakistan was inaugurated by Mr. Eduard Muřický, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. Number of Czech companies, representatives of different Chambers, representatives of Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and large numbers of Ambassadors and economic counsellors attended the exhibition.

The climax of day long exhibition ended with a glamorous Pakistan Fashion Show and Food Festival held at the evening in the main Hall of Žofín Palace, attended by around 300 guests.

Leading Czech dignitaries who graced the evening included, among others, Mr. Radek Vondráček, President of the Chamber of Deputies (Parliament) of the Czech Republic, Mr. Daniel Pawlas, Chairman of Pakistan Czech Inter Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ms. Dagmar Kuchtová, Director General of Confederation of the Industry of the Czech Republic, and Mr. Oldřich Lomecký, Mayor of Prague 1.

Famous Fashion Designers from Lahore, Pakistan displayed their collection in the Fashion Show.The Fashion show showcased ‘‘Pret’’ by Rana Nouman, a prolific Pakistani designer from Lahore. ‘‘Jeem Show’’ presented traditional handmade delicate embroideries (by artisans of Bahawalpur) with a fusion of international trends. ‘‘Rici Melion Show’’ displayed his fabulous collection of formal wear for the young and ebullient. The Czech models presented a catwalk adorned with bridal couture from Ms. Sonia Azhar, presenting the true image of Pakistan.

Fusion of Pakistan’s sartorial elegance etched with immaculate designs and the sleek Czech models mesmerized the audience; to most of them, Pakistan had only been associated with negativity. Official documentary of “Emerging Pakistan” showed the beauty packed package of Pakistan. Another highlight of the day-long event was sumptuous and signature Pakistani cuisine, with the history card telling the origin.

Master of Ceremony Ms. Mishayl Hussain

Ambassador of Mexico and Ambassadors of UAE and Algeria along with spouses

Rana Nouman showcased ''Pret''

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Collection of formal wear for the young and ebullient

by Rici Melion

Welcome address by Ambassador Dr. Israr Hussain

I,

the

B rand

LQ: Your Career Journey into the Future Cristina Muntean is a consultant, trainer, mentor and coach who specializes in personal branding, strategic communications, emotional and systemic intelligence for leadership. A former journalist with more than 12 years of experience in the Czech, Romanian and international media, she founded Media Education CEE, a PR advisory and training agency in Prague in May 2010. Her clients are executive level managers and entrepreneurs with Top100 companies in the Czech Republic and Central and Eastern Europe. Cristina is also an internationally certified trainer and coach with the Enneagram, a complex system of personal development, and a facilitator of systemic dynamics in business organizations. She provides her services in English, Czech, French and Romanian, her mother tongue. Cristina can be reached at +420 776 574 925 or at cm@cristinamuntean.com.

When earlier this spring I started writing my first book on personal branding for career growth, little did I know on what kind of deep journey this endeavor will take me. Besides the obvious fact that writing a book is a challenge regardless of the circumstances, I decided to write my first book in Czech. Thus I was hoping to get a chance at conveying my ideas and experience on personal branding for business people in the Czech Republic and maybe also to learn a bit more about the needs of the Czech market these days. And learn I did – much more in fact than I could have ever anticipated.

Czech economy in deep transformation The Czech market is currently standing at a crossroad, with more and more voices speaking about the necessary economic slowdown that will follow the abrupt growth of the last few years.

The question is what will be the origin of the trigger (political? geopolitical? local economics? real estate? demographics?) and when it will start.

Beyond concerns of economic downturn, there is also a reality that can’t be ignored and that will be impacting more and more the way people behave and communicate in the Czech Republic – the deeper transformation of the Czech economy.

We are all certainly aware of the composition of the Czech economy – with 47.3% of GDP brought home by industrial production, the Czech Republic is the European Union’s industrial power horse. More than a third of people here work in industry; that’s why the country has also the lowest unemployment in Europe. However, when looking at a different indicator – productivity per hour, the Czech Republic is lagging behind. Confronted with low unemployment, tremendous salary pressure and reduced productivity, companies must find solutions fast to retain their long-term competitiveness. One of these solutions is to invest more in automatization and artificial intelligence in services.

For companies it sounds like a logical choice.

However, for those people whose jobs will be lost or altered by the future world of work, things are just about to get more interesting. While national states, drained by other public expenses such as pensions and healthcare, have no money or interest to

invest more into people’s education, the burden of getting ready for tomorrow’s world of work falls on companies and individuals. And while companies are becoming more and more careful with their learning and development budgets, employees need to finally face the reality that we are the only ones responsible for our career growth in the future.

Skills for the future It is already clear that the career as we knew it – linear, with one or few entry points into one company that would later secure enough room for vertical growth – is gone. Today’s careers, as American experts have been pointing already before the 2008 crisis, look more like a labyrinth where all types of moves – forward, laterally, backward, upward or outside - are possible. With this labyrinth opening in front of us and with no predictability whatsoever about the format and content of the jobs of the future, how can we actually navigate these stormy waters?

In essence what is happening today is not that scary; we’ve done it already, just that we’ve forgotten how to do it. Today we are reconnecting to a mentality that was valid throughout history until early on in the industrial revolution, before the invention of the production line: we are the only ones responsible for our destiny. To survive, we must do work that is needed and sell it freely on the open market. For our ancestors, doing work that didn’t matter was equal to death and starvation; for people who joined companies throughout the 20th century doing work that doesn’t matter has become a daily reality sugarcoated by the illusory security of a steady pay. When people reduce their dreams to paying the last mortgage installment, doing purposeless work seems like an acceptable alternative. Except that in the future this attitude won’t work anymore.

Unfortunately, the burden of debt remains while employees need to learn to become much more agile, purpose-aware and willing to invest much more into making sure their work is useful and their skills up-to-date. This rather entrepreneurial approach to career management requires a totally different mindset – and skills – than those we had in the past.

For one, emotional intelligence will gain in importance. What’s the point in having fabulous hard skills if we can’t communicate with the beneficiaries of our work or if we cannot work in a team under conditions of high ambiguity and permanent change? Change is a massive challenge for emotions and we will all need to learn the subtle

skills of self-awareness, self-mastery, empathy and social intelligence.

Second, we need to change our attitude to learning.

While in the past we learnt something that, with little alterations, should have been sufficient for a lifetime, now the life-long learning mentality is finally becoming a reality. With not one, but two, three or four careers in place during a lifetime, we need to return to an attitude of wonder, curiosity and exploration in order to be able to learn more.

This – the learning quotient or LQ, as some experts call it – will define our chances of success and influence in the future.

I am obviously happy to say that communication, this deep expression of humanity that makes it possible for us to be together, stay together and achieve more together, will also grow in importance in the future. It is not only the skill of conscious personal communications, but communications as a conscious strategy of life and career management.

Personal branding as we know it today is also transforming; as opposed to becoming more and more a social media driven vanity strategy focused only on how to jump onto the next career ladder, personal branding is becoming more a conscious decision to engage in a permanent state of selfdiscovery and self-expression with the purpose of putting one’s skills to the service of others. This is self-transcendence at its best, the last layer in Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs, and this is what brings me hope.

As more and more people are confronted with the reality of permanent transitions and to the fact that they might need to leave not only their companies, but their professions behind, more and more people will gain a chance to discover who they are, what they strive for and how they can make a genuine difference in the world – in their terms. Being able to communicate that – the deep essence of who we are and how we make a difference for others in the world – becomes thus a vital skill for the future. Call it personal branding or not, this is a world I am most certainly looking forward to discover.

By Cristina Muntean české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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garden party

P hoto : S tanislav M ilata , J aromír Z ubák

and

T ereza Š lápotová

Summer party OF THE GERMAN-CZECH CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE

On June 14th, the annual summer party of the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DTIHK/ČNOPK) took place at the historical site of the German embassy in Prague. The garden party in the 25th jubilee year of the chamber attracted around 1200 guests – a record! Among them high-ranking representatives of the Czech-German business, government and associations from both countries. Apart from networking, the chambers’ guests had a perfect time by checking out current and vintage Škoda models, flashing back into disco times of the 70s and 80s or taking a look at the famous Genscher balcony.

Beautiful weather, cocktails, delicious food and vibrant music completed the atmosphere of this unforgettable summer night.

From left: Dirk von Vopelius, President of IHK Nürnberg für Mittelfranken, Tomáš Hüner, former Minister of Industry and Trade, Bernhard Maier, Chairman of the Board, Škoda Auto, Franz Josef Pschierer, Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology, Jörg Mathew, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK, and H.E. Christoph Israng, Ambassador of Germany to the Czech Republic

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garden party In the middle: Jörg Mathew, President DTIHK/ČNOPK and Bernard Bauer, Executive Director, DTIHK/ČNOPK with the delegation of IHK Dresden

From left: Bernhard Maier, Chairman of the Board, Škoda Auto, Jiří Rusnok, Governor of the Czech National Bank, Tomáš Hüner, former Minister of Industry and Trade, Franz Josef Pschierer, Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology, Jörg Mathew, President, DTIHK/ČNOPK, Bernard Bauer, Executive Director, DTIHK/ČNOPK, H.E. Christoph Israng, Ambassador of Germany to the Czech Republic, and H.E. Tomáš Jan Podivínský, Czech Ambassador in Germany

From left: Ing. Jiří Nekovář, Ph.D., CEO, Euro-Trend, PhDr. Mgr. Renata Sabongui, Sabongui Pilates Academy, and Hans-Peter Schmidt, Consulate Honorary of the Czech Republic in Nürnberg

From left: Frank Schreier, Executive Director, Quality Assurance, ŠKODA AUTO with his wife and Lubomír Antoš with his wife

From left: Bernard Bauer, Executive Director, DTIHK/ČNOPK, Tomáš Hüner, former Minister of Industry and Trade, Jörg Mathew, President DTIHK/ČNOPK, and H.E. Christoph Israng, Ambassador of Germany to the Czech Republic

Brose CZ – sponsor table

Železárny Annahütte – sponsor table

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garden party

From left: Katia Sarno, Tania Hagn, and Lucia Schwarz

From left: Hans Joachim Wunderlich, Executive Director, IHK Chemnitz, Prof. Dr. Michael Sporl with his wife, George Fischer with his wife, and Dietmar Karger, Director, Division Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Bad Brambacher Mineralquellen

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

From left: Athur Braun, M.A., partner, bpv Braun Partners and Dr. Franz X. Keilhofer, Managing Director, SBCF & Cie.

Stevan Villalobos, Senior Manager, Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services and Eva Anderovรก, Honorary Consul of Zambia

garden party

Martin Herrmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO, INNOGY and Dr. Franz X. Keilhofer, Managing Director, SBCF & Cie.

Dr. Detmar Doering, representative of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fĂźr die Freiheit with his wife

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garden party

Michael T. KrĂźger, CEO Czech Republic and Slovakia, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, with his wife

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diplomatic event

Moroccan Embassy in Prague celebrates

19th Throne Day

From left: Noor El Assimi, Daughter of Ambassador Saadi, H. E. Hanane Saadi , Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Prague, and Milan Štěch, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

H. E. Hanane Saadi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco hosted the traditional Throne Day reception on July 30 marking the 19th anniversary of the date of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne. A glorious celebration took place at the Ambassador’s residence in Prague. Among the distinguished guests was Milan Štěch, President of the Senate, Jan Kněžínek, Minister of Justice, Adam Vojtěch, Minister of Health, Czech politicians, academics, celebrities, foreign diplomats and many others.

"The Throne Day symbolizes the constant symbiosis and harmony between the people and the Throne Institution. It is marked by the sacred act of allegiance, which is a binding contract between the King and the Moroccan people. This pact has been well respected through the history of the Moroccan people for close to four centuries." said H. E. Hanane Saadi, who also pointed in her remarks that Morocco adopted a new constitution which was the clever answer of young Moroccans demanding more dignity and social justice. On the international level Morocco’s commitment to democratic progress and peaceful change has equally extended beyond its borders.

H. E. Hanane Saadi , Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Prague and Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Czech & Slovak Leaders

From left: H. E. Hanane Saadi , Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Prague, Milan Štěch, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, and Daniela Žítková, Interpreter

In this auspicious occasion she expressed her satisfaction as to the excellent ties existing between the Kingdom of Morocco and the brotherly Czech Republic.

Indeed, the two countries are celebrating this year the 59th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations as both countries have common approaches, both bilaterally and within international and regional organizations, and do share the same universal values of democracy, modernization, and human rights.

Adam Vojtěch, Minister of Health of the Czech Republic

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D iscussion

event

Round Table of Comenius

Discussion Dinner with Ms. Karla Šlechtová, Minister of Defense TOP HOTEL Praha – May 15th, 2018

From left: Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers and Entrepreneurs' Associations, Karla Šlechtová, Minister of Defense, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, and Josef Postránecký, Supreme State Secretary

On May 15th, little over 70 high level business men and women gathered to participate in the Round Table of Comenius – discussion dinner with the Minister of Defense. It is tradition that dynamic debate covered a range of topics from the minister’s agenda and the interests of the Czech Army. The discussion was launched by several technical questions regarding the army, its current situation and the status of equipment. The debate was traditionally concluded by the President of Comenius Karel Muzikář, who expressed his gratitude to all guests for a fulfilling debate and the Minister for her time and willingness to attend the discussion.

From left: Major General Jaromir Alan, Director of the Capability Planning Division of MoD and Vladimír Ficenec, Country Manager, SAAB Technologies

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From left: Václav Růžička, Owner, Alkom and Libor Suchánek, Owner, Sulko

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

Marika Mašítová, Key Account Manager, Atalian CZ and Pavel Krůta, Owner, Korus EU

D iscussion

event

From left: Richard Klíma, PR & Communication Director, Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic, Jakub Landovský, Deputy Minister of Defense, Josef Vojáček, General Director, Vojenské lesy a statky ČR, Karla Šlechtová, Minister of Defense, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Jiří Maceška, Vicepresident, Czech-Israeli Chamber of Commerce and Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers and Entrepreneurs' Associations

From left: Patrik Jakeš, Pretol, Jakub Joska, Partner, KF Legal, Radovan Jakubčík, General Director, Privatbanka, Ondřej Plánička, Partner, Pavelka Law Office, and Tomáš Čáp, Executive Vice President, Comenius

Hana Šmejkalová, Executive Director, East Bohemian Airport and Jan Trojánek, Counsellor, Prague 5

From left: Stanislav Novák, Vicepresident, Comenius, Benke Aikell, Your Publisher, and Tero Loukonen, Head Analyst, Passerinvest Group

From left: Martin Lukeš, President, SSK Plasy and Petr Mothejl, Co Owner, Dekonta CBRN

From left: Josef Postránecký, Supreme State Secretary, Jozef Piga, Chairman of the Board, Omnipol, Brigadier General Pavel Kříž, Chief of Military Police, and H.E. Roland Galharague, Ambassador of France

From left: Gen. ret. Jiří Šedivý, former Chief of Staff and Brigadier General Pavel Kříž, Chief of Military Police

From left: Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Radek Musil, General Director, Sellier & Bellot, Daniel Koštoval, Deputy Minister of Defense, and Jiří Sauer, Commercial Director, Czechoslovak Group

From left: Hana Šmejkalová, Executive Director, East Bohemian Airport, Major General Jaromir Alan, Director of the Capability Planning Division of MoD, and Richard Klíma, PR & Communication Director, Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic

Zdeněk Pelc, General Director, GZ Digital Media discussing with the Minister

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D iscussion

event

Round Table of Comenius Discussion meeting with Eduard Muřický, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

Hotel Pyramida Praha – May 30th, 2018

From left: Daniel Kraft, Owner, Purum Kraft, Rado Kedzia, General Director, Huawei Technologies, Mr. Eduard Muřický, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius, Vladimíra Kraftová, Purum Kraft, and Josef Kotrba, Chairman, Deloitte

On May 30th around 70 top ranking business participants gathered in the Prague hotel Pyramida to discuss various economic topics with the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Eduard Muřický. The debate was very lively and Deputy Minister presented himself as a very experienced speaker and very well acquainted with the work of the Ministry.

The Round Table was traditionally opened and closed by a brief statement of the president of Comenius, Karel Muzikář.

From left: Jan Koláčný, General Director, Čedok and Robert Plavec, General Director, Trade Centre Praha

From left: Zdeněk Muzikář, Owner, Merkuria Handels AG and Benke Aikell, Your Publisher

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From left: Jiří Nekovář, President, Euro – Trend and Peter Bodnár, General Director, Škoda Praha

From left: Libor Suchánek, Owner, Sulko and Martin Havelka, Chairman of the Board, enteria

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

From left: Jan Závěšický, Executive Director, Purum Kraft, Vladimíra Kraftová and Daniel Kraft, Owner, Purum Kraft

Magda Teresa Partyka, PR Manager, Huawei Technologies, Pavel Švagr, Chairman, Office of the State Materials Reserves

From left: Pavel Dočekal, Head of Regulatory Affairs, innogy Česká republika and Martin Chalupský, Head of PR & Press Services, innogy Česká republika

D iscussion

From left: Tomáš Čáp, Executive Vice President, Comenius and Pavel Kalášek, IT visionary & leader

Tomáš Jílek, Chairman of the Board, Technologie Hlavního města Prahy with his wife

From left: Daniel Kraft, Owner, Purum Kraft, Rado Kedzia, General Director, Huawei Technologies, Eduard Muřický, and Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius

From left: Karel Muzikář, Pavel Švagr, Chairman, Office of the State Materials Reserves and Rado Kedzia, General Director, Huawei Technologies

Josef Kotrba, Chairman, Deloitte

event

From left: Miloš Lokajíček, Owner, GDRP Now!, Karolína Ciml Preislerová, Head of Department, Prague 5, and Patrik Toifl, Business Development, HP Inc Czech Republic

From left: Josef Jeleček, Owner, Tedom, Daniel Kraft, Owner, Purum Kraft, and Rado Kedzia, General Director, Huawei Technologies

From left: Eduard Muřický, Deputy Minister, Magda Teresa Partyka, PR Manager, Huawei Technologies, Karel Muzikář, Pavel Švagr, Chairman, Office of the State Materials Reserves, and Rado Kedzia, General Director, Huawei Technologies

Rostislav Dvořák, President, Union of Czech and Moravian Production Cooperatives during discussion

Eduard Muřický, Minister of Industry and Trade during discussion

The Round Table of Comenius overall view

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gala evening

P hoto : O to P alán , P avel G wužď

17h annual

International Trebbia Awards The Gala Evening was held under the auspices of: Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, Andrej Kiska, President of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Babiš, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Ilja Šmíd, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Ľubica Laššáková, Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic

On June 17th 2018

The Spanish Hall, Prague Castle

From left: Ilja Šmíd, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic during his Laudatio speech; Jitka Novotná, Czech TV Moderator; Ľubomír Bajaník, Slovak TV Moderator

From left: Juraj Jakubisko, Film Director; H. E. Mr. Peter Weiss, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in the Czech Republic; Ján Lešták, Owner of the Eye Clinic JL, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for support of the culture and the arts Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano

From left: H. E. Mr. Pedro Calvo-Sotelo, Ambassador of Spain in the Czech Republic; Ilja Šmíd, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic; María José Pérez Simón

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

María José Pérez Simón received the International Trebbia Award 2018 on behalf of her father Juan Antonio Pérez Simón, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for support of the culture and the arts

gala evening

From left: Vladimír Lekeš, Owner and Director of the Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery and Jan Světlík, Entrepreneur and Patron of Arts, presented International Trebbia Award 2018

Milan Dobeš, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement

From left: Andy Hryc, Actor, presented International Trebbia Award 2018; Milan Fridrich, program Director of the Czech TV, presented International Trebbia Award 2018; Zuzana Mináčová, Photographer, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement

Milan Fridrich, program Director of the Czech TV, presented International Trebbia Award 2018 to Zuzana Mináčová, Photographer and Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement Varhan Orchestrovič Bauer, Music Composer

Daria Klimentová, Prima Ballerina, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement

From left: Marián Chudovský, Director of the Slovak National Theatre; Zoran Pušković, General Manager for Eastern Europe at Kaspersky Lab, presented International Trebbia Award 2018

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gala evening

From left: Jan Burian, Director of the National Theatre in Prague; Enrico Dovico, Conductor, presented International Trebbia Award 2018; Eva Randová, Opera Singer, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for lifetime achievement

From left: Klaus von Trotha, former Minister of Culture of BadenWürttemberg, presented International Trebbia Award 2018; Enrico Bossan, received the International Trebbia Award 2018 on behalf of Luciano Benetton, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for contribution to the dialogue of national cultures

Michael March, Writer, Founder and President of the Prague Writers' Festival, Member of the TREBBIA International Committee, presented International Trebbia Award 2018

From left: Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano; MUDr. Mária Verebová, Affidea Praha

From left: Jan Světlík, Entrepreneur, the obtainer of the art work by Milan Lasica at the benefit auction for CZK 100.000; Miro Smolák during the benefit auction, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

Miro Smolák during the benefit auction, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee

From left: Vladimír Cnota, Entrepreneur, the obtainer of the art work by Chantal Poullain at the benefit auction for CZK 150.000; Miro Smolák during the benefit auction, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee

gala evening

From left: Miro Smolák during his final speech, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee; Chantal Poullain, received a benefit cheque for Archa Chantal Foundation in the amount CZK 230.000; Zdeňka Sigmundová, received a benefit cheque for the TREBBIA Foundation in the amount CZK 230.000 Pavol Bršlík, Opera Singer, Tenor

Renáta Haklová, Kotleta Restaurant in Prague, the obtainer of the art work

by Milan Kňažko at the benefit auction for CZK 110.000; Miro Smolák, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee

Pavol Bršlík, Opera Singer, Tenor and Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano

Naďa Vokušová, Slovak-Czech Club; Vladimír Skalský, Director of the Slovak House in Prague

Vladimír Cnota, Entrepreneur, the obtainer of the art work by Miroslav Pošvic at the benefit auction for CZK 100.000; Jitka Novotná, Czech TV Moderator; Ľubomír Bajaník, Slovak TV Moderator and Miro Smolák, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee

Rastislav Štúr, Conductor with the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK

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gala evening

From left: Eva Anderová, Honorary Consul of Zambia; Andy Hryc, Actor; H. E. Mrs. Rosaura Leonora Rueda Gutierrez, Ambassador of the United Mexican States in the Czech Republic; Benke Aikell, Publisher, Member of the TREBBIA International Committee Vadim Petrov Jr., Musician and Journalist with his spouse

From left: Caroline Younger Robertson-von Trotha, Scottish Sociologist and Cultural Scientist; Klaus von Trotha, former Minister of Culture of Baden-Württemberg, Member of the TREBBIA International Committee; Eva Blahová, emeritus Director of the Janáček Opera Theatre in Brno, Member of the TREBBIA International Committee

Andrej Smolák, Artist and Owner of the Andrej Smolák Gallery in Slovakia; Zorica Pavlovic, BASF, Berlin Jaromír Schling, former Minister of Transport with his spouse

From left: Jaroslava Němcová, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs; Ilja Šmíd, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic with his spouse

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

From left: Ivo Smolák, Entertainer, Berlin; Miro Smolák, Founder of the TREBBIA Foundation; Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano; Rex Sander, Designer at the Škoda Auto a. s.

gala evening

From left: Enrico Dovico, Conductor; Rastislav Štúr, Conductor; Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano; Pavol Bršlík, Opera Singer, Tenor

From left: Jan Světlík, Entrepreneur, presented International Trebbia Award 2018; Alena Hrašková, Psychologist, CPPPaP Čadca, Slovakia; Jana Hutniková, Denkmalrestaurierung GmbH, Germany; Milan Dobeš, Artist, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement

Vlasta Brtníková, Writer, VicePresident of the Prague Writers' Festival Foundation; Michael March, Writer, Founder and President of the Prague Writers' Festival, Member of the TREBBIA International Committee

From left: Jaroslava Vithová, Developer; Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano; Blanka Čechová, Notary

From left: Denisa Janečková, Pharmacovigilance Country Head Deputy, Bayer s.r.o., Zbyněk Janeček, Fleet Manager, Opel C&S; Zdeňka Sigmundová, Member of the Board of the TREBBIA Foundation; Adam Sigmund, Partner of the AK Žižlavský

From left: Janet Lešták; Ján Lešták, Owner of the Eye Clinic JL, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for support of the culture and the arts; Lucie Gelemová, Artist; Viktoria Sion, PR Director of the Statuss Magazine

From left: Barbara Bauer; Varhan Orchestrovič Bauer, Music Composer, Conductor; Robert Bílý, Director

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gala evening

From left: Ulf Landeberg, Director of the Linder Hotel Prague Castle, Sponsor of the Trebbia 2018; Zuzana Tančaková, Restaurant & Bar Manager at Hilton Prague Old Town; Eva Anderová, Honorary Consul of Zambia

From left: Asmat Shanava, Restaurateur; MUDr. Pavla Pokorná

Vladimír Lekeš, Owner and Director of the Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery with his spouse, presented International Trebbia Award 2018

From left: Eliška Hašková-Coolidge, Coolidge Consulting Services; H. E. Mrs. Rosaura Leonora Rueda Gutierrez, Ambassador of the United Mexican States in the Czech Republic

From left: Jana Blount, Owner of the 5. Avenue Boutique Prague, Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano; Viktoria Sion, PR Director of the Statuss Magazine; Markéta Fassati, Opera Singer

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

From left: Vlastimil Harapes, Ballet Dancer; Eliška Fučíková, Art Historian; Miro Voštiar, Owner of the Aria Hotel, General Partner of the Trebbia 2018

From left: Vladimír Dohnal, Owner of the TOP HOTEL Praha, Sponsor of the Trebbia 2018; Lucie Gelemová, Artist; Felix Slováček, Saxophonist

gala evening

From left: Juan Carlos Sanchez-Clemente García, Entrepreneur (Spain); Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano; María José Pérez Simón, daughter of Juan Antonio Pérez Simón (Mexico), Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for support of the culture and the arts; Juan Enrique Torres Landa Ruffo; H. E. Mrs. Rosaura Leonora Rueda Gutierrez, Ambassador of the United Mexican States in the Czech Republic Tereza Šnoblová, Journalist with her partner

From left: Tomáš Ságl, Owner of the Kotleta Restaurant in Prague; the obtainers of the art works by Milan Kňažko at the benefit auction for CZK 110.000; Vlasta and Alexander Hemala, TV Moderator

H. E. Mr. Yevhen Perebyinis, Ambassador of Ukraine in the Czech Republic with his spouse

From left: Daria Klimentová, Prima Ballerina, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement; Martin Kubala, Film Cameraman; Stanislav Vaněk, TV Director of the International Trebbia Awards Ceremony 2018; Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano

From left: Viktoria Sion, PR Director of the Statuss Magazine; Domenico Martucci della Torre, Singer; Nikol Vrbová; Asmat Shanava, Restaurateur

From left: Alexandra Hochman; Jiří Hochman; Jana and Marian Zlámal, Owners of the Arch Future s.r.o.

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gala evening

From left: Miro Voštiar, Owner of the Aria Hotel, General Partner of the Trebbia 2018; Andy Hryc, Actor, presented Trebbia Award 2018

From left: Vladislav Stanko, European Institute of Security and Crisis Management, s.r.o.; Chantal Poullain, Founder of the Archa Chantal Foundation, received a benefit cheque for Archa Chantal Foundation in the amount CZK 230.000; Natalie and Vladimír Cnota, the obtainers of the art works by Chantal Poullain and Miroslav Pošvic at the benefit auction for CZK 250.000

From left: Zoran Pušković, General Manager for Eastern Europe at Kaspersky Lab, presented International Trebbia Award 2018; Jindřich Koch, Channel Sales Manager at Kaspersky Lab; Petr Kuboš, Regional Sales Manager, Kaspersky Lab Czech Republic, s.r.o., Sponsor of the Trebbia 2018

From left: Sabine Lefévre, Humboldt-Universität Berlin; Birgit Labrada-Terna, Deputy of the Director of the MIRO Gallery Prague

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Tereza Šlápotová, Member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute; Jan Dědek, Journalist

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From left: Albina and Adam Ondráček; Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano

From left: Rastislav Štúr, Conductor; Radim Otépka, Director of the PKF - Prague Philharmonia with his spouse

gala evening Performers at the Trebbia Gala Benefit Evening 2018

From left: Miro Smolák, Chairman of the TREBBIA Nomination Committee; Vladimír Lekeš, Owner and Director of the Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery; Milan Dobeš, Artist, Laureate of the International Trebbia Awards 2018 for artistic achievement; and Jan Světlík, Entrepreneur and Patron of Arts

From left: Marta Gellová, Chairman of the Board, EFPA ČR; Jaromír Šlápota, Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute; Natali Ruden, Fashion Designer

MUDr. Martin Papáč with his spouse Erica Papáčová

From left: Eva Blahová, emeritus Director of the Janáček Opera Theatre in Brno, Member of the TREBBIA International Committee; Pavol Bršlík, Opera Singer, Tenor and Alena Miro, Opera Singer, Soprano

H. E. Mr. Aulia Aman Rachman, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Czech Republic with his son Tirel Aulia

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G ala

event

From left: Christian Schwenke, General Manager, Hilton Prague Old Town and Ing. Václav Dvořák, former Chairman of the Board, Gestin Holding

Hilton Prague Old Town

Celebrates 25th Anniversary together with its Rebirth Professional actors in front, then from left: Michail Bezrukov, Director of Finance, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Christian Schwenke, General Manager, Hilton Prague Old Town, Filip Juda, Vice President of European Mini Football Federation, and Ninoslav Vidovic, Director of Sales, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town

From left: Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Christian Schwenke, General Manager, Hilton Prague Old Town, and Zlata Adamovská, Actress with her husband Petr Štěpánek, Actor

On June 21, Hilton Prague Old Town hosted the gala reception to celebrate two important milestones - the 25th anniversary of the opening, as well as rebirth of the property after a six month renovation of all the guest rooms.

Around 100 esteemed clients, business partners, Ambassadors, Consuls, owner’s representatives and local celebrities enjoyed an amazing gala reception in the Great Gatsby style. The theme was a perfect match to the sophisticated Art-Deco ambiance of the hotel lobby and newly refurbished rooms.

Guests enjoyed not only the absolutely delicious food and beverage offering including Champagne, oysters, sushi and other treats, but also the creativity of the event brought in through a Gatsby story by professional actors immersed within the guests. Fantastic decorations including ice sculptures and other themed details only underlined the real classy and stylish Gatsby party atmosphere.

Finally, a birthday cake prepared by the Hilton Prague Old Town pastry team was cut by Christian Schwenke, General Manager of the hotel.

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CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

G ala

From left: Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, Christian Schwenke, General Manager, Hilton Prague Old Town, and Jan Rosák, TV presenter with his wife

event

Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town and Petr Slepička, CEO, Prague City Tourism

Hilton Prague Old Town team

From left: Marin Žužul, Deputy Head of Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Croatia in the Czech Republic, Markéta Šebková, Marketing & PR Manager, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town, and Ninoslav Vidovic, Director of Sales, Hilton Prague & Hilton Prague Old Town

Christian Schwenke, General Manager, Hilton Prague Old Town and Sophie Richard, Asset Manager, M&L Hospitality (Hilton Prague Old Town owner)

Presentation of newly refurbished rooms by professional actors

Hilton Prague Old Town culinary team

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William E. Soteroff and Jana Hrstková PRESIDENT, KELLER WILLIAMS WORLDWIDE and OPERATING PRINCIPAL, KELLER WILLIAMS CZECH REPUBLIC

On Keller Williams as an Extended Family, Values and Changing People’s Lives P hoto : A rchive

“Did you start your day with a hug?” Well, you probably should have. William Soteroff, a true leader, an entrepreneur, an expert in franchising, and a motivational speaker, is a strong believer in the seven hugs per day practice. I would characterize him as a man of contrast and clarity at the same time. Contrasts as to his life story which took him from an archeology student to an accountant and eventually to real estate, followed by leaving the most successful company as he did not feel the values and people were respected, to join and help build Keller Williams, the biggest real estate franchise with more than 180 000 real estate agents in 950 Market Centers. Clarity as to the values and his walk the talk authentic leadership. He was born in Canada, but currently lives in Austin, Texas. He connects the seemingly unbridgeable in bringing values, modern technologies and community spirit to an industry that we tend to associate with solo-entrepreneurs, one-time deals and traditional haggling approaches.

Our interview held at the opportunity of Keller Williams entering the Czech market, turned into amazing and enlightened discussion about history, business and leadership. We ended with a hug.

Great leaders can be recognized by the ability to connect, by showing a genuine interest in others, by their capacity to inspire others and last but not least by creating a comfortable environment in the volatile world of today. After I witnessed Bill launching the first official training day for KW market center agents, I fully understood why KW was mentioned as the no. 1 training organization across all industries, no. 3 on list of happiest companies to work for in 2018 by Forbes and one of the top 50 Franchise for Women.

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P hoto : A rchive Bill, welcome to Prague. The Czech Republic joined a big family of KW on June 4, 2018. How do you perceive the Czech Republic?

I truly feel connected to your country and to the region in many ways. I was born in Canada and since my childhood, I have been interested in history. Growing up in Canada, I knew many famous Czech immigrants, such as famous Tomáš Baťa or Tomáš and Marie Jelínek, the famous ice-skating pair siblings, who did not want the Canadians to forget what happened in that part of the world after 1948. Already as a school boy, I followed the news of the Hungarian uprising in 1956. As a high school student, I witnessed, albeit from distance, 1968 Prague Spring and subsequent Soviet Occupation.

I remember that when I went to Berlin, from the West part I was allowed to visit, I could not see the front side of the Brandenburg Gate. I want to share with you the most amazing moment I had when my daughter took me back to Berlin recently and I was able to see the Brandenburg Gate, as I had never imagined I would live to see the regime change. And by the way, in 1989, I was working in neighboring Austria so again I had a chance to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent Velvet Revolution from the region. Every city I visit, I want to know what happened there.

Therefore, the first place I have visited in Prague was the church of Cyril and Method where the parachutes died after assassination of Heydrich.

My next question is about the current real estate market. I will refrain from the traditional question whether to buy or sell, rather I am interested in trends and outlook.

This is a question I am always asked.

Everywhere in the world, people want to live in a house or an apartment and they always

want to improve the living conditions. The challenge is that you do not know exactly how much your place is worth. That is why you need an expert to find out the exact price. The economy in today’s world changes so dramatically, that within just a couple of weeks, the price can skyrocket or plummet.

I see three really good economies in Europe, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

The Czech market place is very robust and strong. But I always make sure people are cautious. Like men’s ties go wider and thinner or women’s dresses go longer or shorter, do not get too comfortable in any economy with a long period of recovery. Keller Williams leader and founder Gerry Keller points out that the shift in the economy will come eventually.

Our job, as real estate agents, is to know when the shift is coming and it’s necessary to help our clients during the shift. Do not believe that the shift will not happen. Politicians seem to be always surprised but we as experts must be ready to advise properly.

You mentioned that this is the perfect time for Keller Williams to enter the Czech market. However, the main reason is not the current stage of the economic cycle, but the leadership represented by Jana Hrstková, the Czech market leader and Operating Principal of KW. (Note: Those who know Jana Hrstková personally, are aware that she is one of the most modest people when it comes to her achievements. However, she has made a successful career, both as an entrepreneur and a lawyer. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and since 2013 the President of Harvard Alumni Club. With her passion for art, she is also on the Board of Jan and Meda Mládková Museum Kampa Foundations, a co-organizer of Burn’s Night in Prague, a founder of several startups with her husband, and a great mother).

My job is to look and search for the great leaders. Jana, being an excellent lawyer,

and, entrepreneur, has gone through the challenging one-year process to launch KWCZ. Under the auspices of Keller Williams Systems, she has successfully formed a business within the Keller Williams system and she became the Operating Principal.

She works closely with her Regional Team who help her with KW growth in the Czech Republic. She found another great lady, Jarmila Rádlová, who will lead the first MC Keller Williams Prague Prime and they also engaged 24 market center agents.

As you can see, our systems are more advanced, not relying on usual individual or a couple scheme opening a real estate office. We did not allow Jana to open the market prior to nine months of coaching and training, including several visits to Austin, Texas and finding the right people. Why? One person cannot change anybody’s mind.

Currently, we have one market with 24 market center agents, my expectations to have four market centers quite soon. I have mentioned during the press conference that the future belongs to females and we are proud that we have Jana Hrstková and Jarmila Rádlová as visionary women leaders at Keller Williams.

You are known to attend every KW family reunion that each country holds. How many trips have you scheduled for 2018?

This is the question for my wife! She will know for sure. She is the most important person in my life. By the way, in July, I will be celebrating my 38th wedding anniversary.

Let me get back to your question. In 2018, I have travelled about 180 000 kilometers.

I have attended family reunions in Portugal, USA, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, and South Africa. I have visited 10 more countries. In last ten days, I have visited South Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and now I am in Prague. The most important thing for me was to see hundreds of people who were coming to get special training, advanced

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William E. Soteroff and Jana Hrstková PRESIDENT KELLER WILLIAMS WORLDWIDE and the CZECH MARKET LEADER AND OPERATING PRINCIPAL THE CZECH REPUBLIC education and were part of Keller Williams culture. Real estate agents are everywhere, some are better, some are not so good. As I mentioned, at Keller Williams, we offer training, education and the culture exchange that makes the difference. Yesterday, I witnessed a special moment. Imagine ten people having a conversation in different languages but at one moment they all simultaneously said: Keller Williams. I stopped them and mentioned that this is the momentum I want to create.

We have representatives from countries where we are present or where we will launch our franchise, we have agents, we have market center leaders, regional leaders but altogether we are Keller Williams as one family.

You are successful in whatever you do. As a leader, an entrepreneur, an expert in franchising, a motivational speaker. Why did you choose the traditional business of real estate, as opposed to trendy areas of law, finance, politics or science and technology?

Except my wife, no one has ever asked me.

I met my wife at university and I was studying archeology. I quickly learned that you cannot eat dirt. There were no wealthy archeologists I knew at that time. As you probably noticed throughout our discussion, I still love archeology and I have a passion for art and history. Then I wanted to enter politics because I wanted to change the world. I worked with the government for a while and I realized that politicians do not want to have vision and change the world. Governments do not create businesses. People do. When I wanted to get married and have a family, I looked for the most stable business. Guess which? I went into accounting. Can you imagine me in an office with 70 men, all lined up at little desks and working on big machine calculators?

No one talked, no one moved, they just sat and were doing…accounting. One day I left after my lunch break and never came back.

I realized I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I also needed some stability. I got married and I joined the Canadian construction company which provided the stability but also allowed me to bring my entrepreneurial spirit. By the way, I currently teach this very subject “Corporate Entrepreneurs” at the University of Colorado. After 10 years I learned a lot and experienced both side of cycle, as we discussed before. On December 22, I got a message from the CEO about the recession coming and the need to reduce the staff by 30%. I had 16,000 people working for me at that time and I had to get rid of thousands of them. They did not do anything wrong, it was not their fault and many of them had became as close as my family. Companies never reduce payments to shareholders, they never sell property. They always reduce people. I hate that. In 1987,

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I gave the list with three names – the one of the CEO, the president’s name and my name.

I said: “We are supposed to be leaders and we are the ones who did not prepare the rest for the change.” My wife mentioned: “Do you know that we have one year old daughter? And I replied: “I am doing the right thing because I believe that people are truly valuable”. By people, I mean team members, employees, customers, shareholders and suppliers. They should be treated equally, and nobody should be put in front of anybody else. In the US, where I live now, you hear mostly about shareholder value. I often ask and what do we do for team members and all employees? When recession comes, I always suggest reducing shareholders.

If you reduce the employees, you reduce your business. To make the long story short, I joined the real estate business, RE/MAX company.

I was responsible for RE/MAX Europe and RE/ MAX International 98 countries. I left because I did not believe in the company anymore.

Keller Williams called me five years ago to develop new markets for them. I said no as I had not heard about them before. They had been quite persistent and kept calling for about a year: “Come and visit us”. I went, and I found everything I had been looking for: valuing people, developing the culture, having a vision for the future. The one thing I regret is that I had not joined 20 years ago.

KW has been mentioned as the no. 1 training organization across all industries. No. 3 on list of Happiest companies to Work for in 2018 by Forbes and one of the Top 50 Franchise for Women. Is the secret sauce of Keller William the notion that you are not a mere organization, you act more like a family?

I joined Keller Williams when I was 58. I had a fear of failure, like everyone has. I moved to a new city, there was a different company culture, I did not know the people, I was not sure if I could be successful again. I met the company founder, Gerry Keller, and I heard: Fail often and fail forward. I replied: “Where have you been all my life?” I have been afraid to fail. We all are. The more often you fail, the more you will learn and the more you will do well. Every month we discuss not only successes but also failures. Good leadership shows how you deal with things that did not go well. What does it mean for my team? It gives us strength, power and confidence.

We are afraid of nothing. Now, it is my job to support 33 countries in the world. We have monthly calls, quarterly business reviews, we get together up to six times per year and we openly shared what we tried and what worked or did not work. We do not work in isolation. Jana and the Czech team is supported by colleagues around the world.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

P hoto : A rchive

Jana will be featured in both our annual meetings in August 2018 and February 2019 and I want her to share her story. I have four other markets opening and they will learn a lot from her. To all newcomers to Keller Williams I say three things: “I want you to be part of the worldwide family Keller Williams.

I want you to learn the systems and models that we have to work as estate agents. I want you to feel confident that you are not by yourself. And I want you to be successful, so you can make more money to take care of your families.”

Bill, thank you for one of the most amazing interviews I have ever done.

Following on what you said about the future belonging to females, I will ask Jana Hrstková for the final words for Czech and Slovak Leaders Magazine readers.

I will follow up on the Bill’s words. Come and visit us at our inspiring premises at Václavské náměstí 3, Prague 1. Whether you are looking for a place to live, whether you are selling, and you need a trusted estate agent or even if you are considering a career change. The extended family of Keller Williams has a lot to offer to everyone.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

Effective Time Management Importance vs. Urgency

P hoto : A rchive

Do not waste your precious time on something that does not bring you anything, instead focus your attention on what is important! How to do it?

Importance points out how the task contributes to meeting the set goals (personal or corporate). It answers the question of what positive benefits will come by doing the job.

Urgency only highlights how the matter is in a hurry and till when someone thinks it has to be done.

Eisenhower's principle is the technique of prioritizing tasks within the framework of self-organizing the decision-making of the manager (typically the top manager). It is one of the methods of time management, which is also usable in everyday life.

The essence of this method is to divide your activities into four quadrants: I. Quadrant - all that is important and urgent - all activities in this quadrant need to be done as quickly as possible, these are emergency situations and urgent problems - such as imminent danger, compliance with promised terms etc. First importance tasks.

Do them now.

II. Quadrant - everything that is important but not urgent basically it is about preventing crisis situations before they arise (if the manager does not focus on them, they can easily move to the first quadrant) – e.g. planning, daily tasks, task control. Tasks you must plan or they´ll become urgent1.

III. Quadrant - all that is unimportant but urgent - urgent and unexpected disturbance – e.g. unimportant emails, phone calls, etc. (can be delegated!) Tasks to be delegated. Not added-value tasks.

IV. Quadrant - everything that is unimportant and not urgent! activities that are in a disproportionate manner simply waste of time!

E.g. useless time on social networks, excessive communication with colleagues, etc. Tasks to be eliminated or they´ll become urgent 3.

For illustration please see the picture below:

How to use it?

1. Think about how you spend your time.

2. Write down your activities into individual quadrants, be concrete.

3. Look at your quadrants and think about the following questions: • • • • • •

Do I spend too much/too little time somewhere?

Is everything so urgent/important?

Can I eliminate or delete some activities from the 4th quadrant?

Do I have control over my time? Can I delegate something?

Do I have any everyday habits that I could change or delete?

Where are the opportunities for me?

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at info@petrasrsnova.cz.

Petra Sršňová is a professional coach, lecturer and Senior HR consultant who enjoys revealing clients potential through business and life coaching and NLP methods. With more than 12 years of managerial experience, (from running her own company through working as a manager in M&A business), Petra helps clients (managers/leaders) reach their goals and visions, increase results, improve their capabilities, overcome their limits, find their worklife balance, manage their time better etc. In her articles she is sharing with us interesting and applicable methods and technics from coaching and NLP (neuro-lingvistic programming) world which make your life and work more effective, balanced and simply easier.

She is a fan of neuro science, curious how the brain works and how our habits from the past limits us, always finding a way to change the set up. Petra studied the business management and corporate finances and visited many production companies in the Czech Republic and abroad as a manager in mergers and acquisitions field. Interested in a personal growth for more than 10 years.

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diplomatic event

P hoto : K aterina G ritt

Embassy of Egypt in Prague celebrated its National Day

From left: H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic and Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic at their welcome speech

On the anniversary of the July 23 Revolution, H.E. Rany Mohie-Eldin, Charge d´ Affaire of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Prague held a ceremony at the Egyptian Embassy in Prague in the presence of Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, as a guest of honour, with the attendance of the members of Embassy, Senior Czech officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Culture, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Prague, presidents and representatives of major Czech companies, media professionals and academics, as well as members of the Egyptian community.

H.E. Rany Mohie-Eldin, Charge d’Affaire of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Prague in his speech stressed the depth of the historical relations between Egypt and the Czech Republic. He highlighted the recent bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial field as well as the remarkable growth of the number of Czech tourists coming to Egypt. H.E. Rany Mohie-Eldin announced that both sides are in the process of organizing a major Egyptian Exhibition after the reopening of the Prague National museum in 2019, which will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Charles University’s institute of Egyptology work in Egypt.

H.E. Martin Tlapa, Czech Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, congratulated the Embassy on the occasion of the Revolution of 23 rd July, stressing the depth of the historical relations between the two countries, which dates back to 1920, and the historical visit of President Masaryk to Cairo in 1929, stressing his country's interest to develop and strengthen cooperation with Egypt as a strategic partner in all fields, which was reflected in his last visit to Cairo to hold the bilateral political consultation between both sides in September 2017. He also welcomed the remarkable growth in the number of Czech tourists visiting Egypt, and that Egypt became one of the top 10 destinations for the Czech tourists who enjoy the beauty of its beaches and its distinguished cultural and historical heritage.

The guests at the reception on the occasion of National Day of Egypt

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From left: Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic

diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic and Ayman Taha, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Egypt

H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic

From left H.E. Ole Frijs-Madsen, Ambassador of Denmark, H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and H.E. Dr. Israr Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan

From left: H.E. Rola Hamdan, Ambassador of Lebanon in the Czech Republic, Ayman Elsabee, Director, Exxon Mobile, H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic, and Ayman Taha, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Egypt

H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic

From left: Ayman Taha, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Egypt, H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic, and H.E. Aldo Amati, Ambassador of Italy in the Czech Republic

From left: Martin Tlapa, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, H.E. Rany Mohie Eldin, Charge d' affaire of the Embassy of Egypt in the Czech Republic, and Ayman Taha, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Egypt

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I nterview with P rof . J iří H omola , I nstitute of P hotonics and E lectronics , C zech A cademy of S ciences

Professor Homola can be introduced as a holder of many Czech and international awards, a leading scientist lecturing at two universities in the Czech Republic, in the USA and in Finland, one of the ten most-cited Czech scientists, or as a successful researcher whose optical biosensors are used by many research organisations around the world. For me personally, he is also a great guide to the world of photonics, someone who can tell the layperson about science in an enthusiastic and understandable manner and, last but not least, the perfect host and guide to his laboratories.

I again arrived for the interview with my daughter, who appreciated his words on multidisciplinarity, the application of science, and teamwork.

I left fascinated by his results and story, and with a beautiful flower no less.

Professor Homola, you are one of the world’s leading scientists and you also enjoy success in what’s termed applied research.

Can you share your know-how?

I think what’s important is that I can do work that I enjoy and that fulfils me, and that the area of research I focus on is fascinating and stimulating, so I can work on it with passion and dedication. I think the most important thing, however, is that I have managed to find loads of excellent colleagues and great people, both here at the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Photonics and Electronics and at other sites, not just in the Czech Republic but also abroad.

Science today is a team affair, and because our research is by nature multidisciplinary, teamwork is even more important for us than for research taking place within individual disciplines.

My passion is for diversity in the broadest sense. How diverse is your current team?

At the beginning, our team was mainly focused on physics research, but we soon realised that the fascinating problems we were interested in would require a multidisciplinary approach, and that we would not be able to progress without bridging research in physics with research in other fields, such as chemistry and biology. As such, we’ve established co-operation with institutions that excel in these fields, and we’ve also tried to bring these additional core competencies to our own workplace. The extent to which we have succeeded makes us unique today, even at a global level. I am proud to say that in our Institute on one floor, we have “traditional” physicists performing research on cutting-edge electromagnetic themes, studying the behaviour of photons within various optical structures and designing new optical measuring systems, who are co-operating with chemists

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studying molecular transport and devising ways to anchor biomolecules to the surfaces of our sensors, and biophysicists and biochemists working on the use of biosensors to deal with specific biological or bioanalytical problems.

Biosensors developed at our laboratories allow for the study of interactions between biomolecules, deepening our knowledge of the world of biomolecules and perhaps helping us to uncover the molecular basis of diseases, allowing for the development of new drugs and therapies. These biosensors can also be used to detect dangerous foodborne pathogens to ensure food safety. At our Institute, we are currently able to cover all aspects of optical biosensor research, even if it may not always be to the same depth. As such, co-operation with other research institutions remains very important to us. Some of the Czech institutes with which we co-operate include the Czech Technical University, Charles University, the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, and the National Institute of Mental Health. We also collaborate with a number of sites abroad, such as the University of Washington in Seattle.

How important is luck in science?

I have certainly been lucky in my choice of research focus – I chose an area of research which is not only fascinating, but also has potential across a wide range of applications. I felt that a huge space full of opportunities was opening up to us, which thrilled me. It was also important that, at that time, the institute’s management were open-minded to my plans and supported my hunch that optical biosensors were an important research topic. I should note that when I began researching optical biosensors in the 1990s, the Institute of Photonics and Electronics was

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focused on traditional physics, and had practically no direct applicable experience of research in the fields of chemistry or biology. Although it is more common these days to create multidisciplinary teams, this was not back when I started, and it required an open mind from the institution’s management. The example of our research team is good evidence that science cannot be entirely planned out precisely. An openness to new ideas is key to success in science.

You say that you had a hunch. Is a purely rational approach more important for making a decision as a scientist, or is there space for intuition and emotion too?

Rationality is the foundation of scientific work – without it scientific research is impossible.

Intuition based on experience and knowledge is also important, because it can help you to anticipate what direction your research is going.

Emotions are also a part of science. I know many scientists who at first glance may not stand out, but when it comes to their research they can hold arguments and discussions with enormous passion. One might say that you use both in research – reason in order to create new original ideas, and heart in order to be able to follow your ideas. Science today – in fact all activities performed at the highest level – requires a lot of time and energy, beyond what is normally standard. You can’t do good science on a parttime basis. Without passion and enthusiasm, you won’t achieve great results.

Let’s turn from scientific plans and passionate ideas to specific applications.

You began by mentioning the success of your biosensors in the world. How long and thorny was the path?

The biosensors developed by our team are truly

P hoto : S tanislava K yselová the product of many years of research – there have been over ten developmental generations between our first model and the form they take today, with a massive amount of further improvements. I’m proud that our biosensors are used not just in the Czech Republic, but also in other countries in Europe, Asia, and North America.

In fact, that’s where most of our biosensors are; the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also purchased one from us for its laboratory.

The actual production of biosensing devices has never been our primary objective – our focus is on advancing science and technology. But I’m happy that we have been able to exploit some of the findings of our research to produce new devices which can help fellow scientists in their research. Our biosensors are also proof that we’re not chasing pipe dreams, but that our science is applicable to real life problems.

Can one determine where the border is between research and its commercial exploitation? For the general public it isn’t clear; is it to scientists? And what about intellectual property protection?

The borderline between basic research focused on acquiring knowledge and research focused on practical application is frequently a blurry one.

These types of research don’t just influence each other, but they also frequently overlap. As such, it isn’t always easy to make the right decision on how to share and protect the results of scientific research. In basic research, scientific work often follows a line: idea/hypothesis - verification publication. Sometimes, however, we arrive at a crossroads where we have to consider whether the research performed is so unique, with such potential for application in practice that we should delay the process of publication to undertake further investigations and market research on future commercialisation. Although many scientists are happy when they can showcase their new results to the scientific world as soon as possible, the decision on publication timing is important in order to avoid premature disclosure through publication or conference talks, which might prevent patent protection and put the research’s commercial potential under threat. A certain experience of life is often important, as this can help scientists to decide how to approach these kinds of situations.

Although we pay attention to securing the protection of scientific results with commercial potential, one should note that most scientific ideas, even brilliant ones, don’t end up making it to the commercial phase. This might be because it isn’t the right time, partners or funding for commercialisation cannot be found, or new ideas are unable to prevail when competing with triedand-tested or other new solutions. This is the reality, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try hard to bring our original scientific ideas to practice. We should continue to undertake our research and strive to find the best possible solutions.

It is right that, in recent years, greater focus has been put on development and protection of intellectual property in the Czech Republic, and the situation here is improving. Protecting

I nterview an institution’s intellectual property is very important. Furthermore, the intellectual wealth of an institution is not just the ideas and results contained in publications and patents.

Institutions usually have extensive know-how collected over many years of systematic work in their fields, and this too needs to be flourished and protected.

How do you see the quality of Czech science compared to that in other countries?

The quality of Czech science is undoubtedly improving, one reason being that it is increasingly becoming a part of global science. In terms of the size of our scientific base and the volume of funds spent, we cannot compare ourselves with the scientific superpowers. But if we look at the costs spent on science and the outcomes produced by Czech science, then I think we have something to be proud of. In multiple fields, results of Czech science are on the same level as those in countries which are dominant in these fields.

You have taught in the USA and Finland, and in the Czech Republic you lecture at Charles University and the Czech Technical University. How do the students compare?

Comparing the American and Czech university education systems was very interesting for me.

I think that American students are perceived much more as the focus of the university, and it is much more about them than we are used to, and that American students have high expectations of their university. Here, we are sometimes overly bureaucratic (something which unfortunately doesn’t just apply to education and science) and thus I feel it is much harder for us to respond to new challenges and opportunities. Apart from that, it should be said that our top universities have a great history and provide high-quality education. In terms of knowledge of physics and mathematics, for example, best Czech students are at the same level as American students at the top universities. American students perhaps focus a little more on the application of knowledge and links with practice. American students can also work well with sources, with information from various fields, and they can quickly come up to speed on areas they did not know much about. Basically, they can build on their foundations and move forwards, often with a minimum of further guidance. I am glad that the Czech university education (and Czech students), has undergone positive changes since the 1990s, and Czech students today are much closer to their American counterparts in terms of the quality and breadth of their preparation than they were when I was a student. I have noticed that compared to my generation, today’s Czech students are more courageous, they can describe and discuss their ideas better, while also talking about problems more openly.

We have discussed basic and applied research. How do you perceive the issue of the quality of science and how to assess this?

I have already said that in many cases basic and applied research overlap, and a strict division of science is not helpful. What one can distinguish

is that the demands on both types of research are different. For basic research, which helps add to the knowledge base we share amongst the human race, the most frequent outcome is scientific publication. This can be assessed according to frequency of citation or journal quality. Although applied research often also leads to quality scientific publications, it is also possible to assess value of its results with respect to how they advance technology or solve a particular problem. Even so, we should still differentiate good applied research based on original scientific solutions from simple “non-inventive innovations”. The quality and innovativeness of ideas is much more important than the quantity – you can’t replace one unique idea with ten average ones. And therefore, in assessing applied research one should place great importance on originality and innovativeness.

How do you as a scientist perceive the expectations that are placed on you?

It is my conviction that scientists have great social responsibility, going beyond just the development of science and education within their own fields. I think that scientists should focus on the challenges facing society, and also endeavour to describe and present their research and its benefits realistically and honestly. In today’s hectic world filled with information and media spin, scientific findings and discoveries are often presented in a rather simplified manner.

Although I understand the attempt to make it simple, this is sometimes to the detriment of the scientific work being presented, as oversimplification does not allow you to capture the nature of the findings, often leading to a misrepresentation of their importance and potential impact. But I think that scientists across different disciplines can contribute to discussions of society-wide problems by using actual facts, knowledge, and arguments, helping to replace ad-hoc decision-making with sophisticated solutions based on an analysis of the problem and an assessment of previous measures. We know that we are working for Czech taxpayers, and I believe that the more useful the outcome of our work is to society, the more everyone will be satisfied. The commercialisation of scientific findings is just one way that science can be used; we should try to use the others too.

Introducing the Institute

The Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IPE) performs basic and applied research in the fields of photonics, optoelectronics and electronics. Scientists at the IPE undertake research and development in optical biosensors, fibre lasers, special optical fibres, optical imaging methods and the study of the electrodynamic properties of biological systems, as well as electronic and optical phenomena on nanomaterial surfaces. The Institute also runs the Laboratory of the National Time and Frequency Standard.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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5th Annual Global Female Leaders Summit 2018 in Berlin Reflection on 2018 Summit and Three Reasons Why In Particular Female Leaders Should Put Berlin on Their 2019 Agenda The 2018 Summit’s motto read “The Values of Leadership in Times of Transformation, Disruption and Artificial Intelligence” and its aim was to provide relevant insights for female executives to master the four challenges of change: new world order and global economic outlook, transformational technologies and ethics, corporate leadership and responsible finance and climate challenges, energy solutions and the future of mobility. As the world is becoming more and more complex and interdependent, today’s leaders face the need for not only top expert information but also a broad perspective overview of current events. The summit provides both; the format, ranging from inspiring talks, interactive think tanks, stimulating panel discussions and time for networking, ensures that participants are not only informed, but also engaged and able to exchange ideas with like-minded peers.

This year, the summit featured 60 speakers from 30 countries and more than 300 executives, both female and male, participated.

The summit was hosted at the legendary Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, just a few steps from the Brandenburg Gate. For me, being born in 1976, I always cherish the moment when I can walk through the Brandenburg Gate freely. The opening cocktail reception held at the China Club Berlin, is not just one of the most exclusive locations in Germany, overlooking the trendy and hipster city of Berlin, but also an example of a venue that you can enter on the invitation by the best company only.

Information

In this age of information overload, one has to make sure, that the information is not only correct, but also relevant, concise and applicable.

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As opposed to one-topic special conferences, the Global Female Summit, provides both, depth goes hand in hand with the broad spectrum.

Current trends were discussed from the more general topics of geopolitics, multilateral and bilateral relations, current economic order, to more specific issues such as cybersecurity, digital literacy, artificial intelligence, the future of work, Industry 4.0, Blockchain to corporate social responsibility, corporate compliance, the future of mobility, sustainability and smart cities, the future of energy to the newest trends in tourism, both on Earth as well as outer space.

Content driven agenda was presented by industry leaders like BMW, IKEA, Morgan Stanley, Fujitsu, SAP, DHL, KPMG, as well as by industry challengers, such as Booking.com. This is in stark contrast to other conferences, where academics usually tend to exhaust not only the issue but also the audience. The environment in the Czech Republic, lacking visionary leaders, does not provide any similar opportunity to become familiar with these trends already shaping our society and impacting businesses, customers and various stakeholders.

Inspiration

Each individual has a story and everyone’s story is unique. On the other hand, let us not succumb to egalitarianism. Some stories are more powerful than others. The summit offers the “crème de la crème”, simply the best, speakers and I have picked these three to share.

Roya Mahboob, the first female tech CEO in Afghanistan, shared her challenging journey: being a girl who grew up under the Taliban regime and with no means, she decided to study computing as she saw the potential, means and sense of purpose that technology can provide to women.

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She then founded her own company and subsequently launched a mission to “Educate a New Generation of Women Through Digital Literacy and Community Building”. You may recall the highly publicized story of the Afghan team of female coders fighting to get a US visa to participate at the international coding competition?

Roya concluded with a powerful statement, “It starts with one girl, one woman, one dream, one computer. One step at a time, we will change the world together.” Such speeches contribute not only to the notion of the “global sisterhood”, a term used by Annie Lennox but if this statement does not get you more engaged, nothing else probably will. Leadership and the need for more people to shift from the consumers to global citizens was a theme that surfaced during various moments.

The gala ceremony was hosted by MCM luxury goods company. The company, established the same year I was born, was acquired by Sung-Joo Kim, Chief Visionary Officer of MCM Holding.

Sung-Joo’s story began when she was disinherited by her father, a wealthy South Korean entrepreneur, when Sung-Joo refused a pre-arranged marriage. Instead, she set out on a journey to prove that she could do it. Being successful herself, she also started supporting other women on the journey. Incredible not only what kind of a person she is, but also how she looks at the age of 61; she proves her second motto “health is new wealth”.

Rasha Oudeh’s story is reminiscent of the Cinderella fairy-tale, except there was no prince. Rasha did it all by herself. A girl from Jordan, the eldest of eight siblings, she was allowed to study but received no support from her parents. Things then got even worse. Her dad retired at the age of 50 and she had to take care of the whole family. Eventually, she switched from IT to pharma business.

Iveta Babulenkova,

Country Sales Manager, Red Hat, Czech Republic and Slovakia

She persisted and now she is the CEO of Cedem Pharmaceutical company based in Germany and Switzerland, doing business in the Middle East. Her first message was related to fear. She said that fear is the biggest problem, however, it is always out of the comfort zone where miracles happen.

Community

Having been to the conference for the third time, I am always surprised to see, meet and exchange with both new leaders joining the event for the first time as well as those who attend regularly. The networking opportunities during coffee-breaks, lunches, opening reception, gala dinner, as well during workshop or informal events such as a “morning sightjogging” make sure that attendees will get perspectives from different corners of the world and various industries and also meet new business partners and/or clients, establish valuable career contacts and even lasting friendships. By the way, women are not often pampered at expert conferences. At the Global Female Summit, you can be surprised either by a pop-up store selling discounted brand handbags or by getting cosmetic gifts and make-up by Shiseido and Babor.

Why is this conference for women?

First of all, it is not exclusively for women. You can meet many in-

fluential male leaders and CEOs. Stephan Werhahn, grandson of the one of the biggest statesmen of the post-war Europe, Konrad Adenauer, is one of them.

On the other hand, let us face the fact that the female point of view tends to be different and often complementary to the one of the men, which is typically more known and represented across the industries.

For a long time, we have relied on artificial intelligence and machines to overcome gender-based bias.

However, we should start to be concerned where the machines take data from and what kind of data is procured because it is being distorted. Only 4 out of 1000 women work in the digital sector. From 1000 women with a bachelor’s degree in Europe, only 29 hold ICT degrees, compared to 95 men. Women leaders hold still less than 20% senior leadership positions in the digital sector, which is comparable with most of the sectors in general. The statistics for the Czech Republic are even dimmer. It is high time to do something about it.

Therefore, mark your agenda for spring 2019! The hosting organization, Management Circle, will be celebrating its 30th anniversary, so I am sure that next year’s summit will be even better.

By Linda Štucbartová

Why did you attend the Global Female Summit?

When I looked at the topics to be discussed during the summit, like transformation through digitization, disruption via technologies, it instantly caught my attention. Coming from the IT sector, I was really very curious to hear how women executives are going to embrace those topics. And the outcome was just amazing: many of them have very bright and insightful ideas and knowledge in this area, very encouraging and engaging.

Can you summarize three take-aways?

For me, the three main takeaways are: courage, self-confidence and inspiration. You can be a fearless girl (as the meme of bronze statue of a girl facing fearlessly a bull down to Wall Street) and self-confident to realize your dreams and become even an inspirational woman.

Why do you recommend participation to other women?

The event was a very enriching mixture of great ideas, inspirational talks, interactive approaches – briefly, as a female – and NOT only female executive – the conference is high profile and a must for everyone who is really caring about its company and society in general.

Patricia Vicente,

CEO, Panama Jack

Many women who attend this summit are working for corporations. You are part of the owner family of Panama Jack shoes in Spain (ladies, check it out www.panamajack.es). This year, for you, like for me, this has been the third summit in a row. What is the main reason you keep coming back? And can you summarize some take-aways for you as an entrepreneur?

This is a great forum to keep updated in social, economic and business news. It is also very inspirational to have good conversations and insights from many women business leaders, I always come back full of energy and ideas.

My take-aways: • Many organizations are working to create a culture of innovation on every level, • A strong trend to make the working space a friendly and home alike space, • Artificial intelligence and robotics helping the organizations but not changing them dramatically like expected from many the last two years, • And the need of tons of braveness and hard work to succeed.

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Insurer of the Year 2017

Happy winners of the Insurer of the Year 2017 contest

Founded by the Association of Czech Insurance Brokers (AČPM) and co-organized by the Czech Insurance Association (ČAP) and the specialized information server oPojištění.cz The 18th year of this oldest professional contest in insurance culminated with a gala evening held in the Congress Centre of the Czech National Bank in Prague on May 22, 2018, under the auspices of the ČNB governor Jiří Rusnok.

The insurance brokers – as experts who work with insurers on a daily basis – assessed the insurance companies´ performance for 2017 in the following categories: insurance of industry, car insurance, civil insurance, specialized insurance and life insurance. Out of these five categories, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna won three, Kooperativa pojišťovna reached for the first place in life insurance, and ERV Evropská pojišťovna, after a year´s pause, returned to victory in the specialized insurance category.

As in previous years, the organizers also voted for “Personality of the Insurance Market” – a title awarded for an outstanding contribution to the development of insurance. This time the lot fell upon Jiří Charypar, one of the founding fathers of Allianz in the Czech Republic.

Within the framework of the contest, the insurers also judged the overall performance of insurance brokers. Thus, RESPECT a.s., an AČPM member, received the Insurance Broker of the Year 2017 award.

The gala evening was preceded by traditional Brokers´ Afternoon, a networking event of insurance brokers and their counter-partners from insurance houses.

From left: Jan Štok, MBA, AČPM Board Member, Lucie Urválková, Board Member, Uniqa, Ivan Špirakus, AČPM Vice-Chairman

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Zdeněk Santler, Board Vice-Chair, EFPA (partner of the gala evening) presents the award to the winner of Specialized Insurance category – ERV Evropská pojišťovna represented by its Board Member Štěpán Landík. Smiling in the back is Ivan Špirakus, AČPM Vice-Chair

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Pavel Wiesner, Director, with Pat and Mat - the mascots of Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna

I nsurer

of the

Y ear 2017

From left: Jan Matoušek, Executive Director, Czech Insurance Association, together with Martin Hrdý, Senior Manager, KPMG, distributed awards to the winners of the Insurance Broker of the Year contest: Respect a.s. (gold), represented by its CEO Zdeněk Reibl – Renomia a.s. (silver), Jiřina Nepalová, Director – Petrisk International a.s. (bronze), Roman Mach, Director – GrECo International CR, s.r.o.

(4th place), Petr Poděbradský, Director – and IMG a.s. (5th place), Mgr. Vratislav Hybner, Board Chairman

Zdeňka Indruchová, AČPM Executive Director, with Ján Čarný, Managing Director, Coface

From left: Jana Čechová, Ministry of Finance, Vladimír Přikryl, Ministry of Finance and Personality of the Insurance Market, Václav Křívohlávek, VŠFS and Personality of the Insurance Market, with Zdeňka Indruchová, AČPM Executive Director

From left: Jiří Charypar, awarded with the prestigious title of Personality of the Insurance Market and surrounded by his wellwishers: Jiřina Nepalová, AČPM Chair, Martin Diviš, President of the Czech Insurance Association, Jan Matoušek, Executive Director, Czech Insurance Association, and Jindřich Vašina, Partner, KPMG (general sponsor of the event)

From left: Civil Insurance Category: Ivan Špirakus, AČPM Vice-Chairman, Pavel Wiesner, Director, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna (gold), Radek Starosta, Director, Kooperativa (silver), Jan Vícha, Director, Allianz (bronze), Lucie Urválková, Board Member, Uniqa (4th place), Karel Bláha, Board Member, Česká pojišťovna (5th place), Ivan Paparega, AČPM Vice-Chairman

Jiřina Nepalová, AČPM Chair, presents Jaroslav Besperát, CEO, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna, with the highest award in the Industry Insurance category

From left: Romana Benešová, Executive Director, Kaprain Group, with Jiřina Nepalová, AČPM Chair

Industry Insurance category winners with their well-wishers from left: Jaroslav Besperát, CEO, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna (gold), Ladislav Burián, CEO, Contin (partner of the contest), Jiřina Nepalová, AČPM Chair, Jiří Sýkora, Board Member, Kooperativa (silver), Marek Jankovič, CEO, Česká pojišťovna (bronze), Jan Vícha, senior manager, Allianz (4th place) and Mgr. Dominik Štros, Country Manager, Colonnade Insurance (5th place)

AČPM supports, on a long-time basis, a non-profit organization Modrý klíč, that helps handicapped children. Over the years, participants to Brokers´ Afternoon had a chance to enjoy art products of Modrý klíč sheltered workshop to which AČPM contributed with over one hundred thousand CZK. One of the happy winners of the raffle Mgr. Marie Lorencová, Head of Legal Department, Respect a.s., is pictured with Jiřina Nepalová, AČPM Chair, and Ivan Špirakus, AČPM Vice-Chair

From left: Marek Jankovič, CEO, Česká pojišťovna, Jaroslav Besperát, CEO, Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna, Zdeňka Indruchová, Executive Director, AČPM, and Radim Krist, Director, Allianz

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D iplomatic

event

FAREWELL RECEPTION H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada organized a very successful and joyful farewell reception for Louise Beer and Rene Beauchamp, General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel

From left: Mr. William Lobkowicz, Mrs. Mína Muchová, Marcus Mucha, President, Mucha Foundation, Mrs. Alexandra Lobkowicz, and H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada, René Beauchamp, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel, and Eva Anderová, Vice President for PR, UNYP and Honorary Consul of Zambia

Mr. Tony Vavřecký and Mrs. Eva Vavřecká

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From left: Mrs. Dana Duffillová, Mrs. Elizabeth Neale, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, and Mrs. Grace & Mr. Jon Wilkinson

From left: Hana Sedláčková, Brion Prague, Vladimír Bachorík, Sculptor, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, Mrs. Mína Muchová, Marcus Mucha, President, Mucha Foundation, and René Beauchamp, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel

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From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Eva Anderová, Vice President for PR, UNYP and Honorary Consul of Zambia, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, Mr. William Lobkowicz, and Mrs. Victoria Špičková

D iplomatic

Erika and Jan Síkorovi

From left: Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks and Silvia Lepiarczyk, CEO, Media and More

Eva Anderová, Vice President for PR, UNYP and Honorary Consul of Zambia and Mr. William Lobkowicz

Ms. Grace Wilkinson and Michael Calcott, former Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic

From left: Mrs. Eva Vavřecká, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, Dr. Jan Kříž, Urologist at Motol Hospital, Dr. Viera Křížová, Gastroenterologist at Homolka Hospital, Prof. Dr. Dadja Altenburg -Kohl, Founder, Museum Montenelli, Václav Bláha, Artist, and Magdaléna Bláhová, Artist

event

From left: Mr.Tomáš Zacha, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, Mrs. Martina Piptová, and H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Ambassador of Canada

From left: Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks and Mrs. Gabi Kejvalová

From left: H.E. Barbara C. Richardson , Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mrs. Marie Manzacová, Jean-Paul Manzac, Executive Chef, Corinthia Hotel Prague, and René Beauchamp, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel

From left: David Strauzz, visual Artist with his wife Bethan, Olga Kovarikova, Art Curator, and Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks

From left: Baroness Esperance Kinsky and Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks

From left: René Beauchamp, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel, Louise Beer, Art Consultant for PragArtworks, and H.E. Barbara C. Richardson, Canadian Ambassador to the Czech Republic

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ITALIAN NATIONAL DAY

Speech – from left: Mr. Tomáš Kuchta and H.E. Aldo Amati, Ambassador of the Italian Republic

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Ing. Tereza Valášková, Ph.D. - Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Vladimir Bärtl, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade

Jiří Kunert, Chairman and General Director, Unicredit Bank with his wife

Eva Anderová, Vice President for PR, UNYP and Honorary Consul of Zambia and H.E. Ahmed Abdel Rahman Swar El Dahab, Ambassador of Sudan

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From left: H.E. Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland, Ulf Landeberg, General Manager of Lindner Hotel and Eva Anderová, Vice President for PR, UNYP and Honorary Consul of Zambia

From left: Orce Djaleski, Minister-counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia, Mrs. Irena Dodorova, and H.E. Latchezar Petkov, Ambassador of Bulgaria

diplomatic event

From left: Jiří Kunert, Chairman and General Director, Unicredit Bank with his wife, Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius with his wife, and Jiří Rusnok, Head of the Czech National Bank

Michael and Jolana Cukier

From left: Eliška Hašková Coolige, Lecturer and Roland Leisztner, Entreprener and Developer with his wife Helena, Artist and Designer

From left: Mr. Thorstan Kalinowski and H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece

H.E. Aldo Amati, Ambassador of the Italian Republic with Tereza Dudáková, KB Bank

From left: Mrs. Cinzia Bernaconi, Mr. Massimo Bernacconi, and Mrs. Anna Leardi

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I nterview

with

H.E. D r . C hristoph I srang , A mbassador

Let Us Look for Answers Together

of

G ermany

to the

C zech R epublic

Dr. Christoph Israng, current German Ambassador to the Czech Republic, has served in Prague since August 2017. He came to the Czech Republic directly from his previous posting at The Hague, where he represented Germany at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Dr. Israng is quite familiar with the Central and Eastern Europe region, he served for eight years at the Office of German Chancellor as the Head of Department for Central, Eastern, Southeastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The fact that someone so close to Angela Merkel was appointed to serve in the Czech Republic underlines not only the reality that the Czech-German relations are the best in history, but underscores also the ambition that they should be further fostered.

Coming to the Lobkowicz palace and interviewing the German Ambassador was a special moment for me. I am a Czech-German Young Professionals Program alumni and thanks to the initiative “Sprechtíme”, I learned basic German. The Lobkowicz palace, being one of the grandest and most impressive Baroque palaces in Prague, represents a place where history was lived and written throughout the centuries.

Ludwig van Beethoven and Carl Maria von Weber, who were supported by the Lobkowicz family, are said to have given concerts in the central Domed Hall. The Palace displays splendid frescos, Gobelin tapestries and paintings.

The Domed Hall still houses concerts, conferences and receptions. I am proud to belong to the Velvet Revolution generation, so I always make sure to visit the so-called “Genscher-Balcony”, where Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher addressed East Germans fleeing via the Embassy on 30th September 1989.

At that time, the Embassy gave refuge to approximately 4000 Eastern German citizens. The statement by Genscher has become probably one of the most famous unfinished sentences in modern German history: “We have come here to inform you that today your departure…”. The rest of the sentence was impossible to be heard as the crowds started to cheer. This was one of the occasions that cleared the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9th November 1989 and then only eight more days until the beginning of the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution in 1989.

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P hoto : A rchive

I nterview

with

H.E. D r . C hristoph I srang , A mbassador

Mr. Ambassador, what is the current common theme of the Czech-German relations? I know that they are often described as the best in history, but let’s go beyond the headlines.

I will start by highlighting all the similarities between our two countries. They are both located in the center of Europe and we are surrounded by friends. Both countries are also in the center of the European Union, thus we have to care about the future of the EU. Our economies are also similar. We share not only the industrial specialization but also the industrial entrepreneurial spirit. We have also similar social developments. Both countries are doing economically well. At the same time, we should be aware of the challenges ahead, we have similar discussions going on in both societies. I can mention the Industry 4.0. as one example. Let us not concentrate only on the technological aspects and innovation, but also on the sociological ones as to the future of functioning of our society. As both countries are dependent on natural resources, it is the human being that makes the difference to our economies. The Czech Republic and Germany can start looking for answers together.

I have mentioned in the introduction that you are not new to the region. But coming here, living and working here, what was the biggest surprise?

The biggest surprise came when I met people that survived the most brutal violence committed by Germans. The way they interacted with me and my colleagues, the fact that they were open, friendly and in certain ways optimistic. These personal encounters were truly very moving. History is an important base for understanding the present and designing the future.

These moments must be rewarding for you not only personally, but also professionally, as a diplomat. You get to see that the Czech-German process of reconciliation has worked quite well.

We are not at the end yet. But there definitely have been many positive steps.

Many individuals as well as many institutions on both sides of the border were involved. It has not only brought the two countries together, but we can start to concentrate on the future oriented projects.

Likewise, let us move from the past to the future. What are the particular topics of Czech-German co-operation?

There are many topics and they have a very wide range. The cultural topics start from learning languages, student exchanges, all the way to literature, visual arts and music.

Bringing together people so that they can meet is a very important task and I am glad that the Czech German Future Fund, celebrating

of

G ermany

20 years of existence this year, is providing such a forum. In Germany, we need to make sure that Germans know that the Czech Republic is not only close geographically, but that there are many more similarities. Knowledge of the Czech Republic can be improved in Germany.

Likewise, we can improve knowledge of Germany here, and I am proud to extend my invitation to the German Embassy Open Day on June 21. I have already mentioned the economic cooperation, digitalization represents another important agenda. When we talk about the challenges, we should also mention the initiatives that originated thanks to mutual co-operation. As a result of the Strategic Dialogue, resulting from the meeting of our two countries, the European Forrest Strategy was originally designed by the Czech and German Ministries of Agriculture and then introduced and adopted on the European level. We definitely want to co-operate further within such a framework, not only on bilateral issues, but also on the issues that go beyond. Currently, we are, for example, closely discussing the future budget of the European Union.

It took six months to form the government in Germany, in the Czech Republic it has taken even longer. Does this affect the everyday nature of diplomatic relations?

The work of experts and the dialogue has never ceased to continue. There has never been silence between Berlin and Prague. Yes, there were fewer meetings on the highest ministerial level, due to on-going coalition negotiations.

We hope that the close governmental co-operation will continue, including on the highest level, as soon as possible.

You are known as someone close to Angela Merkel. I am engaged in strategic leadership and Angela Merkel is mentioned as an example of one leader “archetype” according to the Talent Dynamics profiling system. However, despite all her accomplishments, whenever I mention her name during leadership workshops, the Czech audience challenges me and mentions “migration crisis”. What is the broader picture the Czechs are missing to appreciate with regards to the Chancellor who is described as the de facto leader of the European Union, the most powerful woman in the world and the leader of the Free World?

The fact that the migration issue is dominating the overall image does not do justice to Mrs. Merkel, who has been the Chancellor since 2005. Perhaps it would be interesting for the Czechs to know that Mrs. Merkel has truly special emotional and personal relations to the Czech Republic. In 1968, she experienced Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia

to the

C zech R epublic

Special invitation: The German ambassador strongly believes that Germans should get to know the Czechs more and vice versa. Therefore, he invites everyone interested to use the unique opportunity to visit the German Embassy.

Mark your calendar for June 21, 2018 from 2 pm to experience the unique atmosphere of the Palace and become familiar with more than 30 German institutions working in the Czech Republic.

No registration required. and her interest in the country has continued ever since. Later, she returned to Prague as a researcher. As a leader, she successfully dealt with many issues, such as European financial crisis. Once we find a solution on the migration crisis, I am sure she will be appreciated in a much more positive way. By the way, we experienced the same tendency in Greece. At first, Greeks were very critical with regards to the measures taken in order to stabilize the economy, now Mrs. Merkel is perceived in a much more positive way.

In the long term, I am optimistic that the image of Mrs. Merkel will be based on her achievements.

Mr. Ambassador, allow me to end on a personal note on the future of diplomacy as a challenging profession for a double career relationship. By the way, the Czech minister of foreign affairs is also facing the difficult task to reconcile his career with the one of his wife.

Diplomacy, no matter how of a traditional profession it is, will also have to look out for innovative solutions out of the box. In Montreal, we currently have job sharing of a couple on the position of Consul General.

However, this also inquires flexibility from the receiving state. On the other hand, it will always represent a challenge. The modern way of communication makes it easier to some extent, but we still need to be present on the ground, as long as we cannot transfer via a laser beamer…(smiling)

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

59

I nterview

with

P rof . MUD r . R ichard Č eška , CS c ., FACP, FEFIM

renowned

E uropean

expert in preventive cardiology

On prevention, exercise and food P hoto : A rchive

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I nterview Prof. MUDr. Richard Češka is president of the Czech Society of Internal Medicine, lectures at Charles University’s Faculty of Medicine as well as abroad, and leads Charles University First Faculty of Medicine’s 3rd Medical Department – Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinic. To ensure a clear conscience, I went for the most part on foot to my meeting with Professor Češka, a renowned European expert in preventive cardiology, so that I could come closer to the recommended daily target of 10 000 steps. We met in the medical library, which was undoubtedly no coincidence since the professor enjoys frequently writing not just specialist publications, but also informative essays which are fascinating and enjoyable to read even for the general public. Besides preventive cardiology, we also discussed public education, a healthy lifestyle and the current situation in healthcare during our interview.

Professor, my first question will look to introduce your field. What actually do we not know that we already know about preventive cardiology? Why does the public not know much about this specialty?

Preventive cardiology is overshadowed by interventional cardiology, which involves great achievements such as coronary catheterisation, deployment of stents, and heart transplantation.

As such, one is often unaware how successful preventive cardiology is. Since 1985, we have seen consistent positive figures in terms of a fall in cardiovascular disease rates, despite the fact that cardiovascular disease has held on to the top spot in terms of mortality statistics. In more than half of all cases, this fall is due to successful preventive measures such as treatment for high cholesterol and hypertension, anti-smoking measures and, to some degree, lifestyle changes as well. Excellent world-class interventional cardiology is responsible for a smaller proportion of this decline, even though the topic may be more attractive to the media. On the other hand, I should point out that we are the best in the world at treating heart attacks; our system of coronary units and cardiovascular centres ensures exceptional access to healthcare.

It seems to me that it’s like preventive diplomacy; it is difficult to show how effective this is since no conflict arises, and as such it is hard to produce effective statistics.

You’re right; it is easy to demonstrate effectiveness for certain patients with congenital diseases such as lipid metabolism disorders. For individual patients whom we help by treating them for high cholesterol or high blood pressure, or by optimising their diabetes treatment or helping them to stop smoking, not much actually happens; the patients receive their medication and that’s all that’s needed. Even Christiaan Barnard, who performed the first heart transplant in the world in 1967, declared: “If I had focused on preventive medicine earlier, I could have saved a thousand times more lives.” The figures speak for themselves. Although heart transplantation can be considered groundbreaking surgery, only about 100 of these complex operations are performed a year in the Czech Republic. Yet tens of thousands of people will suffer heart attacks.

Few people know that preventive cardiology is further divided into two groups. These are, firstly, primary prevention for patients who have a risk of cardiovascular disease as a result of certain

factors but who have not yet developed disease of the heart and blood vessels, and secondly, the equally important secondary prevention, i.e. the prevention of further disease episodes once one has already occurred. Anyone who has had a heart attack should not suffer another, as the next one could be fatal. This prevention is sometimes more complex in terms of treatment as it essentially combines post-heart-attack treatment with preventive treatment.

Today there are numerous dietary recommendations, as well as recommendations around exercise, many of which contradict one other such that it is hard for the ordinary person to make sense of them.

Examples include butter and eggs, demonised in the 90s but today described as “superfoods”. What can we do to avoid further adding to the ranks of your patients?

There are a number of things you can do for your health. First of all, you need to be born into a “good family”; the genetic make-up we are born with plays a really important role. Winston Churchill hated any kind of exercise, smoked, drank and was hugely obese, yet he lived to be 90 years old. But he was an exception. So let’s get back to real life. It’s about being sensible. I don’t overestimate the effect of the now-popular Mediterranean Diet, but nor do I underestimate it, as we all probably realise that omega fatty acids are important. It would be naive to pretend that many patients without relevant education and with certain lifestyle habits are going to follow recommendations about following a Mediterranean Diet. To paraphrase, anything fatty, especially animal fats, are bad for you.

Large amounts of processed meats are also bad.

Eggs should also be consumed in moderation.

Our advice would be two yolks per week. I’d like to give you a good example of healthy food for Czechs: pork, dumplings and sauerkraut, using lean meat, two to three dumplings and a pile of unthickened sauerkraut. Patients understand this better than advice that they should eat seafood or fish with foreign names. For me then, it’s important to eat everything in moderation.

What do you think is more important? Diet, or exercise?

I would advocate the maximum possible and a combination of both, but if I had to choose then it would be exercise. It has been demonstrated that people termed “fit-fat”, i.e. people who are overweight or slightly obese but fit, have a better prognosis in terms of heart

disease than those who are so-called “nonfit, non-fat”, or people who are slim, weak and avoid exercise. At middle age and younger, it is those who are slightly overweight who have the best prognosis for a long life. I hope I have pleased many readers in saying so. In terms of cardiovascular prevention for ourselves, we can do a lot with exercise and an appropriate diet without having to try to look like Twiggy.

They say that stress is today’s great killer.

How do you personally manage to be an authority in your field, run a clinic, give lectures, hold conferences, publish and do so much more besides?

There are two types of stress. There’s positive stress when we’ve got a lot of work and we feel swamped, but this stress helps us because we enjoy the activities we are doing and they give us meaning. Negative stress, less visible but more damaging, comes from the feeling of fear that life is not giving us anything new, and it is often linked to occupational burnout. Did you know top managers suffer cardiovascular disease less than those with only a basic education? As such I wouldn’t demonise stress in itself. Let’s instead look at how we usually deal with stress, something which is a risk. We usually respond to stress by increasing our consumption of alcohol, cigarettes or sweet foods. Many people gain weight when stressed, and I am one of them.

Personally, I try to perceive stress positively.

I exercise every day because of problems with my back, and I play tennis and run every week.

I don’t smoke. But I confess that in terms of diet and watching my weight, I have not learnt to follow my own advice.

You’re known amongst your colleagues for holding conferences and focusing a lot on education. How well-informed are the patients who come into your surgery?

We live in a media world. In terms of educating medical specialists, I’m glad that we are doing extremely well at holding successful conferences at the international level, and we can thus also promote the Czech Republic. Our young generation of doctors can then build on contacts with colleagues from around the world. Public awareness is more complex. In the current climate, news with sensational value is more attractive. It is generally known that cholesterol is a risk factor and major cause of atherosclerosis. When any report is publicised stating that cholesterol is healthy and reducing it kills you, the headline gets onto the front page.

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

61

I nterview

with

P rof . MUD r . R ichard Č eška , CS c ., FACP, FEFIM

renowned

E uropean

expert in preventive cardiology

Some of the medicines we prescribe are statins.

There is a campaign against these medicines, because like other medicines there are some side effects. You may experience muscle pain, reduced performance, and in perhaps one in a million cases severe muscle inflammation can occur, a condition known as rhabdomyolysis.

One person who read about this extreme case recently started a campaign on how statins kill. Patients then demand to know from us why we are prescribing them these dangerous medicines. Interventional studies, however, have demonstrated that statins save thousands of lives, while causing unwanted side effects in a small number of cases. And our task is to persuade our patients of this. But patients, and people in general, are wired for negative, often unverified information. There was a large study in Denmark which confirmed that campaigns against statins increased death rates by a full eight percent, because patients stopped taking statins as secondary prevention following a heart attack, and the number of heart attacks increased by a whole twenty percent. The Danes continued their investigation, and ascertained that articles about the positive effects of statins reached 1 million people, while articles about its negative effects reached 6 million people!

I would definitely advise patients to seek out balanced information from verified sources. But that applies generally.

Let’s stick with science. Colleagues wished you the discovery of a gene for

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atherosclerosis for your fiftieth birthday.

What is your wish?

There are so many factors involved in atherosclerosis that I don’t think a single gene will be discovered. I don’t consider myself a scientist, but rather a clinician. There are not many breakthroughs in medicine; gradual development is much more important. I think the most important aspect of my activities is building up a team of young doctors who can focus on preventive cardiology. We are making small steps every day towards one day winning the battle against atherosclerosis and heart disease for the human race.

The situation regarding the lack of young doctors in the Czech Republic and their frequent leaving to work abroad is often mentioned as a time bomb for the Czech health service. How do you see this?

I think that very little is done to ensure young doctors have the best conditions to work in their profession. 15 % of young doctors do leave to work abroad, although some return. Speaking of conditions, discussion is frequently limited to financial conditions, but these are not the key criteria. Take a look at other companies who can attract employees through company nursery schools, providing great food or perhaps the option of travelling to work by bike, promoting a healthy lifestyle.

There is a problem within hospitals of where to leave your bike, where employees can take a shower, etc. From a professional perspective,

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

well-organised postgraduate education is important. Today, poorly qualified doctors often come here from abroad, meaning that our doctors are overburdened with a large number of night shifts, and are taking on too much responsibility for colleagues who often aren’t able to communicate well in Czech and thus may make mistakes. Because of all these factors, doctors don’t want to work in the system and leave. Apart from regional capitals, the current situation is alarming because wards’ senior consultants, or deputies, are often Czech, while the other doctors are from Ukraine.

What is your final message for Czech and Slovak Leaders readers?

I would like people to consider their health as one of the greatest riches in their lives, while also accepting that it is ultimately up to us to look after our own health. It is better to see a doctor early, even if there is nothing wrong, than to see them with a disease at a later stage. Prevention may sound a little hackneyed these days, but there was a proverb in ancient China which went: “The superior doctor prevents sickness, the mediocre doctor attends to impending sickness, and the inferior doctor treats actual sickness.”

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

CONFERENCE

The space where innovations shaped politics The first European Conference on Innovative Politics 2018 in Prague

Audience

Karel Janeček, Founder of Democracy 2.1, President 21 and a conscious businessman with heart and soul, Prague

Bea Benková - European Transformation Leader, Founder and CEO of Global Institute for Extraordinary Women, GIFEW

From left: Andrea Tittelová, Innovative Politics 2018, Jakub Plojhar, Co-organiser, Founder of Snemovni 7, Prague - the Organisers of the Conference on Innovative Politics 2018

From left: Andrea Gontkovičová - Philip Morris Česká republika and Nienke van Bezooijen, Netherlands

Speaking: Jan Polák, pioneer of conscious business, Founder, Prosperity Vision

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

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T he P ower

of

G ratitude

Life

Is Beautiful

Part X: The Black Panther In Our Family1,2 example of how it can be done.

Joe’s life is a clear illustration of someone successfully traveling a journey of success, abundance and fulfillment as discussed in my books, BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection1 and Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules.2

Path To Success

James A. Cusumano, PhD Chairman Chateau Mcely s.r.o.

Prague, Czech Republic “Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.”

Napoleon Hill

A Blockbuster Success

Marvel Studios’ global blockbuster movie, The Black Panther, is the largest revenue generating superhero film of all time, approaching $1.5 billion.

Many feel it will be nominated for several 2018 Academy Awards. It addresses some critical issues which are timely for the world we live in, namely, there is great opportunity in diversity, and the human race is interconnected in ways that are much more critical than money and power.

Nearly all the cast members are people of color, and women play an important role in helping the protagonist, the Black Panther, succeed in his mission. The movie dispels an age-old Hollywood prejudice, namely that movies with cast members who are primarily people of color have a limited market. The film goes a long way to showing how successful nations can help create a better world for all by sharing their technological advances with those countries that are less developed or oppressed.

Director, producer, screenwriter Joe Robert Cole (Figure 1) who wrote this blockbuster movie is my son-in-law. I’m certainly very proud of Joe, but that’s not why I’m sharing this message with you.

As someone who has spent years studying and writing about how to create a happy, abundant and fulfilled life, I want to share an excellent

Before looking at the specifics of Joe’s life, let’s take a look at the general path to success, fulfillment and happiness. There are two important steps in this process. The first thing has to do with the Meaning of Life, which is to dig deep inside and find out what special gifts you brought into this world with you. Everyone has their own. There are usually one, two, maybe three things you are really good at and love to do. They give you great pleasure and satisfaction.

The second point addresses the Purpose of Life.

You must find a way to share these gifts with others in a way that brings value to the world and to you. That’s it, it’s that simple!

These gifts are part of your Essence, the true you.

You might call it your Personal Consciousness.

They fall in two categories, “hard” and “soft.” The hard gifts could be special capabilities in the arts, music, dance, sports, math, science, writing, storytelling, computers, mechanics, etc. The soft type could be personal strengths in empathy, compassion, courage, resiliency, patience, self-awareness, social-awareness, relationsmanagement, etc.

The biggest challenge besides identifying your gifts is our general perception of the definition of success. The prevalent definition has evolved over the past several hundred years and began forming at the onset of the Industrial revolution in the 18th century. Consider a metaphor for this definition where Success is pictured as the seat of a three-legged stool (Figure 2). It is supported by three legs represented by Money, Power and Purpose, respectively. In the free world, a kind of social and cultural hypnosis has been subtly communicated by parents, teachers, the media, reward systems, etc. It primarily values and focuses on Money and Power (Recognition).

However, only Purpose connects to the deepest roots of the human spirit and its unmitigated innate need to serve. We all have it, although

Figure 1: Screenwriter, producer, director, Joe Robert Cole: His life demonstrates a path to long-term fulfillment, happiness and success.

it can be heavily camouflaged, depending on external influences that start at the moment of birth, maybe even before then. This connection is so much stronger than Money and Power that it is the only one of the three legs that can support the stool on its own. Truth be told, it is also the one element of success that provides deep longlasting fulfillment and satisfaction, and, of course, happiness.

Thus, we find numerous examples of successful people who found and pursued their Purpose and ended up receiving lots of Money and Recognition, and those who didn’t do as well financially, still experienced immense personal fulfillment. Likewise, there are ample examples of those who focused on Money and Power and never found the bliss from Purpose-created success.

Once you find that talent you came into this world with, the one you do very well, and with pleasure, then you must connect it with a need that makes the world a better place. That becomes your PURPOSE and it cannot help but unleash incredible PASSION, which generates high levels of physical and emotional ENERGIES, enabling you to tap into a CREATIVITY that fosters INNOVATIVE solutions to difficult challenges. This

1. EDITOR’S COMMENT – This is the tenth article in a series based on the author’s book, “Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules,” Waterfront Press, Cardiff California, 2015.

2. The author may be reached at Jim@ChateauMcely.Com.

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T he P ower

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inevitably provides a REWARD. It may be financial, emotional, spiritual, or some combination and that produces intense GRATITUDE. And GRATITUDE is always the source of long-term, abundance, happiness and fulfillment.

Joe’s Journey

When Joe was writing the script for this film he told me he wanted to create the movie he wished he could have seen on the screen when he was a kid. His journey to this success was not straightforward and easy. Here’s a summary of how it happened.

An African American, Joe was born in Cleveland, Ohio, famous primarily as home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Born to Terry Cole, a single mother, Joe never knew his father. Because she was a single mother and a woman of color during a time when even greater prejudice than exists today permeated our social fabric, Terry had great difficulty getting employment.

So she and Joe moved around a lot. This made it difficult for Joe to make lasting friendships. To compensate for this, at an early age, he began to write stories about make-believe friends.

They were good stories and interesting to all who read them, including his teachers. And Joe loved the process of creative writing. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had discovered his special gift – storytelling.

As Joe and his mom moved around the country, she in search of employment, Joe finally decided he wanted to be a professional writer. At this point a negative turn could have occurred as is often the case with children drawn to careers in writing. Terry could have advised him of the challenges of becoming a writer professionally – How will you do

Figure 2: We can envision success as supported by three pillars.

By far, the one that has most significant, positive and lasting impact is Purpose.

Figure 3: Joe Robert Cole, screenplay writer of The Black Panther found the Meaning of Life which is to find your special talent, and then use it to create your Life Purpose, namely sharing that gift with the world to make it a better place.

financially? Writing is a risky business. But she didn’t. Quite the contrary. She encouraged Joe to follow his dream.

Joe and Terry moved to California and he eventually enrolled at The University of California at Berkeley where he studied creative writing. Before graduation he decided he would focus all of his writing talents on screenplays for movies that eventually he would like to direct. He wanted to write, produce and direct films that would make a positive difference in the world. He was advised by many so-called experts that this would not be an easy journey.

That didn’t deter Joe. He wanted to spend his time doing what he loved, what he was good at, and where he was convinced he could make a special contribution.

Although a graduate from one of the top universities in the U.S., Joe took menial jobs that gave him the flexibility to spend quality time writing movie scripts. It was a long haul, nearly 10 years before his star began to rise. His first big break came when he was asked to write a few of the episodes for a successful TV series called The American Crime Scene – The Story of O. J. Simpson. Simpson was a successful allstar American football athlete and subsequent movie actor, who was accused and tried for killing his wife. The series won wide acclaim and received several Emmy Awards in 2017.

As a consequence of that success, Joe was asked to write the screenplay for The Black Panther. He finally got the chance to do what he dreamed of – create a major film that makes a positive difference in the world. All indications by reviews of the film are that he succeeded in doing just that.

I asked Joe how he felt about those 10 challenging years of very simple living before his success. He said that even though his jobs at the time provided only the basic

essentials of life, as long as he could provide for his family, the simple life didn’t bother him.

He was grateful for the time he had to write, which is his passion. That passion more than compensated for any hardship.

Joe discovered his talents early on – making movies with a positive message. His Passion went from a spark to a wildfire when he found a way to connect his innate gift with a need that made the world a better place. If you’ve seen The Black Panther, I hope you’ll agree the film does that (Figure 3).

Yes, the entertainment business is quite challenging, and Joe works hard at his craft.

But passion feeds persistence. That’s why he always views any setbacks as “learnings” and not mistakes. So, his odyssey has been one of discovery, rather than drudgery.

Although Joe works diligently at his craft, he’s a caring husband and a dedicated father of two lovely children. While creating his successes, in addition to his immediate family he has always been there for his mom and other members of the Cole family – a perfect example of Life is Love and Love is Life.

So if you haven’t discovered your natural talent – that special gift you came into this world with – you absolutely can do it! Don’t give up! It’s never too late. Ray Croc, founder of McDonalds didn’t find his until he was in his 50s.

Simply summarized, The Meaning of Life is to find your Special Gift, and the Purpose of Life is to Share it with others and make this a Better World.

Sat, Chit, Ananda!

Enjoy your journey, make a difference!

References: 1. James A. Cusumano, BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection, SelectBooks, New York, 2013. 2. James A. Cusumano, Life Is Beautiful: 12 Universal Rules, Waterfront Press, Cardiff, California, 2015.

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charity event

P hoto : V áclav K recl

Endowment Fund of Mrs Livia Klausová and Mr Václav Klaus

The 15th jubilee gathering of friends and supporters of the Fund of Mrs Livia Klausová and Mr Václav Klaus with the participation of both of its founders, took place at the New Town Hall of Prague 1 on the 11th June of 2018.

The mission of the Fund is to support predominantly educational activities for socially weak people.

Seniors from the project Seniors Communicate and representatives of the Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus

Pavel Šporcl, Violinist

From left: prof. Václav Klaus, former President of the CR and cofounder of the Endowment Fund, Kamila Kryštofová, Director, Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus, Livia Klausová, Chairwoman of the Board, Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus, and Mrs. Jaroslava Vnoučková

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Prof. Václav Klaus, former President of the CR and co-founder of the Endowment Fund

From left: Mr and Mrs Dlask, Kamila Kryštofová, Director, Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus, and Mr and Mrs Martinka

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

From left: Ladislav Petrásek, Member of the Board, Livia Klausová, Chairwoman of the Board, prof. Václav Klaus, former President of the CR and co-founder of the Endowment Fund, and Jiří Weigl, Member of the Board

From left: Walter Liva, Coordinator, CRAF of Spilimbergo, in the foreground Michael Žantovský, Director, Václav Havel Library, H.E. Aldo Amati, Italian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, and Giovanni Sciola, Director, Italian Cultural Institute of Prague

Opening of the “Praga 1968” photo exhibition took place in the Baroque Chapel of the Italian Culture Institute in Prague. The exhibition has been carried out on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of “ Primavera di Praga” ( Prague Spring), due to the partnership between Italian Embassy, Italian Culture Institute, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Regional Council and CRAF- Spilimbergo (PN) Photography and the Archive Research Centre, and it will remain open to the public until 8th June at the Institute, with free entry.

“Praga 1968” presents the events of that year in over 100 shots made by the Czech photographer Pavel Sticha, from the Swedish Sune Jonsson and the Italians Carlo Leidi and Alfonso Modonesi, a contribution of images that frame the protagonists of those days in crucial moments such as the appointment of Alexander Dubček as secretary of the Communist Party, the May Day parade and the events of the autumn months of 1968. Among the most significant shots belongs the Castle Square on the morning of October 28th 1968, the citizens who lay flowers and lamps at the bottom of the statue of St. Wenceslas and the tomb of Jan Palach photographed in March 1970 before being destroyed by the police.

From left: Walter Liva, Coordinator, CRAF of Spilimbergo, Alfonso Modonesi, Photographer, H.E. Aldo Amati, Italian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, and Giovanni Sciola, Director, Italian Cultural Institute of Prague

From left: Walter Liva, Coordinator, CRAF of Spilimbergo and Giovanni Sciola, Director, Italian Cultural Institute of Prague

Photography exhibition

Alfonso Modonesi, Photographer

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Interview with Silvia Lepiarczyk, Entrepreneur and Philantropist

One Woman, Thousand Opportunities Imagine that you run your first business at the age of 18. At the age of 32, as a young blonde woman, you become CEO of Autohaus Verlag, the biggest publisher for the automotive industry in Germany. By the age of 40, you achieve the position of CEO for Central and Eastern Europe at Ringier publishing, being responsible for 96 magazines in seven countries, a dream position at the corporate level for many. You remember the promise you made to yourself and to your friends and decide to leave the corporate world by the age of 40. After a sabbatical, you use this new beginning to follow your dreams and you return to university studies. In addition to running a consulting business, which might not be a surprising career trajectory, you pursue your passion and support new start up projects, in the emerging field which combines Artificial Intelligence and Alzheimer disease. She has chosen Prague as her hometown, however, she could rank herself to the millennial generation, as her businesses are connected to both Berlin and Vienna.

Meeting with Silvia Lepiarczyk was like meeting a kindred soul. It was one of those meetings that based on facts, you have known the person for less than an hour but based on feelings, you have known someone in another lifetime.

Despite the geographical distance, as she was born in “the West”, and I was from the “East”, we both experienced being exposed to leadership positions at quite a young age, in an industry not traditionally associated with women. We both gave up corporate careers to pursue our dreams and we both are passionate about new forms in learning and development. As a social cause, we both strongly care about Alzheimer disease and I was glad to connect Silvia to the Seňorina center, the leading care institution for Alzheimer in Prague.

Silvia started her introduction by saying that she was born in the last millennium which defines her to a great extent. Despite her interest in artificial intelligence, big data and technology, she was truly pleased to receive a hard copy of our magazine, as she claims she loves to touch and experience “the real stuff”, not the virtual ones. The second thing she mentioned, was the value of hard work and physical work, which she learned to appreciate during her childhood, being born in the industrial Essen area and her ancestors being coal miners.

Silvia, your career seems to be proof that the German “dual education system”, combining apprenticeship and formal education is working. In your case, you got your first job in management at the age of 18 while studying a university degree in psychology.

My father died when I was young. Luckily, I was able to receive some funding from the owners of the dancing school I attended. As a high school student, I tried to reciprocate, and I was giving dancing lessons. Suddenly, the owner of the school fell very sick and she asked me to take care of the place. Simultaneously, I managed to graduate from the high school and to enter the university to study psychology. However, being connected to the business, I was not interested in becoming a therapist, instead I was interested in applied psychology, particularly diagnostics and creating a suitable working environment. As to my first real job after the university, I became a headhunter for a prestigious company in Cologne and for two years I specialized in the areas of banking and science.

I was 23 years old, and I found myself facing men two times older than me and asking them challenging questions while doing diagnostics or career advising.

P hoto : A rchive

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Year 1989 marked the history. I was living the Velvet Revolution, Germany celebrated the fall of the Wall and on a personal level, that is when your career in publishing and media started.

I was 25 when I got the offer to join the Bertelsmann international media enterprise in Munich, joining

the HR department and being responsible for its development. I truly loved the job and, at that time, Bertelsmann already had quite an elaborate system of educating and training young talents.

I also had a great mentor who helped me a great deal. As the company was acquiring another publishing house in the USA, I was sent to New York to oversee the acquisition from the company culture point of view. You can imagine the clash of a small-town Germany culture of acquiring firm versus the New York style culture of the company to be acquired. So, I found myself living in New York at the age of 27 and, needless to say, I enjoyed it.

The following promotion led to the HR Director of Bertelsmann with the responsibility for professional magazines.

What was it like to be the HR Director under 30? I became the acting director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the age of 27 and I remember how many times I was asked to take the minutes, to prepare a coffee or to wait for a “male director”.

At Bertelsmann, we were all quite young and we were given the responsibilities but also the trust and freedom. At first, I oversaw HR, but later I had to restructure the whole company and downsize the staff, including firing people, by no means an easy task in Germany. Apart from HR, I was also in charge of operations, overseeing the internal infrastructure as well as the construction of the new premises. In addition to HR disciplines, I was again challenged to get closer to business, to negotiate with third parties and so on. I proved my management skills and another acquisition came.

I was asked whether I would like to be the CEO of this company.

Let me guess…Was it Autohaus Verlag?

32, blonde and in charge of car publishing magazines.

Luckily, my psychology background has helped me to deal with this challenge. I was responsible not only for the magazines, but also for a training academy and a printing company.

I learned everything about traditional publishing from beginning to end, with some on-line content slowly emerging. Just to remind you, we are talking about 1994 with heavy Nokia communicators. As the publishing house was expanding, the company became international as well as the nature of my job, we had branches in most countries of the Western Europe, but all that travelling happened while enjoying my life style in the gorgeous town of Munich.

Now, I am expecting the shift that brought you “Eastward”.

Some juicy stories are coming. My partner and I separated, my former boss also left, and he started to work for Ringier. I was in Munich alone, not enjoying being by myself anymore. I got the offer to come to Prague. I did not speak Czech, I was still rather young, and I knew it was going to be another big challenge. I had nine months leaving period from Bertelsmann, as they were not willing to let me go. This time, it played to my cards. The first position I was offered was the publisher of the

magazines. During the nine months, the former CEO left and so eventually I became the CEO of Ringier, Czech Republic, with the responsibility for 1200 people, combined business of both magazines and newspapers (Týdeník televize, ABC and Blesk to name the most prominent), all this in a foreign country still having the former eastern bloc mentality. In 1997, people were still not leaving toilet paper in the company restrooms as it was stolen, most staff were wearing funny slippers and everyone was working from 6 am until 2 pm and then leaving sharply. I restructured the whole company and made many changes regarding the company culture. I remember constantly reminding most of the staff that the salary is not paid for one’s coming to the office but for getting the work done. I was working from 7 am until 10 pm every day. Slowly but surely, I gained the confidence of Czech people, as they saw my ability to make decisions, bring changes and get the results. Nevertheless, I did not get the best publicity from our competitors, calling me “German cruel lady not having a pity on people”, which was not true. Most people who left did so with relevant packages at the time of almost zero unemployment and they thanked me.

I am proud that with the help of my team, we became the no. 1 on the market, Blesk circulation at that time was 700 000 copies per day. We sold Lidové Noviny. At the verge of the millennium, I also became responsible for Slovakia.

Then you got the promotion to the regional role in Zurich, Switzerland. In many cases, this is the decisive factor, as the nature of the work changes completely and not everyone enjoys the shift.

As I enjoyed living in Prague, I accepted the offer based on the condition that I will fly to Switzerland. But as to the nature of the job, in my country role, I was used to the freedom and ability to make decisions. In Switzerland, at headquarters, everybody was telling me what to do. The first day I was asked, are you the trainee coming from Slovakia? My reply was: No, I am your boss. Being a female manager in the Czech Republic even not speaking the language was much easier than being a female manager in Switzerland. After I had the job for nine months I was considering leaving, because I was not happy, another shift came. I was appointed the CEO of Ringier CEE. I was not sure about accepting the position, but my colleagues also supported me to get this role as they knew me, and they preferred to work with me than with someone coming from outside. I had the position for five years, sometimes being on the airplane three times per day. I was travelling not only to get the staff, the partners but also the competitors and last but not least, the politicians.

Being a journalist myself, I will not press you to reveal sources or details. But how was the relationship between you, representing the media and the politicians, often resisting them?

One politician stood out from the crowd and I admired him. Václav Havel. As to the rest, I had no illusions, so I could not be disappointed and there were no pleasant surprises either. Unfortunately,

I faced one of the most difficult personal and professional decisions, in an issue related to Václav Havel. The tabloid Blesk got the story of a scandal around Dagmar Havlová. To publish it or not to publish it? Well, for the type of the magazine, it was a good story and it was true. I gave permission to publish it, with a special edition on Sunday. Dagmar Havlová then invited me for a cup of tea, accusing me of being a horrible person. I tried to explain to her what I have done many times to others: it was not the press that created the problems, at least at that time, it was the improper behavior that got exposed and subsequently caused the problems.

It seems that you have seen it and you have lived it all, at least with regards to the publishing business. What made you to leave it?

At the age of 35, I made a promise with a group of friends to retire by the age of 40 to pursue our dreams. When the time was coming, I was 43 and I told the owner of Ringier that it was my dream. He tried to stop me, he offered so many incentives to keep me. I made a deal. If the company would reach 25 % ROI, I would leave for a one-year sabbatical.

I surpassed the figure and my boss kept the promise.

In 2007, I went to Myanmar for one month. It is a beautiful country, I was alone with a local guide and as there was no phone connection, only land faxes between the hotels, I truly could disconnect.

This was important not only for me but also for my team members, as they truly had to realize I left and they had new leadership.

After one-year sabbatical, they tried to lure me back to work, but I declined. I enjoyed slower travelling, being able to stay at one place for several weeks. I went to see my friends and I was so glad to be able to keep so many relationships. I also wanted to support social causes, so I joined the CARE supervisory board. During my second-year sabbatical, I started to invest in start-up companies, on-line businesses etc. I also met my current partner, the perfect match for me, as it was impossible for me to have a relationship while working for Ringier.

I accompanied my partner to Vienna and we lived there for three years. I was working for CARE and travelling to Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, Ethiopia, Nepal, India and other places.

Silvia, your life story could easily become a book. However, I have the feeling that the next chapter brings it full circle.

My partner also quit his job and spent three months in Berlin. We became familiar with the start-up scenes, particularly with the artificial intelligence (AI). Now, I am interested in solutions that AI can provide for Alzheimer and dementia related diseases. I hope that dialogue toys and other IT solutions will be providing stimulus for the patients and at the same time relief to the families. I am looking forward to collaborating with interested institutions and companies. Finally, I can truly pursue my mission by bringing all my life experience as well as my expertise from university studies together. I am excited about it.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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What a Bitch!

Silent whispers and murmurs of discontent resonated through the corridor as I stepped out of the meeting room.

They weren’t directed at me (not this time), yet they made me shiver.

Who would want to hear a remark like that? Not any woman I know! Yet it’s this harsh feedback (solicited or not) that can sometimes be the best thing to happen to us. That is, if we overcome the initial shock and start looking at ourselves more objectively and honestly. It took me a long time to come to terms with feedback I received myself…

“Alena, you look so stern and strict! People must be really scared of you!” That was a comment from a gentleman I met at a social networking event. “What??? Me? What do you mean?” It took me a long time to get the point. I went through all the possible emotional stages from denial, through anger, depression to sadness and a lot of private talks with trusted friends and colleagues. Today I am grateful. It’s by far the best feedback I ever received in my life. It opened my eyes, it gave me a new level of self-awareness and understanding, even appreciation and brought me closer to finding the better version of myself, or so I hope.

How did we get here, ladies?

Ever heard any “bitch-related” rumor about you?

If so, it’s time for some reflection. Each case is very different, of course! After all, you have your unique personality comprised of a number of inborn traits and learnt behaviors, your particular communication style and personal history. That’s what makes you the person you are today and that’s what radiates through your body, through your personal presence. In my particular case, it’s the behaviors and attitudes I learnt later in my professional career that, combined with my personality traits, turned me into a scary little monster in the eyes of others. And, I had no idea!

Without going into embarrassing details about myself, let’s just say that during my career, I had to develop a new set of skills, abilities and attitudes to be able to take on a leadership role and to navigate and succeed in a highly competitive environment. For better or worse, I learnt to be physically and mentally tough. I learnt to go after what I wanted, never letting my sight waver from the goal, I learnt to take action and be perseverant until things got done. I became competitive and started to enjoy the little wins along the way, which made me strive for more. I learnt to speak in public, making myself and my behaviors even more “visible” and “louder”. And when I started to display the same attitudes and behaviors back home - in my personal life - Uff! I guess you get the picture.

In short, I stepped into my masculine energy* and used it so much, for so long that it started to get the best of me. My masculine energy became predominant in my life and my feminine energy* was completely crushed. * If you are in a position of leadership, you probably know what I am talking about. In my experience

working with women in power, the consequences of working predominantly from our masculine energy can be disastrous. Our presence starts radiating too many ‘STRENGTHS’ signals** and we become disliked by others. People start perceiving us as overly bossy, ambitious, cold, in other words, “bitchy”. This is the price of violating the “gender stereotype”. We get punished by displaying traits and behaviors that are typically associated with men, not women. Our popularity goes down the drain and so does our impact.

help you. Please take 5 to 10 minutes to answer these questions and note down your ideas. I bet you’ll stumble upon something interesting and who knows, it may positively impact your success, influence and your overall happiness at the workplace.

You might say, who cares? I don't strive to be liked!

I strive to be effective! I hear you, yet think about this: if you could choose your own boss, who would you choose? Someone you perceive as highly competent yet cold, even aggressive? Or someone you perceive as highly competent and whom you also like because they appear as someone who genuinely cares, has empathy and a team spirit?

There’s more at stake though! By relying solely on your masculine energy*, you may get out of balance and suffer the consequences in your personal life.

Do you suffer from the “Bitch” syndrome?

If in doubt, the next page will show you a few points you can consider. This is by no means an exhaustive list of options, but it will get you thinking. If you resonate with at least 80% of the points, welcome to the club!

So now what?!

It may be that you’re perfectly happy with the way things are going for you in spite of the occasional “What a bitch!” remark and that’s fine. After all, your communication and working approach got you to where you are today and if it’s a good place, why change? However, if you feel you still don't have the impact with others that you would like to have, there´s something on the next page to

*Masculine energy is forward moving, it’s all about action, logic and results whilst feminine energy is inviting, it’s about nurturing, tenderness, empathy. ** I wrote about the signals of STRENGTH & WARMTH in the Your Body=Your Story article from the August 2017 issue of this magazine.

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P hoto A rchive

THE BITCH SYNDROME

TALK LIKE THIS?

LOOK & SOUND LIKE THIS?

ACT & THINK LIKE THIS?

TEAM, A REFLECTION OF THE LEADER

• You find it difficult to listen, the little voice in your head screams: “can you just get to the point for Christ’s sake???”

• Your communication is very focused, to the point, your phrases are short, simple, directive, some may say you enjoy barking out orders • You find it difficult to relate to people’s personal problems, the little voice in your head whispers: “Keep it to yourself, will you? We’re here to work!”

• Your body is generally quite tense, controlled, with karate-like gestures • You often catch yourself pointing fingers at others, or tapping your fingers impatiently on table or rolling your eyes • You often rest your hands on your hips when sitting or standing • You’re starting to notice deep creases and wrinkles on your forehead and the latest anti-aging serum is not helping! (tried the “frown-less-technique” yet?)

• Your voice is deep, strong and intense • Your business wardrobe mostly consists of trousers and trouser suits • You love staying on top of things • You enjoy winning arguments • You make decisions based on rational factors, emotions shouldn't stand in the way • You have an urge to prove yourself to others • You believe that people can’t be trusted, they must be given instructions on what to do and how to do it • You’re quick to dismiss people’s opinions and to judge their character • Your career is your top priority, anything else can wait, including your partner • Expressing emotions openly is utterly unacceptable • The word “sorry” is not part of your vocabulary • Nothing is too good, nothing is good enough • You take their work for granted, after all, that’s what they’re paid for!

• Your team is highly competitive, each member is striving to win • Sharing and collaboration between members is lacking • In general, there’s not much communication between you or your team members and between the members • You’re the last one to know of any problems or conflicts, team members do not tend to share their frustrations with you • You’re still waiting for an invite to the popular after-hours social events

• Go through the “Bitch syndrome” list and think about what drives and • • • •

motivates you? How does it reflect in your communication style and behavior & attitudes towards others?

What could you do to improve the quality of your relationships? How could you express more interest in the people around you? How could you show more appreciation for their work?

If someone sees you for the first time, what do you think they would say about you? Are you aware of the signals** your presence radiates and how they impact your interaction with others?

How do you spend your time outside the office? Do your leisure activities boost the masculine or the feminine side of you?

How could you bring more of your feminine energy into your business interactions?

Please share your findings with me. I really enjoy reading your stories and may be able to provide you with further feedback!

Remember, harsh feedback is still feedback.

Embrace it! Run with it! Use it to propel you to new heights in your life!

By ALENA HUBEROVA Presentation coach, speaker and communications trainer www.alenahuberova.com alena@alenahuberova.com

ABOUT ALENA HUBEROVA Alena assists business leaders all over Europe in developing a powerful personal presence on and off-stage, and delivering presentations that get people’s buy-in and inspire action. She also acts as a mentor for startups helping them design and deliver winning business pitches.

She has a professional background in sales, marketing and communication in a variety of sectors including IT, travel and tourism, wellness and beauty. She lived and worked in 5 different countries in Europe and Asia.

In collaboration with Presenation.com, she coached the X.GLU Czech Team to win the world title at the Microsoft Imagine Cup in 2017. Alena’s other achievements include being a speaker at the TEDx UNYP 2017 conference and winning the second place in the 2018 Czech National Championship of Public Speaking.

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business event

KellerWilliams at the US residence The world's largest real estate franchise by agent count, Keller Williams, with more than 950 offices and 181,000 associates, officially launched its Czech operations on June 4 at an event held at the Residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Prague, under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy’s company promotion program. "We are proud to welcome Keller Williams Czech Republic into our growing worldwide family," said William E. Soteroff, president, Keller Williams Worldwide, the international division of Keller Williams. "Utilizing our systems and models, Czech agents will be better able to expand their business opportunities while serving their clients at the highest level."

The Master Franchisee, or Regional Operating Principal, is Jana Hrstková. “Keller Williams is a real estate company built by agents for agents. Our approach to a market leans heavily on models, systems and investment in people, making real estate agents even more effective and delivering a better client experience. Key to that is its IT vision and platform and emphasis on training. That in itself is quite disruptive for the Czech market. Keller Williams Czech Republic’s goal is to enable independent agents to benefit from the leverage and specialization of systems provided at the market center level, where we will also be introducing commission caps and competitive splits for our agents. ”Moreover, Keller Williams’ dedication to education and training will be a welcome boon to a market which is currently still not regulated. Finally, our caring and sharing philosophy is demonstrated annually around the world via the company’s signature charitable “RED Day” and additional international initiatives via the KW Cares foundation,” said Jana Hrstková.

From left: David Koppitz, Acting Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR

From left: Jakub Krejza, CEO, Realitní společnost České Spořitelny and Jiří Pathy, General Director, Gepard

From left: Zbyněk Brych, Happy Training & Consulting and Radim Zeman, Happy Training & Consulting

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H.E. Steve King, US Ambassador to the Czech Republic

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

From left: Gordon Howel, CEO, Pole Position Travel and Susan Sanders, Realtor, KellerWilliams, Greater Des Moines with her husband Russ

From left: Bill Soteroff, President of KellerWilliams Worldwide, Jarmila Rádlová, Operating Principal of Market Centre Prague Prime, and Marek Doležal - Team leader of Market Centre Prague Prime

business event

From left: David Koppitz, Acting Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Bill Soteroff, President of KellerWilliams Worldwide, Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR, and H.E. Steve King, US Ambassador to the Czech Republic

Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR and John Paul Lewis, Executive Director of Regional Development, KellerWilliams Worldwide

Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR, and Michal Herman, former Chairman of the Board, PG Silesia

Bill Soteroff, President of KellerWilliams Worldwide

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business event

International team of Keller Williams Worlwide

From left: David Koppitz, Acting Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR, and Bill Soteroff, President of KellerWilliams Worldwide

From left: Mr. Petr Hejma, Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR, and Jan Smetana, Director, Museum Kampa

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From left: Yann Curtis, Ellen Curtis, COO of Keller Williams Worldwide, J.P.Lewis, Executive Director of Regional Development KWW, Jennifer Lewis, Elisabeth Soteroff, Bill Soteroff, President of KellerWilliams Worldwide, and Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR

From left: Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR, Mrs. Hana Bellini, Lubomír Šilhavý, Work Lounge, and Lubomír Šilhavý junior

business event

From left: Rostislav Jirkal, Director, Risk Assurance, PWC and H.E. Steve King, US Ambassador to Czech Republic

From left: H.E. Steve King, US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Bill Soteroff, President of KellerWilliams Worldwide, and Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR

From left: Andrea Ferancová Bartoňová, Chair of the Board, Espira Investments, Ladislav Sekerka, Partner, Consillium, and Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR

From left: Milorad Miško Miškovič, Managing Partner, Karlin Port, Anton Kozych, Regional Director, KW ČR, and Josef Malíř, Executive Director, Star Capital Finance

From left: Michael Pupala, Managing Director of Wüstenrot, Mrs. Mária Lazarová, Marketing Manager, KellerWilliams ČR, Oldřich Turner, Regional Manager – Vaše budoucnost

From left: Tomáš Vítek, Attorney, Mrs. Mária Lazarová, Paul D Tesei, Director, Motcomb Consultancy, and Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KellerWilliams ČR

From left: Mr. Ajit Virk and Milorad Miško Miškovič, Managing Partner, Karlin Port

From left: Milena Hrdinková, Department Director, Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance ČR, Michael J Whitney, Realtor, KellerWilliams, and Jana Hrstková, Regional Operating Principal, KW ČR

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gala event

UNIQA celebrated its th 25 Anniversary at Palace Žofín

Board of UNIQA pojišťovna, from left: Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Rastislav Havran, Chief Operation Officer, Robert Wasner, Member of the Board and Chief Insurance Technique Officer, Wolfgang Friedl, Member of the Board and Chief Sales Officer, and Lucie Urválková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Finance Officer

On 13 June 2018, more than 300 business partners, clients, shareholder representatives, managers and friends of UNIQA insurance company gathered at Žofín Palace in Prague to mark together 25 years since the company was founded.

Over a quarter of a century, UNIQA has grown to become a highly respected strong component of the Czech insurance market with annual premium written of over 6.5 billion crowns.

Over the course of 25 years, it has dealt with 1.6 million claims, paid out 36.5 billion crowns in settlements and contributed 940 million crowns to government coffers in taxes.

UNIQA currently serves 600 000 customers and holds a market share of 5.3 %.

From left: Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of UNIQA pojišťovna, Lucie Urválková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and CFO of UNIQA pojišťovna, and Jan Jeníček, CEO of Raiffeisen stavební spořitelna

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From left: Wolfgang Friedl, Chief Sales Officer, UNIQA pojišťovna, Lucie Urválková, ViceChairwoman of the Board and CFO of UNIQA pojišťovna, Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of UNIQA pojišťovna, and Jiřina Nepalová, Managing Director, Renomia

gala event

From left: Peter Doleschalek, previous member of the Board of Česko-rakouská pojišťovna, Jan Matoušek, Managing Director of Czech Association of Insurers, H.E. Alexander Grubmayr, Ambassador of Austria to the Czech Republic, Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of UNIQA pojišťovna, Wolfgang Kindl, Chairman of the Management Board, UNIQA International AG, Jan Jeníček, CEO of Raiffeisen stavební spořitelna, and Christian Miller, Head of Advantage Austria Prague

Wolfgang Kindl, Chairman of the Management Board, UNIQA International AG

From left: Marek Richter, Business Partner, PwC Audit, René Knapp, Risk Manager, UNIQA Insurance Group, Nicola Barford, CFO of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services CZ, Lucie Urválková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and CFO of UNIQA pojišťovna, Jan Pudil, Board Member of Raiffeisenbank, Jaromír Sladkovský, CEO, Raiffeisen investiční společnost, and Petr Žáček, T-Mobile

Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of UNIQA pojišťovna

From left: Thomas Brustbauer, Managing Director, UNIQA Group Service Center Slovakia, Alexander Breit, Director Strategic Business Organisation, UNIQA Insurance Group, Reinhard Böck, CEO, UNIQA Group Service Center Slovakia, Tibor Zalabai, Executive Director, UNIQA Group Service Center Slovakia, Erik Leyers, Member of the Management Board, Chief Operation Officer, UNIQA Insurance Group, Alexander Bockelmann, Head of IT, UNIQA Insurance Group, and Rastislav Havran, Chief Operation Officer, UNIQA pojišťovna From left: Peter Eichler, Member of the Board, UNIQA International, Klára Kodua, Director of Renomia, Andreas Kößl, Board Member of UNIQA International, Franz Pommer, Managing Director of Porsche CZ, Robert Wasner, Member of the Board and CITO of UNIQA pojišťovna, and František Ježek, Board Member of Raiffeisenbank

Board of UNIQA pojišťovna, from left: Rastislav Havran, COO, Robert Wasner, CITO, Wolfgang Friedl, CSO, Lucie Urválková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and CFO, Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO, and Tereza Kostková, Actress and Presenter

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gala event

Lucie Urválková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and CFO of UNIQA pojišťovna and Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of UNIQA pojišťovna

H.E. Alexander Grubmayr, Ambassador of Austria to the Czech Republic

From left: Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Renata Telínová, Chairman of the Board, SCANSERVICE and Milan Zajíček, Vice-Chairman of the Board, SCANSERVICE

From left: Lucie Urválková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board and CFO of UNIQA pojišťovna, Martin Žáček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of UNIQA pojišťovna, Wolfgang Kindl, Chairman of the Management Board, UNIQA International AG, and H. E. Alexander Grubmayr, Ambassador of Austria to the Czech Republic

From left: Jan Maloch, Vice-Chairman of the Board and CSO of OK Group, Marietta Melicharová, Director of OK Group, Pavel Prokš, Executive Director of ČSOB Leasing pojišťovací makléř, Marek Bártek, Director of Broker Service UNIQA pojišťovna, Michal Knapp, previous Chairman of the Board and CEO of Broker Trust, and Ondřej Wittowski, Director of Renomia Network Tomáš Mašek and Šárka Haizlová, Agency Directors, UNIQA pojišťovna

From left: Jiří Kulas, Managing Director of GrECo JLT CZ, Radovan Škultéty, Director Aon CEE, Vladimír John, Director of Property Insurance, UNIQA pojišťovna, Olivera Böhm, Managing Director UNIQA Corporate Business, Austria, Radek Havlena, CFO of Marsh, and Petr Kmoch, Managing Director of PETRISK International

From left: Martin Kurtev, UNIQA Corporate Business, Olivera Böhm, Managing Director, UNIQA Corporate Business, Austria, and Martin Rotkovský, Product Development Director, UNIQA pojišťovna

From left: Tibor Zalabai, Executive Director, UNIQA Group Service Center Slovakia, and Róbert Morgoš, Director of IT Service, UNIQA pojišťovna

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networking / charity

In cooperation with Czech & Slovak Leaders

Lions Club Prague Bohemia Ambassador Charity - Social evening in Austria Palace From left: Ing.František Novotný, President, Associations SDSS and APST, Secretary, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Mgr. Jan Haur, IS Administrator and former President, LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, and JUDr. Jaroslav Novotný, Lawyer, Chief Editor, Magazine "Český a Slovenský Lion"

From left Prof. MUDr. Václav Mandys, CSc., Institute of Pathology, Prague and President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador, Ing. Jana Flanderová, President of LC Plzeň Ladies, and JUDr. Vojtěch Trapl, Lawyer and former Governor of LCI D122 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic

Ilona Málková, Entrepreneur and Ing. Jiří Opíchal, Executive Head, Allimex Trading and former President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador

PhDr. Martin Komárek, Journalist

From left: Prof. MUDr. Václav Mandys, CSc., Institute of Pathology, Prague and President of LC Praha Bohemia Ambassador and Prof. RNDr. Petr Hodek, CSc., Professor at Charles University, Prague, Faculty of Science

From left: Mgr. Petra Komárková, Entrepreneur and Member of LC Praha Ladies and MUDr.Libuše Novotná, Dentist, Secretary of LC Praha Ladies

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G ala

event

REFLECTIONS

BY HELENA KROFTOVÁ LEISZTNER

Organised in the Vlašská kaple (Italian Chapel) under the auspices of H.E. Aldo Amati, Italian Ambassador and the Czech Ministry of Culture by Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Dr. Giovanni Sciola.

The exhibition was opened by Deputy Culture Minister, PhDr. Anna Matoušková, Countess Mathilda Nostitz, and Mr. Kamil Kosman, GRADE publisher.

The exhibition showcases reflections on the themes of Venice and Prague, man and woman, and the perception of nature. The works comprise oil paintings, sketches, examples of combined techniques and photographs with 3D effect.

The author has received a number of awards – amongst others she has showcased her work for the EU in Paris at La Coupole, received the international Limen Arte award from Italy, and the WCI – USA’s Marian Adair International Award.

From left: Tamar Agiashvili, DSA, PR Manager, KTW Europe, H.E.Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, and Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist

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From left: Nikola Mináriková, Model, Jana Synková, Head of the Department, Genesys Medical, Renata Langmannová, Czech Miss, Countess Mathilda Nostitz, Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist, Jitka Vopičková and Milan Vopička, Partners of the Exhibition and Owners, ADVANTAGE

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Giovanni Sciola, Director, Italian Cultural Institute and Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist

From left: Juan Braun, Writer, Eva Anderová, Vice President for PR, UNYP, Honorary Consul of Zambia, Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, Giovanni Sciola, Director, Italian Cultural Institute, Leny Aardse, Artist, and Countess Mahtilda Nostitz

event

Giovanni Sciola, Director, Italian Cultural Institute

From left: Šárka Vágnerová, Co- Owner, Hastens, Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist, and Alice Humlová, CumArte

From left: Jiří Šmatlák, Advocate, Jan Pučálka, CEO, Interiér Čáp, Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist, Štěpánka Pučálková, Mezzosopran, and Khalid Al-Yassin, Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission of Kuwait

From left: Roland Leisztner, Owner, Rolei, Roland Leisztner jr, Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist, and Radka Vladyková, Mayor, Jesenice Anna Matoušková, Deputy Minister of Culture

From left: Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist and Countess Mahtilda Nostitz

Kamil Kosman, Publisher, GRADE

From left: Helena Kroftová Leisztner, renown Artist, Jaap Aardse, former General Manager of Philips, Benke Aikell, Your publisher, Leny Aardse, Artist, Mrs. Jana Bečková, Markéta Fassati, Singer-sopran, and Viktoria Sion, PR ředitelka Statuss

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COACHING

P hoto :

archive

How does an intercultural coach support leaders doing business at an international level?

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As an intercultural coach and consultant I work with leaders, managers and employees of international companies. Those companies which realize the importance of cross-cultural communication and challenges of multicultural teams, usually arrange cross-cultural coaching for their leaders, managers and employees as soon as they arrive in a new culture.

The others ask me to conduct an intercultural training or coaching when they already deal with barriers in communication in their teams working on international projects.

In history we know many examples of failures when companies didn’t manage challenges of cross-cultural differences at the level of their management and team work. One of such examples was the merger of Daimler and Chrysler.

When people from different cultures meet, there are several questions related to the way how they should introduce themselves, how to arrange their first meeting, how much time should be devoted to “small talk” or how to agree on a final agreement. Businessmen usually pay a lot of attention to their product’s introduction, technical details but very often they miss a crucial fact that their partner originates from a different business culture.

expect that a final decision will be issued only by one person. They should be open and willing to share information with all representatives involved.

What questions should a businessman, leader or manager ask before having negotiations?

They should think about the way how negotiations will be conducted, what roles business partners would have, how much respect senior members will be given or what formality is expected in a verbal or written communication.

Having asked the abovementioned questions will help them to avoid misunderstandings especially when representatives of high power distance feel offended by not having been given a special treatment. There happened some cases when delegation members were not seated in agreement with their protocol and negotiations simply did not happen. Or a young director was sent to negotiations with a senior director on behalf of a business partner.

Recently one client shared the case when a head of Japanese representation in their company refused to communicate with a female head of their department.

The look at a second dimension gives an idea how do people approach a task and how much relationship building is important for them.

Therefore, let me ask you what is culture? What role does culture play in business?

There are many definitions of culture and many ways how people understand culture. The most common understanding is that culture could be defined by means of language differences, the way how people dress, what food they eat or what customs they have. In other words, all these aspects are called visible culture.

However, for businessmen, there are some other aspects which determine their business success. They determine how people understand deadlines of delivery, how they respect the terms and conditions of a contract or how they communicate their disagreement.

Therefore, let me introduce you two key dimensions which each businessman should be aware of doing business and managing people internationally. Those leaders and managers who realize their importance, take crosscultural coaching each time they move to a different culture. They know that such a coaching session could save them a lot of time and misunderstandings. Despite having been in international business for several years, they do not come to a new culture with the opinion: “I do not need an intercultural training.”

The first dimension which belongs to so called invisible cultural layers is the dimension of power. Whether businessmen come from the culture which is so called “low power distance” or “high power distance”, it determines their decision making or the way how they communicate.

The representatives of low power distance cultures emphasize equality in their teams. Their team members take their position as one of team members and they are approachable decision-makers. They include all team members into decision making and encourage dialogue. Therefore, decision making could take longer and businessmen from high power distance should not

Relationship-oriented cultures find it important to get to know each other before doing business together.

They devote some time to looking for common interests and connections. The representatives of task-oriented cultures find it as time wasting and do not see any purpose behind it. However, relationship-oriented cultures view relationships as the gate to common projects and long-term cooperation. Trust is developed just discussing hobbies, experience and having a longer small-talk.

I have already heard many stories where companies lost their business just because of their expectations from the first business meeting. Relationship-oriented cultures do not expect to sign a contract during the first meeting. They would like to know who they are going to do business with. And their trust to company is based on their trust to their representative. If he/she leaves, they start from zero.

Arranging the first business meeting with a potential business partner, I would recommend asking the questions focused on both sides’ expectations. It would save money they invested into its preparation.

Each of us has “cultural software” in our heads. It means some preferred ways how to conduct business negotiations, how to introduce a new project or share instructions. Managing colleagues of a different cultural background or negotiating at an international level, requires upgrading our cultural software. The purpose of crosscultural coaching session with an intercultural coach is to touch those aspects which have a serious impact on conducting business.

By Dr. Eva Gaborik, M.A., PhD. Intercultural Coach and Consultant www.evagaborikova.eu české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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G lobal F orum 2018

American Jewish Committee Global Forum 2018 or Israel as you (don’t) know it The American Jewish Committee (AJC) regularly organizes its anniversary conferences in great style, but this year’s meeting was exceptional. The AJC was founded in 1902 with the aim of defending Jewish interests in the USA and around the world. Just to give you an idea, AJC has regional headquarters in 11 countries, and 22 branches in the USA. In Europe, AJC has its headquarters in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw and offices in Sophia and Rome.

More than 2400 delegates from 56 countries representing six continents met in Jerusalem shortly after the USA and other countries recognized it as the capital of Israel. They met under the slogan “This year in Jerusalem”, an adaptation of the known Pesach festival phrase “Next year in Jerusalem”. The Czech Republic was represented by Petr Papoušek and Tomáš Kraus from the Federation of Jewish Communities, as well as ČISOK representative Linda Štucbartová, who had received an invitation from Avital Leibovitch, the main organizer and director of AJC in Jerusalem. Over four days, the conference participants had the opportunity to get to know Israel, and to learn about the current affairs in the country and the region, and the themes of IsraeliAmerican relations from many different viewpoints.

The conference was unique in terms of the events organized. The large plenary session was followed by expert panels for smaller discussion groups. Half of the day was dedicated to excursions. The opening of the conference, which for the first time in 112 years was held outside the USA, and the participation of top political representatives demonstrated how important this conference was for the two main stakeholders, Israel and the USA. Nir Barkat, the Mayor of Jerusalem, welcomed the conference participants. He described Jerusalem as a progressive city belonging to everybody regardless of their religion. Interest in visiting Jerusalem has doubled, and four million tourists visit the city each year. The aim is to prepare the city to receive 10 million visitors.

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Jerusalem is a city of history but also a city of the future. It is home to 50 of the most influential hightech companies. Jerusalem has tripled its budget to support the development of investment and infrastructure. As far as security is concerned, Nir Barkat joked, he is pleased to return home especially after travelling to the USA, because Jerusalem is statistically 15 times safer than Washington DC, the US capital, in terms of violent deaths.

It was my dream to experience the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only from a journalist’s viewpoint, but also as an expert in leadership. It was not necessary to introduce the Prime Minister of Israel, so the president of AJC introduced the audience to the Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu conquered the entire congress hall not only with his warm welcome, but also with the reproach that Antarctica was not represented. He reminded the audience that AJC had opened its first office in Jerusalem 60 years prior and said that they Israelis were pleased when companies and states opened their offices in Jerusalem. Then it was time for emotions. More than 300 US high school and university students received a special welcome because they were the reason why the Prime Minister works so hard and with determination. He explained that AJC mobilizes truth and it was important for visitors to Israel to see the truth for themselves. He was proud to share the latest economic data on Israel’s performance with the enthusiastic crowd. Israel has surpassed Japan in per capita income, while unemployment is at 3.8% and the gap between the highest and lowest earnings is getting smaller. One of the reasons for this economic growth is that more Orthodox Jews, Arab citizens living in Israel, and women have entered the labour market. He joked that Israel is the only country in the region that has free elections and free media.

He has experienced both since he won the elections four times and lost once, and shared that every morning he learns something interesting about

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himself in the media. Diversity, he continued, makes Israeli society stronger. He mentioned equal rights for gays, the presence of women pilots in the Army, and Druze ministers in the government. As for the peace process, Netanyahu said he was ready to negotiate under three conditions: if the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state, if they invest in the peace process, and if they stop financing terrorists. By sharing research results and innovations, Israel boasts the best diplomatic relations with individual countries in history. Israeli research helps protect valuable water resources, supports agricultural development, air protection, and protection from cyber-attacks. Last but not least, Prime Minister Netanyahu mentioned Israel’s crises and humanitarian aid in affected areas. Recently, he has sent aid to Guatemala. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal, Israel was the most significant provider of humanitarian aid after India. “Do you know where Iran has given similar aid to?” He ended by thanking the conference participants for their support of Israel and added, “We are thankful for the friendship shown to us from around the world.”

Being grateful for friendship and long-lasting relations was an important commemorative point of the conference. Each day of the conference featured a segment called “Remembering the Courageous Friends of Israel”. Tribute was paid to Harry Truman who as president of the United States recognised Israel’s independence 11 minutes after it was announced. Tribute was also paid to the leaders of the mission from Brazil and Guatemala who were present when the UN resolution 181 was being negotiated and voted for in 1947. Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who normalized the Greece-Israeli relations in 1990, was also mentioned.

During the conference and the following bilateral meetings, top European and world representatives took the opportunity to highlight their friendship and intensive relations with Israel. The Austrian

G lobal F orum 2018 Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz ceremonially addressed the AJC Forum, as did the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, the representative of the European Parliament Péter Niedermueller and the Vice-President of the Georgian Parliament Tamar Chugashivili.

Twenty-three mission leaders and major representatives of different countries hosted a lunch in honour of their relations with Israel. In this context, it was somewhat unfortunate that the representative of the Czech Republic had cancelled his participation at the last minute. Although it might seem that Czech and Czechoslovak relations with Israel are profound and above standard, it is necessary to take care of them and develop them further. Given the example of other countries, it is obvious that Israel has many friends and it would be a shame if the Czech Republic was left aside.

My favourite part of the conference was the segment called “Faces of Israel”. Through the lives of special people, we realized how truly diverse the nature of Israeli society is. I have chosen the stories that most appealed to me.

Rivka Ravitz, head of President Rivlin’s office, is a Haredi or Orthodox Jew. Although she looks like a mature university student, she is the mother of 11 children and many times grandmother. She herself is one of 10 children, her husband one of 12, so a wedding in the close family circle of cousins amounts to 1000 people. Although she works fulltime, she has never had to compromise the values of her faith or the quality of her work. She tries to fight the stereotype that Orthodox women have limited rights, are locked up in their homes and discriminated against. On the contrary, she sees herself as the proud bearer of the 3000- year-old tradition of Torah teachings and laws.

Belaynesh Zevadia is the current ambassador to Ethiopia. She arrived in Israel during Operation Moses, an undertaking that saved about 8000 Ethiopian Jews. Before Israel carried out this successful rescue operation, Ethiopian Jews had had to walk several hundred kilometres to Sudan to be detained in provisional camps for more than a year. Only few know that almost 4000 Jews did not survive the long journey or the bad conditions in the camp.

Belaynesh successfully graduated from university, became the first Ethiopian to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador of Israel in Ethiopia.

She is mother of three and her husband supports her career. Whenever she meets young girls on Ethiopian streets, she remembers her story of transformation from total poverty to the embodiment of success.

Ahlam Alsana, director of the girl’s school Desert Stars School Branco Weiss, is of Bedouin origin.

Although she did not have the same conditions and support to study as her brothers did, her results show that through hard word she caught up with them in the end. Her aim is to get at least 70% girls to attend her school; today 30% attend. She literally goes from house to house and persuades parents to allow their daughters to study.

May. Gene. Doron Almog was a successful army general, who had taken part in several elite operations, including the liberation of air hostages in Entebe, secret operations liberating Ethiopian

Jews or operations to free Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.

After the birth of his son with severe disabilities, he left the Army and founded the Aleh Negev Nahalat Eran Rehabilitative Village, named after his son. It is a centre for children and young adults with severe combined disorders. An area of 400 acres offers a paradise for the clients, not the patients. For 140 clients there are 140 staff members. The Centre is not an institution, but a community where the clients receive love and care. The Centre is based on social responsibility because every society is as strong as its weakest member is. Eran died at the age of 23; however, the Village and its concept continue to grow with many European and American centres. I gave the Centre’s contact to Petr Třešňák who deals with autism in the Czech Republic.

Colonel Achiya Klein is a veteran of the Israeli armed forces who lost his vision during an operation to liquidate an underground tunnel leading into Gaza. He returned to IDF four months after his injury and became an expert in technology that helps search for similar secret tunnels. In addition, he takes care of other veterans, runs in marathons and is a member of the Paralympic team of rowers. Hamas took his sight, but not his desire to live, build and protect Israel.

Part of the congress was also the 70 years of Israel exhibition. It was dedicated to the past, but it mainly dealt with the future. Seven panels documented seven decades, and the influence of AJC in the context of major events. Far more space, however, was given to today‘s companies that represent Israel and its inventiveness, innovation, community, diplomacy, vision, diversity and progress.

All these values are connected to the concept of tikkun olam, or the efforts of Jews to repair the world. Visitors could see and often taste products from the Jordan valley (delicious vodka made from dates, also dates, pineapple, and grapes) or wine from Jerusalem’s vineyards. Scientists from the Research Institute Volcani Center provided quality olive oil and introduced new research aimed at the nutritional enrichment of chickpeas. Companies such as OrCam and ReWalk Robotics are known in Czech Republic thanks to ELAI Week of Innovations.

Watergen introduced the production of water from air, which could be an interesting solution even for the Czech Republic since the country repeatedly faces problems with groundwater supplies. Real View Imaging uses holographic 3D imaging for complex surgery and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, supplier of the Iron Dome defence system, was present as well. Space was given to brand new companies that produce unique solar panels in the form of thin foils so that photovoltaic power plants don‘t need to take up too much land, and to the start-up ElectReon, which plans to install rechargeable batteries for cars directly in the asphalt of roads. When I began to feel tired, a chatbot or rather “a barbot” mixed a cocktail according to my wishes. This year Czechoslovakia will celebrate 100 years and I hope that a similar exhibition, focusing on the future rather than the past, will take place in our country in October.

Having written about the different events at the conference, I will now mention the presentations by two expert panels. The first dealt with the bias of the

media in relation to Israel. Despite all the discoveries and inventions, the social diversity, the cultural and sport events, 70% of European news and 90% of US news focus on the conflict in the Middle East. This conflict is often portrayed as “the imperialist army fighting against peace-loving citizens who follow the principles of Mahatma Gandhi,” says Henrique Cymerman, a Middle East expert on the media problem. Thanks to the great work of Czech reporters, we don’t need to solve this problem, but at the time of various disinformation sites and unverified news from social networks, it is important to be cautious.

The second panel dealt with the more serious problem of anti-Zionism as a new form of antiSemitism. Israel is often criticised and accused of wrongdoings according to standards that are different to those applied to its neighbouring countries.

Fortunately, in the Czech Republic, this phenomenon is not widespread. However, this is not the case in the rest of Europe. While the panel meeting was taking place, there was a demonstration by Islamic fundamentalists in Berlin; the slogan “death to Jews” often appears in Paris, and Barcelona has joined the BDS organization (boycott, divestment and sanctions). This new anti-Zionism seems to have become fashionable among young people in the USA. Radicalization, both on the left and extreme right, is a dangerous trend and doesn’t leave much room for objective debates based on concrete facts and history.

Finally, I would like to mention the excursions that were a real cherry on the cake. The participants could choose from 18 different excursions dedicated to history, innovations, settlements, the IDF bases, and religious matters. I chose the excursion to Kiyat Gat to learn about the process of acceptance and integration of new immigrants. Israel receives 20,000-30,000 immigrants a year. Kiryat Gat deals with immigrants from Ethiopia, who find the transition from their traditional farming communities to the modern industrialized society particularly challenging. It was interesting to see how Israel is based not only of the laws of acceptance but also on those of integration.

Emphasis is placed on education, with children being immediately integrated into mainstream schools, and parents attending Hebrew lessons. At the same time, however, it allows nationalities to maintain their own traditions and identity. Ethiopians can work in the fields and meet in traditional huts, which is particular important for the older generations.

The AJC conference is a truly unique opportunity to get to know Israel. I recommend all those interested in learning about Israel in a wider context to experience this conference at least once. If I have tempted you, the next conference will take place in Washington DC on 2/6 – 4/6 2019. And for women I have one more offer: the first woman business mission from the Czech Republic to Israel will take place from 12/10 to 20/10/2018.

If you are interested, contact the organizer Linda Štucbartová at linda@stucbartova.cz.

Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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inspirational event

From left: Lukáš Hlaváč, Founder of Whoolala, Martin Palicka, Co-owner of Etnetera Group, and Tomáš Hülle, Founder of ECCE

European Centre for Career Education had the honour to organise “Leaders voice” event in cooperation with Creative Dock.

On May 15th, about 30 young successful founders of their companies and Czech elite gathered in one place and spoke about innovation and professional daily challenges. In the flourishing competitive market atmosphere, no one has time to talk about theory. In fact, all those people had the incentive to share and learn from each other’s progressive ideas. The debate was held open and every participant could ask questions and share their experience. The inspiration for future development comes on meetings like this one, assembled with the most relevant tune - the voice of the leaders.

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Martin Pejša, Founder of Creative Dock

Kateřina Vacková, Founder of Loono

From left: Juraj Masar, Founder of Walmine and Adam Kurzok, Founder of Expando

From left: Andy Dravecký, Founder of Shipvio, Martin Pejša, Founder of Creative Dock, Kateřina Vacková, Founder of Loono, and Yemi AD, Founder of JAD Production

Jan Řežáb, Founder of the Socialbakers

Group photo Leaders Voice

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From left: Jiří Bartoška, Actor and President, KVIFF, prof. PaedDr. Pavel Kolář, Ph.D., Marek Eben, Actor and Moderator, and Jan Motlík, general manager Golf& Spa Resort Cihelny

On May 20, 2018, the 9th charity golf tournament GOLF PRO PARAPLE took place at Golf & Spa Resort Cihelny in Karlovy Vary. The tournament was attended by 52 golfers, which played in 13 flights.

Financial income was CZK 244,943 and will be used by Centrum Paraple for its activities.

Pavel Bambousek, Para Olympionic and his excellent golf shot

Team innogy

Pavel Bambousek, Para Olympionic

Golf Academy

Flight ČZU - prof. Ing. Petr Sklenička, CSc., Rector of CULS

Team Passerinvest

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WHO WE ARE?

Self-awareness as anxiety prevention Jan Mühlfeit, Kateřina Novotná Better Processors, Not Brains Present day people have to process as much information in one week as they did during the whole life 100 years ago. However, our brain behaves almost the same as it did 100 thousand years ago.

What exactly does this mean for us? First of all, it exposes us to continuous overabundance of stress which we must tackle. And unfortunately, we often do not know how to tackle it effectively due to the lacking self-knowledge.

Better self-awareness and revelation of our talents and weaknesses can help us to find our ways through our complex lives.

Still, deepening of our self-knowledge is still kind of neglected field. Even in the academic field of best universities in the U. S. only a minimum people underwent a training focusing on finding one´s true self.

But finding our true self serves us to better understand our inner life and our own thoughts and fears. Human beings anywhere have around 60 thousand thoughts per day. Most of these repeat themselves. Our task should be becoming knowledgeable about them, to process them as sensibly as possible.

at the end of a day. We do not drink enough water. We frequently forget the key role of physical activity which boosts our psychological resilience by regulating our emotions and settling our thoughts. On a daily basis, we can also indulge ourselves with the stimulating effects of a cold shower. It refreshes our brain and enhances the growth of the synapses.

Apart from sports and nutrition, our physical shape is correlative with the quality of our recovery. The relaxation, sleep or mediation. The western people tend to look on resting as on a

weakness due to the supremacy of performance and output. Those we value the most and often too much. However, if we really want to achieve optimal performances or the mental state of flow we simply have to sleep long enough and good enough.

Another layer is our emotional energy. Here, what matters is our ability to process emotions effectively and do not let them to seize control over us. It is good to bear in mind that we are not our thoughts or emotions. Emotion occurs once our thought, positive or negative, meets

Our Four Key Energies Do you ever feel exhausted or irritated without being aware why it is so? Our lives are complex, full of information, activities and emotions which may be hard to understand. Nonetheless, there are as few as four main energies that guide us through life and which we can influence intentionally. To do so, we need to start perceiving them.

First energy is our physical potential. It directly relates to our physical activity and nutrition habits. We often deliberately expose our bodies to various harmful substances and damage them by the lack of sleep. We consume too much sugar which steals the energy form us Are you wondering what is the best way to work with your children’s talents and to prepare your children for the future as best as you can? During the “Parent as a positive couch” workshop, parents and teachers find out how to effectively couch and mentor their children according to the latest findings in the field of positive psychology, in order to make their children not only successful, but also happy in their lives. The topics are also based on Jan Mühlfeit’s book − The Positive Leader, one of the best-selling business books in the Czech Republic and abroad.

On account of an increasing interest in this workshop, we prepared a new online course odemykanidetskehopotencialu.cz which extracts some of the topics from the original workshop.

Try it out!

You can also come to our website janmuhlfeit.com to find out more about our seminars and projects.

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P hoto :A rchive

www.odemykanidetskehopotencialu.cz the body and releases a chemical reaction. If we feel bad we are most probably influenced by a negative emotion which was launched by some thought with a negative tone. In such a case we should stop and try to trace it back.

We must ask ourselves where the feeling stems from. Usually, the trigger is a triviality.

Third energy is our mental capacity. It is defined by our ability to stay focused, deal with our emotions and cope with stress thanks to the full focus on a present moment (so called mindfulness). Enough evidence has already been provided that a shattered attention is inflicting negative emotions and stress upon us.

We simply need to focus on the current activity, be it a wash-up or a dog walking.

The last energy is our spirituality. Each of us wants to find their purpose in life and feel happy.

Often, happiness and fulfilment are experienced when we employ our talents. When we do things we like and are gifted for. Yet, when looking for our own purpose and specialization, motivation can be a ploy. For a motivation, there is a motive needed and a motive is something outside of us, it lies elsewhere. We attach to it even though it is nothing more than a mental construct.

Oppositely, the inspiration, comes directly from the inside and is related to state of the flow (e. g. if we carry out tasks using our talents). To achieve the flow as often as possible we must reveal our strengths and build up on them.

Why Self-Awareness?

It is quite simple. If we are doing what we are strong in, we are feeling good and our performance is outstanding. And feeling good, having pleasure of learning or work helps us to prevent stress and cumulating of negative emotions.

But how to start the process of self-knowing, how to find out what our talents are? And how to help our kids to reveal them?

For those purposes we might try special psychometric talent tests where we, using the open questions and examples of various situations, choose these that define us the best. Most of these tests are based on intuitive answers and preferences of each individual.

The results help to determine where the respondent´s strengths lie and which fields are the most promising ones.

People who do not want to undergo such tests can do simple exercises. We can just ask ourselves what energizes us and what deprives us of energy on the contrary. We can make a list of the activities and tasks we hate to do and those we really enjoy. The energizing activities would most probably overlap with our areas of talent and we should develop them further.

Importantly, it is natural to have weaknesses as well. Identification of these is something we can also benefit from: we should be aware of our weaknesses and learn them to a certain degree so they would not limit us too much in

the future. But they should never become fields of our future focus. Anyway, this is why we have heterogeneous working teams.

Johari Window as a Hint The Johari window is a method of self-awareness that helps people to better understand their relationship with themselves and others. It describes and classifies our personal qualities into four areas. It is possible to try it out with colleagues, friends or family. The core of this method is a list of 56 adjectives referring to basic human qualities and ways we manifest them. One chooses the adjectives he or she thinks describe them the best.

Consequently, the others from the group do the same thing. The chosen characteristics are divided into four different "windows".

Known by self

Unknown by self

Known to others

Open Area

Blind Area

Unknown to others

Hidden Area

Unknown Area

Source: The Open University: http://www.open.edu

First window, so called open, contains the qualities or skills we know about and so do people around us. Second, the hidden one, includes qualities we know about but we keep them hidden from others. Third window, the blind one, relates to aspects other people perceive but we have no idea about them.

Last one is veiled for everyone and is called the unknown.

The contents of the hidden window is possible to share with others – we can talk more about our secret qualities or wishes. The discovery of the blind window is also quite easy – we just get feedback from the others. We only need to ask and reflect on it. What should I do? What am I good at? Are there things I should stop doing?

The revelation of the unknown is a bit more complicated. And this is where the psychometric tests come in handy. By answering the openended questions we can discover our unknown potentials.

Another useful method is an individual coaching. The coach works like a detective asking questions and while giving almost no insights of their own, helps us to achieve better self-knowledge.

Imaginary Fears Becoming aware of our own emotions or fears and their sources represents a stepping stone for maintaining our mental health. The negative emotions develop quickly and easily.

Once we characterize any of our thoughts as unfavourable, we label it with a minus mark, sooner or later, it evolves into a negative emotion.

The old part of our brain, amygdala, plays its role here. It is responsible for storing up

memories connected with emotions. Our fears and negative emotions arise from there.

Unfortunately, our brain tends to jump from one negative emotion onto another, here and there.

Like a little monkey. This is why we, throughout our lives, develop various imaginary fears.

Mostly, they are not based on a real physical danger our ancestors had to face.

Our fears rise form the past or relate to the future. If the brain is not trained, it cannot cope with the "little monkey" and all the negative thoughts, the monkey will start controlling us. We will believe we are hopeless and have no potential. Therefore, we become afraid of taking risks and moreover, we might succumb to depression.

An Art to Make Mistakes The ill-founded fears interfere in the up-bringing as well. The parents might be afraid that without dutiful corrections their offspring will not learn efficiently and are doomed to failure.

Undoubtedly, feedback and little steering is useful. But what is even more important is to stop being scared of making mistakes and becoming able to learn one´s lesson. When children start to perceive failure as a natural outcome of any activity, they can learn from it and move forward. As adults, they will be able to take risks and would not be paralyzed by the fear of failure. Only when we learn to accept our errors we are able to bounce back and proceed.

Keep Your Chin Up! Regrettably, we still do not know our inner self well enough. Since our childhood, we learn of various aspects of the outside world rather than of ourselves. But in fact, sometimes only a little effort and self-analysis bear fruit.

For instance, we can regulate our emotions through our mere physical posture. We do not say "keep your chin up" without a good cause.

If we stand straight and repeat to ourselves "I am a loser" our brain does not buy it. Similarly, if we, being hunched-up, say how great we are, we do not deceive our brain either. Our body harmonizes with our emotions.

It is well known that negative emotions affect our whole body. Negative thoughts produce harmful substances and damage it. This transfer from the soul onto the body is called a somatization. Anyway, the healthy spirit is a precondition for a healthy body. And proper self-awareness helps us to achieve inner harmony and peace. So let‘s get started!

By Jan Mühlfeit, Global Strategist, Coach and Mentor, former Microsoft Chairman for Europe české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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Innovation Week 2018, the largest annual event in support of innovations in the Czech Republic, took place from May 14th to May 20th and was visited by almost ten thousand people. The main event, an International Conference and an Innovation Fair with professional seminars, was held on May 14 in the Forum Karlín in Prague. More than one hundred accompanying events were then organized across the country. Thanks to Innovation Week 2018, the Czech Republic could experience, for the first time, Sophia the Robot live, the most advanced humanoid robot, designed and created by Hanson Robotics as well as many other concepts. In addition, there were top speakers in the field of innovation from around the world as well as breakthrough technologies.

Sophia the Robot, the most advanced humanoid robot, designed and created by Hanson Robotics Ltd., special guest of the Main Event of Innovation Week 2018

Innovation Fair, one part of the Main Event of Innovation Week 2018 in Forum Karlín

Nikita Poljakov, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Hospodářské noviny, moderator of the international conference

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Tomáš Sedláček, Philosopher and Economist, speaker on the panel called Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Thinking during an informal discussion

Krzysztof Zdziarski, Chairman of the Board of Unipetrol, General Partner of the Innovation Week Czech Republic 2018

I nnovation

week

Lukáš Sedláček, Founder and Director of European Leadership and Academic Institute International conference, part of the Main Event of Innovation Week 2018

H. E. Daniel Meron, Ambassador of the State of Israel Carlo Schmid, Alliance Lead, The Mindfire Foundation

Vojtěch Petráček, Rector, Czech Technical University in Prague

Igal Raichelgauz, Founder and CEO Cortica, speaker on the panel called Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Thinking

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G ala

event

Zlatá Koruna

Winners of Zlatá Koruna 2018

Awards

On 31st of May 2018, Zlatá koruna awarded the best financial products of the year. The ceremony was held for the sixteenth time. Gala evening took place in TOP Hotel Praha and besides 19 traditional categories, the evening included final round of new category – FinTech. The event took place under the auspices of the Minister of Finance, Alena Schillerová, Governor of the Czech National Bank, Jiří Rusnok and President of the Chamber of Commerce, Vladimír Dlouhý.

From left: Aleš Brix, Marketing and Sales Director, Česká mincovna and Richard Siuda, Member of the Board, Conseq Investment Management

Karel Mráček, Academic of the Year 2018

Daniela Pešková, Member of the Board, Česká spořitelna

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From left: Jiří Plíšek, Chairman of the Board, Stavební spořitelna České spořitelny and Pavel Doležal, Founder and Director, Zlatá Koruna

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Vojtěch Benda, Member of the Banking Council, Czech National Bank

G ala

event

Winners of FinTech category, Pavel Novák, CEO, Zonky, Michal Šmída, Founder and CEO, Twisto, and Pavla Rýznarová, Business Development Manager, Spendee

Jiří Volf, Deputy Ministry of Finance

From left: Robert Chryštof, CEO, mBank and Pavel Doležal, Founder and Director, Zlatá Koruna

Auditorium of the Gala evening

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Interview with Milan Hnilička, Member of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

Getting the Czech Republic exercising Milan Hnilička is a Czech former professional ice hockey goalie. He played 106 matches for the Czech team and is one of the top five most prolific Czech and Czechoslovak goalies. In contrast to other athletes, he has coped smoothly with the transition from top-level sport to management, and subsequently to politics. When his active career came to an end, he remained within sport, working at various positions in the Czech Ice Hockey Association, eventually becoming Youth Development Manager and General Manager of the adult team at the same time. Since October 2017, he has been a member of parliament in the Chamber of Deputies for ANO. He has been the Government Commissioner for Sport since March.

We met in mid-June at the Chamber of Deputies. Although key nominations for the future government were ongoing at the time, we agreed not to focus on politics in our interview, but rather on sport. This was the right decision; I was fascinated not just

by Mr Hnilička’s vision for changing the way sport is currently funded, but also by his passion for getting the Czech population to do exercise. And finally, I am glad that his focus provides optimism not just to myself, but also to other Czech sports fans.

I can’t resist beginning with a question from a frequently disappointed ice hockey fan: when are we going to see an ice hockey world championship medal again?

I’ve worked with our youth for a long time, so I can give you hope. Our greater focus on working with our junior national teams is beginning to bear fruit. Czech players are once again starting to demonstrate success in the first rounds of the NHL Draft; names from recent years such as Pastrňák, Vrána, Nečas and this year’s Zadina and Kaut demonstrate that our junior national team is playing at a world-class level. It is important that these juniors, who will grow into the senior team, have a very positive relationship to the national team and want to return and represent the Czech Republic. An example here is David Pastrňák, who played for the national team despite a very hard season. I trust that these young players, supported by more experienced players such as Voráček and Gudas, will form a new generation of Czech players who will be able to compete for the highest medals. On the other hand, one must realise that

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we are always going to be reliant on how many players can be released from the NHL to represent the Czech Republic at the World Championship.

My optimistic forecast is that we’ll be seeing World Championship medals within three years!

And are our players going to want to play in the new kits? (Relatively shortly before my interview with Milan Hnilička, the decision was made that the new kits would no longer include the state emblem, but rather a new symbol. Need I add that the debate was a tense one, as are all debates about sport in the Czech Republic?) Would you want to play in the new kit?

Personally, I wouldn’t focus on this matter at all.

I understand the reasons which led the Czech Ice Hockey Association to limit the sale of unlicensed products. The situation at the World Championship was so absurd that unauthorised vendors were selling their goods right in front of the O2 Arena.

In terms of the design, I support traditions. As such, I’d like to see some kind of old-style lion on

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the chest; the lion symbolises national pride and courage. We’ve all been brought up in this tradition from childhood. In terms of the national anthem, I wholeheartedly support its traditional form.

Is there any kind of parallel between sport and politics?

I don’t see any parallel. They are two separate worlds. If I hadn’t had the experience we Czech athletes call experience from “the other shore”, i.e. working in the role of coach and within club management, in my case the Czech Ice Hockey Association, I would never have dared to go into politics. But even that experience can’t be compared with working as a legislator. In terms of both time and expertise. Not only do I have to study a lot of legislative processes, but I also have to learn the principles by which the Chamber of Deputies works. My mission is to create a central administrative body for sport. In terms of legislation, this is a historic change. The cases of corruption linked to sports funding, seen even last year, show that this is the right approach. By

Interview with Milan Hnilička creating an independent institution which only looks at funding and developing sport, we are strengthening the position of the state so that we can avoid what happened in the past, when various sports organisations were able to decide on the division of funds, something which was demonstrated to be ineffective, opaque and full of problems. We have a number of so-called umbrella organisations here which play an important role in the sports organisation system, but the allocation of funds for particular fields of sport, and even the funds available for these umbrella organisations, is the responsibility of the state. I am currently completing work on a bill to support sport, which I will be submitting to the Chamber of Deputies in autumn.

Let’s go back to sport and youth. When my son played in a football club, the management was most worried about filling in the application and ensuring fees were paid. Yet often he never even kicked a ball at practice. What can we do about falling athletic abilities, especially amongst children?

Dealing with the current situation through legislation and creating a level playing field for getting funding is just one side of the coin. It is then up to the sports associations and clubs to come up with their own approach. More money won’t secure better results on its own. But we’re trying to get the Czech Republic in general into exercise. Did you know doing sport should begin in nursery? We need to create a positive relationship with sport right from pre-school age. Familiarity with exercise forms gradually.

One needs to separate competitive and top-level sports; it is very important to promote a positive relationship to sport early on. One can hardly blame clubs for being interested only in those with talent. On the other hand, even those with less talent should be motivated to do sport, and they should have plenty of options and opportunities to do so. That’s why physical education is such an important subject at schools. And everyone goes to school. A relationship to exercise is formed between years one and three at elementary school. As such, physical education should be taught at the lower level of elementary school to cover as wide a range as possible, including exercising, gymnastics, swimming, athletics and team sports. Children must enjoy PE. They should be given grades for effort. Sport is important not just to prevent illness, but also to prevent injuries.

At the same time, when children have a positive relationship towards sport, clubs will have highquality candidates for developing future top-level athletes. This can then bring the Czech Republic those medals we spoke about at the beginning.

The current situation is dismal; children and adults are getting fatter and sports are in decline. On the other hand, there are examples of schools, with high-quality sports grounds and high-quality sports instructors, that are getting the population exercising in co-operation with municipalities and various institutions. Go take a look at Mrs Žánová,

principal at Sadská, or at the elementary school in Dolní Břežany.

Many schools are putting physical education classes together in their timetables so that kids are doing sport not twice a week, but just once. But doesn’t this contravene the World Health Organisation’s recommendations that exercise should be done more frequently, and less intensively?

I’d like to offer my perspective on putting PE lessons together. For young children especially, most of the time is taken up with getting changed.

Thus there is no time left over for teachers to do the actual teaching. As such, I think putting lessons together can increase the time spent on sport.

I would argue that we should increase the number of PE lessons, but this is not particularly realistic while meeting the full curriculum. An alternative solution would be to provide sufficient funds to school principals to acquire sports instructors who could focus on organising sports and exercise lessons as part of afternoon activities. Parents would also undoubtedly appreciate this solution, as they would not need to transport their children to various clubs, and they would also have the assurance that their children are being looked after by accredited experts. We are also looking into this solution with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. In defence of PE teachers, I should add that schools are ever more fearful of injuries and subsequent court proceedings with parents, and thus demands and difficulties are often reduced.

But we all know that injuries are a part of sport.

Organised sport takes place within clubs, run by associations. It is these associations which are involved in managing sports methods. Here, the greatest problem is early specialisation. I am glad that some associations have grasped this problem and are endeavouring to train their coaches within multi-sports seminars, where one of the topics is not choosing each others’ members. If a child is going to be playing just ice hockey, for example, his development to adulthood will be much more difficult. One needs to add athletics, training of hand-eye co-ordination such as through tennis, swimming, trying out other team sports to practise one’s understanding of the playing area – basically to work on developing sports in general. The first sign of this approach could be a new initiative by team sports associations, especially football, ice hockey and basketball, in which children will be playing all three sports at their tournaments.

So the ideal case is to begin with pre-school age children. How do you recommend we adults exercise?

I’m a proponent of mass organised sports events for “non-organised athletes”, such as marathons.

There are plenty of races for those who want to exercise, in walking, swimming, triathlon, which anyone can take part in. There has been a campaign in recent years for golf, which is no longer the sport for the bourgeoisie which the communist regime considered it in the past.

Sports grounds also play an important role; it

is logically essential to have somewhere to do particular sports. A good example is the Ladronka park in Prague, which has become a very popular place for various types of non-organised athletes.

And now for the gotcha question: how do you exercise?

Since being in the Chamber of Deputies, I have done little. I try to play tennis at weekends, as it doesn’t take up much time. I sometimes go cycling. I have no time at all during the week, and at weekends I try to be mainly with my family; I’ve got three children and I want to spend time with them at weekends, at least. My son is four, and my daughters are 17 and 14; they play tennis, they played women’s soccer and tennis in the USA, and in the Czech Republic they play tennis and beach volleyball. I can’t remember the last time I was at an ice rink. On the other hand, I don’t miss it; I feel that that chapter of my life is truly behind me now.

Following on from the statement recently made by a high-ranking Czech Olympic Committee member about women’s unsuitability for top-level sport, what is your opinion on women and top-level sport?

I definitely support it, one reason being that I have worked overseas where women’s sport is very popular, especially in schools. There are sports which women traditionally excel at, such as athletics, and society is used to this. There are also sports where we are less used to this, such as contact sports like boxing and ice hockey. I’m not necessarily a great advocate, but on the other hand I respect their choice. Gender imbalance is often discussed, and there is certainly space for getting girls involved. In women’s ice hockey, for example, there are few referees compared to football, but in terms of positions within associations, women are very strongly represented. I don’t think anyone is preventing women from getting involved; it all depends on their personal desire to do so.

Following your successful career as an athlete, you are now a successful politician.

What is your next desire?

My objective is to build up the institution I have mentioned for sport and getting children exercising. Another objective is to help ensure Czech Republic teams begin taking home more medals from international competitions in our traditional sports. Today, we are getting medals in more unconventional sports, where results depend on the activities and support of individuals and those around them. I really want Czech ice hockey and football, as the two most important team sports, to get back to playing at a global level. And finally, I want to change the view of sport and funding as a “black hole”. There are loads of people within sport who do it for the love of it and are above-board, and they deserve not just appreciation, but also better conditions.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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culinary event

Culinary event for the promotion of Greek gastronomy and tourism at the residence of the Ambassador of Greece

The Embassy of Greece in Prague, in cooperation with the Aldemar Resorts Group and with the valuable support of the Greek Tourism Organization, held an event to promote Greek gastronomy and tourism, on 14 June, at the Residence of the Ambassador of Greece.

The guests had the opportunity to enjoy Greek high gastronomy delicacies prepared by the Executive Chefs of Aldemar Resorts and Sympossio, accompanied by the fine Greek wines of Oinotropai Estate, to the sounds of live Greek music.

From left: H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece to the Czech Republic

From left: Mrs. Lucie Tvrdíková, Mr. Jan Šrámek, and Nikoletta Nikolopoulou, Director, G.N.T.O. office - Poland

Daniela Roučková, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Luxury Collection with her husband Zdeněk

Mrs. Alena Olziersky and Alexandr Onishenko, Artist and Photographer, Galerie Jakubská

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From left: Vassilis Fragoulakis, Commercial Director, Aldemar Resorts, Vassilis Panatsis, CK Greece-Tours, and Jan Hanna, CK Blue Style

From left: H.E. Manuela Franco, Ambassador of Portugal, Meshulam Zisso, TV Producer and Photographer and Mr. Václav Pavlas

culinary event

From left: Georgios Kotopoulos, Attaché, Embassy of Greece, Eleni Kliamenaki, Interior Designer, and Mrs. Lina Prasini

Alena Sojková, Týdeník Rozhlas and Radko Kubičko, Moderator, Český Rozhlas

From left: Sotiris Foutsis, General Manager, UNYP, Dimitri Dimas, Journalist, Eva Anderová, Vice President for Public Affairs, UNYP and Honorary Consul to Zambia, Štefan Fule, Chairman of the Administrative Board, CEFC, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, and Mrs. Kateřina Joselová

H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece to the Czech Republic and Nikoletta Nikolopoulou, Director, G.N.T.O. office - Poland

George Chatzopoulos and Ioannis Rodokanakis, Executive Chefs, Aldemar Resorts, Vassilis Fragoulakis, Commercial Director, Aldemar Resorts and H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece to the Czech Republic, Benke Aikell, your Publisher, in the background

Mrs. Gabriela Kalápková and Jiří Paroubek, former Prime Minister of CR and now candidate to the Senate

From left: Mr. Thorsten Kalinowski, H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, and Mr. Edgar Bötel

Veselin Vačkov, Ph.D., Managing Editor, Lidové Noviny with his wife

Mrs. Kateřina Joselová and Štefan Fule, Chairman of the Administrative Board, CEFC

From left: Mrs. Chloe Geitmann-Akrithaki, Mr. Rodokalis Rodokalakis, Mrs. Tina Rodokalakis, Elissavet Karali, Consul, Embassy of Greece, Dimitri Dimas, Journalist, and Mrs. Eleni Kliamenaki

From left: Mr. Thorsten Kalinowski and H.E. Efthymios Efthymiades, Ambassador of Greece to the Czech Republic

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An

interview with

K ateřina F alk ,

a leading

C zech

scientist

P hoto : HZDR/A. W irsig

Make sure you get enough rest A tired brain cannot be creative

Kateřina Falk is a world-class scientist in the field of plasma physics. She now works at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, where she received a 1.8 million EUR grant for six years, which will enable her to assemble her own team of scientists. She studied at Oxford and the Imperial College London in Great Britain, and she also previously worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA. I personally got to know Kateřina this year in January at the unique ELI Beamlines laser facility in Dolní Břežany. We met at an event held by Deloitte intended for top female managers. Kateřina was invited to give an introductory talk about laser technology and she spoke with such enthusiasm and clarity that even the greatest amateurs understood the principles of lasers and their importance as the Royal Society considers laser to be the most important technological development of the 20th century. The entire lecture was given with great enthusiasm. My fourteen-year-old daughter was able to observe it with me thanks to live streaming. Kateřina Falk, who is one of the world’s leading scientists as well as a populariser of science, is an excellent role model for my daughter. According to research carried out by Microsoft, fewer girls are interested in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and IT in the Czech Republic from a young age, and they lose interest much more quickly, compared to other European countries.

Girls do not perceive a strong-enough connection between these subjects and their everyday lives. They lack support form their parents along with no proper role models that would lead them towards STEM careers. So I decided to bring my daughter to meet Kateřina during the interview. But I had to wait until the middle of June, because Kateřina has recently moved to Dresden to start her own research group, although she returns to the Czech Republic regularly for business trips. We managed to discuss a wide range of topics during the interview that lasted just one hour: support for young women in science, popularisation of science, work on her new book, the particularities of leading a research team, the ability to endure in the field of science and finally the importance of relaxation in assuring higher quality outputs.

Kateřina, how did yesterday’s experiment go?

The laser broke down just before the end. It was like watching a thriller, all that suspense and then it just stopped. But it doesn’t matter, one of my post-graduate students will finish the experiment. This happens a lot in experimental physics; sometimes I feel as if I am always repairing something, rather than being able to devote my energy to actual science.

You don’t look too sad about it…

I actually enjoy fixing things; every problem can be overcome. Either by carrying out another experiment or thinking up a new solution. We actually changed our strategy in the middle of this experiment and we decided to accelerate the electrons using a different method, but it still didn’t come out as I hoped.

Could I ask whether finding new solutions keeps niggling at the back of your mind?

How do you sleep after these experiments?

It is an issue and I had a lot of problems with insomnia at university. That was when I learned to play relaxing music and I trained my mind to go to sleep when Enigma came on. I am now using meditation techniques and fall asleep while meditating, which is actually good. I do yoga regularly and even go to group classes; but I haven’t found a suitable place in Dresden just yet.

You yourself studied and worked in Great Britain and the USA. You married a Swede. You conduct your experiments in laboratories around the world. Where are you at home?

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I am at home in Dresden. That is where my family, my kitchen and my bed are.

From the aspect of identity, do you define yourself as a Czech, a European or simply a scientist?

Well, I would begin with being a human. It took me a very long time before I began calling myself a scientist, about a year after I completed my doctorate. I am cosmopolitan; my daughter was born in the USA, she holds three passports and she is growing up in a fourth country. In this context nationality loses any importance. We speak four languages at home. I speak Czech to my daughter, my husband speaks Swedish, we speak English to each other and we use German at school or in the shops.

Your daughter is four years old. Can you already see whether she will be following in her parents’ footsteps? And would you want her to choose a career in science, when you know personally what scientific work on a first-class level entails?

We will see. Right now she likes trains, cars and horses. I believe that all paths are difficult if you want to do something on a high level. In contrast to others, she would already have a path well set up for her in science. I observed that many female scientists that I have met in the past actually had mothers who also were scientists. I would like her to do something she enjoys. My parents also chose this approach, which annoyed me at times, because I didn’t always specifically know what I wanted to do and I needed a bit of guidance.

With regard to bringing up my daughter, we try

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

to develop various interests and talents. We visit museums, we spend time in nature, we attend concerts and exhibitions. She will make her own choice when she is older.

In addition to being known for your research, you have also become a great role model for girls considering a career in science. What is your advice as a mentor to teenage girls?

Don’t be discouraged by the reactions of people around you. I can still remember when I was twelve and people asked me what I wanted to become. When I said “an astrophysicist” they responded – “a girl and physics?” They may have considered this an appreciation of my talent, but when you are 12 years old you don’t want to stick out as the weird one. So girls should get used to being “weirdoes” and be ok with it. They can wave at all the people who were surprised at their choice of career from Oxford one day.

Popularisation of science and its benefits is another hobby of yours. But you also do not like to split science into the traditional categories of fundamental and applied research.

I am just finishing a book titled “What’s new in physics” and I use several examples to demonstrate that traditional classification into basic and applied research is incorrect. The book will be released in September by the Nová Beseda publishers and will be an introduction to physics. I discuss various discoveries in this book, including gravitational waves, neutrinos, exoplanets, and the Higgs boson. Then I use

An these to explain the basic principles of physics.

Several Nobel Prizes were awarded for these discoveries and all led to practical applications.

I conceptually structured the book as a map from basic research to applications, which will be followed by another round of basic research. The book is not long, but I try to give a rough outline of the connections within scientific research, where applied research could not exist without basic science. The laser itself is an example of fundamental research. It took only 10 years from the first quantum optics formulae scribbled on a blackboard to the construction of the first working laser. This device was then a major driving force behind the technological revolution of the 20th century. It is important to promote high-quality basic research which will naturally be followed by applications. We scientists travel into the absolute unknown and we cannot predict where this path will take us. If we draw a sharp line between fundamental and applied research, we just may destroy a lot of high-quality research before it begins, and with it all of the technological advances that might result from it.

You currently lead a research team in Dresden. We are conducting this interview for the Leaders Magazine. Is it difficult to lead scientists who are distinctive personalities, and what type of leader are you?

I have been in the position of a group leader for just over three months and I look forward to taking the leadership course offered by the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group Leaders programme. Leadership is difficult and an individual approach is important. Scientists are naturally strong personalities, but I consider student training the greatest challenge in this line of work. Every scientist must develop their team. Not just assemble it from random people and qualifications, but really devote time to it. If the leader of a team simply assigns tasks and then withdraws, then the team starts to fall apart. You cannot do this in small teams or teams in the initial phase. We need the creativity and involvement of every individual. I also have foreign students, who do not speak very good English, which is another issue I must tackle specifically. I have students with very low self esteem, which is typical for anyone who is just starting out. I have one student now who is really overwhelmed and breaking down a little and I have to calm and motivate him. But not every leader devotes so much energy to individual team members, so I dare to say that most research teams are dysfunctional.

Mentoring is currently becoming important in the field of education. Does mentoring work in science?

Mentoring is an integral and very important part of the academic world. So yes, there are many mentoring programmes that come in all shapes and sizes in science and higher education. During my studies at Imperial I had a personal tutor assigned to me, as did all the other students, who did not test my understanding of physics concepts, but was interested in me as a person. She always asked

interview with

K ateřina F alk ,

me how I was doing, about my successes or failures, and which future directions I was thinking about regarding my personal and career development.

My most frequent advice to students is: get plenty of rest. Take time off, don’t work on weekends.

A tired brain is a useless brain. It is incapable of doing anything at all. It can’t think creatively. I experienced two burnouts when I was working on my doctorate.

Burning out was the moment of truth, indicating that I was not doing things right. Then I found a healthy routine. I finished work at six in the afternoon; on the way home I stopped to do some yoga and in the evening I may have read an article, but there was no more late night, hardcore work. We started travelling to the mountains on the weekends.

Funilly enough, I not only finished my doctorate faster than others, but I also managed to publish more.

We mentioned the Nobel Prize. Is this a scientist’s highest aspiration? What is the highest scientific goal?

It is for some, but not for others. It depends on what sort of people they are and what field they work in. The Nobel Prize is certainly not my highest aspiration. I consider doing science itself to be my goal. Right now I am working on electron diffraction and several other projects.

My long-term goal is to stay in science. As the saying goes, I am not out of the woods yet.

You’ve shocked me now. Who else than you should manage to secure a position in science? Can society allow your talents to be squandered?

I am still waiting for a permanent position. This grant I received is an important step towards it, but when you look at the statistics just one out of every thousand students stays in science. The others end up in IT companies, banks or in startups. From a long-term perspective we are heading towards a major problem. Doctoral students are a cheap workforce, a bit of a Taiwanese sweatshop for research. These students do all the hard work for pennies, while the fame goes to the group leaders, and they themselves have very little hope for future careers in academia. Apart from a few leadership positions, there is a serious lack of specialised positions for scientists with long-term potential. Not everyone wishes to be a professor and be responsible for leadership of a research group. And definitely not everyone can spend their entire lives on one-year contracts and keep moving from country to country. But there is no alternative in current academic research. Science lives off short-term grants and there is no money for high-quality specialists who do not wish to lead teams. You usually can’t even complete a doctorate in three years. I think that there should be structural changes made in science worldwide.

I’ll let my daughter ask some questions now: Lada Jirkalová asks: How many languages can you speak?

I speak fluent Czech and English, I can make myself understood in Swedish and Spanish and I am currently learning German. When I was thirteen I found a Czech-Polish dictionary in

a leading

C zech

scientist

my grandfather's bookcase and read it cover to cover. After visiting Poland years later, I found that I was really able to communicate in Polish.

I am dyslexic, so I have to learn languages using alternative methods. I have to create my own mind maps that use languages that I already know to aid my memory. Standard teaching methods usually fail on me and I can definitely feel that it is more difficult for me to learn languages.

I was highly motivated to study abroad and learn other languages from a very young age. I found student exchange and research programmes very useful for this. When I left for the UK at the age of 16, I managed to learn to speak English at a native-speaker level, but my German will always sound a bit funny.

How long do your business trips away from your family last?

Usually one to four weeks. Fortunately my new laser laboratory is right next to my office in Dresden, so there will be less travelling now. When I was working on my doctorate I was away from home for up to three months at a time. Sometimes I hopped across the globe for several experiments and conferences in a row; Japan to the US, then the UK, before returning back to the UK through France. But I can now also send my students so I don’t have to be away all the time. Fortunately, my daughter has a very good relationship with both her parents, which is normal in Sweden, and thus my husband fully steps in when I am away. But my daughter’s biggest pal is her grandfather.

What about safety and working with lasers?

You can lose your sight if careless. It is important to make sure you are wearing the correct protective equipment. Only recently a student wanted to look over my shoulder without putting goggles on when the laser was being fired. I sent him out of the laboratory with the comment that if he does not want to wear the laser goggles, he doesn’t have to bother coming in. Radiation levels due to material activation are also monitored, but the radiation hazard is not as great as with particle accelerators.

Kateřina, unfortunately it is time to conclude this interview and record your last words to readers of the Leaders Magazine.

There is a persistent idea that if scientists do not sacrifice all the time that would normally be dedicated to personal life, including weekends, to science then they are bad scientists. But scientists like that burnout and really do become bad scientists. I try to disrupt these stereotypes.

We spend the weekends on nature trips and I don’t work in the evening. And my results are better. This also answers any questions about how to combine a demanding scientific career with motherhood: easily, there is plenty of time if you make it. A rested mind under no stress and with plenty of time to wonder is the one that comes up with the greatest ideas.

By Linda Štucbartová české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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Have you got licence to fail?

Tereza Urbánková is a PR, communications and marketing professional with 20 years’ experience and proven success in delivering award-winning communications programmes for multinational companies operating in industries such as hospitality, retail, IT, defence, broadcast, logistics, pharma and engineering. After having lived and worked in the UK for 11 years, she now works in Germany for Boehringer Ingelheim, a global pharmaceutical company, as Head of Global External Communication, Animal Health. Tereza is a member of the Executive Committee of the Czech British Chamber of Commerce in London. She speaks Czech, English, Spanish and Russian and can be reached through her LinkedIn profile.

Many inspirational quotes on success seem to have one aspect in common – they combine both success and failure. Considering that some companies nowadays even ‘permit’ failure, perhaps there is something in this dichotomy worth exploring further.

success because success may have implied you became a regime ally. This naturally changed after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 when everybody suddenly acquired an equal opportunity to try to succeed, and many didn’t know how to handle it.

Take Winston Churchill’s “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”. Or James Joyce’s “Mistakes are the portals of discovery”. Such statements may imply that failure is not opposite to success but actually a key factor in achieving our aspirations and goals; it is apparent here we don’t talk only about the act of failing, but about a journey on which we learn and change as we keep on progressing in our career and life.

It may be, however, surprising that nowadays some companies encourage and allow failure, and effectively celebrate it; they perceive it as a necessary means to building an innovative culture. Businesses such as these aim at creating a fiercely experimental culture that is disrupting industries. The two that come to mind are Coca-Cola and Amazon. Do you remember the ‘New Coke’ fiasco in 1985? In the effort to reenergise the iconic Coca Cola brand, this move created the firestorm of consumer protest which ensued and subsequently ended with the return of the original formula.

Last year, its CEO publicly talked about going beyond the fear of failure and shaking off a culture of cautiousness. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, arguably the most successful entrepreneur in the world, makes the case directly when he claims his company’s growth and innovation is built on its failures. To prove his words, the Fire phone fiasco is probably comparable to the New Coke attempt. As he explains: “This is about taking bold bets and if you do, they are experiments and you don’t know ahead of time if they are going to work. But a few big successes compensate for dozens and dozens of things that didn’t work.”

Nowadays, in this fast-paced and continuously changing world, the ability to adjust is more important than ever, as well as the ability to learn through failures about how we need to adapt and grow to be successful. According to evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin, “it is not the strongest that survives; it is the one that is most adaptable to change.” For many, however, a failure may seem to be an unsurmountable hurdle. Be it failing in a job, community, social media, relationships, family, or elsewhere, it can bring down even some tough individuals.

Having grown up in the environment that didn’t support achieving success outside mandatory boundaries or being original and different taught me a lesson. In deep communism, many people were failing one way or another: professionally, when they tried to succeed outside the limitations and were pushed back to their place by ruling authorities; morally, when their success was achieved through collaboration with the regime; or personally, when they didn’t even have enough courage to try for the fear on implications on their dearest ones. Actually, a professional failure was at times perceived as a better option than

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The message from these CEOs is as easy to understand as it is hard for most of us to put into practice. We tend to take failure hard because we forget that success is achieved through trying, and trying often ends in failure.

Without failure that 'forces' us to reassess and rethink how we do things, progress would be impossible. There are many business leaders and organisations that espouse the virtues of innovation and creativity, yet so many of

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these same leaders and companies live in fear of mistakes and missteps, bringing barriers to innovative efforts.

Nevertheless, would you permit any failure?

There are failures and there are failures. Some mistakes may be fatal – products which can harm people, for example. At no time can management be casual about issues of health and safety, so encouraging failure doesn’t mean abandoning supervision, quality control, or respect for sound practices. Just the opposite. It requires senior leaders to be more engaged, not less.

Although mistakes are inevitable when launching innovative programmes, management teams cannot shy away from their responsibility to assess the nature of failures. Some are excusable errors; others may be much more serious. Those willing to take a close look at what happened and why can usually tell the difference. Failure-tolerant leaders identify excusable mistakes and approach them as outcomes to be reviewed, understood, and built upon, and as an opportunity to learn, grow and move forward.

Obviously, every mistake comes with a shortterm setback. While these setbacks may be impossible to ignore, try not to dwell on them as focusing on people’s mistakes will only make them increasingly afraid of failure and less likely to take the necessary risks to do truly outstanding work. In a nutshell, turning failures into opportunities and moving forward, a little bit wiser, is the best way to approach this topic.

Failure forms an integral part of our lives. And if you don’t try, and fail, you are failing to live.

By Tereza Urbánková

More Connections …and less Communication!

P hoto :

archive

A couple of months ago I read an article that quoted LinkedIn’s CEO. He was asked what he considered the most critical competency missing at work today, he said good communication.

Today’s work environment requires use of cell phones, tablets, PC, so as to guarantee the 24/7 connection between the individual and work. There is an expectation of “immediate” response to emails text’s and voice messages. In addition this mind set overlooks culture and human nuances. There is an assumption the “we are ALL in this together” so cultural norms are overlooked by the power of connection and technology.

The reality is that this assumption is dead wrong. Actually what we have are employees reacting 24/7 to what I call “technological chatter” and the overall result seems to be a lot of conflict, lack of engagement, mental fatigue, lack of productivity and innovation. LinkedIn’s CEO is right!

So let’s take a look at what you can do to stop this trend. At present I’m going through a process of coaching a woman from Prague who leads a multicultural team. Her experience has been challenging but she has managed to create a shift from “connections to communication” amongst her team. She has seen examples of business success and positive outcomes.

My first recommendation was to look at information related to cultural trends and how they impact work. For example how is power defined in Prague vs France or US? Communication requires meeting of the mind and buy in and unless the individual feels understood they will not respond favorably to you. I always recommend using Hofstede’s and Fons Trompenaar´s work, experts in helping identify values and cultural differences so that one can develop a degree of sensitivity and context when interacting with people from other cultures.

Second, and perhaps this is the most critical consideration, stop using emails in substitution of conversations. Emails were created to exchange information not to “create” dialogue. Dialogue can ONLY happen amongst two people face to face. The moment my coachee started to use the phone, Skype and leveraged her travel, to really connect one on one with the team, things started to change.

Third, research shows that “time outs” from the phone and computer are essential for the brain, it needs a chance to rebut. It is a fact that the brain starts to lose efficiency after 8 hours of work. My coachee has asked her team members to take short brakes during work and she is finding that efficiency is higher as well as a reduction of stress and conflict.

Time outs allow for “cooling off periods”.

Fourth and for me the most important, let’s reconnect with the art of dialogue, of healthy communications. Nothing substitutes body language, the nuisance of the voice, laughter. Let’s put technology in our use and let’s reclaim written thankyou notes, gatherings with coworkers to discuss and clarify issues, improvised lunch and even maybe a summer event!

Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy President, Rodriguez and Associates LLC

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gala event

ECCE Grand Reception 2018

ECCE held its annual Grand reception at The Grand Mark Hotel

The magnificent reception held at the beautiful Grand Mark Hotel was not just a wonderful time for ECCE students, partners, friends and speakers to slow down, but also a great opportunity for the partners to get to know each other and to celebrate.

From left: Mingachao Fan, Regional Director, Arbitration & ADR for North Asia at International Chamber of Commerce and Jingjie Zhang, All China Lawyers Association, Ministry of Justice, China

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gala event

From left: Tomáš Hülle, Founder, European Centre for Career Education and Michael Guyer, Headmaster, American Academy

From left: Noemi Benesova Guerrero, President of Czech China Educational Exchange Association and Nellie Yuan, Vice Chief Director Czech China Educational Exchange Association

Kateřina Vacková, Founder, Loono

Students of the European Centre for Career Education

Denisa Olešovská, COO, European Centre for Career Education and Petr Kuneš, Consultant, ČSOB

From left: Wojciech Czyzewski, Attorney, Schoenherr and Jan Hůlek, Head of External Affairs, EUC Group and Member of the Medical Committee, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

Yemi A.D., Founder, JAD DC

Tomáš Hülle, Founder, European Centre for Career Education

From left: Artur Braun, Partner, bpv Braun Partners, Benke Aikell, Your Publisher and Ira Saul Rubenstein, Senior Partner, Traficon

From left: Petra Bourková, COO, Loono, Tomáš Hülle, Founder, European Centre for Career Education, and Kateřina Vacková, Founder, Loono

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FAREWELL PARTY FOR HER EXCELLENCE

MA KEQING,

AMBASSADOR OF CHINA TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC

H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China at her speech

Vojtěch Filip, Vice Chairman, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic

Adam Vojtěch, Minister of Health and H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China

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Numerous audience

H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China and Antonín Staněk, Minister of Culture

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Former President Václav Klaus

Miroslav Grégr, former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Trade and Industry and H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China

gala event

H.E. MA Keqing, Ambassador of China with overseas Chinese

From left: Dr. Rubina Israr, wife of the Pakistani Ambassador, H.E. Dr. Israr Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan, H.E. Virginia Hesse, Ambassador of Ghana, H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China, and H.E. N Ribbon Mosholi, Ambassador of South Africa

From left: former President Václav Klaus, H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China, and Vojtěch Filip, Vice Chairman, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic

Rudolf Jindrák, Director of the Foreign Department of the Presidential Office and H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China

H.E. Alexandr Vladimirovič Zmejevskij, Ambassador of the Russian Federation and H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China

From left: Mel Carvill, Member of the Board of Directors, Home Credit, H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China, and Vladimír Mlynář, Chief of Public Affairs, PPF Group

Karel Muzikář, President, Comenius and H.E. Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China

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Fountains at Peterhof Palace

SAINT PETERSBURG Museum Fabergé

Russian barock

Catherin´s Palace

Amber room

This May, St Petersburg celebrated 315 years since its foundation. St Petersburg is one of the few cities in the world to have experienced a large number of historically important political and economic events over a relatively short period of time. The reign of eleven emperors, the Bolshevik Revolution, the cruel three-year siege during the war, dozens of floods, economic and political collapse, impressive economic reform and the subsequent complex path to modernisation.

Saint Petersburg as we know it today was founded by Tsar Peter the Great. A desire to change views on a nation which until then had been seen as backwards and stuck in the Middle Ages led the Tsar to make major changes in Russians’ general style of life, in accordance with the model of the then advanced Europe. These changes affected everything, from city redevelopments, a new architecture style, economic changes, administrative changes and changes in the way of dressing and behaviour of the population, with the introduction of social rules, cultural events and new traditions.

St Petersburg’s history began essentially with a war that broke out between Sweden and Russia over access to trade routes to Europe across the Baltic Sea. Peter the Great ordered the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress located in the centre of the city, which had a major impact on its

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Kronstadt Naval Cathedral

Senate square

defence and future strategic development. The first stone was laid on 27 May 1703.

Renowned architects such as Domenica Trezzini, Jean-Baptiste Leblond, Bartolomeo Rastrelli and many others were invited to St Petersburg. Tens of thousands of Russians from across different regions were forced to help construct the city in line with European standards. Peter the Great wanted to build a second Venice, and he also found inspiration in Paris and Amsterdam. A new city was built up on the site of a swamp, a city with the most extensive red granite paving in the world, a city interwoven with water channels and dozens of bridges. The special architecture known as Russian Baroque was born.

It was mainly Empresses Catherine II (1762-1796) and Elizabeth who were responsible for the city’s further development and rich history.

Over this 50-year golden age of Russian art, Russian Baroque, then Classical style were implemented in architectural works such as the Winter Palace, Smolny Convent, St Vladimir’s Cathedral , Anichkov Palace, the Marble Palace, the Old Hermitage, the Admiralty Building, the Stock Exchange, etc., mainly built along both embankments of the Neva River. The golden age continued with the reign of Alexander I, who fought Napoleon, Nicholas I, Nicholas II, and Alexander II and III. The city’s population grew tenfold over a short period. As such, slums began to appear, high-density buildings with dark and damp courtyards in which Dostoevsky set his novel (Crime and Punishment).

The fast growing city was beginning to contend with the consequences of the arrival of the First World War, with social problems and with a growing chasm between the upper feudal class and the working class “muzhiks”. In the end, Russia’s war with Japan, a depression and reckless reforms led to an armed rebellion across the empire led by the Bolsheviks and the end of Russian autocracy.

Economic decay after the First World War, a depopulated countryside, and a dissatisfied and hungry nation represented a simple and understandable tactical tool for Lenin, who quickly and brutally turned

on the head of the whole of Russia’s despotic feudal system, putting an end to the Emperor and setting up the Soviet era. It is remarkable that the new illiberal Soviet regime, despite bringing no improvement in the nation’s situation, survived a whole 70 years, although Lenin’s era did not last that long. Lenin’s idealistic economic strategy was unable to overcome economic decay and impose law and order on the growing anarchy. Every attempt at restoring the monarchy was brutally suppressed, and the Soviet dictatorship of the proletariat was implemented under the oppression and brutal rule of Stalin and his empire. Even during this period, however, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, for example, lived and worked on their craft here.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the catastrophic consequences of Russia’s incompetent economic policy and social oppression forced the Communist Party to implement new reforms and make fundamental changes within the archaic Communist Party Central Committee leading to Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika and glasnost. Further inflation and uncontrolled new reforms leading to an attempt at opening the country to the free market in 1990 found the country instead heading towards economic collapse and the end of the Soviet Union.

In 1991, the city of Leningrad was once again renamed Saint Petersburg, and over time it prevailed over political idealism, finally leading to growth in enterprise and capital development.

Many international cultural institutions, heads of state and major societies took part in this year’s celebrations of the city’s 315th anniversary, including France’s Fraternity of Knights of the WineTasting Cup (Chevaliers de tastevin). One hopes that this new era of prosperity, efforts at establishing democracy and open international relations will become a permanent feature of St Petersburg’s future.

Author: Ing. Arch. Iva Drebitko; Photos: author’s archives české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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E uropean U nion

for

P rogressive J udaism

conference

Regeneration

Building Progressive Jewish Life in the Czech Republic

Miriam Kramer, Chairwoman, EUPJ

The European Union for Progressive Judaism (EUPJ) conference with more than 350 delegates from 27 countries, was one of the largest religious gathering of Jews in Prague from around the world since the Second World War. Almost 60 men and women rabbis were attending, including the World Union for Progressive Judaism president and Europe’s first Progressive female Rabbi, ordained in 1975.

The conference, which had its opening ceremony in the Smetana Hall at the Municipal House, included a rich range of plenary lecture, debates and workshops. The topics covered included antisemitism in Europe, mixed interfaith marriages, leadership across generations, community development, Progressive Judaism and entrepreneurship, environmental and social sustainability, as well as Israel and its relationship with reform and liberal Jews. Friday evening and Sabbath morning services were held in the Spanish Synagogue, which was filled to capacity.

From left: Miriam Kramer, Chairwoman, EUPJ and Karen Pollak, Mosaic

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Frank Cohn, LJG Beth Jehoeda and Yvonne Cohn, LJG Beth Jehoeda

E uropean U nion

From left: Tomáš Kraus, Executive Director, Federation of Jewish Communities Prague, H.E. Daniel Meron, Ambassador of Israel with his wife Mrs. Jill Meron, in background Jonathan Wootliff, Chair of the local conference committee

From left: Alexandra Bitušíková, Bejt Simcha and Janee Graver, Aleph

Benjamin Kuras, ZLU and Stephanie Garry, Plazza Jewish Community Chapel

From left: Cantor Isidoro Abramowicz, Abraham Geiger Kolleg, and Dr.Rabbiner Moshe Navon

The Lauder Band with vocalist Aleksandar Columby

From left: Rabbi Stephen Berkowitz, Comunidad Reformista de Madrid, and Rabbi Arturo Kalfus, Temple Emanu-El

From left: Igor Zinkov, Leo Baeck College, Andrew Keene, World Union for Progressive Judaism, and Deborah Blusten, Leo Baeck College

for

P rogressive J udaism

conference

From left: Dr.Rabbiner Moshe Navon, Sharon Goldstein, Liberal Judaism, Rabbi Andrew Goldflam , Liberal Judaism, and Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, Liberal Judaism

From left: Danny Allen, Maidenhead, Maureen Kendal, New North London, Rabbi Steve Burnstein, WUPJ, and David Pollak, EUPJ

Nick Winton, son of Sir Nicholas Winton and next to him Ruth Hálová – she was 13 when she left by train, organized by Sir Nicholas in 1939.

Jonathan Wootliff, Chair of the local conference committee

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E uropean U nion

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P rogressive J udaism

Daniela Touati, Leo Baeck College and Boaz Gasto, AJLT

conference

From left: Rostislav Jirkal, Director, Risk Assurance, PWC, Linda Štucbartová, Journalist, Writer and Coach, and Jana Hrstková, Operational Manager, Keller Williams Company

Pupils from Lauder School in Prague

Rabbi Daniel Freelander, President, World Union for Progressive Judaism

H.E. Daniel Meron, Ambassador of Israel

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Nick Winton, son of Sir Nicholas Winton and Rabbi Daniel Freelander, President, World Union for Progressive Judaism

Mark Podwal, Artist and Physician

sustainable development

CZECH SOCIETY CONTINUES TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST WOMEN IT’S TIME TO WELCOME A NEW ERA OF ENLIGHTENMENT A former director of Greenpeace International, Jonathan Wootliff lives in Prague and works throughout the world as a sustainability consultant to business. He is Chair of the Board of Experts of 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.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, misogyny is the "hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls." Sadly, the evidence suggests that this is a lingering characteristic of Czech society.

Women in the Czech Republic receive lower salaries than men, occupy lower positions at work and are more at risk of poverty. This is surely unsustainable.

Europe, but the situation is particularly bleak in Eastern and Central Europe.

The Czech Republic came in bottom place on the Index which is calculated according to a series of questions and averaged to reflect the strength or weakness of a country’s support of gender equality.

Are women not as good at their jobs? They receive salaries which are one fifth lower than men’s. They are also much more at risk of poverty with unequal pay translating into lower pensions for women.

There can be no doubt that social attitudes towards gender equality in the Czech Republic are worryingly retarded with 77 per cent of people still believing that the most important role of a woman is to take care of her home and family and seventy-two percent of Czechs saying the most important role of a man is to earn money.

Disappointingly, the Czech Republic has one of the highest differences in the European Union between the salaries of women and men. Last year, women earned 22 percent less than men and the gap is not narrowing.

An extraordinary eighty-three percent of Czechs think women are more likely to make decisions based on their emotions, and 61 percent see nothing wrong with the way women are represented in the media.

If you do the mathematics, this means that on average women work for free for three months of the year when compared with men. This converts into about 70,000 Czech crowns missing from family budgets due to this discrimination per year.

The Index shows that the Czech Republic is in the top five nations where stereotypes are formed based on gender.

Czech Society generally expects women to be the primary carers for children or older and ill people as part of their unpaid work. Women thus work two shifts and their free choice is limited by social expectations. Why does half of the population get treated so differently?

One particularly fast-growing group which is enormously at risk of poverty and social exclusion are single mothers. They are already disadvantaged because they commonly earn less than their Czech counterparts. On top of this, the risk of poverty is often increased by unpaid alimony.

In spite of the obvious fact that women account for around 50 percent of the population, there is a significant democratic deficit in this country with only one fifth of them represented in politics.

In world rankings of the representation of women in parliament, the Czech Republic is in 88th place. The Czech political sphere thus remains the domain of men. But since political decisions affect both men and women, female experiences and perspectives should not be lacking in politics.

The problem lies not so much in the indifference of women towards politics, but rather in political parties, which often place women in unelectable places on their electoral lists.

A recent Eurobarometer survey indicates that gender equality is still not being achieved across

Around the world, gender bias is attracting renewed attention. Through protest marches and viral social-media campaigns, women everywhere are demanding an end to sexual harassment, abuse, femicide, and inequality.

As successful as the #MeToo movement have been in raising public awareness, the struggle for parity is far from over. Empowering women and girls is one of the key Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. Right now, gender bias remains a significant obstacle to global progress, and it is particularly acute in the workplace.

The Czech Republic is not alone in its regressive attitudes towards women. Today, only 5 percent of the world’s largest 500 companies are led by women. This dismal figure is all the more remarkable when one considers that 73 percent of global firms allegedly have equal-opportunity policies in place, according to a survey by the International Labour Organization.

Addressing such deficiencies is both an economic and a moral imperative. A recent report by the much-respected McKinsey Global Institute found that if women and men played an “identical role in labour markets”, US$28 trillion would be added to the global economy by 2025. These global gains would be in addition to the benefits for individual companies.

Companies with greater gender equality are more innovative, generous, and profitable. But,

at the current rate of female empowerment, it would take nearly 220 years to close the gender gap. The world cannot afford to wait that long; we clearly need a new approach.

Since the Revolution, the Czech Republic has attained an impressive reputation as a fastdeveloping, forward-thinking and economically successful nation. However, the slow pace of change in terms of attitudes towards women is going to hold this country back.

Businesses, communities, and families must work together to bridge the all-too-large gender gap.

This isn’t about political correctness. The cost of doing nothing is too high for any business – and economies as a whole – to bear, which is why I am optimistic that eliminating gender bias at work is possible. When companies make female empowerment central to their business strategies, growth and equality can be mutually reinforcing to leave no one behind.

Perhaps we can learn from Iceland. After the financial crash in 2008, Iceland responded by sending the leaders of their three banks, all men, to jail. Two were replaced with women. The entire government also resigned, and their male prime minister was replaced by a woman as well. This precipitated a larger cultural and social "women's takeover" in Iceland.

The head of Iceland's Chamber of Commerce, also a woman, spoke for many when she derided the "man-made" crisis as a "penis competition" among bankers.

It was an extraordinary phenomenon. It's as if an entire population rose up, unified, with a single objective to flush the testosterone out of its system. This flew in the face of thousands of years of history, turning upside down a culture that had always celebrated its bloodthirsty Viking heritage.

Iceland is now ranked as No. 1 in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum.

Undervaluing the role of women in the workplace is surely an obstacle to this country’s success. Sustainability is an essential ingredient for economic progress and gender equality is one of its central pillars. Women have far too much to offer and treating them like second class citizens will cost us dearly.

It’s time for the Czech men to shed their oldfashioned macho thinking, and to genuinely acknowledge that women are equal in every aspect of life. Goodbye misogyny. Let’s welcome in a new era of enlightenment.

By Jonathan Wootliff

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ČSÚZ

Discussions with personalities in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute

In cooperation with Czech & Slovak Leaders The Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, whose current mission is to create the conditions to improve education of children of Czech compatriots abroad, several times a a year, becomes also the scene of interesting discussions with prominent figures. Participants have the opportunity to

establish valuable contacts, gain interesting information from the professionals and listen to the opinions of wise people.

One of the celebrities, who takes part in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s activities very

The Chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, Jaromír Šlápota presented H. E. Ma Keqing the book published by the ICZ, a.s. company with the wishes and signatures of those present.

On the right, Mgr. Josef Stejskal, the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute’s member

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often, is the Chinese ambassador H. E. Ma Keqing. She came to a conversation to the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute on July, 3, 2018 to explain the focus of Chinese diplomacy in the current, rapidly changing world. She stressed that in foreign relations, China now gives priority to the partnership before the alliances and mutually beneficial cooperation before the fierce competitions. Chairman Jaromír Šlápota, under whose leadership the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute has developed friendly relations with the Chinese Embassy for a quarter century and the Institute is the holder of the Chinese medal for friendship of Silver Plate, appreciated that “China is taking first place in the world economy without dropping bombs out of its aircrafts somewhere. It proves that it can be achieved by education and work of the citizens.”

The situation in Germany, Europe, and the development of Czech-German relations were discussed by the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr. Christoph Israng on April, 18, 2018 in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute. He appreciated that during the debate, he could sit in the historic chair in which one of the most important members of the Institute, Jan Masaryk sat. He

ČSÚZ

At the conclusion of the discussion with the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany J. E. Dr. Christoph Isrange, the chairman of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute Jaromír Šlápota presented a memorial medal of the Silver Lion to the ambassador

spoke about the nearly half-year process of creating a grand coalition of the CDU/CSU with the SPD and the coalition agreement of 14 chapters and 177 pages. He stated that in the contract, there are not specifically regulated relations with the Czech Republic, which can be positive, because, namely, there are mentioned mainly entities, with which Germany has problems. The current German government, which relies on a majority in the Bundestag, was considered stable by Dr. Israng at the time of the discussions. He gives the Chancellor a great chance to settle the German record for the number of years in the Chancellor’s office, which is held by Helmut Kohl (16 years).

The Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2018 was reviewed by the Bulgarian ambassador in the Czech Republic H. E. Latchezar Petkov on May, 2,

From the left Ing. Petra Stančevová, H. E. Latchezar Petkov, member of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute dr. Petar Petkov Stanchev, and Ing. Venko Ivanov

2018 in the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute.

He stressed that the priorities of Bulgaria are solidarity, increasing competitiveness and building a strong, unified, digital Europe.

With this objective, the country promotes economic growth, social cohesion, solidarity, security and stability, the interconnection of the countries of the Western Balkans, the development of skills for the future and digitisation. It ensures keeping of European investment in education and research and the search for suitable financial instruments after 2020. It seeks to better protect the borders of the European Union. The central priority in the health sector is seen in ensuring healthy nutrition and balancing of the quality of food in the individual member countries.

The answer to the question where the Czech and world economy will be heading in future was searched by members and supporters of

the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute during the interview on May 15, 2018, with PhDr. Tomáš Sedláček, the chief macroeconomic strategist of ČSOB. He spoke, inter alia, about a scale

by Nikolai Kardašov to measure the level of development of civilizations according to the ability to use natural energy. The country is according to it, the civilizations of type 0 at the transition to type 1, when civilization is able to use all of the energy sources of their home planet in the control mechanisms of renewable energy sources and natural cycles. In stage 0, the individual states are fighting among themselves, in stage 1 they are already thinking with respect to the whole planet. Already today, for example the internet or business are global. The policy is, on the contrary, frozen in stage 0, because it is national, although fiscal policy or social security could be organized not nationally but globally.

Hebr

Participants at the interview with PhDr. Tomáš Sedláček listened to the views of what direction will be taken by the Czech and world economy

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diplomatic event

Wiener Grindzinger Heuriger at the Austrian Ambassador’s Residence

H.E. Mr. Alexander Grubmayr, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Austria

From left: H.E. Mr. Pedro Calvo-Sotelo Ibaňez-Martin, Ambassador, Embassy of Spain and H.E. Mr. Aldo Amati, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Italy

From left: Viktor Dvořák, General Manager, Grayline Czech Republic, Ing. Jitka Brůnová, Business Development Manager, Agentura Helas, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

From left: Zuzana Boudová, BOUDA 1883, Roman Thum, Thum – Schinken, Franz Hengl jun., Managing Director, Alter Bach – Hengl, Franz Neubauer, Registered Entrepreneur, Retzer, and Roman Ray Straub, CEO, Prague Congress Centre

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From left: Mgr. Hana Appollonio and Mrs. Isabella Davis

H.E. Mr. Alexander Grubmayr, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Austria and Heinz Reigl, President of Skal International

diplomatic event

Ing. Jan Havlíček and Amal Kottnerová, Managing Director, Tomera Conference and Incentive

From left: Pavel Trejtnar, Chairman of the Board of Directors, OK TOURS with his wife and Udo Wichert, Managing Director, Thomas Cook with his wife

Helga Welser, Senator H.C. and Heinz Reigl, President of Skal International

Heinz Reigl, President of Skal International

From left: H.E. Mr. Pedro Calvo-Sotelo Ibaňez-Martin, Ambassador, Embassy of Spain, H.E. Mr. Alexander Grubmayr, Embassy of the Republic of Austria, Natalia León, Manager for Europe, Cultur Peru, Manuel E. Jimenez-Alonso, Sales Director, BODY and SOUL, and Manoj Malhotra, Head of Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary, FCM in Coming

From left: Attaché - Friedrich Lennkh, Police Liaison Officer, Austrian Embassy Prague, Heinz Reigl, President of Skal International, Mag. Georg Stoger, Honorary Consul, Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Austria in Brno, and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

Jiří Vítek, Director, Advisory Services, Deloitte CR with his granddaughter Sara and daughter Denisa

From left: Mrs. Nicole Loi, Mrs. Djurdjica Hauser, and Claudio Sturm, General Manager, Falkensteiner Hotel Maria Prag

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interview

Christian Verschueren has been DirectorGeneral of EuroCommerce since July 2011.

Heading a team of 20 professionals he represents retail and wholesale at EU level.

Before joining EuroCommerce, Christian Verschueren led ACE, the alliance for the beverage carton industry. Between 2000 and 2007, he was Director-General of CropLife International, the global federation of the plant science industry. Prior to that, he occupied various management and leadership positions in FEDESA and COMISA (now IFAH– Europe and IFAH), the European and global associations for the veterinary pharmaceutical industry. He graduated as doctor of veterinary medicine at the University of Liège, Belgium. He holds a PhD from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. He is also an ambassador of WWF Belgium and a Board member of Natagora, a nature conservancy organisation.

INTERVIEW WITH

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CHRISTIAN VERSCHUEREN,

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EUROCOMMERCE What are the main concerns of retailers at the moment?

As the biggest private sector employer in Europe, retail and wholesale are a major factor in the EU economy. Yet it is a sector often subject to regulation which stops it delivering as effectively as it could the important service of providing 500 million consumers in Europe with the food and other products they need for daily life. A main current concern is the draft directive on unfair trading practices in the food supply chain which was put forward by the Commission in April. The proposed directive established a list of prohibited and restricted practices between farmers, SME suppliers and large buyers. Retailers and wholesalers around Europe are shaking their heads at what the European Parliament is seeking to change in the Commission proposal. The directive is meant to help farmers earn more, yet the latest changes risk offering highly profitable and very strong multinational corporations the ability to wring even more profits out of the European consumer. Large multinational corporations hold more power than retailers or wholesalers, and make net profit margins of up to 30%, while retailers’ margins are no more than 1-3%. Any retailer, whatever their size, represents a very small share of these brands’ global turnover, and has little choice but to stock their products. This is reflected in their respective negotiating power.

Protectionism inside and outside the EU is another real concern. In a number of

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Member States, protectionist policies against foreign retailers are holding back growth and harming consumers. We are looking carefully at the political developments in Europe, not exclusively, but in particular, in Central and Eastern European countries, where retail chains are faced with various forms of discrimination.

These include unfair taxes, excessive food safety controls, or limitations on commercial establishment. Every form of protectionism makes everyone poorer, as it ultimately prevents customers from choosing freely and benefiting from competition. These populist tendencies are also fueling the present trade disputes sparked by US decisions on tariffs threatening a major trade war. I should also mention another issue which undermines the Single Market to the detriment of consumers – the restrictions imposed by manufactures on where retailers can buy their products. This is not what the Single Market should be about, and it causes real problems where consumers in some countries perceive that they are being given a worse deal than others in the quality or price of what they buy. These are missed opportunities for Europe, impose unnecessary costs on consumers and block the creation of new jobs for many thousands of Europeans.

in the way people buy, but the way people buy has also transformed the way retail and wholesale do business. Digitalisation is transforming the competitive landscape of our sector in many ways. Retailers need to adapt to a new digital reality, and so does EU legislation.

The distinction between online and offline, and between manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers is becoming blurred. Digitalisation has brought about massive changes in supply chains, increasing transparency but also competitive pressure. Platforms have created new business models. Data and the ability to use data gives a competitive edge and will increasingly do so. Online sales also can cause problems with some direct imports, from e.g.

China, operating outside many of the EU’s rules on product safety or taxation. Regulation and tax should establish a level playing field among all operators and channels of distribution and be updated to reflect these changes. For example, in some countries like France or the UK, retailers pay taxes on their square meters of commercial space regardless of whether they make a profit.

Regulation has to address the problems for cross-border trade in the EU arising from the many differences in e.g. consumer guarantees and VAT rates.

The digitalisation is a future but also a challenge. Should we apply the same rules in offline and online world?

Digital technology has driven a major change

How can we better control the entrance of goods to the EU market bought online?

All products placed on the EU market need to be safe. EuroCommerce supports better

CZECH&SLOVAK LEADERS III/2018

coordination and collaboration between national market surveillance authorities, and especially with the customs authorities. Rogue traders bringing non-compliant products into the Single Market should be pursued. This should reduce the number of non-compliant products sold in the Single Market. In our view, enforcement, instead of introducing new rules that lead to additional costs for genuine traders, is the way to protect consumers best. Consumer product safety is paramount for our sector.

This year, we celebrate 25 years of the Single Market. What kind of barriers do the EU retailers and wholesalers face?

Indeed, and it’s also the 25th anniversary of EuroCommerce this year. In 1992 we were told that the Single Market would be completed. 25 years later we still see massive barriers to trading across the EU. A functioning Single Market is a unique potential strength of the EU. Making it work will ensure jobs, growth and wider choice and lower prices for consumers. Retailers and wholesalers are a crucial link between producers and suppliers and their customers.

With around €1,000 trillion of goods traded cross-border yearly, the estimated untapped potential of the Single Market for Goods is between €183 billion and €269 billion. The Commission and Member States need to ensure better application of the principle of mutual recognition to improve the free movement of products which are not subject to harmonised EU legislation. Competent authorities should recognise foreign test reports, increase mutual trust and collaboration. Moreover, to improve the free movement of goods, Member States should refrain from going beyond the minimum requirement set out by EU law. The Commission should move from minimum harmonisation measures to Regulations, or Directives that provide maximum harmonisation for relevant aspects, particularly for products. As for labelling, the multiplicity of requirements causes an information overload for consumers and unnecessary costs for business, and make labels too complicated and consumers ignore labels or fail to understand them. Our sector faces multiple levels of regulation: the recent Commission Communication ‘A retail sector fit for the 21st century’ was an important step towards a better understanding of the significant drivers of retail competitiveness. It showed the cumulative impact of unnecessary national and local regulation and barriers. The Commission rightly pointed to the positive spillover effect that the right policy decisions will have on other business sectors.

Dual quality is high on the Czech political agenda. Is it also a priority for your Members outside the CEE region?

Our sector holds consumer protection and consumer confidence as our highest values and misleading consumers is unacceptable. As a sector, we serve by giving consumers what they want, but big manufacturers often do not allow retailers to source cross-border and oblige them to sell the products manufacturers provide

for a specific market with the price and quality attached. We support EU-wide and rigorous methodologies for testing which should lead to better understanding and a more uniform basis for evidence of the alleged problem, its real magnitude and significance.

The EU has a strong focus on consumer issues. Retailers are very close to their consumers what kind of challenges they are confronted with?

Retailers interact with consumers millions of times a day, offering them goods and services and giving support when needed. A simple, harmonised and balanced legal framework of consumer protection for both online and offline sales is therefore of paramount importance in building consumer trust and allowing everyone to benefit from the Single Market. At the same time, it will also boost the EU in competing with global e-commerce players. We need a full and balanced harmonisation of consumer protection rules at a proportionate level as the only way to help traders and consumers overcome legal fragmentation and obstacles to the free movement of goods.

The new EU plastic strategy is putting ambitious targets. What does it mean for retailers and wholesalers?

The European Commission published the EU Plastics Strategy in January, with targets for all plastic packaging to be reusable and recyclable in a cost-effective manner by 2030. At the end of May, the Commission tabled a legislative proposal targeting single-use plastic products.

A group of single-use plastic products will be simply banned (e.g. cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates, straws) and others will be subject to new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes (e.g. food containers, cups for beverages, plastic bags). Member States will also need to achieve a separate collection rate for single use plastic bottles of 90% by 2025, using deposit schemes and additional EPR obligations to achieve this.

These could result in higher costs for our sector and require retailers to provide packaging waste collection facilities for consumers. While we are giving general support to reducing waste and to improving recycling, retailers and wholesalers face real obstacles regarding plastic waste, redesign of plastic packaging and EPR/deposit schemes. The sector has already demonstrated its leadership in reducing packaging and singleuse plastics and made collective and individual commitments on doing so, including an 80% reduction in overall waste. Long before the Commission’s proposal, retailers have been proactive in cutting their reliance on plastics.

These include encouraging customers to collect and return their plastic waste, increasing their share of recycled products and carrier bags made of renewable plastics, and encouraging reduced-packaging refills of bodycare products.

In addition to these measures, the sector is also engaged in supporting behavioural change through awareness and information campaigns.

For instance, some of our members have given customers comprehensive information

to facilitate waste sorting for nearly 14,000 food and non-food products. Retailers and wholesalers are already, and want to in the future, play their part in combating littering, but this needs to be across the supply chain, from producers to consumers. Extended producer responsibility must not mean supermarkets ending up as waste collectors.

How do your members respond to the challenges set by climate change?

The EU is working to achieve world leadership in green policies and climate change commitments, and create a properly-functioning circular economy. Consumers are increasingly looking for products that are produced sustainably and responsibly, and which help combat climate change. Retailers are committed to reducing their environmental footprint. The potential for retail to promote sustainable consumption led to the creation of the Retailers’ Environmental Action Plan (REAP). REAP is a voluntary initiative which aims at reducing environmental impacts in the retail sector and its supply chain, promoting more sustainable products, and providing better information to consumers.

Collectively, the REAP members have also developed various voluntary agreements, such as the Retail Environmental Sustainability Code in 2010, the Waste Agreement in 2012, and the Commitment to the Circular Economy in 2016. Moreover, a number of retailers are implementing best practices through their pledges at the Consumer Goods Forum level with the aim to have a positive impact on the fight against climate change.

What kind of impact will have Brexit on EU retailers and wholesalers?

In a supply chain built on just-in-time deliveries, the movement of goods, and particularly fastmoving consumer and perishable goods and medicines, is extremely time-sensitive. Any delays or border queues will disrupt important production processes and damage perishable consignments. Disruption of current supply chains would lead to price volatility and market uncertainty for all involved. We have therefore asked negotiators to agree quickly on a suitable transitional period, ensuring legal predictability and allowing all parts of the supply chain to adjust to whatever new trading arrangements are finally agreed. The long-standing saga of Brexit took a new turn recently. The UK will shortly present to other EU Member States and EU negotiator Michel Barnier their new idea as the future relationship. This will propose the UK essentially staying in the customs union and Single Market for goods, but not services, creating a “UK-EU free trade area”. We will need to see on whether the UK proposals will be acceptable to the EU27, whose priority is to preserve the integrity of the Single Market.

By Alena Mastantuono české znění naleznete v elektronické verzi magazínu na www.czechleaders.com

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EU

debate

From left: Dita Charanzová, Vice-Chair of Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, European Parliament, Valentina Schaumburger, Legal Officer of DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission, and David Slížek, Editor in Chief, Lupa.cz

Online platforms in accommodation services (Prague) Online platforms became an issue of communal elections which will take place in the Czech Republic this autumn. The society agrees there is a need to regulate the sector but at the same time it should not hinder its development. The question is on which issue the regulation should focus: better consumer protection, taxation, noise, parity of business conditions for online and offline businesses, etc. The Commission does not want to regulate the online platforms at EU level and leaves this competence up to the Member States but provides them with some guidance. The concept of a sharing economy should not be destroyed but it is important to draw the line where the occasional revenue starts to be a real business. The topic was discussed on 15th May in the European House in Prague.

Patric Czetö, Chairman, Czech Association of Shared Economy

From left: Václav Stárek, President, Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, and Jan Havlík, Director of Department of European Affairs and the Internal Market, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic

Participants of the debate

EU budget framework after 2020 At the beginning of May, the European Commission published its proposal for the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2021–2027. Therefore, the future MFF has been the main topic of a debate organised by the Representation of the European Commission in Prague, Information Office of the European Parliament in Prague, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic and CEBRE on 25th May in the European House in Prague. To create a balanced budget proposal, the Commission had to react to new challenges but also continue supporting successful ongoing initiatives. Furthermore, the gap of 84 bn.

EUR in the budget created by Brexit had to be taken into account, therefore some cuts were necessary as well, mainly in the cohesion policy and common agricultural policy. Furthermore, the budget line focused on security, defence and border management had to be strengthened. As for the Czech Republic, the leading ministry assessing the proposal and negotiating in the Council will be the Ministry of Finance together with the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. Both institutions welcome the idea of increasing effectiveness and overall simplification in the budget.

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Michal Částek, Head of EU Budget Unit, Ministry of Finance of the Czech

Jan Král, Director of European Policies Coordination Department, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic

CEBRE founders met with Czech MEPs The mandate of the current EU institutions is slowly, but steadily coming to an end. However, several important legislative proposals with a significant impact on businesses are still on the table. Specifically, the Single Use Plastics Directive, the Mobility Package, and several legislative proposals in the area of consumer issue. The impacts of these proposals were discussed by CEBRE founders together with Czech MEPs on 15th June in the premises of Czech Chamber of Commerce in Prague.

From left: Irena Bartoňová Pálková, Vice-President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, Marta Nováková, President, Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism, Martina Dlabajová, Vice-Chair of Committee on Budgetary Control, European Parliament, Petr Svoboda, Chair of Committee on Legal Affairs, European Parliament, Luděk Niedermayer, Vice-Chair of Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Parliament, Petr Ježek, Chair of Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance, European Parliament, and Pavel Fára, Deputy Director of International Relations Department, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

From left: Stanislav Kázecký, Vice-President, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, Vladimír Dlouhý, President, Czech Chamber of Commerce, and Jan Wiesner, President, Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations of the Czech Republic

Martina Dlabajová, Vice-Chair of Committee on Budgetary Control, European Parliament and David Klimeš Ekonom Weekly

Participants of the meeting

From left: Michal Částek, Head of EU Budget Unit, Ministry of Finance of the Czech, Jan Král, Director of European Policies Coordination Department, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, Petr Mooz, Head of Communication Unit, Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission, Martina Dlabajová, Vice-Chair of Committee on Budgetary Control, European Parliament, and David Klimeš, Ekonom Weekly

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matters business

Did you know what?

New Energy Union governance deal reached Representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the governance of the Energy Union at the end of June. Member States will be required to submit to the Commission drafts of their national energy and climate strategies for the period 2021 to 2030, which the Commission will subsequently comment on. In addition, the new system will ensure greater consistency with the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement and strengthen regional cooperation. Member States will have the flexibility to fully determine their national energy mix.

Free flow of non-personal data Representatives of the three major European institutions reached a political agreement on the new rules on the free flow of non-personal data in the EU. The new framework forbids all restrictions on data localization, in other words, data can be stored and processed everywhere in the EU. Member States will be able to introduce restrictions only in specific cases, for example when it comes to public sector data, but they will have to inform the Commission in advance.

Data will be accessible to public authorities no matter where they are stored. In addition, the Framework supports the development of codes of conduct for cloud services that would facilitate the transition from one provider to another under clear conditions.

Common testing methodology for food quality unveiled In mid-June, the Joint Research Center of the European Commission issued a common testing methodology for comparing the quality of food products in the EU. It will enable national authorities to test and compare the composition of food products of similar appearance in different Member States. Issuing a common testing methodology is part of a so-called New Deal for Consumers. Laboratories across the EU will conduct a test based on this methodology and assess whether there is a problem of dual quality of food products in the EU. The test results should be known by the end of the year.

New rules for safer use of drones The European Parliament backed new rules on the safe use of drones in mid-June. It also agreed to amend the aviation safety rules in the EU. Most drones today fall under national rules, which may hinder market development. Based on the risks associated with, for example, the weight of drones or areas of operation, future drones should have additional features such as automated landing in case of loss of contact. This means that some drone operators will have to go through training in the future. The European Commission now needs to prepare more detailed rules, for example, regulating the maximum height and distance for drones, drones certification and training of their operators.

Renewable energy target by 2030 set to 32% Representatives of the European Parliament and the Council reached provisional agreement on the share of energy from renewable sources in the energy mix by 2030, which should be 32%. A revision should be made in 2023 that could further increase this percentage. In addition, representatives agreed that 14% of fuels for transport should come from renewable sources by 2030. Furthermore, the proposal pro-

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motes greater consumer engagement in the energy generation and consumption process and increases the share of renewable energy sources in heating and cooling sector.

across the EU. The highest vacancy rate was recorded in the Czech Republic (4.8%), Belgium (3.5%) and Germany (2.9%), the lowest one in Greece (0.7%), Portugal and Spain (both countries 0.9%).

Let´s talk numbers!

Advantageous loans for Czech social enterprises The Commission signed a deal with Erste Group to provide a total of EUR 50 mil. in loans from the European Employment and Social Innovation Programme. Funds will go to support social enterprises in seven EU countries, including the Czech Republic, in the next five years, which start or develop their business and create jobs. Up to 500 businesses and non-governmental organizations will be able to obtain soft loans at a lower interest rate and with lower collateral requirements.

EUR 100 billion for Horizon Europe The European Commission presented a draft budget for the European Programme for Research and Innovation 2021-2027 called Horizon Europe. The Commission proposes to allocate EUR 100 billion to research and innovation activities. In addition, the Commission proposes to introduce several new elements, including the European Innovation Council, which should help with the application of the technologies with the greatest market potential, or research and innovation missions addressing various societal and industrial challenges. The Commission also wants to maximize innovation potential, particularly in countries lagging behind in this area, for example by synergies with the Structural and Investment Funds.

EU and euro area GDP increased by 0.4% in Q1 2018 According to Eurostat, GDP in both euro area and the EU28 increased by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2017, there is an even bigger improvement in growth of 2.5% in the euro area and 2.4% in the EU28. Poland and Latvia (+1.6%), Hungary and Finland (+1.2%) recorded the largest quarter-on-quarter growth rates, while the only negative growth was observed in Estonia (-0.1%). GDP growth in the Czech Republic reached +0.4% in the given period.

EUR 9.2 billion for new digital programme The European Commission announced the first ever EU programme dedicated to investing in digital areas as part of the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–2027. The Commission has identified a total of five sectors whose development should boost EU competitiveness and increase the EU's strategic digital capabilities. The Commission proposes EUR 9.2 billion for the programme, which should be divided into 5 categories, namely supercomputers (EUR 2.7 billion), artificial intelligence (EUR 2.5 billion), cyber security and trust (EUR 2 billion), digital skills (EUR 700 million) and ensuring a broad use of digital technologies across the economy and companies (EUR 1.3 billion).

Czech Republic has the highest job vacancy rate in the EU According to Eurostat, the job vacancy rate for the first quarter of 2018 was 2.1% in the euro area and 2.2% across the whole EU. Compared with Q4 2017, there was a growth of 0.1% in the euro area and 0.2%

In the world!

Negotiations with Australia launched The EU officially launched negotiations on a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement between the EU and Australia in mid-June in Canberra. The agreement aims to remove barriers to trade in goods and services, create opportunities for small and large businesses and also set ambitious rules in line with other EU trade agreements.

The first round of talks was held in Brussels from 2nd to 6th July.

EU introduced rebalancing measures on US products The European Commission adopted a regulation introducing rebalancing measures as a reaction to US tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium products.

The Regulation establishes additional customs duties on steel and aluminium products, agricultural products and other products with a total value of EUR 2.8 billion. US tariffs will affect European exports worth EUR 6.4 billion, and the EU is therefore planning to introduce compensatory measures worth another EUR 3.6 billion at a later stage. The regulation entered into force on 22nd June.

New EU trade defence instruments At the beginning of June, new EU trade defence instruments entered into force. They allow, in certain cases, to impose higher duties on imports of dumped and subsidized products and shorten the time of anti-dumping investigations. The investigation period should be reduced from the current 9 to 7 months, after which it will be possible to apply provisional measures. In particular cases, the new rules also allow to circumvent the so-called lesser duty rule and to impose higher duties in all anti-subsidy cases and anti-dumping cases where imported products were made from raw materials and energy provided at an artificially low price.

MEPs want Privacy Shield to be suspended Members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee called on the Commission to suspend the so-called Privacy Shield between the EU and the US because it does not provide adequate protection of personal data. In their resolution MEPs demand the data exchange agreement to be suspended if the United States fail to comply with the rules by 1st September 2018. The suspension should last until the US authorities have fully complied with its terms.

EU opens IPR case against China At the beginning of June, the EU filed a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Chinese legislation that undermines intellectual property rights of EU companies operating on the Chinese market. European firms coming to the Chinese market are forced to grant ownership or the right to use their technology to Chinese entities and do not have the opportunity to freely negotiate terms in technology transfer agreements.

According to the EU, these requirements are contrary to the WTO rules, and in particular the TRIPS Agreement.

Brought by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU

diplomatic event

From left: H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic, Ludmila Holková, Scientist and Pedagogue, and Professor Oldřich Kašpar

Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle la Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca H.E. Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico to the Czech Republic awarded two distinguished Czechs citizens with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award given by the Government of Mexico to foreigners for their outstanding services rendered to the Mexican nation or to humanity. The honor was given to Dr. Ludmila Holková and Professor Oldřich Kašpar with warm words from the ambassador: "Your excellent work represents a bridge of friendship that unites Mexico and the Czech Republic and it is an immense honor to impose the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, symbol of the origin, identity, and strength of Mexico."

Ludmila Holková interviewed by Czech Radio

Dr. Ludmila Holková, scientist and pedagogue recognized both in the Czech Republic and in Mexico, where she has been living since 1965. Mexicans appreciate her untiring work and effort in favor of the relationship between Mexico and the Czech Republic, which has been reflected in many scientific works and literary translations that bring the Mexican history and culture closer to the Czechs.

Professor Oldřich Kašpar, who has dedicated his career especially to the scientific and pedagogical activities related to the history and the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Latin America, especially Mexico, and the relationship of Mexico with the Czech Republic.

Professor Oldřich Kašpar interviewed by Freddy Valverde from Radio Prague - Czech Radio

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Czech & Slovak Leaders III/2018

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