Polish Market No.7 (286)/2019 SPECIAL EDITION BUSINESS

PU B LISHED SIncE 199 6 No. (7) 286 /2019 :: www.polishmarket.com.pl

SPECIAL EDITION

anna

Janczewska President and owner, MediM

p po ow w ee r r ff u u ll

business

woman An address by Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek, “Polish Market” President and Editor-in-Chief at the Pearls of the Polish Economy Gala, Royal Castle, 11th of December 2018

CONTENT

2. EDITORIAL – WOMEN IN POLAND. STATISTICS AND REALITY SPECIAL EDITION - BUSINESS WOMAN

3. WOMEN BUILDING BRIDGES. 60 MILLION CONGRESS. GLOBAL POLONIA SUMMIT 4. GLASS CEILING

16. WE TREAT PEOPLE FOR AGING – BARBARA JERSCHINA, MD, LUXMED GROUP

18. RAJ VILLA. ELEGANT AND ROMANTIC PLACE IN THE VERY HEART OF

NAŁĘCZÓW – HALINA ZUBRZYCKA, MD, OWNER, WELLNESS CENTRE RAJ VILLA AND VILLA AURELIA HOTEL & SPA

20. BEING A WOMEN IS OUR ASSET – KRYSTYNA BOCZKOWSKA,

6. YOUR OWN MOUNT EVEREST – ELŻBIETA POLAK, LUBUSKIE PROVINCE MARSHAL

8. WE ARE 135 YEARS OLD - ŚREDZKA SPÓŁDZIELNIA MLECZARSKA “JANA” 9. A NEW ERA IS DAWNING - KAROLINA TOKARZ, PRESIDENT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROMAG SA

10. BORN LEADERS – ANNA JANCZEWSKA, PRESIDENT AND OWNER,

PRESIDENT, BOSCH POLAND

22. CONNECTING WORLDS – ZOFIA DZIK, FOUNDER, HUMANITES FOUNDATION

24. THE GOAL IS NEAR – ALEX BARSZCZEWSKI, INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT

25. WE MAKE DECISIONS – AGNIESZKA SORA, MANAGING DIRECTOR,

MEDIM

GFK POLONIA INSTITUTE, PRESIDENT, POLISH ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC OPINION AND MARKETING RESEARCH FIRMS (OFBOR)

14. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN BUSINESS – DOROTA

26. CUTTING-EDGE MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS - AGATA SITKO, PRESIDENT,

HRYNIEWIECKA-FIRLEJ, PRESIDENT OF PFIZER POLSKA

GROUP AV

SPECIAL EDITION

7 (286)/2019

PUBLISHER: Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

(RYNEK POLSKI Publishers Co. Ltd.) PRESIDENT: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

SPECIAL EDITION

anna

Janczewska President and owner, MediM

p po ow w ee r r ff u u ll

business

woman Cover: ANNA JANCZEWSKA, President

and owner, MEDIM Photo: Bartosz Maciejewski

Photo source: www.shutterstock.com, www.commons.wikimedia.org unless otherwise stated

CONTRIBUTORS: Agnieszka Turakiewicz, Mirosław Wdzięczkowski

VICE - PRESIDENTS: Błażej Grabowski, Grażyna Jaskuła

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Agnieszka Charuba, Joanna Wiktoria Grabowska

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Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

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WRITERS/EDITORS: Jan Sosna, Maciej Proliński, Jerzy Bojanowicz, Jan Mazurek, Andrzej Kazimierski, Janusz Turakiewicz, Janusz Korzeń

Published articles represent the authors’ personal views only. The Editor and Publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for their contents.

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PU B LISHED SIncE 199 6

No. (7) 286 /2019 :: www.polishmarket.com.pl

TRANSLATION: Sylwia Wesołowska-Betkier, Agit

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EDITORIAL

WOMEN IN POLAND STATISTICS AND REALITY

IT SEEMS DIFFICULT TO FIND A TOPIC WHICH WOULD BE UNCONTROVERSIAL IN POLAND NOWADAYS. BUT TO TALK ABOUT THE FORMAL, LEGAL AND REAL STATUS OF WOMEN IN POLITICS, THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IS LIKE OPENING A PANDORA’S BOX. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST STATISTICS QUOTED BY A GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE, POLISH WOMEN ARE PAID LESS, ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS WHEN IT COMES TO MATERNITY LEAVES, THEY ARE TREATED WORSE THAN MEN, AND THEY ARE NOT ADEQUATELY INVOLVED IN POLITICS, WHICH DECIDES ABOUT THE SHAPE OF PUBLIC LIFE. THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS SEEMS EVEN TOUGHER. YET THIS IS ONLY PARTLY TRUE. Firstly, these views are belied by international studies and statistics, which show that Poland is at the forefront of societies which steadily improve their performance in resolving these issues. To give you a few examples. The World Bank has published the report “Women, business and law,” according to which, out of 187 countries, in only six women enjoy the same labour rights as men. Poland scored 93.75 out of 100 points in this study. The problem areas turned out to be unequal wages and pensions. In each of these categories Poles only scored 75 points. In Eurostat studies, Poland ranks fourth with a wage gap of 7% between women and men. In the PwC report “Women in Work Index 2018,” which analysed the situation of women on the labour market and their impact on the economy in 33 OECD countries, Poland ranked ninth, but it proved to be the highest climber, up 10 places as compared to 2000.

Secondly, women have always played a crucial role in Polish culture and the shaping of the national consciousness. In Polish history, women are part of a pantheon of illustrious and respected figures. Take Doubravka of Bohemia, the Czech princess who married Poland’s first historic ruler Mieszko I, and together with him converted the country to Christianity in 966; Mieszko’s daughter Świętosława, who became the Queen of the Vikings, mother of Canute the Great, King of Denmark and England; two Jadwigas, of Silesia and Kalisz, who co-engineered the revival of the Kingdom of Poland following a period of fragmentation; Queen Jadwiga (Hedvig) of Anjou whose marriage to the ruler of pagan Lithuania not only helped convert his country to Christianity, but also marked the emergence of a new European superpower – the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth; Queen Bona Sforza who introduced Poland

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to Italian Renaissance; and two French women – Marie Louise Gonzaga, who helped her royal husband defeat a Swedish invasion of Poland in the 17th century, and Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien, who successfully urged her Polish husband King John III Sobieski to mount a relief campaign to prevent Vienna from being overrun by Ottoman Turkish armies in 1683. And these are just a few of the characters who genuinely changed the course of European history, and whose names are undeservedly forgotten outside Poland.

And thirdly - Poles as a nation are very well aware how much they owe to Polish women. According to demographers, the male to female ratio in the country’s population was roughly 50/50 until the end of the 18th century. This balance was upset by the Napoleonic wars, when hundreds of thousands of Polish men were drafted into the armies of occupying powers (Austria, Prussia, Russia) – and by Napoleon himself to fight other nation’s wars. Much of the rest of Europe may have enjoyed relative peace throughout the latter part of the 19th century, but things could not have been more different in Poland. There were two national risings against Russian rule. Poles also joined the struggles during the Spring of Nations of 1848. As a result, the number of war widows soared alarmingly. Polish families learned to survive thanks to the strength and work of women. This was confirmed during World War I, when 3.5 million Polish men were forced to join the ranks of foreign armies, and in the struggle for national independence in its aftermath. Men fought on battlefronts, while the logistics, supplies and health care rested in women’s hands. World War II marked a repeat of the same grim pattern.

In 20th century statistics, the Polish family tree features yawning gaps in the number of births in certain years. There is no symmetry in the male to female ratio, either.

Time heals these wounds, but very slowly and in a fairly chaotic way. Even if Polish people do not wish to remember about them, they determine the cycles of the country’s economy. It is already evident that the role of women in the present cycle is crucial. In the last 30 years, women have outnumbered men among university graduates. They are well prepared for every job, in all positions. In the near future, raising the level of women’s labour force participation seems to be the only reserve left to sustain economic growth. Now, finally, everything seems to work in women’s favour.

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Editor-in-Chief President of Rynek Polski Publishers Co. Ltd.

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WOMEN BUILDING BRIDGES

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he 60 Million Congress - Global Polonia Summit supports and promotes women in business. Its aim is also to highlight the role of women in building the national identity. Golden Eagle Awards were presented in recognition of these and other merits at the Polish Museum in Chicago on June 1 by Alina Mikołajczyk and Katarzyna Sowacki, together with the Polish American Youth Council, with the support of Polish Women in Business. The purpose of the event was to honour personalities, organisations and institutions that have rendered special services to Poland and the Polish diaspora. The organisers’ idea was to show the Polish community and ordinary American citizens the achievements of Poles and people of Polish descent in various walks of life. The aim was also to motivate and inspire the younger generation to act for the benefit of the Polish community. The 60 Million Congress has been honoured at the event, as a project which brings together the people of Poland and Poles who live in various regions of the world. Alongside the Chicago congress, a parallel event was being held in London.

“The beginning of June was a time when the congress operated on a global scale. Member of the Organising Committee Grzegorz Fryc received the prize in Chicago. Another committee member, Kamil Szymański, opened the congress in London, and in between the panel discussions, I managed to complete arrangements for the coming edition

in Berlin. Both in Berlin and in London we received invitations to organise the Congress in many places, even very distant from Poland,” said Zbigniew Klonowski, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 60 Million Congress.

Among those who received the Golden Eagle award were: Rita Cosby, Halina Bielowicz, Dar Serca / Dorothy Malachowski, Łucja MirowskaKopeć, Mariusz Kotowski, Małgorzata Ptaszyńska, Rafal Stykowski, Marek Rudnicki, The Association of Polish Teachers in America / Ewa Koch and Helena Sołtys.

During the Golden Eagle Awards gala, honorary diplomas were also presented to Elżbieta Kochanowska–Michalik, for many years of activities in spreading Polish culture, and the Henryk Sienkiewicz School, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Polish Women in Business was established in 2006 as a development platform for businesses run by women and for exchanging information and experiences.

The aim of the Polish American Youth Council is to engage young people in activities for the benefit of the Polish diaspora and local communities, as well as to maintain ties with Poland and Polish and US organisations.

Another important event devoted to supporting women was a panel discussion at the 60 Million Congress in Berlin, which was organised jointly

with the Polki w Berlinie Association in Berlin.

Participants in the debate were successful women from Poland and Germany. It was a unique event whose aim was to show how important cooperation and communication between Polish women in foreign countries is. Creative discussions, inspiring conversations and an exchange of good energy, dominated the room. The idea was not just to exchange ideas, but it was also an excellent opportunity to show how important, ambitious and extremely bold Polish women who live in foreign countries are. They are not afraid to face new cultures and stereotypes that prevail in other countries. They have become a symbol and inspiration for others. Their voice matters in debates on subjects which are important for women nowadays. Six women leaders addressed the audience to share their experiences with others.

Among them were Marzena Nowak, President of the Polki w Berlinie Association in Berlin, Katarina Niewiedzial, plenipotentiary for integration and migration of the Berlin Senate, Ania Czechowska, board member of the AgitPolska association and a member of the Senate Council for migration and integration in Berlin, Kamila Schöll-Mazurek, a doctor of political sciences, lecturer at the European University Viadrina, Tatiana Staroń, Chancellor of the Collegium Balticum in Szczecin and local politician Klaudyna Droske, President of the PolishGerman Aid Effort.

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Glass ceiling

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BUSINESSWOMAN

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ccording to Statistics Poland data for 2018, women account for 52% of Poland’s population, and the feminisation rate is 107 (111 in urban areas, and 101 in the rural countryside.) There are more and more women in business - they already dominate health care and social services, education and catering. If you decide to develop your career, you can count on luck, or yourself. As shown by the example of women in managerial positions, their success is down to determination and hard work. What else has influenced their careers? HR consulting company HRK SA tries to find the answers.

A HRK survey encompassed 137 women holding high positions in organisations (69.6% of them work as a manager, 25% as a director, and 5.4% as a managing director/company president). Topics covered by the survey included career planning, development opportunities offered by the organisation, the employers’ approach to maternity leave and young mothers, and the way all this affects the development of women’s careers.

As many as 62% of the surveyed managers denied that they planned their career, only 38% admitted that from the very beginning they had a clearly set out career path. However, despite the lack of planning, most women said they were satisfied with the way things have turned out and their current position (79.3%.)

DO COMPANIES SUPPORT WOMEN? According to the survey, as many as 65.2% of companies give women support, mainly by providing them opportunities to participate in in-house and outside training, mentoring in the field of career planning, regular work assessment, and a clearly defined career path.

However, it is worth noting that almost 35% of women are not supported by their employers. It is true that companies offer them training, but it is often ill-adapted to their current position within the organisation or fails to meet their expectations. Work assessment, which is popular among many organisations, is not well assessed by those covered by the survey, either. 35.9% of the respondents said that it is not always an in-depth work assessment. It is only limited to annual or twice-yearly assessments without proper feedback.

Companies rarely offer a clearly defined career path. Women are not

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IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR ORGANISATION SUPPORT WOMEN IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT? outside training and courses 42.3% in-house training and courses 43.5% mentoring in career planning 9.8% regular work assessment 35.9% clearly defined career path 1.9% no support 34.8% sufficiently aware of what they need to do to get a promotion. There is also a lack of clear communication in this area, and rumours of “fixed promotions” are often heard in the corridors.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? If the organisation wants to increase the number of women in managerial positions, it should do a couple of things. According to the respondents, it is better to match work training to specific positions (23%), devote more time to mentoring (14%), and provide clear information about the promotion criteria (13%). Training turns out to be of particular interest to those covered by the survey.

The respondents turned out to be particularly interested in the development of communication, leadership, process streamlining, self-confidence and assertiveness. Other recommendations for companies include coaching, promotion of women’s achievements within the organisation, in-depth feedback, periodic work assessment and competitions for managerial positions.

WOMAN VS MAN Even though companies tend to pay lip service to diversity, men rather than women still tend to occupy managerial positions. 71.7% of the participants in the survey said that within their companies, men dominate senior positions, while according to 18.5%, the ratio is 50/50. Only 9.8% of women said female bosses are dominant within their organisation.

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BUSINESSWOMAN

71.7% OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SURVEY SAID THAT WITHIN THEIR COMPANIES, MEN DOMINATE SENIOR POSITIONS (...)

ONLY 9.8% OF WOMEN SAID FEMALE BOSSES ARE DOMINANT WITHIN THEIR ORGANISATION.

WHO HOLDS A SENIOR POSITION IN YOUR COMPANY? 65% of the respondents believe that in many companies, gender is still a decisive factor when it comes to promotion. It would seem that the “glass ceiling” is a thing of the past.

And yet, it is still the reason why women are not promoted or wrongly convinced that they will not be able to cope with high positions. According to the HRK survey, gender also affects wages. Although companies keep wage levels secret, based on generally available payroll rankings and office gossip, most workers try to find out what salary is appropriate for their position. The survey shows that education and experience do not prove crucial, gender appears to be a major factor as well, according to 46.7% of the respondents. Market data confirm the unequal treatment of women who occupy the same positions as men. On average, men can count on a gross salary which is PLN 800-900 higher than women.

WORKING MOTHERS Is motherhood postponed due to career considerations? Is motherhood badly perceived by employers? 52.2% of women with at least one child took part in the study. To find out whether the company supports mothers in their new role and how it deals with the issue of leave, HRK also put questions to women who have not had a child. According to those surveyed, 42.4% of companies do not support mothers in their new role, but 64.1% of the organisations are not adverse to maternity leave. Unfortunately, there are companies where there is a complete lack of understanding for mothers who need to leave work early, for example to pick up a child from the nursery, or to stay at home to take care of a sick child. Each attempt to leave early is met with reluctance and an attempt to make the woman feel guilty.

WOMEN ABOUT THEMSELVES They say that the most important features of a manager are knowledge, experience, self-confidence, empathy, assertiveness, restraint and self-discipline. In theory, these features are not

associated with gender, but it turns out in practice that women who possess these traits of character face a problem with career development. Asked what features an ideal manager should have, the respondents replied it is empathy (31%), courage and self-confidence (29%), and competence (14%).

Other features which were mentioned include firmness, decisiveness, communication skills, perseverance, goal orientation and being a gogetter. But according to the survey, many women do not see themselves as such, which appears to be a stumbling block in their careers. 39% of the respondents tend to suffer from low self-esteem and lack of confidence in their skills. Being able to combine family responsibilities with work (26%) and stereotypes (25%) are quoted as other stumbling blocks.

WHAT BLOCKS WOMEN? Combining family responsibilities with work 26% Low self-esteem 39% Stereotypes 25% Men’s approach to women 14% Excessive perfectionism 3% No support from other women 2%

ANY SOLUTIONS? Despite the growing number of women in business, are measures being taken to improve their situation? According to the majority of respondents, employers have begun to appreciate the competences, commitment and determination of women. Within some organisations, consultations have got underway on what changes to introduce to increase the participation of women in management structures. The introduction of various policies, such as the diversity policy, has made a considerable impact on improving the position of women within their organisation. But there is also a group of women who say nothing has changed. Maybe their employers could use some of the above tips to make women feel truly equal • with men in their workplace.

Source: HRK S.A. You can find the entire report at https://hrk.pl/pl/baza-wiedzy/raporty-branzowe

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BUSINESSWOMAN

YOUR OWN MOUNT EVEREST ELŻBIETA POLAK, Lubuskie Province Marshal, talks to “Polish Market’s” Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

What are the expectations of communities and associations regarding women’s rights in Polish regions? What steps are taken by the local government to satisfy them?

In the Lubuskie province, we listen to the voice of women.

That is why we have been organising a regional women’s congress for the past ten years. Last year, on the one hundredth anniversary of women’s voting rights in Poland, we organised women’s conventions in 15 small towns. We gathered a lot of information during these meetings. First of all, women want economic equality, they want to earn as much as men do in the same position. To compensate for this discrepancy, a sum of USD 10 billion is needed. It’s a huge gap, which translates into lower old age and disability pensions. Women also expect more systemic support for raising children, and a guarantee that they will be able to return to the same job once their maternity leave is over. It is first of all about maintaining standards of perinatal care and providing institutional care for infants, increasing the number of places in public nurseries and kindergartens, and promoting active fatherhood. Many voices also concern health PM

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care. Here, co-financing of in vitro fertilisation procedures appears as very important, and a more liberal anti-abortion law, but not only that. Women want better access to medical services, preventive and prenatal examinations. In short, women expect support, security and equal treatment.

The role of local government in meeting these demands is fundamental, because we do not need to wait for the government to do something for us. We just do it. We finance new nurseries and kindergartens, day care and 24-hour care facilities for senior citizens, prevention programmes such as “Stop diabetes,” “Healthy lungs of Lubuskie province residents,” a rehabilitation programme, an in-vitro programme, and cancer screening and therapy. We have also launched a breast milk bank. In order to improve the availability of treatment, we are building the Mother and Child Health Centre, and we have built a modern Radiotherapy Centre. We also support women in the field of public activity. We implement educational programmes, we have civic initiative budgets for young people, senior citizens and rural communities. We also strongly promote

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BUSINESSWOMAN

the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life. I deliberately use my office for this purpose. For women to be active, they must be appreciated. That is why I promote diversity and inclusion of women in decision-making circles.

The Competition for Business Leaders, Entrepreneurial Women, Local Government Leaders and the newly set up Regional Women’s Council, are meant to help in this respect.

What is the council’s role?

It is envisaged as an advisory and consultative body attached to the office of the province marshal. It is meant to submit initiatives of its own. Its tasks will include monitoring and analysis of women’s needs in the region in areas such as health care, the labour market - where the goal is to help women enter employment and return to work - social policies and raising awareness about diversity and inclusion. We want to meet the expectations of communities and associations working for women’s rights.

PM

In what way does the region help women adapt to the changing demands of the labour market?

We support the creation of new nurseries and kindergartens, and we increase the number of places in existing facilities. This means that young mothers can safely return to work, for they will be certain that their children are well looked after. But that is not all. With the support of EU funding, we have also organised a series of meetings entitled “Mum can do it all,” addressed to women who return to the labour market once their maternity, parental and subsequent child-raising leave is over.

During meetings with women we suggested how to get support for starting a business, internships, and improve competences through participation in courses and training. All this is meant to help women return to the labour market. This policy is also actively implemented at the marshal’s office itself. Every year, several dozen babies are born to my employees. The women are not afraid of getting pregnant, because they know that they have a guaranteed right to get back to their position. But we know that elsewhere it is not always the case. And that’s why women need to take care of their rights. We must participate in adjusting Poland. Thus, I encourage women to be active, to take matters into their own hands, to stop waiting for something to happen, to join in the decision-making process.

PM

You are Poland’s only female province marshal. Why is it so difficult for women to reach the top?

Unfortunately, Poland has failed to develop a system of equal opportunities for men and women. I am sure about that.

It’s not just about equal rights, but also about better access to nurseries and kindergartens. It is also about equal economic treatment. Women earn less, they have lower pensions. The one hundredth anniversary of women’s voting rights is the reason for us not only to celebrate in the streets, but also to take control - to make decisions and take responsibility for them.

I believe that women are able to notice what men can’t. But if we only watch life passing by outside our window, we stand to lose. We must believe that we can make things happen, that the sky is the limit. Management in the public sphere requires both PM

WE NEED DIVERSITY. A LOT OF STRENGTH LIES IN PARTNERSHIP, BECAUSE WHEN YOU BUILD A TEAM, GENDER DOES NOT MATTER. EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, COMPETENCE, DILIGENCE AND HONESTY COUNT, WHICH ARE INDEPENDENT OF GENDER AFTER ALL.

a man’s overview and a woman’s analytical skills. Women also bring in a lot of warmth, real emotions and values to human relations, because they are focused on team work rather than competition. We are consistent in action and effective, which makes us successful. This is not to say that I am urging women to build their own republic. We need diversity. A lot of strength lies in partnership, because when you build a team, gender does not matter. Experience, knowledge, competence, diligence and honesty count, which are independent of gender after all.

You have made it. What should you do to make it to the top? What is the recipe for success?

It is simply a lot of hard work, which calls for consistency and determination, and the ability to cope with failures. You need a lot of experience. Without the right qualifications, reliability and skilful time management, it is impossible. Family support is also very important. When I was promoted, my husband took a parental leave to stay at home with our sons. And my children not only accepted the fact that they have such an active mother, but I also reckon they are proud of me. They are convinced that you need to fight to the bitter end. It is also an important motto for me. Don’t give up. Try to break the glass ceiling. You need to fight for your dreams. As the well-known Polish mountain climber Krzysztof Wielicki once said: Each of us has their own Mount Everest. You can climb it if you really • want to..

PM

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WE ARE 135 years old

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his year the Średzka Spółdzielnia Mleczarska “Jana” dairy cooperative is celebrating the 134th anniversary of its establishment. On October 15, the firm was featured at the Polish Economic Exhibition in Warsaw, organised by the Polish President’s Office to mark the centenary of the regaining of independence by Poland.

With the assistance of the National Museum of Agriculture and Agricultural-Food Industry in Szreniawa, Średzka Spółdzielnia Mleczarska “Jana” from Środa Wielkopolska, held a workshop on Warsaw’s Piłsudskiego Square. The main purpose of the workshop was to present the traditions of dairy production and to teach the participants how to use traditional methods for manufacturing dairy products. The presentations involved methods of churning and making cottage cheese using traditional presses.

“We have managed to maintain all our customs and traditions for 134 years, while introducing new methods to support the traditional technologies in use at our dairy cooperative. That is why many of our products bear the ‘Jakość Tradycja’ (Quality & Tradition) certificate.

To be worthy of this mark, our products had to undergo a very long series of highly specific tests. We also needed to prove that we had been making these products for at least 50 years. Our products are known for their excellent quality and are free of preservatives, which is very important. Our cream cheese, cottage cheese and kefir products are available

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both in Poland and abroad. In 2016 our exports reached 16.5% in value terms. This is a lot, particularly for a producer of fresh goods with a short shelf life that need to be refrigerated. Throughout the last 25 years almost everything has changed here except for the address of our cooperative,” said the cooperative's President.

“Our products are based on raw milk coming from the Wielkopolskie region, notably from the Środa Wielkopolska and Poznań areas, which are ecologically sound, which is a guarantee of. top quality milk. In the early 1990s we took a number of effective measures to promote a professional approach to the quality of raw milk. This was connected with refrigeration directly after milking and the gradual liquidation of buying stations and production divisions. Dairies were replaced by direct collection and the majority of production was moved to the main facility, while the quality of raw milk was gradually increased to keep ahead of the competitors.

As part of the measures to ensure compliance with EU requirements we have carried out a number of projects involving changes in the facility’s infrastructure, techniques and technologies and a considerable increase in production capacity. Over the last 25 years the number of suppliers has decreased, although in overall terms milk production increased to a significant degree as a result of consolidation of suppliers and higher milk yield per cow,” said Maria Czwojdrak, President of Średzka Spółdzielnia Mleczarska “Jana”.

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A NEW ERA IS DAWNING

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KAROLINA TOKARZ, President and Managing Director of PROMAG S.A. talks to “Polish Market.”

What is the philosophy of Promag? What place do women occupy in it?

With the help of its products and services, and professional advisers, PROMAG introduces companies into the LOGISTICS 4.0 era. Thus we attach great importance to the development of our own technical solutions, know-how and investment in employee skills, which allows us to implement even the most complex and technologically advanced engineering projects in the field of intralogistics. We do not want to be just an integrator of intralogistics solutions, but also an integrator of the entire industry, scientific community and the community of young logistics workers. That is why we have launched the PROMAG WAREHOUSE CENTER. It is Poland’s first conference, exhibition and training facility dedicated to the logistics environment. Within an indoor area of 1,600 sq. m. there is a conference room and a practical multimedia exhibition entitled WAREHOUSE OF THE FUTURE. The central part of this exhibition is a fully automated transport, palletising, storage and product identification line, which is equipped with the latest solutions in the field of automation, robotics and product identification. Women play an important role in our organisation and its development. They hold key positions. They PM

perform very well in implementing new ideas and solutions in business practice. They are able to multitask, which helps them to have a broader view of emerging opportunities and threats.

Women have a huge potential which we use in the development of our company.

Promag wins new markets, and keeps raising standards. What has the company achieved in the past year or so? What targets have you set for the next few months?

Facing recruitment problems and the need to compete in an increasingly demanding global market, Polish companies reach for the latest solutions in the field of automation, robotics, digitisation and artificial intelligence.

That is why we constantly develop our range of automated internal transport and storage systems. We are currently preparing for the first implementation project at a customer’s facility of our proprietary, fully automated AutoMAG MOVER storage system. We hope that it will enjoy the same popularity among customers as the AutoMAG semi-automated system. We also automate our processes by implementing new technologies which support sales, production, logistics and marketing. The past year was a period of hard work, which translated into good results. We won lucrative contracts PM

and received awards, including the BEST IN POLAND award for metal furniture, PRODUCT OF THE YEAR for the LION-TRUCK trolley PLUS featuring a Li-Ion battery, the “Wprost” weekly magazine EAGLE 2018, as well as the DIAMOND OF THE POLISH ECONOMY and PEARL OF THE POLISH ECONOMY awards.

I am glad that my professional and public activities have been noticed and appreciated.

The Hipolit Cegielski Society has honoured me with the Organic Labour Leader title, Honorary Hipolit statuette and the Jan Paderewski statuette.

In what way does your engineering knowledge affect your relations within the male-dominated business world?

Engineering knowledge certainly helps in dealing with employees and business partners.

It is easier for us to communicate, because we speak the same language. It also comes of use in making strategic decisions in the area of new technologies which are added to our product range, and are introduced within our organisation. I reckon that even a businesswoman with no engineering knowledge could make it in the tech industry, because women are versatile.

But based on my own experience, I know that it is easier for an engineer to manage a tech company like PROMAG S.A. • PM

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ANNA JANCZEWSKA, President and owner of the MEDIM company, is interviewed for “Polish Market” by Jerzy Mosoń.

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Photo: Bartosz Maciejewski

LEADERS

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BUSINESSWOMAN It seems that in some industries, men in high positions are a rarity. Can they feel threatened by the forward march of female managers? Is this the end of male supremacy in business in general?

Well, no, and I hope it will never happen. But certainly the voice of women in business is heard more and more. Yet according to statistics, men always tend to be ahead. Currently, women are catching up in terms of what used to be practically impossible, or very difficult, before the year 1989.

They are now owners and manage their own companies. I do not see these trends as a threat, but as a way of creating equal opportunities and diversity, which I perceive as the healthiest for the market, i.e. company boards made up of men and women.

PM

How does it relate to the readiness to undergo treatment and its effectiveness?

A scared person is unnecessarily under more stress, which is an obstacle to the treatment process and, first of all, to understanding the necessity of the therapy and the effort involved in recovering.

There are many people in Poland, and in other countries of course, who know how to communicate with patients.

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Is there a systemic solution that needs to be used?

I am against all systemic solutions, such as employment quotas, because their introduction could lead to distortions - things like that have already happened. I believe that women are good enough, and more often better than men, in carrying out more ambitious tasks, and gain more responsible positions without the help of diversity quotas.

PM

In the 1990s, nobody seemed to think about the need to support women who wanted something more than a happy family. You didn’t receive any support from anyone, did you?

I have worked hard for my current professional position. I started out before the 1990s came along.

I was involved in introducing foreign medical companies to the Polish market, working for a staterun export-import company. Then I became the director of the medical department of the Polish branch of a German company. When, following the collapse of the old system, it turned out that you could do business on your own, I realised that what I was doing for someone else, I could do on my own.

So, my husband and I decided to set up MEDIM. PM

You had it all cut out for you, you had an insight into the industry, you were familiar with the business world. But you also had some uphill struggles, didn’t you?

At the beginning, the most difficult task was to manage a team of sixty people. Although

I graduated from the University of Economics in Katowice, it was at the time when the laws governing the economy were not clearly explained, or distorted, and in fact, I wasn’t quite prepared to run a business. I managed to do it through training, reaching for the right literature and constant selfimprovement. Which is not to say that I never lost my bearings. But this was also a valuable learning experience.

You decided to be active in an industry which is underfunded by the state. Polish health care in the early 1990s was in a deplorable state. Did these shortcomings prove to be an opportunity?

The needs were enormous and they still exist today, they are determined by the rapid progress which occurs the field of medical technologies.

Medical technologies are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and one of the most innovative. There are some 500,000 products used in diagnostics, therapy and treatment of disabilities.

Yes, without a doubt, health care deficits mean opportunities for private business, because what is the most valuable for each of us, is health. The Polityka zdrowotna portal recently reported that the level of investment in the development of the health care system in Poland remains one of the lowest in Europe. In 2017, per capita investment outlays on health care in Poland amounted to less than USD 2, while in EU countries the corresponding figure was USD 2.711, and the OECD average was USD 4.003. It’s a telling sign of how much more needs to be done.

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Could you explain one thing to me. You enter one hospital, and it is modern, clean, it has smiling staff, good equipment, and then you go to another hospital in another part of the same city, and you have the impression that you’re back in the 1940s. How is this possible?

Let me put it this way: the former hospital has been unlucky in terms of management.

PM

I probably wouldn’t feel well in the minister’s shoes. First of all, I would take stock of the current status of all areas of the hospital’s operation, and define the problems that exist there. Various tools serve this purpose. For sure I would need a good financial and restructuring specialist. I would audit the hospital in line with Lean Management principles. This method is more and more commonly used and is effective, for instance in detecting sources of wasteful practices in every facility, including a hospital. The goal of Lean Management is to develop a plan for a rational and effective organisation.

In what ways do hospitals waste money?

Cost analysis is not always properly conducted, and the conclusions drawn from it do not always lead to appropriate corrective measures. There are many types of waste: of time, financial resources and employee potential. There are many examples of wasteful practices: the lack of time coordination, which may cause waiting time for procedures to lengthen, uneven division of labour, as a result of which some staff members are snowed under and others have little to do, unnecessary shifting around of staff and patients, unnecessary tests, or tests repeated due to shoddy work, and unnecessary hospitalisation. In addition to the waste of time, there is also a waste of human potential and human creativity, while suggestions coming from the staff are often ignored. If a person needs to deal with these harsh realities and red tape day in, day out, instead of focusing on treating patients, they become frustrated. This affects the quality of their work and treatment results. In OECD countries, up to 20% of financial expenses is wasted. I daresay that this percentage is bigger in Poland.

PM

But the same standards apply to all?

The fact that standards are in force, does not automatically mean that the hospital is performing well, and that patients are satisfied with it. There is this saying in Polish, the fish stinks from the head down. But that’s not the only reason. Often the lack of proper owner supervision, and the lack of correct and timely decisions, are the reason why a hospital is in poor shape. In general, Polish health care is badly underfinanced, as evidenced by some of the lowest health care spending rates in Europe in relation to GDP.

There is also the question of equipment.

Why do some clinics use devices that do not guarantee reliable test results?

Well, it’s the issue of attestation. Under existing regulations, equipment like X-ray machines and ultrasound devices, should be tested from time to time, but not all clinics do it, because additional costs are involved. From time to time, the Supreme Audit Office carries out inspections and, unfortunately, the results are not too optimistic. Faulty equipment should never be used. I believe that managers should be penalised for such malpractices. Faulty equipment means a wrong diagnosis or even a threat to a patient’s life. But outsourcing maintenance to unauthorised, untrained individuals or companies, and the use of spare parts from unknown sources, is still a fact.

Here’s a challenge: Anna Janczewska takes over the Ministry of Health for two years, but first she needs to fix a hospital. What are your first moves? How to make the hospital function well?

Is it?

Some hospitals want to save money, but such savings are illusory, because the costs and social consequences of using poorly serviced equipment can be huge.

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THE VOICE OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS IS HEARD MORE AND MORE. YET ACCORDING TO STATISTICS, MEN ALWAYS TEND TO BE AHEAD.

Since it all costs so much, wouldn’t it be good to follow the Danish example of prioritising preventive medicine?

You’re right. Prevention is the cheapest and most effective way to prevent health problems.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health has allocated only about PLN 150 million for this purpose. Even if we take into account the additional expenses borne by local government, it is still a drop in the ocean. After all, investing in prevention, health promotion and education, determines short-term and long-term effectiveness and efficiency of the health care system.

We also know from the experience of other European countries that each euro invested in prevention means at least two to five euro savings for the system. Currently, per capita we invest in preventive medicine five times less than Germany, for example. To change it, bold political decisions are needed, because economics and common sense clearly indicate that investments should be higher.

PM

Where to start?

With the basics, which means education in healthy eating and ways to cope with stress. And stress is extra cortisol in our body, which is the cause of many diseases, including more and more common autoimmune diseases. This kind of education should start in primary school and even in kindergarten. As they say, as the twig is PM

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bent, so grows the tree. We need the Ministry of Health to monitor advertising which often misleads customers or encourages people to eat unhealthy products. One commercial, for instance, shows a sumptuous spread, and tries to convince you to use a specific supplement, which is supposedly effective in removing the effects of overeating.

Do you use any gadgets that support a healthy lifestyle? What would you recommend?

Many of them should not be called gadgets, because they help you eat healthy food. I have a low-speed juicer at home. I drink a lot of vegetable juices, I try to eat the whole fruit, or mix it with nuts and grains. I have a water ioniser. I also use a hydrogen cup. Healthy water is needed for every cell in our body to function properly. I do not use a microwave, of course. Instead, I recommend a steamer. Contrary to appearances, in order to live healthily, you do not need too many gadgets, you need knowledge about healthy eating and common sense.

Whenever possible, I try to eat products which are not chemically processed, indeed which are as little processed as possible. I don’t fry much.

In nutrition, I use the old Chinese rule: five days for health, and two for pleasure. If you get it right, it guarantees a good figure and well-being. Of course, not forgetting keeping fit. According to a team of British scientists, you do not need to PM

walk 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy, just 7,500.

I add daily yoga and Nordic walking, seasonal swimming, skiing and golf. I am also a fan of meditation. It brings numerous health benefits, which is scientifically proven. It triggers a kind of neurochemical revolution within the body. It helps to reduce blood pressure, boost your immunity, reduce inflammation, improve mental faculties, delay cellular aging and calm the mind. These are just some of the benefits. Meditation is appreciated in France, for example, where university faculties have been set up for health professionals dealing with meditation and neuroscience.

• ANNA JANCZEWSKA For 30 years, she has been the President and owner of Medim, one of Poland’s leaders in the distribution and promotion of medical equipment in the field of minimally invasive surgery and hospital hygiene. As of 2012 she has served as the health minister in the Business Center Club Economic Shadow Cabinet.

She is a member of the Council for Public Health attached to the office of the Minister of Health.

She is also a member of the Innovation for Health Think-Tank Programme Board. In 2017, Medim was awarded the Business Champion Award by the Businessman Magazine. In 2018, she received the Polish Business Leader golden statuette, an award for Polish entrepreneurship leaders granted by the Business Center Club every year.

RELAX LIKE A ROYAL

AT THE CASTLE SPA CENTRE

• Wellness area (swimming pool, dry sauna, jacuzzi) • Relaxation Zone • SPA parlours • Gym and mini gym • Beach volleyball courts • Tennis courts • Scenic Castle Park • Amazing walks, cycle tracks and horse riding trails The Castle SPA & Wellness Centre perfectly complements active recreation at Kliczków Castle. Relaxing and de-stressing treatments will make you perfectly relaxed, and a carefully selected menu in the FIT option will positively affect your well-being.

In the wellness centre you will be taken care of by qualified and experienced staff who apply world-class products and offer an extensive range of body and facial treatments. In the Kliczków Castle beauty zone we offer numerous rejuvenating and beauty bio-treatments.

To cater for the diverse needs of our clients, we have developed an extensive range of package offers, where everyone will find something just for them.

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BUSINESSWOMAN

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN BUSINESS

In the following remarks written for “Polish Market,” DOROTA HRYNIEWIECKA-FIRLEJ, President of Pfizer Polska argues that the strength of a business team is based on openness and respect for diversity.

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anaging diversity in business is a topic which is increasingly taken up by managers of the largest organisations. This trend shows that diversity is becoming one of the key elements of corporate culture in many companies. It is beginning to play a growing role in image building. It is reflected in the development of the professional path and helps to build the company’s market position. The reason for this is very simple in my opinion. Diversity is a natural force which allows you to create more, it means being open to the outside world and the ability to approach business from many different angles. It is a chance to learn from each other and share different experiences. All these elements build the strength of the team, the strength of the organisation. In my opinion, a business has a much greater chance of developing and succeeding when it is based on dialogue and mutual respect for diversity, different points of view and ideas. This diversity gives us strength and builds our competitiveness on the market.

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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ABOVE DIVISIONS

When it comes to diversity, we should look at it from many angles.

In the era of an ongoing public debate, diversity is marked by strong emotions related to the perception, needs and expectations of different communities and milieus, as well as the polarisation of people due to their roots, religion, ethnicity and world view.

Meanwhile, being open to diversity means the ability to accept each and every social, religious and ideological group.

Besides, diversity in business means going the extra mile, it is a multi-faceted approach to equality. Diversity and Inclusion in business is not only about tolerance and respect for different outlooks, but also openness to inclusion and building team strength and company strength by involving people with diverse

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BUSINESSWOMAN experiences, a different outlook on life, coming from different environments, cultures and communities. It is also about respect for quotas and taking advantage of generational differences, and sometimes a completely different work ethos and business approach.

Diversity and full involvement of employees brings many benefits - it stimulates our creativity and innovation, and gives space for talent to grow - all of this translates into the steady development of the entire organisation and builds its competitiveness on the market.

TEAM STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY

It is worth keeping in mind that an organisation is the people who work for it. I am convinced that people are the main and the most important driving force behind any activity. At Pfizer, we strongly believe in people, which is why we give them freedom and room to develop, be fulfilled and to creatively join in building the business. Proof of our openness to the idea of Diversity and Inclusion is our corporate culture based on key values: COURAGE, EQUITY, EXCELLENCE and JOY. This proves our determination in our daily work to improve the quality of public health and achieve breakthroughs which will change the lives of patients.

Since we value openness and a culture of dialogue and respect, at Pfizer we promote the Straight Talk communication model which allows a lot of openness and provides room to express views freely and to present one’s own vision of the world. Thanks to this approach, we are all partners, and we all build a work environment in which each of us can present their point of view.

Equality in business also means respect for diversity quotas. At Pfizer this is very well reflected in numbers. At the helm of Pfizer Poland stands a woman, 60% of positions on the company’s board in Poland is held by women. These proportions also translate into general employment statistics in our company, where as many as 70% of the staff are women.

It is also extremely important for us to share knowledge and to foster an exchange of experiences between generations, hence at Pfizer we focus on diversity in this area as well. Differences between generations are not a hurdle for us. At Pfizer we invest both in young people who build their career path, and in specialists with many years of experience. Sometimes the age difference between the youngest (24) and the oldest employee (64) is as much as 40 years. It is a great source of pride for us that we can connect generations.

Respect for diversity and equality is also reflected in the company’s internal documents, which outline policies regarding business conduct, and the Diversity Charter signed by Pfizer Polska in 2017.

I DO MY BEST TO BUILD AN ENVIRONMENT OF TOLERANCE AND RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY BOTH IN MY PRIVATE AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE. FOR ME, NON-UNIFORMITY IS A NATURAL FORCE WHICH ALLOWS US TO CREATE MORE AND SEE THE WORLD IN A MULTIDIMENSIONAL WAY. By adhering to our values, we give space and meaning to our employees to enable each of us, at every level of the organisation, to manage their area of competence in their daily work, in the conviction that their work contributes to and builds the company’s results. This responsibility also means involving people in team work for the common good, and creating interdisciplinary teams with different experience and business approach which work together to achieve the best results. We are open to discussion to implement breakthrough projects, focus on what matters, and assign responsibilities in a clear and straightforward way. We assess the results of our work, and finally we appreciate individual input and team commitment, because we believe that satisfaction with our successes gives our team members wings and motivates them to further action. For us, the key value in effective work is EQUITY - a value which sets our standards. Every person deserves to be noticed, listened to and cared for. It can be achieved as long as we are open, and act honestly and ethically. This way of acting allows us to overcome differences within our team and to work together to eliminate inequalities in healthcare.

Our openness to look at the world from different perspectives also means respect for cultural and religious diversity. Our colleagues come from different cultures, they are followers of different religions. In our team we have people from seven different countries, including non-European countries. It is an honour for us to build a team together with them, to learn and gain new experiences.

For me personally, acceptance for diversity, individualism and the freedom to express oneself means something more. It is inscribed in my DNA. According to my philosophy of “Open minds, open doors,” I do my best to build an environment of tolerance and respect for diversity both in my private and professional life. For me, non-uniformity is a natural force which allows us to create more and see the world in a multidimensional way.

Currently, as the head of such a large organisation, I feel personally responsible for providing people with a space in which they can feel at ease with their religion, culture, sexual orientation, outlook and approach to business development.

My dream is to build a corporate culture in which people speak a language of dialogue and respect otherness and manifest mutual understanding. I know that this is not an easy task, but to achieve a goal you need to take small steps. Thus, since I assumed the position of co-chairperson of the Council for Diversity and Social Inclusion in the European structures of Pfizer a few months ago, every day I pay attention to the needs of people and encourage them to be open towards other people, to be curious, to build a place where we would all like to work until retirement and beyond that.

In my opinion, Diversity and Inclusion in business is now another step towards the development of the personnel policy of many organisations and a new approach to building dialogue in business.

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WE TREAT PEOPLE FOR AGING “An overwhelming majority of Polish women start visiting aesthetic medicine clinics only after they have turned 40,” says BARBARA JERSCHINA, MD, LuxMed Group. She tells “Polish Market” that aging is a disease, which needs to be prevented and treated.

The queue to your surgery is longer than to an internist seeing patients with flu symptoms. Why are there such crowds in Polish aesthetic medicine clinics?

Polish women want to be beautiful. They have always liked to take care over their appearance. In the past, when Poland was a communist country and there was a shortage of fabrics on the market, Polish women knew how to make a dress out of anything and look wonderful. However, aesthetic medicine was not as easy to substitute for. So not all of us looked wellgroomed. But times have changed and aesthetic medicine developed further. We can now prolong the prime of our life and reverse the clock, even if we have somewhat neglected our daily care of ourselves. This happens quite often because after pregnancy we do not always have time to immediately take care of our belly, sometimes we lack money and we have to devote our time to children. As a result, it is only between 40 and 50 years of age that women start to do something about their appearance.

They decide to have treatments so as to look good on a beach, in a bikini and in bed with their husband. They want to feel free, they want to be beautiful. They have always wanted to be so.

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You said that in the past Polish women had made clothes for themselves out of anything. Scarlett O’Hara used curtains to sew a beautiful dress for herself and she looked great.

Perhaps one just needs to use a good cream to look good?

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Creams are used mainly for protective care, for example as protection against the sun. One should remember that our skin absorbs no more than 2% of what we put on it. Of course some people, perhaps because of laziness or for the sake of saving, would like everything that they put on their face to be absorbed into the body deep down to the muscles. But this would likely result in a sudden death. Preparations for daily use are not intended to get deep into the body and have contact with blood. Our skin is a protective barrier, which does not let harmful substances in. And that’s good, especially as we inhale pollutants and bacteria through our respiratory system.

But some producers try to convince us that their creams act very deep inside the skin.

That’s not true, although of course moisturising and nourishing the skin is necessary. For home therapies we recommend cleansing cosmetics, delicate peeling creams, sun creams, and a delicate make-up in summer to protect the skin against ultraviolet radiation. The rest is just marketing. Hundreds of thousands of people work to convince us about something. It is difficult to resist it. The same is the case with clothes, buying things we do not need and excessive buying.

PM

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Some people buy microdermabrasion devices for home use.

Are such treatments safe?

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BUSINESSWOMAN

If done in the wrong way, dermabrasion damages the lipid layer and may cause deep discoloration, capillary ruptures, chronic erythema and other skin problems.

What treatment should a person visiting an aesthetic medicine clinic for the first time choose?

The first visit should begin with cleansing the skin with the use of professional equipment.

Then, we can fill skin and bone losses. We perform such treatments as Geneo, Silc Peel and Hydrofacial Aquapure. We use special exfoliating tips. Depending on the need, we apply vitamin capsules and masks on the skin.

All the vitamin preparations we use have been tested and do not cause any reactions. It is worth stressing that the deep cleansing of the skin is actually a medical treatment, which helps with problems associated with acne, dry skin and consequences of hot weather.

PM

What is now the number-one trend in aesthetic medicine?

Following aesthetic medicine treatments patients should look naturally and it should be hard to tell whether their appearance is a result of the treatments or whether they have simply been born beautiful. This is not so easy and requires taking care of the patient for many years. It’s like a beautiful shoe: it seems to us that its design is simple, but if we had to make the shoe by ourselves it would turn out to be extremely difficult.

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In many cases, this natural look is hard to find. Is it a result of mistakes?

If the face is filled too much and swelled it means that someone has failed to do a good job. There are many people who have a distorted perception of themselves. It is usually easy to talk such persons into choosing an inappropriate treatment.

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What can one tell a beautiful woman who insists on having an unnecessary treatment, which will do her more harm than good?

I try to teach people common sense. If that doesn’t help I try to do the job in such a way that the patient still looks good. Those whom I refuse an unnecessary treatment probably look for physicians who will meet their need for change. And you can certainly find such physicians. Money can do everything.

I was once visited by a patient from America.

He had a fine line near his eye and insisted PM

on it being filled. I said such things are not done. Of course, he went to someone else. The result was two swelled bags under his eyes, bags which made his eyes almost invisible. He came back to me. I asked: “Are you satisfied?”

He answered: “Well, I no longer have the fine line.” I made no further comment because it wouldn’t have been polite, but the patient did not look good. What is more, fillers applied unnecessarily may cause long-term problems with swelling.

You mentioned the American patient.

Are there many foreign clients in Poland?

For sure, there are many of them in cities close to Polish borders, but I do not have exact statistics. However, there is two-way tourism in aesthetic medicine. If a Polish patient finds a cheaper but equally good service in, say, the Czech republic or Lithuania, and the distance from their home to the clinic is similar, they will probably choose the foreign specialist. Just as is the case with German patients choosing Polish doctors.

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What do people know about aesthetic medicine? Do they confuse it with plastic surgery? What mistakes do they make?

They confuse various things, even botulinum toxin with hyaluronic acid.

I have encountered, even in quite good magazines, articles not checked by a physician whose authors confused botulinum toxin with hyaluronic acid. It’s like confusing a Ferrari with Fiat. Both are cars, both begin with the letter F, but are not the same thing.

Aesthetic medicine and plastic surgery are two separate branches of medicine. Plastic surgery includes reconstructive surgery, which means that plastic surgeons first learn how to perform post-traumatic reconstructions. Of course, there is also aesthetic plastic surgery, which is most often confused with aesthetic medicine. Aesthetic plastic surgery deals, for example, with breast procedures and the lifting of droopy eyelids, which can make it difficult to apply make-up or can even disrupt vision.

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Can aesthetic medicine bring any health benefits?

Aesthetic medicine is beneficial in cancer prevention because aging skin is more prone to lesions, caused for example by ultraviolet light. Ruptured capillaries may also have negative consequences. Untreated small lesions may lead to ruptured capillaries, PM

AESTHETIC MEDICINE AND PLASTIC SURGERY ARE TWO SEPARATE BRANCHES OF MEDICINE.

rosacea, vascular inf lammations and discolorations, which may turn into more or less malignant skin cancers. Ultimately, they will have to be excised, but it is not a task for aesthetic medicine.

And what about lasers? What are they for?

Lasers can even be used to cut glass so why not use them to cut skin. Everything depends on the type of laser and tip used. There are lasers intended for aesthetic gynaecology and lasers for skin peeling treatments. They are used to reduce discoloration and thickening, and to generally improve the condition of the skin.

The Aerolase, which can be used in summer, is a novelty. It is a new-generation neodymium-YAG laser. It can be used to treat many diseases, like rosacea, acne, various vascular lesions, discolorations, erythema, ruptured capillaries. We also have equipment which, based on ultrasound or radio frequency, delivers heat to tissues at various depths to cause coagulation and regenerate and tighten the skin.

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What would you like to tell people who avoid visits to aesthetic medicine clinics and say that they prefer to age with dignity?

Our generation is the first one which has access to medical procedures which may slow down aging processes and to some extent reverse the clock so that we can enjoy life more.

As aesthetic medicine specialists, we see aging as a disease, although geriatricians do not quite agree with us. And having concluded that aging is a disease, we encourage people to take prophylactic measures and when time comes we want to treat them for aging • PM

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BUSINESSWOMAN

RAJ VILLA

ELEGANT AND ROMANTIC PLACE IN THE VERY HEART OF NAŁĘCZÓW HALINA ZUBRZYCKA, MD, owner of the Wellness Centre Raj Villa and Villa Aurelia Hotel & Spa

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BUSINESSWOMAN

hat one can say about Nałęczów is that it is one of Poland’s most picturesque garden cities, located between the city of Lublin and Kazimierz Dolny on the Vistula river. Surrounded by two rivers, Bystra and Bochotniczanka, the spa town is famous for its unique microclimate, Spa Park, palace island and nice 18th and 19th- century architecture. Nałęczów – beautiful, quiet and atmospheric, an ideal place where one can recuperate after months of stressful life - welcomes families and individuals looking for a relaxing and calm spot. Twenty five years ago, a beauty and spa centre was set up in Raj Villa on Lipowa Street, an elegant and romantic place in the very heart of Nałęczów.

People relaxing there have an opportunity to use a wide range of manual massages, cosmetic treatments, both traditional ones and those relying on state-of-the-art devices, and the full range of aesthetic medicine therapies complemented by laser treatment.

By merging the centre with the adjacent

NAŁĘCZÓW – BEAUTIFUL, QUIET AND ATMOSPHERIC, AN IDEAL PLACE WHERE ONE CAN RECUPERATE AFTER MONTHS OF STRESSFUL LIFE - WELCOMES FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS LOOKING FOR A RELAXING AND CALM SPOT.

three-star Hotel & Spa Villa Aurelia, we have managed to create an excellent place for both treatment and great relaxation.

The excellently equipped spa zone, with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, fitness room and body-building gym, provides an ideal place for relaxation, a place where one can recuperate after months of stressful work and big-city life. We have created this unique place thinking of people who want more from their lives than others, want to take care of • themselves and feel great at any age.

Phone: 508-250-242, 81 501-41-46, www.villaaurelia.pl polish market

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BUSINESSWOMAN

Being a woman is our asset KRYSTYNA BOCZKOWSKA, a mentor of young women managers, board member of the Congress of Women and long-time president of Bosch Poland, talks to Jerzy Mosoń.

I have the impression that there is far less talk about women with aspirations in management in Poland than before the World Congress of Women in 2016. In fact, I reckon that fewer women hold top positions than a few years ago.

These facts are unfortunately confirmed by a McKinsey report. The number of women who reach the highest levels of management in Poland declines with each passing year. I regret that no such events as the World Congress of Women are held in Poland anymore. This is one of the reasons why I’ve got involved with the Business Leaders Foundation (FLB,) which helps women with potential and ambitions to define their own career path. I actively participate as a mentor in a flagship FLB programme. Each woman who is recommended or applies for the PM

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programme, receives support from someone like me for a period of nine months. I try not only to share my own experience, but I recommend the necessary reading, and analyse and assess how well the woman performs the tasks I set for her.

Let’s talk about your way to the top - maybe it will give others some inspiration. Before you made a career in a German corporate giant, you had worked at the Kasprzak Works, a now defunct Warsaw consumer electronics factory. Did the experience you gained in a state-owned company give you the right background for your later involvement with the German company?

I will disappoint you. The experience I gained at the Kasprzak Works had little to do with my later career. I studied at the Warsaw University

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of Technology, which meant that I was obliged by law to work in a production plant for three years. However, during the twelve months I spent there, I learned one important thing: that I certainly didn’t want to work as an engineer in a declining, obsolete industrial plant, which understood innovation as building a Polish video recorder based on two existing Sony and Philips VCRs. Unfortunately, this applied to all branches of industry.

In the West things looked completely different. But how was one to find out about it, how to learn something at a time when foreign travel was restricted under communism?

To better understand what it looked like outside Poland, I move on from the Kasprzak Works to PM

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the Labimex Export-Import Enterprise. At that time, foreign trade companies were windows to the outside world. I spent ten years there and I learned everything there was to know about foreign trade, I gained managerial skills, while still working in an engineering job. And most importantly, during my work at Labimex, as the manager of a large imports department, I received a job offer from the US company PerkinElmer to become their Office Manager, which I accepted without a moment’s hesitation.

Weren’t you sorry to leave when you had climbed to the top?

I was aware that in the new economic realities, following the fall of communism in 1989, old state-owned export-import enterprises were doomed. Thanks to PerkinElmer, I understood the mechanisms of the new capitalist order. This valuable experience, which was a real challenge for me, paved the way for Bosch. In the recruitment process, my competences and experience, which was unique at that time – I was an engineer, manager, officer manager, and a fluent German speaker – helped me beat a group of really competent male competitors for the position of Bueroleiter (Office Manager.) I entered the race and won ... I was able to create a large company structure in Poland.

PM

What are women’s chances to take up such a position in the present, more feminist world?

Unfortunately, women’s chances of reaching top positions have paradoxically decreased. As you correctly observed at the beginning of our conversation, that it seems that there are fewer women in high positions nowadays. In 2015, the Business Leaders Foundation conducted a survey which showed that only 9% of CEOs of large companies are women. According to a 2018 McKinsey study, only 6% are women. That’s a big step backwards.

PM

Where does it come from?

Corporations lack consistency in implementing diversity strategies. The McKinsey study also shows that the reason for this is the dominant male management style, which has established itself in business, and the belief that the manager’s position means being at the company’s disposal all the time, which women are afraid of.

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and contributes to creating a friendly and teambuilding work environment. The consequence of this is higher motivation and efficiency of the organisation.

But, at the end of the day, it turns out that control is better than rewarding workers?

It seems to be this way. Men make up 87% of the management staff of the largest companies in Poland. This confirms the dominance of the male management style, and the fact that men do not necessarily have the ability and awareness of how to work with women at higher management levels. The lack of confidence in the effectiveness of women’s own management style, and the conviction you need to be at the company’s beck and call, add to this imbalance. Everyone seems to forget that changing the organisation’s culture to promote different management styles is crucial, not just to support women. It also improves the organisation’s performance in many areas and dimensions right away.

PM

And what about all those couples who boast about the wife’s successful corporate career, while the man is a house husband?

Yes, there are such cases. For several years, we have had labour regulations under which men are encouraged to take paternity leave. But believe me, this model is not as common as it may seem. It mainly concerns young people for whom partnership and development are important.

I guess that the IT sector is the leader in terms of this modern approach. The McKinsey study list actions which need to be taken to support women’s management, because the combination of the two styles of male and female leadership is more effective than the male style which companies currently prefer. It is scientifically proven that mixed management achieves better financial results. Also, employees from different generations feel better in a company whose management is mixed. You should bear it in mind that we currently have five generations working for companies, not two, as it used to be. I emphasise that it is women who, through their management style (development, training, rewarding,) - which means motivation and inclusion - are able to encourage workers to perform more efficient and effective work.

PM

Isn’t there an additional difference in Poland between SMEs and big corporations, whereby rich, large companies are ready to have women as managers, while smaller, growing businesses prefer the traditional model?

It is interesting that corporations, which are aware of the positive effects of female leadership, still lag behind. There are sectors such as finances, where women are few and far between.

Internal support programmes for women are not prioritised. Things are different in the sector of small private businesses which have been launched by women. In this sector we show our strength, although German and Swedish women are ahead of us in this activity. Women are bold, inclusive, they are ready to reward others, they don’t keep other workers at arm’s length.

I recommend the study”The Athena Doctrine.”

A group of people covered by the survey (about 60,000) was to choose the desirable attributes of leaders in the modern world. Most people indicated traits which are attributed to women.

It baffles me why male leadership still functions in business.

Who then decides that companies are governed by men, and not by women?

Corporations have access to the results of various studies. They are aware that they need to fill a certain quota in management appointments to meet diversity requirements. However, in small companies it works differently. If a woman does not set up a business, she rarely manages it.

I know many entrepreneurs who admit that they support women because they are hardworking, the meet and exceed targets, but men remain the faces of companies. Business owners in Poland frequently say that their priority is not to support women, or to fill quotas in terms of access to top positions, but the development of the company.

In my opinion, it is an excuse not to take actions which are important for the company’s future.

PM

Or is it that you still need to control employees in Poland, because they simply do not identify themselves with companies, as is the case in the US? It is women who help employees identify themselves with companies to a greater extent.

They give praise where it’s due, they are less ready to keep their distance, they reward others, and they give others enough space to act. They are clear about what they expect and are more often perceived as role models. They are more empathetic. What a man will not notice, will certainly be noticed by a woman, especially when it’s an employee in need of help. Control is counterproductive and doesn’t make people more involved. This is why this form of management should be avoided.

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What is women’s approach to management, and what is the approach of their male colleagues?

Maybe I will start with the male leadership style, which is characterised by making individualistic decisions, and using control and remedial activities. Female leadership strengthens the employee’s sense of responsibility,

PM

Should women look like men to have better chances of succeeding? Should they dress like men, for example?

Definitely not. Being a woman is an asset, and thus hiding behind a man’s suit is a mistake.

You need to wear clothes which make you feel good, because being yourself, and having high competences, is a recipe for success.

• PM

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CONNECTING

WORLDS

ZOFIA DZIK, entrepreneur, investor, founder of the Humanites Foundation which focuses on leadership, human and technology, talks to Maciej Proliński.

“All “that is human is more and more alien to me,” Polish filmmaker Andrzej Kondratiuk once said. Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, poignantly described the West as a world devoid of values, including spirituality. Man seems somehow left by the wayside…

Man is not only capable of rational thinking, and definitely is not just a consumer. Man is a complex, multidimensional being. What would we be without spirituality? In 2012, I developed and published the Coherent Leadership ™ model. It is a holistic programme of corporate management culture, based on a multidimensional leadership development programme in the private and professional spheres, based on the philosophy of sustainable development on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. In my book I quote Polish philosopher Father Józef Tischner: “Man is in a state of constant becoming. Created by nature, Man is transformed into a personality, reaching full bloom in terms of spiritual and physical powers. The more a person becomes a personality, the more human they are.” Tischner also said that we always exist for somebody. And today, people exist more and more in parallel to one another. Loneliness affects 50% of Europeans PM

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in large cities. It is also experienced in China or Japan. We live under pressure, we neglect relations and escape into the virtual world. The level of prosperity is rising, but satisfaction with life is declining.

I developed the Coherent Leadership ™ model based on many years of business experience in building organisations in Poland and the CEE region. It takes into account the realities and consequences of economic and social transformation, and the strong need for leaders to develop, also outside the purely professional area. The programme is open to mature companies whose vision is broader, not only geared toward profit, but also based on values.

In future leadership, not only the result will count, but also the means to achieve it. If we want to build creative, innovative organisations, to attract talent, we must develop our management style.

The idea of development encompassing all these spheres underlies activities of the Humanites Foundation.

The idea to set up a foundation to tackle man’s relationship with his ecosystem, which faces an ongoing technological transformation, kept germinating for many years. Nine years ago, PM

when I founded it, my voice was alone in the desert. I encountered scepticism, also among my friends. Only now, it seems, has the time come to stop and think about what it means to be a complete human being. This model generates interest in academic centres around the world.

I had the opportunity to work in many markets, in insurance, banking, construction, automotive industry, logistics and consulting.

I watched the world running at various speeds.

And the higher I climbed the business ladder, the more I felt that the human factor was being lost. In Poland, we have gone through economic transformation, and the social transformation has been neglected. To some extent, economic development occurred at the expense of social capital, so it seems only fair to rebuild it. There are also many people who have made it, but at the cost of broken families, estranged children etc.

Hence the Foundation, whose aim is to promote the idea of a conscious, happy and open human being sensitive to social issues.

By supporting the development of the individual human being, and of leaders who are value shapers, we support the development of social capital and its transformation in the face of global trends, such as the Technology Revolution.

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We want to create an environment at home, at work, at school, in the media, which will enable everybody to develop their potential, based on self-esteem, moral compass, love and sensitivity to social issues. We believe that people should not stop thinking, that they should take advantage of the opportunities that new technology brings, and not become slaves to it.

On the threshold of the digital revolution, we take a broader view of human and his development in key areas: openness to learning, emotional maturity, curiosity of the world and other people, critical thinking, persistence, cooperation, and taking responsibility. As an African saying goes: “It takes the whole VILLAGE to raise one man.”

We operate based on the Non-linear Model of Social Development ™ which I developed, initiating projects which facilitate social change in four main areas of the ecosystem of “our Village”: Family, Business (Work Environment), Education, World of Culture and Media.

What tools do you use to implement this holistic programme?

In each area, I always look for ways to link different, often artificially separated worlds, through projects which trigger change. Business is not just an economic force, but it also has a huge social impact. That is why we attach great importance to the development of business leadership. Every year, the Foundation organises a Conference for Business Leaders to promote the idea of Coherent Leadership and to explore the relationship between man and technology.

It gathers several hundred business owners and key business players. Its motto is that we are human beings first, only then we are managers, and that the two roles are combined. The 6th edition of the conference took place this year.

The Foundation also runs the “Two Hours for the Family” project, which is snowballing.

Its 8th edition was held this year. It encourages people to relate to other people, and not just to their corporate positions. This project ties in with the UN International Day of Families.

On May 15, workers cut their work time by a symbolic two hours to devote more time to their loved ones. It’s becoming a global movement for human contact. Several hundred entities take part in it - companies, local government bodies, schools and organisations. Since 2017, employers in 15 countries have joined in. This project has brought the human factor back into business.

Another major project, in the area of education, has been organised for 9 years. It is the Academy of Leadership in Education (APLO) to highlight the need for systemic changes in PM

ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION, WE TAKE A BROADER VIEW OF HUMAN AND HIS DEVELOPMENT IN KEY AREAS: OPENNESS TO LEARNING, EMOTIONAL MATURITY, CURIOSITY OF THE WORLD AND OTHER PEOPLE, CRITICAL THINKING, PERSISTENCE, COOPERATION, AND TAKING RESPONSIBILITY.

this field. To prepare the younger generation for Economy 4.0, we must significantly change teaching methods. Working with parents, the school should prepare young people to be independent, to embrace the concept of continued education, instead of studying for the next test. School is made up of people, and its shape depends on what kind of a human being its head is. To respond to the needs of the environment, the school head should not just serve as an administrator, but also as a genuine leader who engages others in action.

Since we entrust our most valuable social capital to schools, it occurred to me that school heads should be educated in a way which is now reserved for business leaders. APLO is based on working with leading lecturers from the world of business, psychology, social innovation, sociology and pedagogy, who normally train business leaders. The project has initiated systemic changes in the field of leadership in education in Poland. Former methods focused on technical, legal and administrative matters, but did not explain how to manage human relations. 500 school heads, local government officials responsible for education, and over 350 business leaders, have taken part so far. In 2017, I founded the Humanites Circle of Social Investors.

What to do to adjust to the growing impact of digitisation and automation on the labour market?

I have a business background in fintech.

We feel that the world is accelerating because technological progress occurs exponentially.

Concepts like AI, the Internet of Things and blockchain are entering practically every sector of the economy. Never before has man’s PM

relationship with technology been so strong. The key seems to be the ability to learn constantly.

Without it, it will be difficult to follow inevitable changes in the labour market. Every year some professions are going to disappear and new ones will be born. Switching to continuous education can be a challenge. That is why business leaders have the responsibility to prepare their employees, or human beings, really, for this new reality and support them in retraining.

According to some studies, by 2026, more than 50 million people could lose their jobs.

What to do to tap the potential of women in business?

Assessment should be made based on competences, regardless of gender. It’s tougher for women who need to reconcile their private and professional lives. Women are creative, consistent and conscientious. They cope very well in managerial positions. I like to connect worlds and for sure, on the one hand, I support women in their drive for equal access to many areas, including top business positions. On the other hand, the job and the family should not exclude each other. That’s why I’m against the notion of a work life balance. I’m for integration and combining different roles, because they are all part of our lives. In Poland you can see more and more very successful women who are unhappy, lonely and unfulfilled in their private lives. At a women’s congress, one of the leaders once said: “Nobody can convince us that we need to have children.” With utmost respect to women who do not want to be mothers, I reckon it was a stupid thing to say, and I have doubts whether it actually served to strengthen the role of women, or make their dilemma even more • pronounced.

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THE GOAL IS NEAR “Women are now present in most sectors and in some of them have dominated men,” says international consultant ALEX BARSZCZEWSKI. However, in a conversation with Jerzy Mosoń, the expert - who works with high-level managers on a daily basis - points to the aspects women still have to work on so that we are able to think about the parity of the sexes in high posts.

What do women in big business want today?

And how have their needs evolved in recent years?

At present, women managing large businesses give precedence to maximising their sense of being self-sufficient and being able to take independent decisions and actions. They need their own clearly defined area of activity with readiness to take over responsibility for the delivered results. Women want to have an opportunity to do things that really matter, in contrast to routine tasks which do not contribute any significant value added. They are aware of the need for flexible work organisation, which would make it possible to reasonably reconcile various aspects of life.

If you look at the evolution of how women have perceived business in recent years it is very clear that this trend has accelerated. In particular, many high-level female managers who have worked their way up the career ladder for years, with enormous effort and often at the expense of their personal life, are now coming to the conclusion that either the companies will be able to markedly improve the factors I have just mentioned, or it is time to significantly change their life. In many cases, this means quitting the corporation and taking up a job in a foundation or start-up. This means that large organisations are losing valuable competencies and experience, which flow to other entities, something which may be beneficial for the wider economy PM

Can one say that women have already taken over some sectors?

If we focus on business and pass over the education sector and medium-level medical personnel then – except for the broadly conceived beauty industry and public relations - it would be difficult to find such sectors, at least within my professional experience.

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WOMEN WANT TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER, IN CONTRAST TO ROUTINE TASKS WHICH DO NOT CONTRIBUTE ANY

significant value added. women are already in all places where it is worth being in from a reasonable point of view. I can imagine their little enthusiasm for conquering such traditional sectors which do not offer much potential for growth as mining. But in the defence industry, for instance, they already have their first “bridgeheads”, something which would have been unthinkable until recently.

Should we aim to ensure the parity of the sexes in companies, or should competencies be the only criterion?

The approaching huge industrial revolution associated with AI and automation in coming years, combined with global competition, will PM

What economic sectors women are still unable to make it to, even though they would very much like to do so?

In recent years there has been a huge change in this respect. And I would venture to say that

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require companies which operate on the real market and are not under any political umbrella to maximise their operational effectiveness. Then, what will ultimately count will be the ability to deliver results. Considering some weaknesses in the way men are brought up in Poland, women have a good chance of achieving the parity of the sexes in high posts based exclusively on this effectiveness, without any artificial parity measures.

What they have to work on is gaining more selfconfidence, abandoning “good-girl syndrome” and significantly improving their negotiating skills. This is already happening and I am also involved in this process as part of my pro bono projects.

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WE MAKE DECISIONS AGNIESZKA SORA, Managing Director of the GfK Polonia institute, President of the Polish Association of Public Opinion and Marketing Research Firms (OFBOR), talks to Jerzy Mosoń.

It seems that you know everything there is to know about the consumer mood of Polish citizens. What has changed in their attitude to life in recent years?

GfK Polonia has been studying the mood of Polish consumers for over 20 years, both in terms of the financial situation of households, and the assessment of the state’s economic performance.

The first positive jump in the mood of Polish consumers took place after EU accession. In 2008, when the global financial crisis hit, the mood worsened, and since the introduction of the 500+ Programme it’s been picking up again. But in the long-term, we can observe an upward trend.

PM

What causes positive and negative thinking in society?

I believe that media play an important role in shaping the consumer mood. In 2008, the global financial crisis had not reached Poland yet, but the media hyped it, which affected consumer behaviour.

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near, which is a time to get children ready for school, or December, a time of shopping for gifts, women realise that, and men not necessarily so. Men can thus be more optimistic.

Maybe this is because women tend to manage the household budget?

Some time ago, GfK conducted a study which clearly shows that in 80% of cases, women make decisions when it comes to shopping for household needs. We are the decision-makers.

PM

That’s probably why ads are mainly addressed to women.

Yes, but I’m afraid that women are not always portrayed in the right way. But that’s what lies behind the strategy of companies. Women in advertising are constantly stereotyped and reduced to looking after the home. Another group omitted in commercials are people over 50.

PM

What is it like now? There is now talk of an impending crisis spreading to Poland.

For now, the crisis is not felt in Poland. The 500+ Programme plays a major role in this. It has improved the situation of many families, which GfK forecast in 2016. Growing consumption translates into economic growth.

Do men or women tend to be more optimistic?

According to our data, men are more optimistic than women. The average GfK Consumer Confidence Index for men in 2018 is much higher than for women. It seems that men are not aware of certain household expenses. As September draws PM

Which of these systems is healthier for business?

One which features diversity. I believe that Poland should wake up to the fact that women on company boards are a huge plus for the development of the company. At GfK Polonia, 50% of managers are women. I’m happy that we promote diversity.

I believe that both the team and the business benefit from it.

• PM

Where does this inadequate perception come from, that people over 50 have no spending power?

At the IAA Poland (International Advertising Association) forum, we have long been discussing the fact that Polish marketers tend not to target the silver generation, and if they do, the commercials are based on clichés. It seems that advertisers have forgotten that Polish pensioners have steady incomes, and some of them have a lot to spend.

Pensioners want to enjoy life, and they are ready to part with their money whenever a company comes up with a suitable offer addressed to them.

The same holds true about Polish women. They have considerable purchasing power. There is no PM

PM

reason why a commercial meant to sell an expensive product should be addressed solely to men. I no longer see any room for advertising which shows women as housewives whose job is to wash and iron clothes and clean the house. Polish women down the ages have had to be independent and resourceful.

They have always had money to spend. Communism made women professionally active in the second half of the 20th century. It has its consequences.

I lived in Germany for several years. I noticed that a woman who has two children, is expected to look after the household. At noon, she must take the children home from a nursery or kindergarten and feed them. We have a slightly different model in Poland. Above all, multigenerational families are still a fact. That’s why, women can count on grandparents to look after a child. Corporations also try to help families with children by operating nurseries or kindergartens, for example.

GfK connects data and science. Innovative research solutions provide answers to key business questions concerning consumers, markets, brands and media – now and in the future. As a research and analytics partner, GfK promises its clients all over the world “Growth from Knowledge”. For more details: www.gfk.com. Follow GfK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GfK. polish market

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CUTTING-EDGE MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS

AGATA SITKO, President of Group AV, talks to “Polish Market’s” Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś. innovative solutions, encourages us to deepen our knowledge and to be more creative in the solutions we offer. We do our best to make sure that our technical team has the competences and certificates required by manufacturers.

Group AV is rebranding. You have introduced a new logo. Why? The introduction of the new logo was one of the planned activities in the company’s development strategy. Building a strong base for the company, we first focused on our product range, signing contracts with suppliers and building a technical team which was able to provide top-quality services. The next stage in the company’s development is strengthening its market image. The new logo, along with the rest of the company’s visual identification, is one of the tools which enables us to successfully transmit information to customers about the company and the services it offers.

PM

The change comes in response to the company’s global aspirations and its market position. You have already established a strong market position. What about your global aspirations? Are you thinking of expanding to other markets, or perhaps working in partnership with a global player?

We are working to constantly expand our product range and business area. We are currently working on several foreign projects, but they are at a negotiation stage, so I can’t say too much about them. I hope that we will soon be able to reveal more details about our new ventures.

PM

Group AV has been around since 2015 and has already secured a strong position. What are the company’s main strengths?

The company was founded in 2015, but the team of people associated with it has many years of experience in the multimedia industry. Despite the growing popularity of multimedia systems, the industry is very specialised. It requires a lot of technical knowledge from various fields which are closely related, but at the same time, have nothing to do with each other. Most of the team has over 15 years of experience in the design and installation of multimedia systems, which guarantees the high quality of services provided by the company. The growing expectations of our clients, the search for new and PM

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PM

What is your main focus in talks with your business partners? What technologies are you mainly interested in - sound systems, recordings of events, or something more innovative like 3D, holograms and VR?

We make sure that the solutions we offer our clients are comprehensive. This allows us to provide the best multimedia solutions, and once they are put in place, to provide a comprehensive service. We do not just install multimedia systems. Among the services we provide is also the development of comprehensive projects, construction and finishing work, installation of telecom systems and the production of multimedia content. Of course, we do not perform all of the work ourselves. We have a large base of companies we have been working with for many years, which have proved their worth on a number of joint projects. The comprehensive range of services we provide gives our clients an additional advantage in the projects we implement, as we take care of cross-industry coordination. The client receives a complete package of services from us. Each project is tailored to the client’s needs and financial capabilities. A crucial stage in developing offers for individual clients, is to identify their needs, based on which we select the best solutions. We offer the latest solutions in the field of 3D technology, holography, VR and audio and video systems.

Could you mention the most exciting projects you have implemented so far?

Although we’re just four years old, we are proud of a number of prestigious projects we have implemented, both in the public and business sectors. For us, each project we implement with our clients is important and unique. Certainly those projects in which we have used new solutions and technologies arouse more interest, and require more involvement on the part of the entire team.

Particularly noteworthy is one project based on Virtual Reality. The combination of Virtual Reality and multimedia applications makes PM

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TO MEET THE CLIENT’S NEEDS, WE HAVE USED LED TECHNOLOGIES, LARGE FORMAT PROJECTIONS, VIDEO CONFERENCING SYSTEMS, IMAGE AND SOUND RECORDING SYSTEMS.

it innovative both on the national and European scale. The project was prepared on commission and in co-operation with the Museum of Archaeology and History in the city of Elbląg.

Museum visitors can travel in time, become immersed in history, and visit a virtual gallery. It is an amazing adventure in which you can watch “the past just around the corner” and “history here and now.”

Another exciting project was providing equipment for a showroom at a tech company which deals with energy and robotics. Thanks to the multimedia solutions, 3D holography and interactive applications we selected, we were able to offer the client a tool for the effective presentation of their own products.

Our projects are not just limited to permanent installations for institutional and corporate clients. During the World Youth Days, which were held in Poland, we made multimedia installations at the Polish Pavilion in Krakow, and throughout the event we provided technical support for the Pavilion.

One of our most recent and most effective projects is a training and office space we have equipped for a consulting company in one of the most prestigious office buildings in Warsaw. To meet the client’s needs, we have used LED technologies, large format projections, video conferencing systems, image and sound recording systems. Some multimedia installations are integrated into floors, walls and ceilings.

PM

Group AV clients are companies both from the private and public sectors. Museums appear to be increasingly interested in modern technologies, aren’t they?

Museums are special places for us. We can boast a number of completed investment projects there. Each project we work on is different and requires a very creative approach, so that the exhibition space is unique and captivating for visitors. For us it is an important part of our range of services, because our projects can be watched by a large number of people. The exhibitions featuring our multimedia solutions can be seen at the Polish Armed Forces Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of Archaeology and History in Elbląg, the Museum of the City of Łódź and in Swarzędz.

Some projects we have designed are awaiting implementation.

One of the largest and most prestigious projects in which we have participated, is for EC1 in Łódź. It is the National Centre of Film Culture. The project was developed as part of a consortium with our partners, whereby we were responsible for developing complete multimedia projects for exhibition spaces, cinema theatres and a multimedia library.

Does the fact that you are a woman have an impact on the company’s operation?

I don’t think it matters much. As in every industry, other values such as responsibility, trust and competence, count in dealing with clients and suppliers.

The multimedia industry is all about technology, which is still a men’s domain. During my work, I can count on a lot of support from my male colleagues.

At Group AV, we work as a team where each person has different skills, which means that we complement each other, • and that’s what makes us effective.

PM

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