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UP&DOWN
Written by: Monika Mudranincová

PEOPLE UP

Photo archiv		Jiří Devát The general director of Microsoft CR was awarded by the committee of the Association of Czech Managers for organizing the Government Leaders Forum that was held in Prague in February also for his voluntary help in the development of talented managers.
Photo archiv		Josef Suchánek The general director of InternetShops was awarded the Retailer of the Year 2005 prize in the "internet shop" category for its white goods store Bilezbozi.cz. An expert jury and the public evaluated services, assortment, and prices of Czech shops in the GE Capital Multiservis survey.
Photo archiv		Dobromil Podpěra According to a chart "Technology Fast 50" compiled by Deloitte, under his leadership Cleverlance became the fastest-growing Czech IT company in the central European region, in the history of the ranking. The triumph is due to its 2,933% profit increase in the last five years.

PEOPLE DOWN

Photo petr poliak		Vladimír Železný The European parliament stripped the former general director of TV Nova of his legislative immunity; Czech courts are thus allowed to prosecute him once again. Železný is accused of tax evasion, damaging creditors and not declaring duty on valuable paintings he imported.
Photo ČTK		Viktor Kožený The Czech entrepreneur-turned-fugitive was arrested in the Bahamas, where American authorities accused him of corruption in a privatization case concerning the Azerbaijan oil industry. If handed over to the US, he would face up to 20 years in jail.
Photo škoda auto		Helmuth Schuster A warrant was issued in India for the arrest of the former HR manager of Škoda Auto. Schuster allegedly received 117 million rupees (EUR 2 million) from the government of Ándhrapradéš as a bribe to build a Volkswagen factory there. Schuster resigned in the Czech Republic in June.

Photo: luminum – d.raub & l.šavrdová

Monika Zahálková: Heading an honest club
SINCE 2001 economist Monika Zahálková (40) has been the executive director of the Czech Institute of Directors civic association, whose goal is to help enforce corporate governance standards in the activities of boards of directors and supervisory boards. The institute, which was founded in 1998 on the initiative of Vratislav Kulhánek (its current president) was to be a "club of the honest" - i.e., an association of people to whom it mattered that administrative bodies acted openly, transparently, and, above all, professionally. "Many firms have paid for the unpreparedness of their directors by collapsing," claims Zahálková, citing Parmalat and Enron as examples. "It's no better here. If you look at the composition of the administrative boards of some firms in which the state holds stakes, you'll see that often it's not a question of professionalism but of profitable sinecures," she adds.
What's to be done about it? The Czech Institute of Directors offers, among other things, a National Certification Program of corporate governance studies. This program requalifies managers to perform as a member of an administrative body. "It would be great if each administrative body had at least one member who had gone through this program," says this director who first acquired management experience in a family business that furnished interiors. She later worked as the brand and PR manager for Calvin Klein Cosmetics.
Zahálková is the type of positive woman who attacks everything with verve, and after acting as a navigator in a road rally, she dreams of trying her hand at auto racing on a track. "But I have to hold back a bit, as I have responsibilities towards my children," grins this mother of two boys (10 and 16) who have inherited her sporting inclinations.

	Photo: luminum – d.raub & l.šavrdová

Eva Janoušková & Daniela Flejšarová: At a crossroads
E.DANIELY, which marries the names of its founders, Eva Janoušková (50) and Daniela Flejšarová (51) in its name, is a brand that dresses not only VIP clients like Magdalena Kožená and Livia Klausová, but also hundreds of women who want casual elegance, perfect execution, and an individual approach. Fourteen years ago the firm's owners started with three seamstresses, and now they enjoy annual sales of CZK 10 million and are beginning to eye foreign markets. In September they garnered success at a grandiose fashion show in Moscow. "We don't want to spurn this opportunity. We believe we'll find a strong partner to help us break through on the Russian market," says Janoušková. The two women are now standing at a virtual crossroads as they ponder the future. "The competition of multinational chains is ruthless, and we have to find the economic key for standing up to it. We'll probably place greater emphasis on individual tailored production, which is proving to be our strongest suit," notes Janoušková, who was an attorney before she teamed up with Flejšarová, a graduate of UMPRUM (Institute of Applied Arts).
The team operates like a Swiss watch - both of them are strong extroverts, and that works well in business. "Additionally, when one of us is beat, the other jumps right in," Janoušková says. "Daniela is a creative woman who knows what she wants. But sometimes I have to slow her down to keep her grounded," she adds. Each of them has two children, and they both like escaping from Prague to the countryside, Flejšarová to a stable to see her horses, and Janoušková to her little cottage in southern Bohemia. "I wanted a chain saw for my fiftieth birthday. I really like cutting down trees!" laughs this ambitious designer.