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UP&DOWN
Written by: Monika Mudranincová

PEOPLE UP

Photo archiv		Jiří Hlavenka The chairman of the board of InternetShops, announced that the firm processed 160,539 offers last year, which is a 52% increase compared to 2003, and attracted 106,776 customers (a 57% increase).
Photo archiv		Detlef Wittig Škoda's new boss announced that last year's net profit was CZK 3.5 billion, the biggest profit in the firm's history. The automaker sold almost 452,000 cars, which was the second best result during the existence of the company. This year the plan is to produce half a million cars.
Photo archiv		Jiří Michal The general director of the pharmaceutical company Zentiva revealed financial results for 2004. Revenues increased by 11.2% to CZK 10,674 billion, and net profit rose by 35.6% over 2003. Last year Slovakofarma and IPO were integrated, and business in Poland and Russia is booming.

PEOPLE DOWN

Photo archiv		Jiří Boček According to general director of Budějovický Budvar, gross profit of the company in 2004 dropped by 11% to CZK 312 million. Overall revenue went down by 130 million to 2.3 billion. As a consequence, the brewery increased prices by 20-40 hellers per bottle.
Photo: ČTK		Stanislav Gross According to an opinion poll by STEM, the prime minister became the least popular Czech politician. While in January 2005 47% of the population had a positive view of him, as a result of the affair surrounding the financing of his apartment, by March it was only 18%.
Photo archiv		Karel Kratina According to general director of Česká pošta, the net profit of the company dropped to CZK 410 million, compared to the previous year's figure of CZK 700 million (a 41% decrease). As a consequence, the firm increased prices of basic domestic services by roughly 14% in February.

Photo: Martin Šára

Rostislava Gordon-Smith: Ms. Positive
ROSTISLAVA GORDON-SMITH (55), the new Chief HR Officer at Český Telecom, is like a volcano of energy and positive thought. General director Berdár hired her to perfect management skills and improve the recruiting of new workers for the company, which is going through a revolutionary privatization period. Why did Gordon-Smith agree to take part in such a risky business, when it is clear that there could be a massive exchange of managers, including herself? "I love change and the privatization of Český Telecom is also a tremendous change. It is exciting to be part of it," she says. "We don't want to hire chair-warmers, we want managerial stars. People who will contribute to the firm," says "Ms. Positive", as she's been nicknamed. An acknowledged expert in her field, in 2001 she was listed among the 50 World's Top HR Leaders in a contest organized by HR World's Global Leadership Agenda Survey, Cendant International Assignment Partners and the World Federation of Personnel Managers.
The manager, who would like to work for Český Telecom after the privatization, is said to be tough professionally, but she's also sentimental and romantic. And audacious. When she was 18 she emigrated from Czechoslovakia to England with a few pounds in her pocket. She sold newspapers in the mornings and studied art history and HR management during the day. For thirty years she gained experience all around the world. She speaks Czech, English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. She has worked for APP Group, KPMG, and Radiomobil and she founded PeopleImpact, a consulting firm. She sees her greatest success in life in having raised four sons with her English husband. "For me, my family remains my priority," says Gordon-Smith. In her free time she visits her husband, who currently works in Moscow, or their sons, who live in the US and Canada. She also enjoys retreating to an oasis of peace at her cottage near Mariánské Lázně.

	Photo: Martin Šára

Dobromil Podpěra: A second chance
DOBROMIL PODPĚRA (34), executive director and co-owner of the software firm Cleverlance, could easily have lost his life. On 26 December 2004 he was in Sri Lanka, which was struck by a devastating tsunami. Fate wanted him to have a second chance at life - on that catastrophic morning he and his girlfriend didn't go to the beach, they stayed in their hotel, up on a hill. Unfortunately, his partner and great friend Jakub Dosoudil wasn't as lucky. He never returned from the Thai island of Phi Phi. "Jakub and I were so looking forward to vacation, because we've had a very hectic, but successful, year," recalls Podpěra in Vysočany headquarters of his company, which he and Jakub founded five years ago. "Last year we had turnover of CZK 182 million, 133% more than in 2003. Our team grew to 190 employees and we gained many new clients, such as Česká pojišťovna, Český Telecom, and Oskar," recounts Podpěra, adding that their key client remains Komerční banka, where for several years Cleverlance has played a large role in developing and testing the "Moje banka" (My Bank) online banking system.
This mathematics and physics graduate, who worked for the software firm Sybase and once ran the travel agency China Tours with his brother, has admirably managed to handle a difficult situation and continue working. "Jakub's parents have full faith in us, so we can devote ourselves to Cleverlance's further development," he explains, noting that the firm's goal is to further increase sales and quickly react to market demand. If you think Dobromil has lost his love for traveling after his unforgettable experience with the natural disaster, you're mistaken. His passions remain excursions to exotic spots, especially in Southeast Asia, and photography.