Written by: Monika Mudranincová

PEOPLE UP

Photo: Vl. Weiss		Tomáš Prouza The co-founder and former director of financial portal www.penize.cz was named deputy at the Ministry of Finance. He is now in charge of financial markets control and will cooperate on the pension reform proposal.
Photo: foto dal		Alexandr Pilař In a contest organized by CzechInvest, the director of DHL Information Services Europe received the Investor of the Year 2003 award for the company with the biggest contribution to the Czech economy. DHL’s newly built service center will employ 866 people in this country.
Photo: ČTK		Michaela Huserová With the assistance of Union Bank’s bankruptcy trustee, more than CZK 6 billion was saved, and creditors of the bank now can count on much bigger returns than they originally expected.

PEOPLE DOWN

Photo: ČTK		Milan Venclík The ODS leader for the south Moravian region faces accusations of embezzlement of sponsorship gifts for ODS. Three entrepreneurs claim that he required “sponsorship” in return for municipal contracts. The case is under police investigation.
Photo: ČTK		Pavel Přibyl He didn’t enjoy his new post as head of the governmental office for too long. The media revealed that under communism he commanded police troops that beat citizens during anti-communist demonstrations. Přibyl resigned after a few days under public pressure.
Photo: archiv		Jan Slezák The media discovered that the Prague councillor for ČSSD also led troops charged with repression of anti-communist demonstrators. Organizers of these demonstrations want to incite public disapproval and force Slezák to resign.

 

Photo: Tomáš Kubeš

Radomil Novák: Climbing to the top
AFTER EIGHT YEARS with CzechInvest, Radomil Novák (36) has been promoted from deputy operational manager to general director of the agency, replacing Martin Jahn. This government agency, whose main goal is to support business and attract foreign investors, isn’t expected to go through any great changes under his leadership. “There’s no reason to change a successful system whose strength lies in strong management and market behavior,” Novák says, adding that the agency’s dream and long-term goal is to add value to funds from the state budget so effectively that in ten years the Czech Republic can rise from the bottom half of EU countries to the top half.
This native of the wine-producing region around Hodonín studied at the Institute of Technology and then briefly worked for Terinvest, which organizes trade fairs. In 1996 he joined CzechInvest as a project manager, and two years later became the “father” of the investment incentives program, based on which the law was passed in 2000. He spent the next three years in Silicon Valley, California, where he ran CzechInvest’s foreign office. “I brought back not only experience, but also my wife,” he says with a laugh, noting that to her great credit he now better understands the differences in the way Czechs and Americans think. “This is very useful when I’m in contact with American investors. I can better predict their reactions and expectations,” claims Novák. Outside of business, he’s a passionate mountain climber, and scales the Prachovské cliffs anytime he can. “It requires physical coordination and concentration. On a cliff I have a chance to get away from every-day problems,” he says.

 

 

Photo: Tomáš Kubeš

Kamil Čermák: Cleared for take-off
KAMIL ČERMÁK (34), Czech Airlines’ (ČSA) executive director for sales and marketing, says he has both a virtue and a shortcoming in one – he wants to change the world overnight. That could be why he’s a sought-out “transformation” manager. He doesn’t alike wading in stagnant waters. “I’m impatient, I want results, and if they aren’t immediate I get a bit irritated,” he laughs. In May he came to ČSA after eight years with Český Telecom, where he served first as head of public affairs, then of marketing and sales, and finally as director for corporate clients. However, after working together with Bessel Kok for many years, he felt he needed a change, so he accepted an offer from Zuzana Řezníčková, vice president for marketing and sales, to take part in transforming ČSA to compete with low-cost airlines and become more attractive for business clients. “Making sales more dynamic will require changes in corporate culture and management, and that will be my job,” says Čermák, who has all it takes for success.
He can rely on his skills, not only in marketing, but also in communication. He began is career in 1992 as a television reporter, and at age 23 became a news announcer on Czech Television. He gained invaluable experience as a spokesperson for the former trade and industry minister, Vladimír Dlouhý. Although he is a workaholic and has an eight-year-old son, he still finds time for hobbies. “I’ve flown as a sports pilot since I was young, but my newest hobby is cooking. I’m studying under professional chefs, and I’m really into it. Also, since my friends have praised my cooking I’ve gotten a swollen head,” he chuckles.