Interviews

Doug Brodman is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Plzensky Prazdroj, a SABMiller Plc. Company. His professional CV represents about thirty years of experience in the beer business, building brands, and sales in general. In 1999 Doug Brodman joined The Miller Brewing Company which is a part of the global SABMiller brewing company operating on the U. S. market. Since 2006, Doug has headed up Miller Brewing International. Prior to these roles, Doug was Senior Vice President of Sales & Distribution at The Miller Brewing Company.

Interview with Matt Percy, vicepresident NEMEA, VMware about upcoming VMware Forum events across EMEA.

Interview prepared by EurActiv.cz portal and published in Czech language.

Black list of those not paying taxes, companies´ ratings or receipts´ lottery. According to Peter Chrenko, a former advisor of the Czech Minister of Finance, these measures of the Slovak government to fight tax evasions could serve as an inspiration also to Czechs.

"No one who has to comply with the regulation will be pleased about its scope but the advantage is that many rules are clearly given and many of them are written in a meaningful way," says Hana Gawlasová of Kinstellar law office on the upcoming reform of the EU personal data protection. According to her the regulation is often criticized for its obvious shortcomings but the reform is needed in Europe.

Protect your business idea completely is not easy - as an example take the conflict of giants Apple and Samsung, who´ve both recently achieved a bit of truth in ongoing disputes. What should an entrepreneur beginner do to get his valuable business ideas protected? According to the attorney Viktor Dušek of NWD Legal it´s important to think about their protection before they see the daylight. Different options exist, whether it´s a quality contract on confidentiality or industrial property rights protection. Entrepreneurs should also bear in mind that public presentation of the idea can lead to the abuse, for example by someone who has better budget and simply copies the idea and implements it faster than the one who invented it. If such an idea wasn´t sufficiently legally protected it would very often be judged as a moral theft only with limited legal protection, said Dušek.

For the success of the company it´s important its products and services become "the object of desire" says businessman Zbyněk Frolík of Linet. Frolík who is known for his participation in initiatives such as the direct elections of Members of Deputies or Matematika s chutí is convinced that the responsible behavior ot he company pays off because of its positive effect on "the phenomenon to be the object of desire". In an interview for EurActiv he points out that "a company that has a desire hallmark can greatly benefit out of it".

The Rector of the University of New York in Prague, Andreas Antonopoulos in the Hyde Park news talk show program of the Czech TV.

Tomáš Pacovský, Partner of APOGEO Tax & Transaction talks in CT24 – Studio Burza about government package and 2013 tax changes.

The rise of virtualisation and cloud have revolutionised the data centre. With many touting 2013 as the year of cloud adoption pick-up, where does that leave the traditional on-premise model of storing enterprise data and the network that supports it?

Interview with Tomas Pacovský in the studio CT24. Interview is available in Czech language only.

Interview with Roman Heřmánek in the studio CT24. Companies during the economic crisis are increasingly using options of outsourcing. One reason is the pressure to reduce costs for example outsourcing payroll, accounting and legal services are significantly reduced. Comments of Mr. Heřmánek are further available in Czech.

Margareta Křížová, a Partner of CEAG, comments on the most common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs. She is a juror for the second year of adVENTURE, in which 8 selected start-ups will get feedback from experienced investors and will receive a number of valuable consultations/prizes. In this year´s adVENTURE 35 projects were submitted during registration. The event is held on November 22 in Prague.

Pavel Kysilka is one of the most revered names in Czech finance. His name is associated with some of the most momentous changes in the life of this country. In 1992, he led the introduction of the Czech koruna from his seat on the CNB’s board of governors. And after Česká spořitelna was switched into private hands, he headed the banks’ successful effort to raise its customer service from the bottom to the top of customer satisfaction rankings. Now, as CEO and Chairman of the bank, he is guiding the bank as it navigates the constant changes resulting from the crisis. In this interview, Mr. Kysilka talks about the management challenges of revolutionary and evolutionary change, how his bank has approached innovation, and how the crisis has impacted the market.

Zdeněk Vik talks about important Prazdroj´s anniversary taking place this year, newsly opened Pilsner Urquell Gallery on Kampa and about their unique SECESE Conference and Meeting Center and other venues that Plzeňský Prazdroj can offer to visit or to rent for company´s or private parties and events.

Mazars Czech Republic, one of the most important consulting companies on the market, decided to place their bets on on communication. Milan Prokopius, as its new key representative, had to learn how to integrate communication into his daily agenda and to support the whole team to adapt their way of thinking to the new reality. Even if the company has improved its public image, Prokopius is aware that communication itself is only one part of the business and the company’s activities must be fully consistent. The opportunities are still before us, he stated. (Author: Cristina Muntean)

Emil Jimenez is one of the founders of Passion Communications, an agency that strives to bridge traditional and digital media. As the agency that stands behind the Staropramen campaign Legends of Prague, Emil is one of those creative communicators who always look for the next thing to hit the market and take companies and individuals to the next level. And the next big thing will be mobile communication. As we learn to live our lives more and more through small devices that bring a whole world in our pocket, our habits change – and companies need to get ready for this new communication landscape, he claims. (Author: Cristina Muntean)

Mr. Smida will be speaking to the International Strategy Forum the SEARCH FOR LEADERSHIP AND EXCELLENCE:: COPING WITH THE GENERAL ELECTRIC AND ALFA BANK CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES. More information on the forum can be found at www.ssrip.cz .