2008 (Issue 2 of 2) - The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the

Transcription

Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic
Chambre de Commerce canadienne en République tchèque
Kanadská obchodní komora v České republice
2
4
16 – 17
IN REMEMBRANCE OF TOMÁŠ J. BAŤA JR.
THE CHAMBER’S NEW BOARD
THE FIRST LADY OF CZECH BUSINESS IS A CANADIAN!
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2008
GoCanada
Chamber Newsletter
Spring/Summer/
Autumn 2008
IN REMEMBRANCE OF TOMÁŠ J. BAŤA JR.
O
n September 1, 2008, we were saddened
to hear of the demise of a leading figure
of the Czech-Canadian community, Tomáš
J. Baťa Jr., less than a month before his
94th birthday. He was, among other things,
a founding father of the first Canadian
Czech Chamber of Commerce that was
established in Toronto in the early 1990s.
His remarkable business accomplishments
and advanced management style, as well
as his personal charisma and his endless
vitality were a source of inspiration to
many members of the Chamber. Some have
shared their thoughts and memories with
GoCanada.
Otto Jelínek, Honorary Member
of the Chamber’s Board, Chairman, Central
European Operations, Colliers International:
There are many ways to describe Tomáš Baťa: A
successful businessman; a generous philanthropist; a committed family man; an international
celebrity - and more. I am fortunate that I can
describe him as a long-time friend and mentor.
For example, when I started my business in
Canada many years ago, Tom was there to
guide me.
When I first came to Ottawa as a “greenhorn”
Member of Parliament, he was always available to point out the potential dangers within
the bureaucratic maze of the nation’s capital.
When I first led a Canadian trade and investment mission to Czechoslovakia in 1990, Tom
Baťa was not only a key member of the delegation, but my closest confidant and a committed supporter.
Whenever I needed an ear to express my concerns and uncertainties, Tom was always there
to listen and guide me.
Whenever I required a shoulder to lean on,
his Herculean confidence and support was
waiting for me. Over the years, I came to look
at Tomáš Baťa not only as a friend but much
more: a man of trust, and a source of inspiration.
Yet I know I was not alone in feeling this way.
There are literally thousands of human beings
around the world who have felt that Baťa
touch and held the hand that would help to
shape better lives and communities from one
continent to the other.
His extraordinary wisdom and positive attitude towards work and life was always sprinkled with the old Baťa humour. At the age of
90 when asked whether he preferred crosscountry skiing to down-hill he was quick to
respond: “Cross-country skiing is for old
people”.
He was a source of endless energy. He would
breeze into town, begin a hectic and detailed
two or three day programme, and just as quickly depart for yet another country, or another
continent, to spread the Baťa magic.
Such was Tom Baťa’s way of life. This is the
legacy of Tomáš Baťa – a man who always
strived to make things better. He remains an
inspiration to us all.
Vladislava Kozáková, Managing Director,
Celestica Czech Republic:
I have felt the strong impact of the Baťa
legacy first-hand being from Moravia. My
first perceptions of the Baťaesque vision of
business and life stemmed from my visits to
Zlín, the town that witnessed the beginnings
of the Baťa family venture. When I began to
pursue a career in human resources, I became
aware of the value of the Baťa concepts on a
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GoCanada 2/2008
professional level. I was truly amazed to see
that programmes such as performance measurement, motivation or employees’ retention
– nowadays often presented as recent innovations – were implemented in the Baťa factories
decades ago.
During a management training course that
I attended at Celestica’s headquarters in
Toronto, the participants were asked to name
people whom they considered world leaders.
Choices included Winston Churchill, as well
as several US Presidents. When my turn came,
I replied “Tomáš Baťa”.
When I came to Toronto again last year, my
superior, Lisa Collnett, had a surprise for me.
Her father had for decades been the personal
accountant of the Baťa family; with his help,
Lisa arranged for me to meet Mr. Baťa. He had
just arrived from Prague but showed no signs
of fatigue. We spent an hour in a one-on-one
conversation; he spoke of Canada, the Czech
Republic (not forgetting to mention Czech
girls) and asked about my work. I cannot
remember all the topics that we talked about
– as I was so excited – but I will never forget
the friendly and relaxed atmosphere that prevailed throughout the meeting and the way in
which Mr. Baťa received me; I had the feeling
that I could talk to him about any subject. I
was profoundly grateful to him for sharing
with me his wisdom and his life experience.
Before we parted, he whispered into my ear:
“We shall never know what buttons we will be
wearing next year.” I have often thought about
what exactly he meant – perhaps a reference to
the challenges that await human beings in the
course of their life and career.
Mr. Baťa’s company has offices in the same
building where Celestica has its headquarters,
at Toronto’s Concorde Place; on entering the
reception area visitors are greeted with both a
caring atmosphere and an excellent environment, rich traditions that have marked the
history of the Baťa ventures. Whenever I enter
the building I am always reminded of that special meeting with Mr. Baťa – not that I need
reminding.
Frank Farsky, Managing Director, Renault
Trucks CR:
I met Tom Baťa in Toronto, at the establishment of the Canadian Czech Chamber; then
Spring / Summer / Autumn 2008
in Prague when I was negotiating with the
Czechoslovak government on the VW-Škoda
joint venture.
He called me in late 1991 to discuss whether
to keep the háček on t in the Baťa name, as we
had some experience with keeping the háček
/“crown“/ on the S in the Škoda corporate
name; it was clearly agreed that, in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia, the háček should be
kept. I was glad to see this implemented.
We were next together in Zlín for his birthday
celebrations at the Pragobanka Cup, an ice
hockey tournament. I was awarding a car to
the best player, he was presenting an honorary
watch; all of Zlín was ecstatic to see him.
My dealings with Tom were always a pleasure,
a feeling of peace and security was always
radiating out of him. He was a fantastic personification of the free enterprise, an inspiration
to all entrepreneurs not only in the Czech
Republic, but worldwide!
Jiří Krejča, Board Chairman & CEO,
G4S Security Services (CZ):
I met Mr. Baťa on various occasions, especially
at events organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Meeting him was always
a very strong emotional experience for me.
I was born in Baťa’s hospital in Zlín. Many
relatives of mine worked in ex-Baťa factories
(Svit, Moravan, Barum, ZPS) and I spent the
first 18 years of my life in Baťa’s schools in
Otrokovice.
I have always appreciated the way in which
the Baťas, both Tomáš Baťa Sr. and Tomáš
Baťa Jr., balanced the requirements of hard
work with unique remuneration packages and
the care of employees. This has always been
a strong inspiration for me in all my management positions.
Mr. Baťa died but his and his father’s entrepreneurial spirit will remain deep in my blood.
Bedřich Hadžiu, Managing Director, Juristrans:
When I was studying at a private business
school, many years ago, we were shown a
documentary on Tomáš Baťa Sr., the Founder
of the Baťa Empire. It was a fascinating documentary composed partly of quotes taken from
his personal diaries and letters. I can recall one
statement in particular that has stuck with me
since: Tomáš Baťa, the Founder, says that his
main driving force in establishing the company was his desire to help his poor native
region, Zlínsko, and elevate it economically.
He accomplished this with amazing success!
I remember this message as a memento, as evidence of how great business success may stem
from, and be spurred by, noble motivations.
And I feel such an admirable stance could be
particularly inspirational in this day and age
when often businessmen see “profit for the
sake of profit alone” as their sole motivation
for doing business.
I have mourned the death of Tomáš Baťa Jr.
The Baťa family did so much for our country
and their name is synonymous with the best
traditions of Czechoslovakia’s First Republic
period. Regrettably, I think the Czech State
still owes them a great deal in terms of a proper
reward and recognition.
REVIEWING THE PAST AND PLANNING THE FUTURE
2008 Annual General Meeting
Fall is the season when members review
the Chamber’s activities and discuss its
future at the Annual General Meeting.
Every two years, they elect a Board of
Directors and Administrative Board to
govern the organization’s affairs until the
next elections. This year the AGM, with
election of new Board members, took
place on November 5. As is tradition the
venue was Hotel Palace Praha.
Ambassador Michael Calcott, the Chamber’s Honorary Chairman, extended
words of appreciation and encouragement to the attending members. Sadly
this was his last AGM – his successor will
hopefully be present at the next annual
meeting. Peter Formánek, the Chamber
President, spoke about the Chamber’s
activities and Jiří Krejča, the Treasurer,
reported on the accounting procedures
which were used and the Chamber’s
finances in the past year. Members were
presented with a list of the 31 events held
since the 2007 AGM (11 business breakfasts/debates with senior guest speakers,
7 seminars & members’ presentations, 4
social events, 7 informal mixers and 2
sports tournaments), and with the basic
budgetary figures. Thereafter, the nominees for positions on the Board took the
floor to introduce themselves before the
present members cast their votes.
Board of Directors:
Muriel Anton,
CEO, Vodafone Czech Republic, a.s.
Administrative Board:
Karel Bern,
IT Director Europe, Celestica
Czech Republic, s.r.o.
The newly elected Board of Directors
and Administrative Board are composed
of both long-serving Chamber veterans
and new members – which is usually an
auspicious combination. The professional qualities of the elected members promise that the Chamber will be no exception in this respect.
- ab Photos by Adam Veselý
Juraj Koza,
General Manager,
Nortel Networks, s.r.o.
Peter P. Formánek,
Governor, MacLachlan College
Libor Chytrý,
General Manager, Magna
Seating Chomutov s.r.o.
Alan Krautstengl,
President, Anglo-American
University
Thomas Hrubý,
Partner, HRUBÝ &
BUCHVALDEK, v.o.s.
Radek Dohnal,
Vice-Chairman of the Board,
TOP HOTELS GROUP, a.s.
Radek Moravec,
Country Manager, MCCAIN
FOODS Czech Republic, s.r.o.
Jiří Krejča,
Board Chairman & CEO, G4S
Security Services (CZ), a.s.
Monika Fraňková,
Head of Expat Center,
Česká spořitelna, a.s.
Stephen Lukas,
Owner, Vienna Woods Limited
Marek Hencl,
Managing Director,
AARTKOM s.r.o.
Alexandra Rudyšarová,
Acting CEO, CzechInvest
– Investment and Business
Development Agency
EVENTS: DEBATING WITH VIP SPEAKERS
Business Breakfast with Zdeněk Tůma,
Governor of the Czech National Bank
On March 31, 2008 the Chamber was
privileged to welcome Governor Tůma
as a keynote speaker within our Business
Breakfasts programme for the third time.
The Governor’s remarks as well as his
well-founded answers to a series of questions provided invaluable information
on the role of the Czech National Bank
in the economy against the background
of contemporary European and global
economic developments. The Governor
spoke of the dilemmas faced by central bankers globally, and by the Czech
National Bank in particular, in coping
with inflationary pressures on the one
hand, and anti-inflationary pressures on
the other (maintaining price stability, and
thus a low-inflation environment, is the
primary task of the Czech National Bank
as defined by law). Progress towards
adoption of the Euro was discussed at
length from the political, economic and
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GoCanada 2/2008
technical point of view; the Governor
commented on the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining an independent
monetary policy as opposed to switching
to the European currency, while emphasizing that deciding when to adopt the
Euro was a political decision to be made
by the Government. Governor Tůma
also referred to the crucial role that the
central bank has as the sole supervisor of
the financial sector in the Czech Republic. He pointed out that the financial
sector has become increasingly integrated across borders (of which the Czech
Republic’s banks are a perfect example),
and highlighted the importance of communication among the authorities supervising financial institutions at the international level.
The breakfast was held with the kind
support of Prague’s Anglo-American
University; Prague Marriott Hotel provided its traditional excellent service.
- ab Photos by Paul Pacey
Business Breakfast with Her Excellency
Huo Yuzhen, Ambassador of the People’s
Republic of China
Her Excellency Ambassador Huo
Yuzhen was the guest speaker at a business breakfast held on April 24, 2008
aimed at enlightening Chamber members on the future of the Chinese economy, whose growth has become an
increasingly important factor in global
economic developments, as well as publicizing the business opportunities available to foreign companies in China.
In her opening remarks, the Ambassador
summarized the key factors behind China’s economic success, emphasizing that
the Chinese economy is now an open
market and that major progress has been
made in infrastructure. She was optimistic about her country’s ability to maintain
their growth trend; she referred to the
large domestic demands in China; the
country’s abundant human resources; and
the availability of capital. As China’s political and social situation has been stable,
this may be a crucial factor in attracting
more foreign investments. In respect of
the economic cooperation between China
and the Czech Republic, the Ambassador applauded the significant growth in
bilateral trade while stressing that there is
still great potential for expansion within
the production sector. More cooperation
in the production sector can lead to more
exports to China, she said, and encouraged Czech companies to invest in China.
Cooperation can be enhanced through
joint business activities in third countries.
Growth opportunities exist within the
services sector, especially in finance, insurance, logistics, and tourism. In conclusion, the Ambassador expressed her conviction that the 2008 Summer Olympics,
held in Beijing, would help to improve
China’s relationship with the other world
nations.
Answering the participants’ questions,
the Ambassador commented on the
economic potential which exists in the
environmental protection field in China;
the desirability of improving transport
between China and the Czech Republic; and, China’s relationship with the
United States; she also presented her
Government’s position on human rights
issues.
The breakfast was held at Diplomat
Hotel, with the professional cooperation
of the hotel staff.
Business Breakfast with Martin Roman,
Board Chairman & CEO, ČEZ
The breakfast with Martin Roman, held
on May 20, 2008, was an opportunity for
a detailed debate on energy as a crucial
factor of economic development.
Mr. Roman, Board Chairman & CEO
of ČEZ since 2004, offered enlightening
comments on the situation of the Czech
Republic’s energy sector and the related economic, technological, political
as well as environmental aspects. He
emphasized the need to ensure security
of supply; a decision on the future of
energy production should be taken fairly
soon to avoid shortages in a not too distant future. The two viable options to
choose from are nuclear energy vs. gas
power stations. The scope for further use
of coal is limited, and the same is true
for other alternative sources of energy.
Moreover, even production from alternative sources may burden the environment – e.g. to produce energy from biomass on a larger scale, numerous trucks
would be needed to transport this to the
production facilities. Greater emphasis
on nuclear energy would be preferable
for a number of reasons; in addition to
lowering production costs, it would also
make it possible to avoid dependence
on gas supplies from Russia. The existing concerns about the safety of nuclear
power generation can largely be allayed.
The level of security applied at Czech
nuclear power stations at present is very
high – the present technologies would
never allow a Chernobyl-like accident
to happen, said Mr. Roman. Moreover,
envisaged technological innovations
will, for instance, increase the percentage of reusability of nuclear waste in
the coming decades. While the political
situation within the ruling three-party
coalition does not allow the Government
to move toward advancing the nuclear
energy sector, the Czech Republic, as
Mr. Roman pointed out, is among the
countries with the highest popular support for nuclear energy.
The other issues that were discussed
included ČEZ’s acquisitions in other
European countries, its financial policies, e.g. the steps taken to protect the
company from currency risks, etc.
The breakfast was held with the support
of the Anglo-American University and
G4S Security Services (CZ); the Four
Seasons Hotel Prague provided excellent services meeting the best standards
of hospitality.
- ab -
Business Breakfast with His Excellency
Hideaki Kumazawa, Ambassador
of Japan
The series of breakfast meetings with
distinguished speakers from the diplomatic community continued on July 10,
2008 when the Chamber welcomed H.E.
Ambassador Hideaki Kumazawa of
Japan as guest of honour. The event presented an opportunity to thank Ambassador Kumazawa for the active support
that he had given to the furtherance of
relations between the Japanese and Canadian Chambers of Commerce throughout his tenure in the Czech Republic;
the breakfast took place shortly before
Ambassador Kumazawa completed his
diplomatic mission and left Prague. Mr.
Masami Saito, General Manager of the
Prague Office of Mitsubishi Corporation, represented the Japanese Chamber
of Commerce as its Vice President.
The Ambassador highlighted the growing
volume of Japanese investments in the
- ab Photos by Paul Pacey/Courtesy of
Photos by Paul Pacey/Courtesy of
Czech Republic. The presence of more
than 200 Japanese companies in several
GoCanada 2/2008
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regions of this country represents great
potential for advancing trade and business links. Business relations between
the two countries are actively promoted
by the Prague Office of JETRO – the
Japanese External Trade Organization.
Ambassador Kumazawa also mentioned
room for expansion in the tourist industry both ways, inviting the participants to
visit Japan and to get to know its beauty
and rich cultural heritage. He also spoke
about the envisaged economic developments in Japan and about Japan’s role in
the global economy. The Embassy presented the participants with a sheet sum-
marizing the key facts and figures.
The ensuing debate touched upon a
number of issues, such as Japanese
investment in Canada and other countries; availability of manpower for Japanese businesses; the existing transport
channels between the Czech Republic
and Japan and the growing interest in
Prague-Tokyo charter flights; and opportunities for student exchanges.
The breakfast was graciously co-sponsored by the Anglo-American University and G4S Security Services (CZ).
Hotel Savoy offered the most pleasant
ambience of its Hradčany Restaurant as
Business Breakfast with Martin Říman,
Minister of Industry and Trade
Minister Říman was the Chamber’s guest
of honour on September 18, 2008.
While stating that the current global economic problems had so far affected the
Czech Republic less severely than other
parts of the world, the Minister admitted that a slowdown was to be expected. Against this background, the Czech
business community has been attaching
a growing importance to progress toward
the adoption of the Euro – this has replaced labour force availability as the
No. 1 issue for Czech businesses. The
Government and the Czech National
Bank do not advocate moving too hastily
into the Euro zone, said Minister Říman.
While exporters appear to be prepared
to accept growing inflation as a penalty
for earlier Euro introduction, Minister
Říman would see such inflation growth
as a problem. Another factor for concern,
he said, is the tendency to respond to
the economic crisis by introducing new
regulatory measures on a larger scale
than is justified. The business community should oppose politicians’ attempts
to resort to excessive regulation, stressed
the Minister.
These and a number of other topics
were discussed during the ensuing question and answer session. The Minister
said he was still committed to merging
CzechTrade and CzechInvest; however,
2008 – the year when CzechInvest was
launching new Operational Programmes for Czech businesses to obtain financing from EU funds – was not suitable
for structural changes within the agencies. The Czech Republic should seek
to remain attractive for foreign inves-
tors, principally by offering an overall
business-friendly environment instead
of granting individual incentives, said
Minister Říman. He also highlighted the
importance of greater diversification of
the markets for Czech exports.
The Anglo-American University, the
principal sponsor of the Chamber’s
Business Breakfasts programme, supported this event as well. The Four Seasons
Hotel displayed its usual high standard
of hospitality and service.
Business Breakfast with Jaroslav Míl,
President, Confederation of Industry of the
Czech Republic
The debate conducted within the Chamber about the condition of the Czech
economy in an international context continued on October 6, 2008 when we welcomed Jaroslav Míl, leader of the confederation uniting businesses in the industry
and transport sectors, as guest of honour.
The main topics included adoption of the
Euro, the situation in Czech industry and
energy-related policies.
Czech industry would benefit from introduction of the Euro, said Mr. Míl. The
changing CZK/EUR exchange rate is
a major variable in long-term planning;
smaller and medium-sized companies
especially often lack the know-how for
coping with this. Moreover, the parameters applied within the Euro zone
are conducive toward healthier budgetary policies. Despite these known
facts, there is no clear political will to
proceed toward Euro adoption, he said,
expressing the hope that somebody will
eventually be brave enough to set a realistic date. 2012 would still be attainable,
but 2013 or 2014 appear more likely. As
Czech industry heads toward a period of
slower growth, and some Western countries expect a time of no growth, it will be
necessary to redirect attention to opportunities existing in the Eastern markets,
he added.
Mr. Míl also offered interesting, and
often critical comments on European
policies designed to promote environmentally-friendly industries, pointing
out that the declared intentions often
yield to the pragmatic interests of individual countries and that the costs are
not matched by the effects. The debate
also touched on the quality of education.
New legislation and closer cooperation
between industry and universities are
needed, even though efforts to this end
have encountered resistance in certain
academic circles. Mr. Míl was equally
candid in his comments on the role of
politicians. Politics needs people with
vision, he said, and with the courage to
persevere with reforms even though they
may be difficult to implement, and not
immediately popular. On that subject,
he recalled Churchill’s words: “When
you go through hell keep going.”
The breakfast was held with the support of the Anglo-American University;
Havel & Holásek, Attorneys at Law; and
Hilton Prague that provided the venue
as well as fine conference services.
GoCanada 2/2008
well as a special breakfast menu, including Japanese delicacies.
EVENTS: DISCUSSING CZECH-CANADIAN RELATIONS
Seminar: Services Offered by Canadian
Institutions to Promote Canada-Czech
Business Links
The aim of this seminar, held on June
3, 2008, was to educate members of the
Chamber on the range of services available to both Canadian and international
companies via agencies acting on behalf
of the Canadian Government.
Sameena Qureshi, Commercial Counsellor of the Canadian Embassy in Prague,
presented the programmes run by the
Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
(TCS), who are represented in the Czech
Republic by the Embassy’s Commercial
Section. TCS’s mission is to assist companies established in Canada or foreign
subsidiaries of Canadian firms to enter
and operate within international markets.
Canadian businesses can call on TCS when
they need help in assessing a product’s
potential market in a particular territory;
making quality contacts with prospective
clients, business partners, financial and
legal institutions, investment promotion
agencies, etc.; obtaining relevant market
and industry information; and, improving
their business strategies. Although TCS
will not get involved in private disputes,
they can provide general advice. Ms.
Qureshi highlighted it was not part of
TCS’s mandate to help Czech companies
in the aforementioned areas; Czech firms
interested in the Canadian market can conAfternoon Tea with Karel Žebrakovský,
Ambassador Designate of the Czech
Republic to Canada
On September 25, 2008 the Chamber
offered its members an opportunity to
meet with the Czech Republic’s newly
appointed Ambassador to Canada shortly
before he left for Ottawa to take up his
diplomatic responsibilities. The meeting
was also attended by a visiting Canadian
Senator, The Hon. Yoine Goldstein.
Ambassador Žebrakovský highlighted the
principal areas of cooperation between the
two countries. He encouraged the participants to follow the activities of the Czech
Embassy in Ottawa by visiting www.mzv.
cz/ottawa, where they would find comprehensive information about Czech-Cana-
tact the Czech Government’s commercial
service in Canada, via CzechTrade office
in Toronto, the Czech Embassy in Ottawa
and the Consulate General in Montréal.
On the other hand, TCS seeks to promote
foreign direct investment in Canada. Ms.
Qureshi advised participants to visit
www.infoexport.gc.ca and www.investincanada.gc.ca to obtain more information.
Marzena Koczut, Chief Representative of
Export Development Canada (EDC) for
Central Europe, described EDC’s role as
a provider of financial solutions and risk
management services for projects which
help further Canadian business interests.
EDC’s primary objective is to assist Canadian exporters and investors, but the
agency is well equipped to bring value
also to buyers of Canadian goods and
services – private entities, municipalities,
and financial institutions worldwide. Ms.
Koczut described several situations where
EDC could help by financing projects
involving direct Canadian investment
dian relations. The official visit of Canada’s Governor General to the Czech Republic in early December 2008 should give
a new impetus to this bilateral relationship.
Senator Goldstein stressed the significance
of the Canada-EU relationship, especially
the envisaged agreement on a stronger economic partnership. The attending mem-
abroad, direct foreign investment into
Canada or when foreign entities purchase
Canadian goods and services. EDC’s participation is implemented on commercial
terms, in the form of loans, bank guarantees or lines of credit; EDC does not provide subsidies, stressed Ms. Koczut. She
also listed EDC’s services in the bond and
insurance fields helping to guard against
commercial and/or political risks. Small
and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from EDC’s Small Buyers Program.
EDC’s extensive expertise derives from
sixty years of professional experience;
their clients can expect customized services and support throughout the execution
of their projects. EDC’s performance is
enhanced by its strong partnerships with
business agencies in other countries, commercial banks and financial institutions
across the globe and cooperation with the
Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.
Detailed information on EDC is available
at www.edc.ca; individual inquiries from
businesses based in the Czech Republic
should be directed to Ms. Koczut’s office
in Warsaw.
TMF Czech allowed the Chamber to use
its board room, with state-of-the-art equipment, for this enlightening event.
Photo by Kateřina Fearon
- ab -
bers offered their opinions on a number
of Czech-Canadian issues. Otto Jelínek
spoke of the desirability of promoting
cooperation in the fields of research and
development. The way in which Czechs
are seen in Canada, and the impact of certain surviving misperceptions, was also discussed. Ambassador Žebrakovský made it
clear that he did not intend to move in official circles only, but that active pursuit of
contacts with people was one of the priorities of his mission in Canada.
The meeting took place in the charming
Hunting Room of Alchymist Grand
Hotel and Spa, with the kind cooperation
of the hotel staff.
- ab Photo by Paul Pacey
RESPECT FASHION:
THE PERFECT TAILORING
A Tailor–made outfit is the ultimate in male elegance. Respect Fashion offers this service
through our stylists who provide personal tailoring using
the finest fabrics of Loro Piana
and Ermenegildo Zegna.
Tailor-made shirts and famous
brand ties to complement your
suit are available.
The tailoring is carried out
within 4 weeks, at a standard
price of approx 650 Euro (cca
16000 Kč) per suit. Members of
the Canadian Chamber of Com-
merce in the Czech Republic
are eligible to a 20 per cent discount off our standard prices.
For further details please visit
our website at:
www.respect-fashion.cz
appointments can also
be made by writing to
[email protected]
or calling 271 730 218
or 777 016 071.
You will find us at Kolínská 13,
Praha 3 – Vinohrady.
GoCanada 2/2008
7
Prague Marriott Hotel
V Celnici 8, 110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Marriott Executive Apartments
V Tuních 9, 120 00 Praha 2
Czech Republic
Courtyard by Marriott Prague Flora
Lucemburská 46, 130 00 Praha 3
Czech Republic
Airport
Courtyard by Marriott Prague Aiport
Aviatická 1092/8, 161 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic
Courtyard by Marriott Pilsen
Sady 5. kvetna 57, 301 00 Plzen
Czech Republic
PRAGUE MARRIOTT HOTEL
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT PRAGUE FLORA
Location and highlights
The Marriott’s flagship hotel in the Czech
The hotel is located in the trendy district
Republic, the Prague Marriott Hotel,
of Vinohrady, only four stops by under-
is located in the heart of the city center,
ground from the historic city center.
a few steps away from the historical
In the neighborhood you can find parks,
landmarks, such as the Municipal House,
shopping facilities, restaurants, commercial
or the Powder Tower, and a short walk
and 19th century residential buildings.
from the Old Town Square or Wenceslas
Square. The hotel interior was recently
renovated; its rooms and suites now offer
even more comfort and luxury.
Guest Room Information
293 spacious guest rooms including
78 Executive rooms, two Presidential suites,
28 Junior suites and 5 Bi-level suites,
111 Double/double rooms, 133 King rooms,
14 Queen rooms, 8 Accessible rooms.
161 rooms including 10 Superior Deluxe
For meetings, conferences and group
requests at the Prague Marriott Hotel,
Marriott Executive Apartments &
Courtyard by Marriott Prague Flora,
please contact:
Telephone:
+420 222ˇ 888 860
+420 222 888 861
Email:
[email protected]
Meeting and Banquet Facilities
King rooms, 2 Junior suites, 84 Deluxe
More than 1 450 m2 of beautifully appointed
King rooms, 64 Deluxe Double rooms and
and flexible conference, reception and ban-
one Accessible Deluxe King room.
quet space, located on one level. Largest
ballroom Bohemia suitable for up to
660 persons, breakout rooms with day-
3 conference rooms are located on the
light accommodate from 10 - 40 persons.
ground floor.The ballroom can be divided
into 2 separate rooms (total 160 m2).
2 meeting rooms with daylight (88m2 and
77 m2), all rooms are equipped
with flat screens.
For meetings, conferences and group
requests at the Courtyard by Marriott
Prague Airport & Courtyard by Marriott
Pilsen, please contact:
Telephone: +420 236 077 145
Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Restaurants and bars
Purple basil bar and bistro featuring
Mediterranean cuisine seats 100 people,
“The Market” offers beverages, fresh
Brasserie Praha open daily, serving
salads, ice creams, magazines, souvenirs,
international cuisine and featuring
newspapers and hot drinks.
a variety of seasonal promotions. Seating
for 140 persons.The lobby Bar and café
Room reservations for all properties:
Telephone: +420 222 888 822
marriott.com
open daily, offering drinks and light meals.
Seating for 80 persons.
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT PILSEN
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT PRAGUE AIRPORT
MARRIOTT EXECUTIVE APARTMENTS
The hotel is a smart choice for all travelers
Conveniently located directly at the Prague
This distinguished city location is within
coming either for business or leisure to
International Airport Ruzyneˇ within a short
walking distance of the National Museum,
Pilsen (located 70 km from Prague).
walk from Terminal 2. The city center
Prague’s favorite shopping areas, historical
With its convenient location in the city center
can be reached within 20 minutes by
sights, banks and restaurants.
it provides a comfortable environment
public transport.
combined with a professional and consistent
service. Many sightseeing attractions like
53 apartments including studio and one
the Republic Square or popular Pilsen
235 rooms including 132 Quality King
bedroom types. All rooms have a “Home
Brewery are located just beside the hotel.
rooms, 98 Double/double rooms and
office” area with two lines, high speed
5 Studios.
(wired) internet access and fully equipped
kitchen. The apartments are tastefully
195 rooms including 97 Quality King
furnished, with an efficient, comfortable
rooms, 74 Double/double rooms, 7 Superior
3 meeting rooms on the same floor with
layout.
rooms, 10 Junior suites and 7 Studios.
a total meeting space of 345 m2, direct
access to the outside terrace and garden.
All dividable into smaller breakout rooms
A very modern ballroom, dividable into
and equipped with latest audio-visual
two rooms and two additional meeting
equipment and high speed internet.
rooms with a total area of 250 m . All
The meeting facilities accommodate from
rooms have natural daylight, individually
20 to 270 persons.
2
controlled air-conditioning and the latest
state of the art AV technology. The meeting
rooms accommodate 31 to 214 guests.
Oléo Pazzo® Mediterranean Bistro
offers innovative Mediterranean cuisine
Guest Services
prepared in a show kitchen. Seats 210
Pre-arrival consultations
people. “The Market” offers beverages,
Business center
fresh salads, ice creams, magazines,
Housekeeping
souvenirs, newspapers and hot drinks.
Dry cleaning
Grocery service
Complimentary coffee and tea
in the residents’ lounge
Laundry facilities on each floor
Garage parking
Pilsn’n’Grill serves Czech and international
24 hour security services
delights with Pilsner Urquell and other
brands of delicious beers. It has a capacity
Recreational Facilities
for 133 seats. “The Market” offers
Fitness room and sauna
beverages, fresh salads, ice creams,
Lounge for socializing
magazines, souvenirs, newspapers and
hot drinks. Open 24 hrs.
EVENTS: LEARNING FROM ONE ANOTHER
Seminar: Everything You Need to Know
about the BlackBerry
The Chamber is always delighted to
promote successful Canadian products,
and therefore welcomed the proposal
of Consito to organize a seminar on the
BlackBerry. Ondřej Kubeček, Consito’s
Account Manager who is head of sales
for BlackBerry solutions in the Czech
Republic, presented the multiple uses of
this sophisticated communication tool to
us on April 10, 2008.
The BlackBerry was launched in 1999 by
Research in Motion, a leading designer,
manufacturer and marketer of wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile
communications market which are based
in Waterloo, Canada. Over 14 million
subscribers in 135 countries rely on it
Special Presentation: Moving toward Success
On May 29, 2008 members of the Chamber were invited to a special event hosted
by Alan Krautstengl, President of the
Anglo-American University. The venue,
unusually, was not a classroom, but a car
showroom at Průhonice. Why did the
university choose this place for a presentation of its educational concepts (especially the new MBA Program offered in
cooperation with Chapman University,
USA)? The great Cadillacs that were
on display were certainly a wonderful
Special Presentation: Staying Young
On September 23, 2008 members of the
Chamber had the opportunity to get
professional advice on how to slow down
the processes associated with aging. The
event focusing on this topic was held
on the premises of the A2C Anti–Aging
Clinic.
After a warm introduction, Dr. Monika
Golková, the clinic’s founder and head,
gave us a comprehensive presentation
which concentrated on the many different treatments offered, including Bio
age testing (a biological measurement
of how the organs are functioning), food
intolerance testing (where up to 217 dif-
Presentation & Tour: Prague Airport
Prague Airport Authority invited members of the Chamber to a tour of its facilities at Prague-Ruzyně Airport. The
visit took place on October 22, 2008 and
emphasized the progress they have made
in terms of catering for both the comfort
and safety of their passengers. The tour
began with a drink at the VIP Lounge
that had just been reopened after a major
refurbishment. Following this a bus took
us to the airfield where we could observe
air traffic at close range, and see some of
the recent enlargements and structural
improvements which had taken place.
Another special treat in store for us was
a presentation by the airport fire service
10
GoCanada 2/2008
for their communication needs. The
BlackBerry enables its users to communicate via E-Mail, Voice, SMS, MMS or
Messenger anytime and anywhere.
Users can organize their appointment
calendars, maintain mobile address books
or browse on the Internet. The BlackBerry takes pictures and plays music; it
allows team members to share the latest
information no matter where they are
based in a cost-effective manner. A high
degree of security is another major asset.
All seminar participants were offered
the opportunity of arranging a personal
consultation and demonstration to allow
them to learn more about how the BlackBerry can help them in their business or
personal lives.
The Prague Office at the University of
Pittsburgh – Katz Graduate School of
Business allowed the Chamber to use its
central Prague training room with stateof-the-art conference equipment for this
event.
- ab -
a graduate of the school and currently
serves on AAU’s Board of Trustees. His
career serves as an example that a highquality education can help a person
embark on the road to professional success, just like a high-quality car delivers
you to your chosen destination.
Zátiší Catering Group served fine refreshments, courtesy of AAU.
visual attraction but this was not the only
reason. The manager who welcomed us
into the showroom, Andrej Barčák, is
ferent foods are tested), skin vitality
testing, DNA testing, and the related
treatments/advice, all with the ultimate
goal of delaying or reducing the aging
process naturally. All attendees’ business
cards were submitted into a raffle, and
(including a demonstration) of the stateof-the-art machinery they use; and, a display of the maintenance vehicles used by
the airfield in winter. Unfortunately due
to the size of the group (the turnout surpassed our expectations), we could not
visit some areas as space was limited.
- ab -
the complimentary prizes offered gave
them the chance to experience some of
these tests and treatments first hand. The
floor was then opened up to questions
from the members, which many people
took the opportunity to ask.
The complimentary food provided by
the clinic was natural food with very few
extra ingredients, which also had the
added benefit of being anti aging at the
same time.
– pb/ab –
Jiří Pos, Senior Executive Director for
Aviation Business, was a knowledgeable tour guide; whilst Marta Guthová,
Executive Director for Non-Aviation
Business, made all the arrangements and
accompanied us throughout the visit.
After the tour, the friendly get-together
continued at the Courtyard by Marriott
Prague Airport. This No. 1 airport hotel
is conveniently located opposite the
main terminals and offers travellers both
a welcoming environment and fine cuisine with a Mediterranean flair.
– ab –
EVENTS: CELEBRATING CANADIAN HOLIDAYS
Canada Day Celebration
On June 24, 2008 the Chamber hosted
its Canada Day party (not to be confused
with the Ambassador’s Canada Day
reception that took place on the actual
Canada Day, July 1).
Desiring to offer all its members and
friends an opportunity to join in the celebration of Canada as a wonderful and
inspiring country, the Chamber organized a social evening on the terrace of
one of Prague’s most magnificent villas
- the Gröbovka, a late 19th century NeoRenaissance building surrounded by
the vast green area of the Havlíček Gardens at Vinohrady. The attending guests
could admire the unique beauty of the
building that has reemerged after Gröbovka underwent a complete renovation
in recent years, thanks to the initiative of
its present tenant, CEELI Institute.
des Charentes; as well as music performed by Dixieland pražských aviatiků.
Photos by Aneta Hořínková
- ab -
The support of the event sponsors enabled us to enjoy a celebration including
a fine buffet prepared by Vyšehrad 2000;
a tasting of French cognacs and Pineau
Thanksgiving Dinner
A report about the Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the Chamber
every year in mid-October seems to be
a carbon copy of the one from the year
before – just like the event itself, a traditional gathering of numerous members
and friends of the Chamber at Corinthia
Towers Hotel offering a finely appointed dining room, delicious Canadian
turkey menu and a friendly environment
welcoming to both adults and children.
The version of October 19, 2008 was no
exception.
Several sponsors and partners graciously
contributed to the success of the event:
Photos by Paul Pacey
- ab -
EVENTS: MINGLING & NETWORKING
Informal Mixers
The Chamber continued to organize
the popular informal business mixers
affectionately known as “pub nights”.
Recently these get-togethers were held
in alternative venues. On March 19, we
held an Easter Night in the cozy Mezzo
Bar of the Corinthia Panorama Hotel.
On April 16, we assembled in a medieval
cellar in the Lesser Town (that currently
houses the Noble Club’s La Vinothéque)
with a wide choice of wines and cognacs.
In mid summer, July 31, those who were
not holidaying visited the Erpet Golf
Centre garden where they were provi-
ded with inspiration for both indoor
and outdoor sporting activities. On
August 27, we spent a pleasant summer
evening in the courtyard of Hotel Loreta
at Hradčany, located next to the famous
Loretto Church. And, on October 30,
the MaMaison Riverside Hotel Prague
hosted an Evening at the Bar within its
newly opened meeting rooms; they have
recently added conference services to
their acclaimed hospitality.
Whether held in a wine cellar, a garden or
a classy hotel, all these evenings allowed us
to unwind after a busy working day; they
also provided excellent networking opportunities both professionally and socially.
- ab –
GoCanada 2/2008
11
EVENTS: ENJOYING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
2008 Canada Czech Tennis Challenge
The amateur tennis tournament has been
part of the Chamber’s events calendar
for as long as we can remember. In the
last several years, it has brought together
more than 70 players for a whole day of
doubles matches on the courts of the 1st
Czech Lawn Tennis Club at Prague’s
Štvanice stadium. Saturday, May 17, 2008
was no exception. The perfect service
provided by the Štvanice staff; the experienced leadership of our regular tournament director, Jan Maulík; the fine food
served throughout the day by Kogo Restaurant; the enthusiasm of the players and
mercy on the part of the weather (luckily
the clouds that hovered over the stadium
disposed of their water elsewhere) all
added up to a most pleasant day. A few
new attractions included the display of a
fine BMW car and a whirlpool.
The finals were a repeat performance of
2007: the Billiard Art team, Pavel Strnad
and Ondřej Tomiško, defended the title
against representatives of Czech Airlines,
Karel Pavlíček and Petr Szlivka. Two
Japanese teams, Masato Kudoh with
Chip Shigematsu and Toshiyuki Morihashi with Atsushi Yoshida, finished
third and fourth respectively. The day
2008 Canada Czech Golf Challenge
A growing number of members requested that, in addition to the traditional
tennis tournament, the Chamber should
hold a golf event as well. The Chamber
responded and offered its first Canada
Czech Golf Challenge on Saturday,
June 7, 2008. The venue was the Malevil Royal Golf Club, set in the charming
countryside of Lužické hory. The turnout
surpassed our expectations – almost 60
players participated and competed in
three categories. Martin Trpkoš emerged
as the best player of the day, winning the
0 – 18 HCP category. The winner of the
18,1 – 36 HCP category was David Jirsa
and the first prize in the 37 – 54 HCP
category went to Lenka Krausová.
The Chamber would not have been able
to launch this new project without the
generous support that we received from
the event sponsors:
Our heartfelt thanks go to those who
donated prizes for both the winners and
the charity raffle.
was concluded with a good dinner featuring live music and wine tasting. A
charity raffle was held again with the proceeds donated to DAR – a centre offering
assistance to handicapped children and
their families.
The Chamber is truly grateful to the
event sponsors. Their generous support
has been essential to the success of the
tournament.
- ab -
Many of the participants have expressed
an interest in attending future golf
events presented by the Chamber. Thus,
it seems that a new tradition has been
initiated – you can look forward to the
second Canada Czech Golf Challenge in
2009. Based on this year’s experience, we
hope to offer an even better tournament
next time.
We were also grateful to those companies
that donated prizes for the most successful players:
- ab -
tried darts and mini golf.
Next time you get an invitation to Top
Hotel don’t be afraid of the distance – if
you follow the hotel signs correctly after
exiting the D 1 highway you will arrive
there in no time. And, unlike many central Prague venues, Top Hotel offers
ample parking space.
Photos by Adam Veselý
- ab -
Their contributions were very much
appreciated.
End of Summer Party
As the summer holiday season drew to a
close, the Chamber invited its members
and friends to the lovely Japanese garden
at the Top Hotel Praha. Some may have
thought that the distance to the venue
was too far but those who did make
the journey to the Prague 4 hotel complex on September 9, 2008 certainly did
not regret it. The sunny weather lulled
us into believing that summer was just
beginning, the hotel was very hospitable
and provided a fine buffet with a choice
of delicacies. The premises offer a wide
range of activities; on this occasion we
12
GoCanada 2/2008
A2C ANTI-AGING CLINIC
THE FIRST CERTIFIED CLINIC
SPECIALIZING IN ANTI-AGING MEDICINE
Do you feel the onset
of Aging?
When food affects you
A food intolerance test will help you
recognize which food is right for your
body, and which foods to avoid. A simple
adjustment in your eating habits can
change your weight, make you feel less
tired, add youthfulness to your complexion
and shine to your hair.
Your biological age is dependent
on the oldest organ in your body
Our Bio-Aging Programme establishes the
true age of individual organs, considers
the latest methods of natural rejuvenation,
as well as conducting a comprehensive
screening programme that can detect
potential vulnerability to illnesses before
they begin.
Aging can be slowed down
A bio-identical hormonal therapy
balances the hormones in your body and
reinvigorates your system.
Ìàënícìoòów³´¶®°²«°°¯¯¯«Ïñàçà°
Áíìòßáòóñäíðßìßîîíçìòëãìò¸
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MEMBER NEWS: NEW APPOINTMENTS, NEW VENTURES
O
n September 1, 2008, David
Grundel joined AlcatelLucent as General Manager of
Alcatel-Lucent Czech, based in
Prague.
r. Grundel assumed overall
responsibility
for
managing the day-to-day operations, as well as
taking the lead on strategic business directions
for Alcatel-Lucent in the Czech Republic. He
has extensive sales and operations experience
in the Czech Republic, having worked for
both telecoms equipment suppliers and service
providers in the past fifteen years. He joined
Alcatel-Lucent from Sitronics Telecom Solutions. Previously he worked for Etel Czech
Republic, Český Telecom (now Telefónica O2
Czech Republic), Nokia Czech Republic and
Nokia Russia.
r. Grundel graduated at the Technical
University of Brno as MSc in Electrical Engineering. He speaks Czech as a
mother tongue, fluent English and has a basic
knowledge of Russian.
M
M
T
he President of Adastra, Jan
Mrázek, has won the Ernst
& Young Entrepreneur of the
Year® 2008 Award in the Technology category for the Ontario
region. This award is presented
to business leaders who have
demonstrated innovation, personal integrity,
strategic direction, financial performance and,
of course, entrepreneurial spirit. The Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are
the pre-eminent awards in Canadian business.
“It is a tremendous honour to be named the
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year,”
said Dr. Mrázek. “This award is a reflection
not only on me, but on my two partners, our
management team and all Adastra employees
who have worked by my side these past eight
years to help the company achieve the great
success it has.”
n response to increasing interest on the
global market, Adastra is expanding its
global operations. Adastra’s owners, Jan
Červinka, Petr Jech, and Jan Mrázek, will
increasingly be focusing on the global activities of all Adastra entities, which has necessitated a reduction of their local management
responsibilities.
ffective October 1, 2008,
Katarína Machková became
the new Chief Executive Officer
of Adastra CR. “We pride ourselves on the fact that we allow
local general managers to head
our regional operations, such
as in Canada, where Darren Edery, a native
Canadian, has been in charge of operations for
almost a year,” said Petr Jech, COO, Adastra
Group.
s CEO, Ms. Machková is responsible
for the overall management of Adastra
Prague, as well as for developing Adastra’s
partnerships and sales relations as she remains
Sales Director of Adastra Prague. Before
joining Adastra, Ms. Machková worked at
Logica CMG, where she held various managerial posts, including that of Sales and Marketing Director for the CEE region. While operating in Logica for over six years, she focused
not only on the telecommunications sector,
but also on finance, energy, utilities, manufacturing and public services. Prior to Logica,
she worked for leading Czech and Slovak telecommunications companies including Lucent
Technologies and Eurotel Bratislava.
I
E
A
14
GoCanada 2/2008
O
H
SBC Bank has appointed
Arjan van den Berkmortel Chief Executive of its fast
growing franchise in the Czech
Republic. Mr. van den Berkmortel is a Dutch national with
over ten years of international
banking experience. Prior to assuming his
new responsibilities in Prague, he was deputy
head of HSBC’s Corporate Banking Division
in France. So far HSBC Bank has been focusing only on CMB clientele and secured fund
investment for private individuals. The Bank
has launched a new exclusive package of services for affluent clientele under the name of
HSBC Premier since the beginning of 2008.
Premier Service is an individually tailored
package of exclusive premier banking services
that can be accessed from many places you
choose to live or work.
R
ainer Ottenstein, a Member
of Commerzbank CEE Segment Board, joined the Prague
Branch of Commerzbank AG
on April 1, 2008 as one of its two
General Managers.
fter completing a degree
in business studies, Mr.
Ottenstein launched his career in 1987 by running the bank’s branch in Gaggenau, moving
on in 1990 to take charge as an Associate in the
Central Division Strategic Planning Unit and,
in 1995, as Head of the Division. Thereafter,
he became Head of the Branch Operations
in Madrid and Barcelona. Before joining the
Prague Branch, Mr. Ottenstein was appointed
Member of the Board of Managing Directors
of BRE Bank SA, Warsaw, first as Chief Financial Officer, then as Chief Operating Officer.
ommerzbank has reorganized its Central
and Eastern European business operations, sending out a clear message that the
CEE region is a core strategic market. Mr.
Ottenstein is responsible for business activities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and
Hungary.
A
C
F
our Seasons Hotels and
Resorts, a world industry
leader in the hospitality market,
announced the appointment
of Davide Barnes as General
Manager of Four Seasons Hotel
Prague effective May 26, 2008.
“
y family and I are thrilled to be living
in one of Europe’s most beautiful and
historic cities, I look forward to continuing
Four Seasons’ strong support of the Prague
Community,” said Mr. Barnes when taking up
his duties in Prague.
native of California, Mr. Barnes joined
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 2006
as Hotel Manager in Philadelphia. Beyond
Prague and Philadelphia, he has been working
in the hotel industry for the past fifteen years
with Benchmark Hotels at four of their properties, including the Resort at Squaw Creek
in Lake Tahoe and as General Manager of
Chaminade Resort and Spa for five years. Mr.
Barnes graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz in 1993. He speaks English
and French.
“
avide brings a wealth of knowledge to
the Four Seasons Hotel, making him
the ideal manager to look after our guests
and employees in Prague,” commented John
Stauss, Regional Vice President.
M
A
D
n June 1, 2008, Jiří Hlavatý
became General Manager
of the Aria Hotel – a promotion
that he received after working in
the hotel in several positions for
the past four years.
T
he Aria Hotel was his first experience in the
hospitality industry in the Czech Republic.
Previously, he spent three years working for
Rock Resorts Properties in Colorado.
P
avel Branžovský has been
appointed General Manager of Hotel Paříž as of October 1, 2008. His previous career
included the positions of Sales
& Marketing Manager for the
Paříž and Casa Marcello Hotels
(1998 – 2001), Resident Manager at the Casa
Marcello (2001 – 2004) and Director of the
same hotel since 2004. In his present position,
he is responsible for the management of both
hotels.
r. Branžovský obtained his professional
qualifications through studies at a technical school of meat technology, a specialized
private school of business management and
the Caledonian School.
M
W
ith effect from July 1, 2008 Havel &
Holásek has appointed Josef Hlavička
and Dušan Sedláček as new partners. The
legal team of Havel & Holásek now consists
of 10 partners, 60 lawyers and a total of more
than 120 employees, in three offices (Prague,
Ostrava and Slovak office in Bratislava),
making the firm one of the three largest Czech
& Slovak law firms.
ušan Sedláček is responsible for coordination of
Havel & Holásek’s arbitration
and litigation practice, now
composed of 8 lawyers. He
focuses primarily on litigation
and arbitration, corporate law,
insolvency and restructuring, and mergers &
acquisitions.
ušan Sedláček graduated from the
Faculty of Law at Charles University,
Prague in 1997. Prior to joining Havel & Holásek in 2008, he worked for eight years at the
international law firm Salans in Prague. He
speaks English.
osef Hlavička co-leads Havel
& Holásek’s real estate &
construction practice group,
now composed of 20 lawyers.
Josef Hlavička’s primary specialization covers legal advice for
large real estate development
projects - shopping and leisure centres, production plants, motorways and airport terminals among others, including transactions pursuant to international FIDIC standards. Josef
Hlavička has been involved in some of Havel
& Holásek’s largest transactions. He primarily
deals with corporate & commercial law, real
estate and construction law, greenfield and
brownfield investment, administrative law,
public procurement and state aid, and restructuring projects.
osef Hlavička graduated from the University of West Bohemia, Faculty of Law, in
Pilsen in 1999. Prior to joining Havel & Holásek in 2001, he worked with the Prague office
of the international law firm Burns Schwartz
and consequently with its successor, Brzobohatý, Brož & Honsa. He speaks English.
D
D
J
J
MEMBER NEWS: NEW APPOINTMENTS, NEW VENTURES
K
aren J. Mathis is now
serving as the Executive
Director of the Central European and Eurasian Legal Initiative (CEELI) Institute in
Prague, being on sabbatical
from her position as a partner
in the Denver, Colorado office of McElroy,
Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP. Ms.
Mathis is a business, commercial and estate
planning lawyer with more than 30 years’
experience. She earned her law degree from
the University of Colorado’s School of Law
and has received honorary degrees and awards
from several prestigious law schools.
n active member of the American Bar
Association for almost 30 years, Ms.
Mathis served as the association’s second
highest elected officer, Chair of its House of
Delegates, from 2000 until 2002 and was the
third woman to serve as an ABA President
(2007 – 2008). Her extensive ABA involvement included leadership of numerous ABA
entities, such as the 30,000-member General
Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section; the
Commission on Women in the Profession; and
the Standing Committee on Membership. She
has spoken on six continents about the future
of the law, the rule of law, and women’s place
in the profession. She serves on the Advisory
Boards of Martindale Hubbell and the Institute for the Advancement of the American
Legal System.
A
D
B
r. Arnie Bieber is the new
Director of The International School of Prague.
efore joining ISP, Dr. Bieber
served as Director at the
American International School
of Bucharest for the past six
years. He holds a Doctor of Education from
Columbia University, a Masters of Teaching
and a Masters of Educational Leadership and
has more than 20 years of experience as an
international educator. In his former positions
he managed to build strong teams of dedicated and involved staff while substantially
increasing student enrollment.
r. Bieber is a strong educational leader
with extraordinary managerial skills, yet
understands well the needs of ISP’s multicultural community of 800 students from more
than 60 nations.
he ISP community is confident that
through Dr. Bieber’s leadership, ISP will
continue to build on its many accomplishments and superb international reputation as
one of the best schools in the entire region.
D
T
B
en Henderson is now
accountable for business
development in the Praguebased Howlings s.r.o. Having
assumed the position in October
2008, he is responsible for identifying new markets, attracting
new clients, creating and managing strategic
relationships and alliances with other companies, as well as for working actively on the
company’s image focusing on SME professionals. Howlings s.r.o. operates Expats.cz, the
Czech Republic’s premier expatriate site, serving the English speaking international, expatriate & business community, and publishes
the annual Czech Republic Survival Guide &
Business Directory. Mr. Henderson has been
specializing in strategic sales leadership, new
business development and customer relationship management and has over 20 years of
management experience working for US and
Czech companies alike.
A
O
new Canadian business
opened in Prague.
n August 6, 2008, the
Canadian
Embassy
was the scene of the launch
ceremony opening the headquarters of Pythian
Europe in Prague. The opening was conducted by Sameena Qureshi, Trade Counsellor of
the Canadian Embassy; Paul Vallée, President
and Founder of The Pythian Group; and,
Peter Šimečka, VP and Director for Pythian
Europe. Alexandra Brabcová, Executive
Director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, welcomed Pythian as a new member to
the Chamber.
r. Šimečka had previously worked at
Oracle for many years, managing teams
of up to 60 engineers; after serving as a Product Support Manager and as a Customer
Support Manager, he built and led the Oracle
OnDemand Outsourcing Centre in Prague.
Lukáš Vysušil and Jan Polnický, both leading
experts in Oracle Database & Application
management, are also valuable additions to
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ythian provides IT infrastructure teams on
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M
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www.pythian.com, photo Courtesy of Pythian Europe
W
O
n October 1, 2008 the
Sunny Canadian School
– a Czech/English educational
establishment with the ambition
to offer high-quality bilingual
education from kindergarten to
high school levels (www.sunnycanadian.cz) – laid the foundation stone to a
new campus to be erected close to Jesenice,
south of Prague. Alice Štunda, Managing
Director of Sunny Canadian s.r.o., spoke of
the school’s expansion plans that respond to
the needs of the rapidly growing community.
The new facilities should provide a suitable
environment for continued implementation
of the school’s educational programmes;
these should be further enhanced, inter alia,
through cooperation with Canadian schools.
The presence of senior representatives of other
local schools made it clear that the ’traditional
schools’ in the neighbourhood do not see Sunny
Canadian as a rival, but rather as a partner;
Sunny Canadian pledges to make the newly
built facilities available e.g. for sporting and
entertainment activities open to other children
from the area besides the school’s own pupils.
he Canadian Chamber of Commerce
in the Czech Republic has agreed to be
patron of the launch ceremony and has taken
the opportunity to welcome Sunny Canadian
as a new member. Though the weather on that
day was far from sunny, the enthusiasm of the
school leaders made the prospects of the venture look decidedly bright.
T
Photo Courtesy of Sunny Canadian School
- ab -
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Language is no barrier to treatment as MUDr J. Karra CSc., D.D.S,
MS speaks Czech, English, French
and Arabic.
O
n October 8, 2008, Hospodářské
noviny, the Czech Republic’s
widely respected daily newspaper
focusing on the economy and business
issues, proclaimed Muriel Anton, CEO
of Vodafone Czech Republic, the most
important woman in the Czech business
sector. The paper has published a list of
the country’s top 25 women managers
for the fourth time this year; their assessment has been based on expert opinions
delivered by HR and Executive Search
professionals. It is worth noting that the
first winner, back in 2005, was Karla Stephens – another Canadian who was CEO
of Oskar at that time.
who was very informal, liked a good joke, the kind of
guy who wore reindeer antlers. The ads with the fake
reindeer were very successful. Can we expect something similar from you, or something different?
he brand culture is very important
to both of us. This has not changed.
But perhaps the way in which we express
it is different. I am not and I cannot be
Grahame, I have to be myself. But we are
connected in the sense that just as Grahame held onto the interesting things
that his predecessor, Karla Stephens,
brought to the firm, I am doing the
same thing and I add a kind of “Murielesque” flavour. Every boss brings his
or her strong points to a firm. Mine are
analysis, finance, and a comprehensive
understanding of business. And I believe
this creates a strong pillar for the post of
CEO.
T
M
uriel Anton is a woman who
thrives on new challenges. She
joined Vodafone (then Oskar) in January 2000 as Vice President for Finance
& Operational Support. As a member
of the company’s top management team,
she was influential in the launch of the
third mobile phone company into the
Czech market, its rise as one of the fastest
growing operators in Europe and its successful sale to Vodafone Group. On June
1, 2008 she replaced Grahame Maher as
Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone
Czech Republic. In September 2008
Vodafone under her leadership successfully carried out its first acquisition on
the Czech market when it bought the
respected telecommunication provider
BroadNet, thus significantly strengthening its position in the business sector.
P
rior to joining Oskar/Vodafone,
Muriel held various managerial positions, especially in the areas of financial
planning and analyses, in other leading
telecommunications companies, such as
BCT.TELUS Communications Inc. and
AGT Limited.
T
he Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic is
delighted to have Muriel Anton on its
Board of Directors.
S
hortly after being recognized as the
First Lady of the Czech business
sector, Muriel shared her thoughts and
observations with GoCanada.
H
I
ospodářské noviny recently named you the
First Lady of Czech Business. How do you
feel about this honour?
t makes me happy and I feel very honoured to receive this award. At the
same time, I consider this an award for
16
GoCanada 2/2008
Vodafone. As a nominee in this survey,
I had the opportunity to meet many
successful women in the Czech business world. I think it’s great that the
Hospodářské noviny list has enabled
people to get to know them a bit better.
D
B
o you think that women have it harder than
men in business?
usiness is primarily about people,
their personalities, values, and
experiences. The advantages and disadvantages women face are often a result
of how they are perceived in any given
organization. I unequivocally benefit
from being part of a company where it is
absolutely normal for men and women to
work together at different levels. Women
bring a different angle and perspective to
many activities and solutions, and they
often enrich relations in a team by providing a greater degree of empathy.
A
I
s the CEO of a large company, do you feel you
have a great responsibility?
look at responsibility in a positive light.
My current position motivates me in
such a way that I try to do as much as
possible for the company, its employees,
and its customers. This is also due to the
fact that as I have been with this company for so long, I have grown with it.
When I first came here, there were only a
few people, a couple of computers, some
paper, pens, and, of course, our business
license.
A
t that time the company was still Oskar, which
Vodafone later bought. Before you, the Czech
branch of Vodafone was led by Grahame Maher,
V
B
odafone is getting significantly stronger every
year. What are your future plans after the
recent acquisition of BroadNet?
roadNet as a new member of the
Vodafone family helps us to obtain
an even stronger position in the business
sector. Not only does it bring us the technology and infrastructure, it also brings a
significant market share of corporate clients. Together with our tailor-made solution for businesses, Vodafone OneNet,
we can now provide a full portfolio of
telecommunication services including
fixed, mobile voice, and data communications. In both the consumer and the
business segments, our aim is to have the
most satisfied customers on the market.
L
W
et’s leave business behind for a while and look
back in time to when you weren’t yet a respected
boss. What were you like when you were little?
hen I was very little, I was relatively shy. When growing up,
however, as I devoted more of my time
to playing the piano and participating in
all kinds of concerts and competitions,
I eventually came out of my shell.
D
W
o you still play the piano?
ell, I did not play for years, but
at the end of this summer, I went
out and bought myself a piano. I always
missed it, and thought about it often, but
there were so many other things to do!
I need more hours in the day in order to
play … You know, I can stay inside and
clear my head by playing at the piano,
but I prefer to put on my shoes and head
out into the fresh air.
I
I
f you were devoted to playing the piano, you
probably weren’t a rebel when you were younger…
definitely wasn’t one of those kids
who sits in the back row and throws
paper balls at the blackboard. As a student I tried to focus on school and, in
addition to music, I spent a lot of time
playing sports.
W
I
hich ones?
did figure skating for a long time. It is
a very beautiful sport, but it is not for
people with delicate physiques, as it often
appears to be. In Canada, where I grew
up, it is often thirty degrees below zero
and not all of our training was in covered
arenas. I devoted myself to figure skating
until middle school, and then I started
coaching children. I also played softball.
We had a great team and we spent weekends together. We would go to the countryside, take hikes, sleep in tents, and
cook our dinners over a campfire.
W
N
ere you planning a career as a coach rather
than as a manager of a telecommunications firm?
ot at all. I enjoyed coaching children a lot, but when I got to university, I knew that I would not be able
to manage all of these activities. I had to
give something up. To study music and
play the piano, I didn’t have the time
I would have liked for sports. Then,
when I finished school, I knew that
I had two options. Either I could become
a professional pianist, or a high school
music teacher.
T
I
hat career obviously was not attractive to
you…
knew that I would enjoy it for a few
years, but that it definitely was not
something that I wanted to devote the
rest of my life to. I had a feeling that in
a couple of years I’d be asking myself,
‘What’s next?’ If it came to that after
ten years, it would probably be hard for
me to return to school. So I made my
decision. I stopped studying music and
started studying business.
D
o you think that having an artistic background is an advantage in business, or
would it have been better to have started studying
business immediately and not losing time?
see it as an absolute advantage.
Whether you have a foundation in
literature, music, or art, your training
enables you to think in a different way.
I understand people more, but in business I’ve become aware of what makes
I
sense. If somebody leaves secondary
school and immediately starts focusing
on business and numbers, they are often
surprised when they start trying to apply
their knowledge. There are many things
that school does not prepare them for.
This is a very big difference for me and
it is truly fantastic. And if you are not
the ‘walking’ type, you can just hop on
a tram anywhere. It is a very convenient
mode of transportation.
W
I
D
Y
H
H
I
here did you start working after finishing
school?
didn’t exactly have a dream job. After
I finished studying business, I continued my studies and got my doctorate in
economy. My first job was in a consulting
firm where I started as a junior economist.
After that I went to a firm that offered
fixed lines, and it was there that I began
my career in telecommunications.
o you ride a bike?
es. One summer I rode my bike to
work every day. But sometimes it’s
not very pleasant to do so on roads that
don’t have cycling lanes. Sometimes
I took out-of-the-way streets in order to
avoid going on main roads. I don’t bike
far every day. But if there were a path
leading to work, I would take it.
ow’s your Czech?
ow did you get a job offer from the Czech
operator - Oskar, Vodafone’s predecessor
- while working for a telecommunications firm in
Canada?
friend who left for the Czech Republic to start Oskar called me one day
to ask if I would like to come here and
help out. First I asked, “And where
exactly are you calling from?” Then I
told myself that this was a good opportunity. Also, the people in the firm where
I was working were always very supportive and they also told me that the offer
to help start up Oskar was an excellent
opportunity. They even gave me a year
off. We had an agreement that I would
come here and help start up Oskar,
return and even after a year I would still
have the same position. But that was a
few years ago and I’m still here.
A
Y
Y
ou came to the Czech Republic eight years
ago. What were your first impressions of
Prague?
ou know, I come from the Canadian
prairies. From a town in Alberta,
where the oldest building is just over one
hundred years old. The same expansive
fields, grazing horses, here and there,
cows in meadows. When I came here
and saw Prague, it was unbelievable. I
knew a little about Prague, but pictures
on the Internet are something else. Suddenly you are here, you see this architecture and history, and you get to know the
people. It’s exciting and astonishing. It
is very different than Canada …
W
I
hat part of town do you live in?
n the centre. One of the things that
fascinates me about Prague is that you
can walk to many places. Where I lived
in Canada, when you wanted to go to
the shop for milk, you had to go by car.
’m still taking classes. But it is a really
hard language and I do most of my
work in English, so I only use Czech a
little, when I’m travelling in the country.
I try. In our Vodafone Office, I’m in awe
of Czech people who have learned English so well that they can work in the language. As far as doing so in Czech goes,
I am still a beginner.
I
T
f you were to sum up the Czech Republic of
today in three words, what would they be?
hree words: It is hard. In relation
to the Czech Republic, I equip
myself with its ‘special spirit’. Its culture
is slightly similar to Canada’s. The next
thing would probably be its ‘innovative
nature’, which is evident through the fact
that to me the Czech Republic will always
be tied to the beginnings of Oskar. Also,
people here like to try new things. This
is also the reason why this country has
one of the highest mobile phone penetrations and why several firms, including
us, try new things as well. The third is its
relation to nature, the typical Czech cottage-goers and the fact that on weekends
most people leave the cities to go to the
countryside.
H
I
ow do you spend your weekends?
n the winter I spend most of them
skiing. I used to do downhill only, but
last year I bought a pair of cross-country
skis. When there’s no snow, I play golf.
I got back into that after a long break.
Some people don’t consider it a sport,
but it is definitely a sport. It’s also a very
social game.
GoCanada 2/2008
17
CANADIANS WENT TO THE POLLS
T
he Canadian electoral system was
first brought to Canada by the British, and is based on the principle of free
elections as first set out in The Magna
Carta (1215). This stated “that the King
no longer had the right to summon
his own advisors to sit in the House of
Commons, instead he had to issue writs
of election”, and “summon to the house
only those people who had won the most
votes in the district elections”.*1
The Main Players on Canada’s Political
Scene:
here were numerous political parties
participating in the Canadian elections conducted on October 14, 2008.
Most of the five main parties will be well
known to most Canadians; the Conservatives, the Liberals, the New Democratic Party, Bloc Québécois, and the Green
Party. However there were also many
smaller parties participating, who are less
well known to voters such as The Communist Party of Canada, The Work Less
Party, The Western Block Party and The
Animal Alliance Environment Voters
Party of Canada, to name a few.
T
Background of the Main Parties:
he Conservative Party is led by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and is a
coalition party which was formed in 2003
following a merger between The Canadian Alliance party which he headed at
that time and The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The formation
of this new party cemented the political
right after years of problems.
he opposition, known as The Liberals, was headed by Stéphane Dion.
He is a former cabinet minister and a
professor, who has been in this role since
1996. “It was his first major election
contest as leader of the opposition.” *2
Following the party’s defeat on October
14, he has tendered his resignation, pending the election of his successor at a leadership convention.
he New Democratic Party is headed
by Jack Layton, a former Toronto
city councillor.
illes Duceppe, a former union negotiator, leads The Bloc Québécois
party, and the Green Party is headed by
Elizabeth May.
T
T
T
G
Party Policies:
he Conservative Party’s policies
have changed in light of the recent
financial crisis. Whereas previously they
included issues such as imposing carbon
emission limits for big industries, cracking down on crime, strengthening the
military, defending arctic sovereignty,
new initiatives to finance child care and
tackling hospital waiting times, now
they have had to turn their hand to the
finance industry. Their policies now
T
18
GoCanada 2/2008
revolve around reducing spending, tax
cuts, and promising to do what they can
to ease the credit crunch.
n contrast the Liberal Party’s policies
focused on entirely different areas,
which may have led to their ultimate
defeat. They promoted an ambitious
green carbon tax plan, income tax cuts,
subsidies for the poor, and promises to
make Canada richer, greener and fairer.
They promised to adhere to an agreement made to keep troops in Afghanistan until 2011 but would not rule out
military spending cuts. However, when
under pressure during a presidential
debate, they unveiled a pledge that if
elected they would, within 30 days of
taking office, meet with the Financial
Authorities to see what could be done to
tackle the problems within the financial
market.
he New Democratic Party proposed
to introduce corporate tax cuts,
spend on housing, education and public
transport. In addition they promised to
pull troops out of Afghanistan.
loc Québécois advocated the policies of the left, including increasing
social spending. Normally pushing for
the independence of Québec would be a
main priority, but on this occasion it was
put on the back burner.
he Green Party is in agreement with
the Liberals on the topic of carbon
tax, but would prefer stiffer penalties to
be imposed. Income taxes and subsidies
are also featured.
I
T
B
T
Reason for the Election:
n election request for the dissolution of Parliament was made to The
Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, by
the reigning party, the Conservatives.
tephen Harper, party leader since
1996, maintained this was needed as
the previous parliament was “deadlocked
and dysfunctional” *3. (Conveniently
overlooking his own legislation passed
after taking office stating that elections
could only be held every four years, to
prevent parties in power from calling an
election when they were winning in the
polls.)
owever the real reason behind his
request for a “snap poll” was his
attempt to obtain a majority in Parliament, as opposed to the minority position which his party previously held. Tellingly the Canadian elections were the
first elections by a big economic power
since the current financial crisis.
A
S
H
Atmosphere up to the Elections:
pinion polls held in the run up
to the election indicated that the
Conservatives were on course to win
but without a majority. During his campaign Stephen Harper had been criticized for not showing enough sympathy
O
for Canadians who have suffered during
the financial crisis, which when combined with the current economic problems occurring may explain why.
eanwhile the Liberals found it difficult to obtain support for their
policies as during a time of high energy
prices, many voters would not look too
favourably on being taxed on carbon
emissions as well. The split on the left
with the New Democrats, the Green Party
and the Bloc Québécois would not have
helped their position at all and simply
gave the Conservatives more sway.
M
Outcome of the Elections:
reviously the Conservatives held
127 of the 308 parliamentary seats
(36.3%) available. Following the election
they increased their holding to 143 seats
(37%) therefore maintaining their position as the leading party. It is Canada’s
third minority Government in four years.
However the fact that both the financial markets and the Canadian dollar
bounced back on Election Day may have
also contributed to this positive outcome.
he Liberal Party in contrast had
their worst showing since 1984. In
2006 they held 95 of the 308 parliamentary seats; by 2008 they only managed to
hold onto 76 of these - a decline of nearly
26.2%, which was the lowest number of
votes since the 1860s. Many claim that
this was a result of Mr. Dion’s inability
to connect with the voters and that his
policies were not persuasive enough for
people in the current economic climate.
ellingly, although the Conservatives
have won the election by a minority
vote again, they still have to rely on the
support of one out of the three main
opposition parties to govern.
P
T
T
By Punam Bajaj,
In Cooperation with Suzanne Formánek
Sources/ Footnotes:
1 Mapleleafweb.com - History and Development
of the Canadian Electoral System, Feature by
Brian Doody
2 Thompson, Reuters – Newsmaker: Canadian
Opposition Leader Pays for Election Loss
3 The BBC news
CANADIAN POLITICS AFTER THE ELECTIONS
Stephen Harper’s New Government
Following the October 14 elections,
Prime Minister Harper faced the task
of organizing and conducting a cabinet
reshuffle.
The key appointments to his new cabinet
included:
• Stockwell Day,
Minister of International Trade and
Minister for the Asia–Pacific Gateway
• James Michael Flaherty,
Minister of Finance
• Lawrence Cannon,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Beverley J. Oda,
Minister for International Cooperation
• Tony Clement,
Minister of Industry
• John Baird,
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure
and Communities
• Gerry Ritz,
Minister of Agriculture, Agri-Food and
Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
• Jean-Pierre Blackburn,
Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)
• Vic Toews,
President of the Treasury Board
• Jason Kenney,
Minister of Citizenship, Immigration
and Multiculturalism
Stockwell Day was elected
to the House of Commons in
2000 as Leader of the Official
Opposition – a position he
held until December 2001.
He was reelected in 2004,
2006 and 2008. He was first appointed to
the cabinet as Minister for Public Safety
in 2006. Prior to entering politics, he was
employed as a school administrator.
James Michael Flaherty
joined the House of Commons in 2006. He became
Minister of Finance in the
same year and was now reappointed to the same position. From 1995 to 2005 he served as a
member of Ontario’s provincial legislature. After being called to the bar in 1975,
he practised law for more than twenty
years before moving into politics.
Lawrence Cannon joined
the House of Commons in
2006. He became Minister
of Transport, Infrastructure
and Communities in the
same year and has now been
reappointed to the cabinet in a different capacity. From 1985 to 1994 he was a
member of the Québec National Assembly; his previous positions in Québec
include those of the Assembly’s Deputy
Speaker and Minister of Communications. Prior to entering politics, he was a
private sector consultant.
Beverley J. Oda joined Parliament in 2004, and has
been reelected every two
years following this. In 2006
she was appointed Minister
of Canadian Heritage and
Status of Women. She has served as
Minister of International Cooperation
since 2007.
Tony Clement was elected
to the House of Commons
in 2006; thereafter, he was
appointed Minister for Health
and Minister for the Federal
Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario. From 1995 to
2003 he was a member of Ontario’s provincial legislature. Before entering the political field, he was employed as counsel for a
national law firm.
John Baird was first elected
to the House of Commons in
2006 when he became President of the Treasury Board.
In 2007 he was named Minister of the Environment. He
has been reappointed again this year albeit
in a different position. Prior to entering
federal politics, he was a member of the
provincial legislature of Ontario.
Gerry Ritz was elected to
Parliament in 1997 and has
been reelected several times
during the past eleven years.
He has held his present
positions since 2007. Prior
to entering politics, his varied career
included: running his own farming operation, owning and operating a general
contracting business and the co-ownership of a weekly newspaper.
Jean–Pierre
Blackburn
joined the House of Commons in 1984. His previous professions included
teacher, administrator, businessman and CEO of
Société d’initiatives et de développement
des artères commerciales in Chicoutimi.
In 2006 he was sworn in as Minister of
Labour and Minister for the Economic
Development Agency of Canada for the
Regions of Québec.
Vic Toews joined the House
of Commons in 2000, and
has been reelected in the
elections held since then.
From 1976 to 1991 he worked
for the provincial Department of Justice in Manitoba. Prior to his
election to the House, he was active in
Manitoba’s provincial politics.
Jason Kenney joined the
House of Commons in 1997
and has been reelected several times since. Previous
positions include Secretary
of State for Multiculturalism
and Canadian Identity and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Source: www.pm.gc.ca
- pb/ab Spring / Summer / Autumn 2008
The Conservative Government Challenged
by a Newly Formed Coalition
serious challenge arose for Prime
Minister Harper’s new Government
when, on December 1, 2008, the Liberals and the New Democrats signed an
agreement forming a coalition of the two
parties, supported by the Bloc Québécois, with the aim of defeating the Conservatives in a non-confidence vote that
was to be taken on December 8. The
Liberal caucus had agreed that Stéphane
Dion would lead the Liberal-NDP coalition until a new Liberal leader is elected
in early May 2009. Leaders of the new
coalition claimed the Conservative Government proved unable to address the
current economic crisis; their accord
included a proposal of a stimulus package
for Canada’s economy, including support
for the car and forestry industries.
eacting to the challenge, Prime Minister Harper requested the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to suspend
Parliament until the time when his Government presents the federal budget.
The Governor General – who cut short
her official visit to the Czech Republic
and returned to Ottawa to handle the
situation – agreed to his request after a
two-hour meeting on December 4. Consequently, Canada’s House of Commons
will not reconvene until January 26, 2009
and the federal budget will be presented
one day later. The budget will be the next
major step in the Government’s economic
stimulus package, said the Prime Minister. The leaders of the opposition parties said they remained steadfast in their
disapproval of the Conservative policies,
and their determination to overthrow the
Government.
A
R
Sources: www.canada.com, CBC News
– ab –
GoCanada is published twice a year
in Prague by the Canadian Chamber of
Commerce in the Czech Republic, IČO
25136933, and is registered with
the Ministry of Culture under
Ref. No. MK ČR E14655.
Should you wish to advertise, place an
article or contribute in any way please
contact our office:
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
in the Czech Republic
Praha City Center, Klimentská 46,
110 02 Praha 1, Czech Republic
www.gocanada.cz
Tel.: 225 000 345
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor: Alexandra Brabcová
The views expressed in GoCanada are
not necessarily the views of the Canadian
Chamber of Commerce but those of the
individual contributors.
GoCanada 2/2008
19
ALBERTA ATTRACTS BUSINESS
In Alberta you will find a business climate that supports investment, encourages diversity and allows businesses to
compete successfully around the world.
The result is one of the most vibrant and
competitive economies in North America.
Proven Performance
· Over the past five years Alberta had
the highest rate of economic growth in
Canada at 4.7% per year. Experts predict
that going forward Alberta will continue
to have one of Canada’s top performing
economies.
· The province consistently has the
highest investment per capita among
provinces. In 2007 Alberta’s investment
per capita was more than twice the
national average. A total of $80.7 billion
was invested in 2007, almost triple the
1997 level.
· Alberta’s vibrant economy translates
into a healthy job market. Average annual
employment in the province in 2007
increased by 88,200 over 2006. More
than 500,000 new jobs were created
between 1997 and 2007.
Access to Markets
· Alberta is strategically located with its
central position in the growing western
Canadian market of ten million people.
· Alberta is the only western province
that offers overnight, or less than 24-hour
delivery service to all of western Canada
and the US Pacific Northwest - a market
of more than 50 million consumers.
Modern and Efficient Infrastructure
· With a 20 year plan to invest an average
of $6 billion a year in capital infrastructure projects, Alberta is planning for the
future.
20
GoCanada 2/2008
Lowest Overall Tax System in Canada
· Alberta has competitive small business
& corporate tax rates, 10% for general
businesses and large manufacturers and
3.0% for small businesses.
· Alberta is the only province that does
not have a provincial retail sales tax.
· Alberta has no provincial capital taxes,
payroll taxes, or machinery & equipment
taxes and the lowest gasoline tax among
the provinces.
diploma or certificate.
· Approximately one half of the province’s 3.5 million population is under 30
years of age.
· In 2007 Alberta’s economic productivity was higher than any other province.
Total “value-added” per hour in Alberta
was 118% of the Canadian average.
Commitment to Research
and Development
· The Alberta Ingenuity Fund supports
high calibre science and engineering
research and draws on a $1 billion endowment from the Government of Alberta.
· Alberta Research Council (ARC) is
Canada’s largest provincial research
organization. ARC develops and commercializes technologies to grow innovative companies.
· Alberta’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Credit,
effective for expenses incurred after
December 31, 2008, will be worth 10% of
a company’s eligible research and development expenditures up to $4 million.
The credit will be refundable for all companies.
· The Alberta Enterprise Corporation
Act will encourage venture capital
investment. $100 million has been allocated through Budget 2008 to co-invest
in early stage capital funds focused on
areas including information and communications technology, life sciences, green
technology and nanotechnology.
· Hydrocarbon Upgrading Sector
Alberta’s oil sands contain the 2nd largest recoverable reserves in the world
after Saudi Arabia. There are abundant
opportunities in resource extraction and
value-added investment. The Government of Alberta encourages the development of innovative technology to access
energy resources in an environmentally
sensitive manner. It is forecast that bitumen production from Alberta’s oil sands
will reach 3.2 million barrels per day by
2017. The Alberta Government encourages maximizing the value of the bitumen resource within Alberta by using
bitumen as feedstock to produce refined
petroleum products, petrochemicals and
fertilizers.
Skilled and Energetic Workforce
· In 2007, 61% of the labour force aged
twenty-five years and older reported holding a university degree or post-secondary
Key Investment Opportunities
Energy Industries
· Environmental Products and Services
Managing the environment is both a
challenge and an opportunity. Alberta’s
environmental industry includes almost
1,330 companies, employing 26,000
Albertans and generating more than $3.5
billion in revenues. It has a well-earned
international reputation for excellence
in water treatment, waste management
and the development of climate change
solutions. Opportunities exist in areas
such as carbon capture and storage,
land reclamation, water treatment, air
ALBERTA ATTRACTS BUSINESS
emission reduction, energy efficiency
and resource planning. A $2 billion fund
to advance carbon capture and storage
projects in the province was recently
announced. The Government of Alberta
is currently reviewing proposals and
identifying those with greatest potential
of being built quickly and those providing the best opportunities to reduce
GHG emissions.
· Machinery Manufacturing and Metal
Fabrication
Alberta will require more than $200
billion of new construction and maintenance spending in the next 50 years,
much of it for fabricated metal products.
Based on that demand, Alberta is quickly becoming one of Canada’s major
metal manufacturing centres. A market
opportunity of this size has attracted the
attention of the world and global supply
has been expanding and forming.
rity of industry employees contributing
engineering, technical or management
expertise.
· Health and Bio
The Government of Alberta has invested
CDN $1.6 billion for research in medicine, engineering and life sciences. This
has helped to create the highly developed research and development infrastructure existing in this province. Alberta’s research facilities and highly skilled
workforce support innovative developments in rehabilitative medicine, biomedical engineering, health informatics and
nanotechnology. This province boasts
world-class medical research facilities,
proven clinical testing capabilities, and a
dynamic and growing Medical Assisted
Technologies (MAT) industry.
· Technology R&D
Over the past three decades, the Government of Alberta has invested significantly
in oil sands research programmes jointly
with industry. Opportunities for R&D
development exist in upgrading technologies, remediation, air emission and
water usage reduction, and CO2 capture
& sequestration technologies.
· Information/Communications Technology
Alberta’s information and communication technologies (ICT) sector, with its
origins in oil and gas related applications, now consists of world-class companies with expertise in diverse business
areas, including: bioinformatics, digital
content, e-learning, global positioning
systems, health management systems,
nanotechnology, software development,
systems integration, telecommunications
and wireless communications.
Advanced Industries
· Aerospace and Defense
Alberta is highly regarded for its capabilities in the robotics and unmanned
vehicle systems (UVS), defense electronics, space sciences, geomatics, navigation and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Alberta’s aerospace and
defense companies employ over 5,000
highly skilled Albertans, with the majo-
· Building Products
Alberta has a large and thriving building
products industry with annual sales of
approximately $9 billion. The demand
for green building products is increasing
due to factors such as energy prices
and the desire for improved indoor air
quality. This presents opportunities for
manufacturers of products such as structurally insulated panels, on-demand hot
water tanks, insulated concrete forms,
fibre-cement products, and composite
building products. Several Alberta companies already manufacture innovative
green products, for example, pavers and
patio tiles produced from recycled tires,
and high efficiency furnaces. The trend
to assembling pre-manufactured components on site is creating opportunities
for the production of wall, roof and floor
systems which reduce the variability in
house quality and lessen the need for
tradespeople at the building site.
For more information about
investing in Alberta, please contact:
Nancy Wu, Senior Director
Energy Industries and Services
Alberta International and Intergovernmental
Relations
Phone: (+1) 780 427 0279
[email protected]
Susan Henderson, Senior Director
Marketing and Operations
International and Intergovernmental Relations
Phone: (+1) 403 297 8905
[email protected]
www.albertacanada.com
GoCanada 2/2008
21
CANADA AND THE EU: MOVING TOWARD A STRONGER PARTNERSHIP
Canadian and EU Leaders Seek Closer
Economic Integration
008 has seen important progress made
towards a closer economic partnership
between Canada and the EU. On October 17, in Québec City, Canada’s Prime
Minister Stephen Harper hosted the
annual Canada-EU Summit with European Commission President José Manuel
Barroso and the current President of the
Council of the European Union (EU),
Nicolas Sarkozy. In one of the key Summit
outcomes, Canada and the EU announced
their commitment to work towards a
historic comprehensive bilateral economic agreement. This agreement is aimed
at strengthening economic integration
between Canada and the EU, addressing
key issues for both parties. It would complement multilateral trade negotiations
currently underway at the WTO.
his timely decision by leaders reflects
the results of a joint Canada-EU Study
which assessed the costs and benefits of
closer economic cooperation and was
released on the eve of the Summit. The
Study provides a picture of the breadth of
the current Canada-EU relationship, and
perhaps more importantly, shows there is
significant potential for both Canada and
the EU to take their economic relationship
to the next level: GDP gains from liberalizing goods and services trade between
Canada and the EU could reach almost
CDN$29 billion (€20 billion) annually by
2014. The EU is Canada’s second largest
trading partner; two-way trade in goods
and services reached CDN$ 109.4 billion
in 2007. The EU is Canada’s second largest export market (after the US) and
second most important investment partner, as well as a significant source of new
technologies.
If you would like further information:
2008 Canada-EU Summit Declaration
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/missions/eu-
Bilateral and Canada-EU
Issues Discussed in Prague
arie-Lucie Morin was in Prague in
April 2008, during her tenure as
Deputy Minister of International Trade.
Her visit was aimed at positioning CanadaEU issues with key Czech interlocutors in
advance of the Canada-EU summit (held
in October 2008) and the Czech EU Presidency beginning in January 2009. The
Canada-EU Closer Economic Partnership
(CEUCEP) Study and the future of the
bilateral Canada-EU relationship more
generally figured prominently in meetings
with key Czech government officials. The
Deputy Minister also had an opportunity
for direct exchanges with leading representatives from the Czech business community to learn more about the nature of
the bilateral commercial relationship.
n July 8 - 10, 2008 Loyola Sullivan,
Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation, Foreign Affairs and International
Trade Canada, and Guy Beaupré, Director
General, International Fisheries, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada,
visited the Czech Republic to meet with
their Czech counterparts at the Ministry of
the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss Canada’s seal hunt and
other related issues. The Canadian officials provided information about the seal
hunt in Canada which Canada considers
sustainable, well-managed and humane.
n July 17, 2008 Diane Finley visited
the Czech Republic in her capacity as
Citizenship and Immigration Minister, as
part of her trip to Central Europe. She came
to discuss with her Czech counterparts
Czech-Canadian bilateral relations including cooperation on information exchange.
Minister Finley met with the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel Schwarzenberg, and other high-level Czech officials at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2
T
M
O
O
ue/summits_sommets/summit_quebec2008_joint-declaration-eng.asp
Summary of joint Canada-EU Study
http://www.international.gc.ca/tradeagreements-accords-commerciaux/assets/
pdfs/EU-Canada_Joint_Study-Introduction_Executive_Summary.pdf
ork is already underway to define the
scope of the prospective economic
agreement, and mandates will be sought
in Canada and Europe, with a view to
launching bilateral negotiations as early
as possible in 2009. The Czech Republic,
assuming the EU Presidency in January
2009, has demonstrated strong support
for a closer economic partnership between
Canada and the EU. Closer ties are perfectly aligned with the theme of the upcoming Czech Presidency - “Europe without
Barriers”.
W
By Sameena Qureshi, Commercial Counsellor
Canadian Embassy in Prague
O
n September 25 - 26, 2008 a CanadaEurope Parliamentary Association
delegation composed of two Senators, Yoine
Goldstein and Marcel Prud’homme, came to
Prague to meet their Czech counterparts in
the Parliament, Czech government officials
and Czech EU experts to discuss the upcoming Czech EU Presidency; Canada-EU
relations, including possibilities of further
strengthening Canada-EU economic ties;
and the Czech-Canadian bilateral relations.
visit at the highest level took place
on November 29 – December 3, 2008
when Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean,
Canada’s Governor General, came to the
Czech Republic. More detailed coverage
of her State Visit will be included in the
next issue of GoCanada.
A
Source: Embassy of Canada, Prague
CZECH-CANADIAN BUSINESS LINKS GROWING THROUGH SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS
I
nternational Flood Control Inc. (www.
usfloodcontrol.com), a Canadian company based in Calgary, Alberta, presented
their Tiger Dams to Czech government
officials, representatives of the Czech Flood
Protection Association, firefighters and the
public in four regions of the Czech Republic in late August 2008.
he first Tiger Dams presentation took
place in Most as part of the Ústí Region
annual Rescue Workers Day on August 23,
2008, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador
Michael Calcott who addressed the participants on this occasion. Similar presentations were held in the days that followed
in three more regions: Nelahozeves (for
the Region of Central Bohemia); Hradec
Králové (for the Hradec Králové Region);
and České Budějovice (for the South Bohemian Region). The presentations were orga-
T
22
GoCanada 2/2008
nized with the support of the Honorary
Consul General of the Czech Republic for
Alberta, Jerry J. Jelinek, and the Governors
of the respective Regions. The Governors
and their teams proved a winning combination in making the presentations possible.
Tiger Dams was perceived as a great product; the manufacturer has already received
preliminary offers of interest. For those who
missed the above presentations and would
like to see Tiger Dams in action, the International Flood Control will present their
product in simulated flood situations at
Flood Protection Brno 2009 (www.bvv.cz/
floodprotection) starting on April 21 and
ending May 29, 2009.
n October 2008, a Czech company, BG
SYS HT s.r.o. (www.bgsysht.cz), introduced their product - BG Quick - across
three cities in Canada: Calgary, Edmonton
and Vancouver. BG SYS HT provides road
repair material which can be applied in subzero temperatures (-50C), making it ideal
for Canada. A first order of 2 tons to be
shipped to Canada was placed soon thereafter. The presentations were organized as
part of the ongoing effort of the Honorary
Consulate of the Czech Republic in Calgary and the Calgary-based Czech Business
I
Association of Canada to help Czech companies to enter Canadian market, and thus
improve the trade balance between Canada
and the Czech Republic.
zech companies seeking assistance in
introducing their products or services
in Canada can contact the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Calgary (Jerry
J. Jelinek; Phone: +1 403 269-4924; E-mail:
[email protected], complete contact details at www.mzv.cz/ottawa - Czech
Presence in Canada) or the CzechTrade
office in Toronto (Jan Řechtáček, Director; Phone: +1 416 848-4984, Cell: +1 416
786-4984; E-mail: [email protected],
[email protected]; www.czechtradeoffices.com; www.supplier.cz).
C
By Jerry J. Jelinek
Photos provided by the author and by BG SYS HT, s.r.o.
Visit our design
furniture showroom
in the area of 2000 m2
Kinnarps a.s.
Obchodní 124, 251 01 Čestlice
tel.: +420 227 202 200
[email protected]
www.kinnarps.cz
www.fritzhansen.com
THE EURO IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC:
BOTH A NECESSITY AND AN ADVANTAGE BUT MIND THE RISKS
I
n the last few months we
have
witnessed
heated
discussions regarding the
introduction of the Euro in
the Czech Republic, with
some prominent personalities
urging for an immediate shift
towards the common currency
and others showing a more
cautious stance. Similar debates took place in “Western”
EU countries that were due
to switch to the Euro before the Czech
Republic even joined the EU. This issue
has been controversial since the start and
the current debate in the Czech Republic reproduces arguments already heard
in other countries. This article intends to
address why the single currency is crucial
in a strongly integrated market such as
the EU, while recognizing the problems
that arose in the West after Euro became
a reality in 2002 and pointing out the
potential pitfalls that the Czech authorities should consider.
S
ince the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC),
the integrated European market has
been based on the free movement of
goods, services, capital and workers.
Moreover, the EU Treaty contains provisions designed to guarantee fair competition among companies. Instances of
collusion, abuse of dominant position,
mergers and state aid are placed under
the scrutiny of EU authorities. Free circulation and competition policies are
based on the desire to encourage an
economic environment where efficient
operators prosper while inefficient operators must improve their performance
or go out of business, strong companies
do not abuse their position and national
authorities do not intervene to support
economic entities that are unable to face
competition pressure. The intention of
the EU pioneers was to promote economic efficiency, offer consumers the widest
possible choice, remove barriers to business and allow producers to operate on
the basis of demand-supply mechanisms,
with the ultimate goal of improving the
living standards of the EU population.
T
he existence of national currencies
whose exchange rates fluctuate may
obviously cause distortions in a common
market. The same occurs if various EU
countries follow different monetary policies, which was often the case before
the introduction of the Euro. There
are many reasons for this. Firstly, you
cannot always predict the extent of the
fluctuations, which leads to uncertainties regarding the price of international
transactions. For example, if we take a
Euro-regulated transaction involving a
Czech importer and a German exporter:
24
GoCanada 2/2008
Any depreciation of the Crown versus
the Euro would mean extra costs for the
importer without any extra benefits for
the exporter, whereas appreciation of the
Czech currency would have the opposite
effect, independently of any differences
in the quality of the imported product.
Exchange rate volatility may discourage those importers who prefer not to
take risks, and encourage speculations.
The former would result in a failure to
introduce high quality products in the
Czech market, contrary to the principles
underpinning the common market, and
speculations do not necessarily contribute to the growth of the real economy.
One can easily see the effects of unpredictable exchange rate fluctuations on
Czech exports. An appreciation of the
Crown versus the main currencies used
for international transactions may result
in a decrease in international demand for
Czech products – this is what Czech producers were complaining about last year.
F
or the sake of completeness, it must be
remembered that there are two sides
to the coin. The disadvantages faced by
exporters as a result of the appreciation
of the Czech Crown may be compensated by the fact that imports of raw and
semi-finished materials to be processed
by Czech-based companies become less
expensive, with a positive effect on the
balance sheet of the Czech companies
involved. Moreover, Czech consumers
are likely to benefit from the availability
of foreign goods at better prices. Therefore, whether the recent appreciation
of the Czech Crown has brought about
more benefits than costs or the opposite is not inferable a priori and should
be assessed through economic research.
But this is not the issue. The issue is
that without the Euro the winners in the
market between the Czech Republic and
other EU countries are not necessarily
the most efficient companies, because
the volatility of the exchange rates may
distort the meaning of prices as an indicator of the quality of a product.
A
nother major problem, related to the
above, is that national authorities
may adopt monetary policies with the
ulterior motive of providing advantages
to their national producers. This represents a further distortion, as the success
of a company does not depend on the
quality of its product alone. For example, before the introduction of the Euro,
the Italian authorities constantly pursued a monetary policy aimed at devaluating the Italian lira. This policy was
adopted with the declared intention to
provide an advantage to 1) Italian exporters over their competitors in the European market and 2) Italian producers in
their own internal market, contrary to
all the principles regarding refrainment
from state aid and from measures whose
effects were equivalent to quantitative
restrictions on imports from other EU
(at that time EEC) partners. Moreover,
this monetary policy generated devastating effects on the Italian economy, in the
form of inflation, high public debt and
exposure to speculative attacks on the
Italian currency. When considering the
relationships which exist between the
national economies within the EU, the
absence of economic discipline on the
part of one country is very likely to create
complications for the other countries as
well.
T
he introduction of a common currency neutralizes the obstacles that
the factors mentioned above pose to the
efficient functioning of the EU market.
In the case of the Czech Republic, the
introduction of the Euro would certainly stabilize the price of imports and
exports. This would increase the predictability of costs incurred and profits
made on economic transactions with EU
partners and provide Czech consumers
with better information regarding the
price/quality ratio of products. The logical long-term effect would be an increase
in the efficiency of the market. These are
the reasons for supporting the introduction of the Euro in this country.
O
n the other hand, there is another
aspect which cannot be ignored.
Various surveys point to a widespread
perception that the introduction of the
Euro in the West has been accompanied
by a dramatic surge in the prices of basic
products and services. This appears even
more dramatic when considering that
the goods/services affected are those for
which there is low substitutability and
elasticity, such as food, electricity and
housing. Examples abound and there is
a strong discrepancy between the view of
consumers, supported by visible examples, and the official rates of inflation
declared by the various national authorities. It is of major importance that this
issue is investigated further, in order to
have a clear understanding of what has
really happened in the Euro zone after
the adoption of the common currency.
The Czech authorities should not underestimate the dramatic effect that a major
rise in the price of these basic goods and
services would have on the less welloff segments of the Czech population,
whose living standards are still below the
standards found in Western countries
that moved towards the Euro in 2002.
By Pietro Andrea Podda, University
of Vienna, Anglo-American University,
[email protected]
MAY YOUR TROUBLES WITH MOVING DIMINISH
H
ome is a place of strong affections,
and much more; it is life’s dress
rehearsal, its backroom, and its dressing
room. A place where we can be ourselves and from which we can go forth,
to territories of more careful and guarded
interaction. If you decide to leave your
home – be it your original home or a
temporary home that was your place of
business – you must consider the relocation procedures involved when moving
to another country.
in different countries and currencies, or
to pay bills in another country.
Moving abroad could have a major impact
on your finances...
s well as the costs associated with
your move, you may have to pay for
things upfront such as rent and deposits. Don’t forget that the cost of living
may be very different in another country.
Because you’ll be far from home, you
should consider increasing your emergency reserves of cash. It is recommended to put together a budget, set goals
- and stick to them. With travellers’
cheques and credit cards you’ll be able
to get by, just as you can when you go on
holiday. However:
A
H
SBC, “the World’s Local Bank”,
is one of several prestigious banks
providing its global services in more
than 80 countries and territories worldwide. It can assist its global clients and
respond to their financial needs with the
HSBC Premier Service which is a unique
solution for travellers with the aforementioned problems. As well as providing an
outstanding level of local banking, the
Premier package is enhanced by global
products and services that are only avail-
• If your income and outgoings are in
a different currency from your bank
account, the ongoing foreign exchange
costs will soon mount up.
• Many banks may require you to arrange
international payments in person at a
branch. So you may have problems using
your savings back home to pay the rent
or other bills in your new country.
• If you’re living in a different time zone,
you may get tired of trying to fit in with
the opening hours of your bank back
home.
I
think all of us are familiar with the
hassle that goes with packing and
travelling. In addition there are lots of
administrative tasks and financial decisions to be sorted out before your departure or on arrival at a new destination.
This process is both time consuming and
exhausting, it puts you under a great deal
of stress and you can be under constant
pressure 24 hours a day. This time we
will leave our tips on moving behind and
lighten the load with our financial guidance. Let us invite you into the world of
financial services to assist you with one
of the numerous tasks that you face when
moving to a new country.
Before you go...
ou should plan and organize your
finances before you leave your home
country. The first few days in a new
home will be exciting but can be hectic.
Make sure you’ve sorted out your finances before you leave home if you want
to avoid both undesirable and inconvenient situations. You’ll need a method of
paying for your day to day living costs,
as well as any additional costs associated with your move. Sometimes you
may be required to produce documents
from your bank that locals may not need
to show. Perhaps you’ll have to move
money between different bank accounts
Y
26
GoCanada 2/2008
Y
ou may decide to leave some money
in your account back home for holiday visits, and also to avoid having to
open a new account if/when you return
for good. For your day to day expenses,
however, you should consider opening a
local account.
A
local account will enable you to
receive your salary and to pay for
day to day things in the local currency.
However, the following factors should
be borne in mind:
• Before opening an account, consider
the country’s political and economic stability. If there are difficult times ahead, a
local account may not be the safest place
to keep your money.
• It can be harder than you might think
to open an account locally. Local banks
usually require an established credit history and proof of a residential address.
This can lead to a Catch-22 situation, as
you’ll need a bank account in order to
buy or rent a property and to get that
residential address!
I
f you decide to open a local account,
look for the bank offering global services that is well equipped to make things
easier for you in your new country and
an account which will be tailored to your
needs.
able through an international network,
such as international recognition, worldwide assistance, investment expertise
and superior privileges and rewards.
Moreover, HSBC Premier Centres can
be accessed in 35 countries worldwide
including both the Czech Republic and
Canada.
T
his comprehensive package offers
daily banking, free access to your
accounts 24/7 via telephone or Internet
Banking, cash withdrawals at any ATM
worldwide free of any fees from HSBC,
and free money transfers between clients’
accounts in different countries. If you’re
moving to a new country or buying a
second home, HSBC can arrange a new
HSBC Premier Current Account for you
in many countries worldwide.
F
or more information about the global
services of HSBC Premier please
visit www.hsbc.cz
By Petr Plocek,
HSBC Bank plc – Prague branch
INFORMATION: A KEY COMPONENT OF BUSINESS SUCCESS
and policy based on the past 24 hours.
We also provide an online news service.
All of our news products are published
in three languages, Czech, English and
German.
ow frequently do you deliver your products?
Hlients
choose the product that suits
them best in terms of time and freC
quency. The basic portfolio of manager
news profiles is published every working
day. On Fridays (usually), we publish
a weekly profile which summarizes all
events from that entire week. We publish
special products and macro-economic
profiles on a monthly basis.
ossessing up-to-date information is
clearly a sine qua non for success in
P
business. Česká informační agentura
(the Czech Information Agency) provides business information to companies
operating in the Czech Republic, and
has done so for more than eleven years,
making the agency, in terms of age, a
contemporary of our Chamber. GoCanada has interviewed ČIA’s Executive
Director, Hana Pavlištová.
Y
our previous employment was in the banking industry. What prompted you to move
into the realm of news and information? Was it
your banking experience that helped you see the
importance of accessing up-to-date news within the
business sector?
have spent most of my professional
career within various management
positions in the Czech and international
banking field. As a member of a bank’s
board of directors, I was responsible for
creating their strategy. I was aware of
the importance of having independent
and exclusive information to assist with
decision-making. In the last two years I
used the ČIA’s news service on a daily
basis. This gave me a head start when
facing time constraints. As a graduate
from the field of information processing
and mathematic models, combined with
a banking career of more than twenty
years, I felt a big desire for change.
When I was approached to manage ČIA,
I did not hesitate. After three years of
working in such an excellent team, composed mostly of young people, together
with the client satisfaction I achieved, I
certainly do not regret this decision.
I
hat distinguishes the Czech Information
Agency from other sources of economic and
W
business-related information?
he Czech Information Agency is
a private news agency focusing on
T
the Czech economy. Our main job is the
creation of manager information profiles.
Using a concise and transparent format,
we provide crucial information from
various fields within the Czech economy
(e.g. Automotive, Energy, Finance etc).
The editorial team consists of 10 redactors/editors, all responsible for contributing to these profiles, working alongside the profile edition team, who select
essential information from the relevant
media. Our most popular product is
the Czech AM news digest, which offers
information on the economy, business
hat if a client who subscribes to your profile
finds a news item interesting and requires
W
further information? Do you offer tailor-made products to meet their individual needs?
ll news items used in the profile have
a reference attached to them (i.e.
the original source of the information
is made clear). If the source is the ČIA
news service (60% of the content), clients
may ask us directly for more detailed
information; in other cases the information is available publicly.
A
hat is the difference between the work of an
internal employee and that of a news agency?
W
Can this difference be measured financially? Which
is more advantageous for a company?
his is a simple calculation. Imagine
that you own a company; you are
paying an employee a monthly salary,
insurance and other corporate benefits.
Additional overheads include providing
an office, equipment, computer, telephone; sometimes even a car and other
work utilities. At the same time, you have
to buy daily and weekly newspapers and
professional magazines, which is also a
significant expense. Our agency’s products cost just a fraction of this price.
The advantage of our professional processing compared to that of an internal
employee is that all of the newspapers
and magazines are read by more than
one person thus reducing the error rate.
ČIA uses all daily newspapers which
are available, many professional magazines and our own sources, as well as
monitoring several online news servers.
Overall we use more than 300 sources.
We receive several hundred press releases
each day from PR agencies, departments
and company employees. More than a
half of the content is made up of unique
news items selected by our editorial team;
these items are designed exclusively for
our customers and represent a significant advantage for them, as they are not
available from any other public sources.
On first glance it is apparent that even
with the best will in the world these tasks
could not be performed by one person
alone. What is most important is the fact
that the agency - with 45 employees and
external collaborators - never falls sick or
performs a substandard job.
T
re you aware of any changes in your clients’
business requirements? If so, how does your
A
agency respond to these?
ur agency implements several new
activities into its programme each
O
year. We participate in an annual project
together with several other news agencies from Central and Eastern Europe,
all providing economic news from the
region under the leadership of the Austrian APA. We offer a profile of the most
important events in the region’s economy and business which is published in
English. Another European project that
we have participated in was the establishment of a new website, www.webreporter.
cz, that offers a publication service to
companies. The project is aimed at companies who want to ensure the publication of their events and products.
ou are a very active lady combining the management of a prestigious news agency, sitting
Y
on the Board of Directors at the Czech-German
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together
with an active presence in other Chambers of Commerce, including our own, and the management of
numerous projects. In addition to your business
activities, you also help handicapped sportspeople.
Can you provide us with any details on what this
entails?
or the past ten years, I have worked
as a volunteer for the Czech Special
Olympics Movement. The Special Olympics programme for mentally handicapped people was established in the USA
in the late 1960s by Eunice KennedyShriver (a sister of John F. Kennedy).
She believed in the concept of using
sport as an instrument to help develop
personalities and to assist with the integration of mentally handicapped people
into life. The SO’s aim is to enable as
many people as possible who suffer from
mental handicaps to participate in regular sports and competitions.
F
he Czech Special Olympics Movement (ČHSO) is the official accreT
dited partner of Special Olympics Inc.
They organize Special Olympics events
in the Czech Republic and make arrangements for the involvement of the
Czech Republic in their international
programmes. The Special Olympics
programme in the Czech Republic has
grown continuously since its formation
here in 1990; it now includes more than
150 sport clubs with 3,000 plus mentally
handicapped sportspeople from around
the country. The global Summer SO
Games were held in Shanghai, China,
last year. The Czech team gained numerous medals from this huge sports event,
as well as many very exotic experiences.
I am solely responsible for organizing
media coverage and obtaining financial
sponsorship which is crucial in order for
our events to continue.
Photos provided by Hana Pavlištová
GoCanada 2/2008
27
FIND CZECH BUSINESSES FASTER ON THE INTERNET
I
t seems that being seen and heard
within the marketplace is for many
businesses a necessity to ensure their survival. Consumers are increasingly influenced by the latest television advertising
campaigns of large and small brands,
without considering why they are attracted to the company, or whether they have
had any positive experiences with them.
The sheer volume of television and radio
advertising may also hinder basic facts,
such as whether the company is reputable, carries out its orders on time at
reasonable prices, respects agreements
made or guarantees the quality of its products.
H
owever if doubt does rear its ugly
head regarding advertisements and
you need convincing that the company
you’ve found is reputable, the Internet
is the best place to look. Here is a database of Czech companies which carry
out work daily for their clients and guarantee excellent services without any fuss
- www.firmy.cz. It is the work of Seznam.
cz, the largest Czech search engine. The
site has a phenomenal number of companies listed – over four hundred and fifty
thousand – and regularly updates all of
its contacts, thus providing an accurate
and dependable source. To make your
search easier, listings are sorted into 3,500
categories all arranged by activity. The
site is accessed by over two hundred and
fifty thousand people daily.
o, how can I determine the calibre
of a business? It’s really quite easy.
Seznam.cz has a long history of collaboration with professional organizations,
S
28
GoCanada 2/2008
foundations and non-profit making
bodies, offering them the opportunity to
put established businesses on its website
through the Firmy.cz service. Seznam.
cz offers top quality advertisements
through its search engine. Upon finding
a particular business on www.firmy.cz,
information about the company pops up
complete with contact details and any
membership or affiliation to professional
bodies and institutions. You can search
for information about the Hotel and
Restaurant Association, Czech plumbers, the Elpida Foundation, the Czech
Transport Union or the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic.
Membership listings of organizations are
regularly updated. Detailed company
information is combined with easy access
for B2B and B2C clients. All companies’
pages are linked to a map enabling quick
and easy location of businesses in your
area. In addition, all this is accessible on
Internet-enabled mobile phones via our
website at m.seznam.cz.
F
ew people these days thumb through
the telephone directory to find the
service they are looking for. For the computer literate, Seznam.cz established
its position as a prime search engine a
long time ago. Its motto, “Najdu tam,
co neznám” (“My Way of Searching for
What I Don’t Know”), is valid for all
who are Internet savvy as it offers valuable information about the Czech marketplace. Seznam.cz provides you with a
quick and useful roundup of companies
and their contact details – information
which will ensure good business in the
future.
By Rita Gabrielová,
Press Spokesperson, Seznam.cz, a .s.
B
ased on an agreement between the Chamber
and Seznam.cz, the Chamber’s corporate
members whose businesses are registered in the
Czech Republic are entitled to a basic listing at
www.firmy.cz free of charge.
PRAGUE AS VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF A CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHER
I
live for constant change and I would
say that I’ve become pretty good
at following my intuition. Prague has
numerous obvious attributes, which
don’t need to be mentioned to anyone
living here, but I think it had a lot to do
with a residual romance left over from my
college days. I’ve always simply wanted
to see if Prague was as cool as I remembered. Happily, it has yet to disappoint.
H
aving observed both the Czech business environment and Czech society, how would you
describe it - as a photographer and as a man in
business?
ell, being a photographer is such a
unique position. I get to be the proverbial fly on the wall and see how the city
works on a social level from so many perspectives. It’s incredible to me how many
circles exist among the cultural, diplomatic, and corporate worlds, and just how
much they overlap in several ways.
W
M
any of the fine photos in the last
few issues of GoCanada, including
those on this page, were taken by a Canadian photographer: Paul Pacey, who is
now based in Prague. He has worked
for Prague Leaders Magazine as well as
other prestigious clients. His principal
way of expressing his views on life normally takes the form of pictures rather
than words; however, on this occasion,
he has supplemented his visual creations
with a few verbal answers to GoCanada’s
questions.
I
think that I still need to improve my
Czech before I can accurately describe
Czech society as a whole, but I will say
that there is a great sense of community
here in Prague that spans many levels whether you’re a man on a barstool or a
man in business.
W
M
hat kind of pictures do you enjoy taking
the most? And, have you got any favourites
among the people whom you have photographed?
y favourite photos are taken on the
streets. My personal work is rather
abstract and incorporates a lot of movement. I am much more interested in how
something feels than how it necessarily
looks on the surface. Ironically enough,
my favourite people to photograph
become entirely anonymous.
I
n terms of personalities, however, my
favourite people are Eliška Hašková
Coolidge for her constant grace and
style, Jan Mühlfeit for his infectious charisma, Dagmar Grossman for her eccentric strength, and Michael Calcott, well,
simply for being Michael Calcott.
W
M
hat are your plans for the near future?
y plan for the near future is to have
no plan, lol! Right now I have
several nice options, so I know whichever direction 2009 takes me, it will be
a good one. And besides, “Plan X” is
much more exciting and meaningful
than “Plan A” anyway!
W
I
as photography always your chosen career,
or did you embark upon this path after considering other options first?
t wasn’t in the beginning, but once
I found it, I can honestly say I have
yet to look back. There’s no easy way
to explain it, but I will say that I owe a
huge debt of gratitude to the Centennial
College exchange programme that took
me away from a classroom and allowed
me to see the world when I was a kid. I
definitely had other plans, until I found
the window seat of a train that changed
everything.
W
hat has made a Canadian photographer
choose Prague as the place to live and
to start a business?
H
owever, I would say that I do face a
significant crossroad in the eternal
(and perhaps cliché) conflict between
the skills I use to pay the bills, and those
I develop out of pure love. Time will tell
which shall prevail, but in the meantime,
perhaps my greatest plan is simply to
find balance between the two.
L
uckily, I think I have a lot to offer, so
whether you are a PR-forward company looking to show your personnel
in their best light, or a private collector
looking for a fresh impression of this
beautiful city, you can get a big sneak
peak at www.whitelight.cz.
GoCanada 2/2008
29
CANADA: A COUNTRY OF NUMEROUS ATTRACTIONS
C
anada is a country of outstanding
natural beauty, and as there are so
many wonderful places to visit, one is
often spoilt for choice. During my own
visit to Canada, I was fortunate to experience some of its attractions.
Biodôme De Montréal:
he word biodôme originates from
the Greeks and means life (bios) &
house (domos), or house of life. It has
been described as “An oasis in the heart
of the city”, and contains a variety of
ecosystems, which include: the Tropical
and Laurentian Forests, the St. Lawrence
Marine ecosystem and the Arctic and
Antarctic.
T
T
he Golden Lion Tamarin is normally
found in the forests on the Atlantic
coast of Brazil, but due to the destruction
of its natural habitat it is now an endangered species. Attempts to increase their
numbers via an International Conservation Programme are proving successful.
However in order for their long-term survival to be secured their current population needs to be increased by 70 percent.
T
T
O
n walking through the Tropical
Forest, I was greeted with animals
featuring a multitude of colours, and
making a variety of sounds. A few in particular stood out for me:
he Scarlet Macaw can survive for 50
years in the wild and 80 years in captivity, it is also a protected species. Their
diet consists of nuts and fruit found in
the tropical rain forests ranging from
southern Mexico to north eastern Argentina. Normally they fly in pairs or small
groups. However in communal roosts,
tall trees or mangroves they can be found
in flocks of twenty five or fifty. During
breeding season pairs of birds are isolated in a special unit.
The Montreal Olympic Stadium:
hilst staying in Montreal, this is one
of the must see places. It is referred to by locals as “the Big O” and was
built for the 1976 Olympics. Although it
overran its original budget considerably,
and was surrounded by tales of disgust
and scandal, it is a remarkable monument. Final completion occurred in 1981.
The original plans included a retractable
roof bought from Paris; however due to
problems with the roof it was replaced by
a non retractable steel one.
W
T
he Hyacinth Macaw, which is an
endangered species and is therefore protected. It can live for 80 years in
captivity and survives on a diet of fruit,
seeds, nuts and roots. The Hyacinth
Macaw originates from the South American forest. The shape of their bills allows
them to open seeds other birds cannot.
Their population is declining due to the
destruction of their living habitat and the
popularity of owning these birds as pets.
Unfortunately in captivity they do not
reproduce but interact a great deal with
each other.
Montreal Olympic Stadium under Construction
T
GoCanada 2/2008
Toronto:
T
oronto is famous for one landmark in
particular: the world’s tallest building, The CN tower standing at 553.33 m.
It was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the
strength of Canadian industry by building a tower “taller than any other in the
world”. However it also serves a practical
purpose by acting as a telecommunications hub for the local area. In addition
to this, it offers amazing views via a glass
observation deck. There is a restaurant
located at 351 m with a revolving floor
which rotates once every 72 minutes.
oronto has a population of 2.48 million people from a range of different
cultures, who speak over 140 different
languages and dialects between them.
The presence of a multitude of ethnic
groups, including South Asian, Chinese,
Black, Filipino and Latin American
population, is reflected, among other
things, in the diverse range of cuisine
which is available.
T
Niagara Falls:
his is second in size to Victoria Falls
in Africa, with between four and six
million cubic feet of water flowing over its
crest each minute (in 1848 when ice fields
from Lake Erie jammed at the source of
the river it actually stopped flowing for
30 hours). It stands 188 feet high, with
the deepest section starting at its base
reaching to a depth of 170 feet. The horse
shoe rim measures 2200 feet across.
30
here are many amazing stories connected with the falls, such as the tale
about Annie Taylor, a 63 year old woman
with her cat, who was the first person to
go over the falls in a barrel in 1901 and
she survived! Many famous people have
visited the falls, such as Marilyn Monroe
when filming parts of her movie aptly
named after this site. King George V
visited in 1939 and Princess Diana and
her two sons, William and Harry, in 1981.
Niagara Falls has also become a famous
destination for those celebrating their
honeymoon.
By Punam Bajaj
The author has done an internship at the Chamber
Office in the fall of 2008.
Sources : Pictures & text
[email protected]
J A Kaulis- www.closeyoureyesandhopeforthebest.com
(Montreal pictures)
www.niagarafallstourism.com
www.seetorontonow.com
www.toronto.ca ([email protected])
www.cntower.ca/portal/
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NEW CORPORATE MEMBERS
AchieveGlobal
Address: Vinohradská 90
130 00 Praha 3
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 272 101 171
Fax:
+420 272 101 179
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.achieveglobal.cz
Contact person: Dominic Bubna-Litic
AchieveGlobal is a provider of learningbased solutions focused on skills training and
consulting in leadership development, sales
effectiveness, and customer service training.
As of 2008, AchieveGlobal has a presence in over 40
countries with a staff of more than 1,000 employees.
AchieveGlobal’s client base includes more than 400 of
the Fortune 500 companies.
Business Travel Club EU, s.r.o.
Address: Medkova 45
149 00 Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 724 060 152
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.btclub.cz
Contact person: Zbyněk Gabriel | President
Business Travel Club EU, together with Business
Events Group, provides opportunities to build
and strengthen relationships among business
partners and/or employees. We organize:
– trade missions to world markets and to the Czech Republic
– incentive programmes
– business events, seminars, parties
– personal development programmes
CCB – Czech Credit Bureau, a.s.
Address: Na Příkopě 21
117 19 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 222 811 030
Fax:
+420 222 811 031
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.creditbureau.cz
Contact person:
Vladimír Řepík | Market Development
Manager
A founder of the banking and nonbanking Credit Registers in the Czech
Republic. A reputable company delivering solutions
for credit risk management, operating tools for rating/
scoring evaluations of various entities and providing
information on business entities. CCB launched
CRIBIS.cz – CRIF Business Information Services
portal.
Eurosignal, a.s.
Address: Mstětice 34
250 91 Zeleneč
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 311 404 104
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.vtpmstetice.cz
Contact person:
Ladislav Pavlík | Managing Director
Eurosignal, a.s., the operator of ScienceTechnology Park Mstětice, enables
innovatively oriented SMEs working
in the field of transport technologies and related fields
to use the most modern technologies necessary for the
implementation of their own research and development.
Eurosignal provides counselling and offers the possibility
of cooperation with universities and research institutions.
Science-Technology Park Mstětice is conceived as a
rented building for research teams with a wide range of
supporting services.
Global Payments Europe, s.r.o.
Address: V Olšinách 80/626
100 00 Praha 10 - Strašnice
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 267 197 111
Fax:
+420 267 197 612
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.globalpaymentsinc.com
Contact person: James Hicks
32
GoCanada 2/2008
Global Payments Europe, s.r.o. is
a wholly-owned division of Global
Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN), one of the largest
transaction processing service providers in the world.
Based in Prague, Global Payments Europe provides
financial institutions with a comprehensive package
of payment services including credit and debit
card processing, ATM and Point-of-Sale terminal
management, card issuing services and a range of
value-added solutions. The company currently serves
such markets as the Czech Republic, the Russian
Federation, Poland, Slovakia, Bosnia Herzegovina and
the Ukraine.
Mazars
Address:
International Business Center
Pobřežní 3
186 00 Praha 8
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 224 835 730
Fax:
+420 224 835 799
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.mazars.cz
Contact person: Zachary Rosen
Mazars is an integrated and
independent international firm, specializing in audit,
accounting, tax and corporate services.
Optaglio s.r.o.
Address: Řež 13
250 68 Husinec-Řež
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 220 941 075
Fax:
+420 220 941 077
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.optaglio.cz
Contact person:
Roman Kmoníček | Business Director
Optaglio s.r.o. is specializing in the
development and production of optical
security devices and holograms. The production is based
on its own long-term research and development. Optaglio
s.r.o. products can be found in more than 50 countries
across four continents in many different market areas.
Our customers are state-owned institutions, ministry
offices, as well as large well-known companies protecting
their brand names.
Prague Imperial Hotel
Address: Na Poříčí 15
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 246 011 600
Fax:
+420 246 011 699
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.hotel-imperial.cz
Contact person: Lukáš Klak | General Manager
Prague Imperial Hotel is a luxurious
choice of Art Deco accommodation.
Centrally located 5* property in the historic ambience
of an original building from 1914. The magnificent
rooms of Café Imperial boast exquisite ceramic mosaics.
All 126 elegant rooms are furnished in Art Deco style.
Complimentary Fitness & Spa.
Pythian Europe s.r.o.
Address: Pražská 385
252 41 Dolní Břežany
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 603 484 528
Fax:
+420 257 218 936
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.pythian.com
Contact person: Peter Šimečka
The Pythian Group is a leading global
provider of remote database administration
on Oracle, SUN MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server
and also systems administration for a variety of UNIX/
Windows platforms and Oracle E-Business Suite
administration.
We provide flexible IT infrastructure teams on a linear
cost-to-effort basis to more than 100 customers around
the globe. Since our foundation in 1997 we have
developed unparalleled skills, mature methodologies, best
practices and tools that ensure our clients receive a level
of service that cannot be found anywhere else.
We are a truly global company with our headquarters in
Canada and offices in USA, Australia, India, Middle
East and Europe. The European headquarters are
located in Prague. The core of our European team brings
years of experience of outsourcing in the corporate market.
REVEL, s.r.o.
Address: Evropská 127
261 01 Příbram - Dubno
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 318 628 697
Fax:
+420 318 620 904
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.revel-pex.cz
Contact person: Zdeněk Jícha
REVEL-PEX installation system based PE-X
and PEX-AL-PEX pipes, floor heating, copper
floor-fancoils, PPSU manifolds.
RISTEM s.r.o. – Florida Investment
Address: Trinity Garden
Holečkova 25c
150 00 Praha 5
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 257 327 571
Fax:
+420 257 327 571
E-mail:
fl[email protected]
Contact persons: Ludmila Šejvlová,
Filip Šejvl, Pavel Pollak
We are a real estate investment agency specializing in
two markets in particular, Florida, US and the Czech
Republic. We have developed a network of associates in
the State of Florida and also locally. Our expertise is
in sales and purchasing of residential and commercial
properties. We provide a complete service throughout the
acquisition or selling process and thereafter follow up
with services such as property management and leasing.
In the Czech Republic we work with investors on real
estate development projects and the building industry
in general.
SGS, a.s.
Address:
Sokolovská 541
181 00 Praha 8
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 572 433 111
Fax:
+420 572 433 150
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.sledovaniaut.cz
Contact person: Veronika Vlasatíková
The SGS, a.s. company deals with
development, production and sale of the
telecommunication equipment for monitoring and
control. The company provides comprehensive solutions
for reading and transmission of data on the monitored
physical entities, their central collection and systems
for remote monitoring and operating of technological
processes using GSM mobile operator networks and
GPRS service. The company also offers its customers
telecommunication and consulting services in the mobile
communication and data collection area on more than
25,000 devices.
Smed Jorgensen Attorneys at Law
Address: Štěpánská 6
120 00 Praha 2
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 221 594 221
Fax:
+420 594 594 230
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.smedjorgensen.com
Contact person: Michaela Jorgensen
Smed Jorgensen attorneys-at-law is a law
firm focusing on business, corporate and tax
law with offices in Prague, Ostrava and Bratislava. We
provide international and local clients with tax-efficient
legal solutions in English, Italian, German, Czech and
Slovak languages. We believe in long-term relations
with our clients and we commit to delivering world-class
results.
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A charming style for your party
A Unique Dimension in Elegance
PRAGUE IMPERIAL HOTEL, Na Poříčí 15, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic, Phone: +420 246 011 600, Fax: +420 246 011 699, E-mail: [email protected], www.hotel-imperial.cz
NEW CORPORATE MEMBERS
Sunny Canadian School
Address: Hlubočinka 816
251 68 Kamenice
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 323 672 586, 605 241 168
Fax:
+420 323 672 586
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.sunnycanadian.cz
Contact person: Alice Štunda
Sunny Canadian School offers an English
education from kindergarten through
elementary school. The school is accredited
by the Czech Ministry of Education. We currently
accept children from the age of 2 through elementary
school and have plans to add an eight year high school
(gymnazium) in the future.
T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s.
Address: Tomíčkova 2144/1
149 00 Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 603 601 001
Fax:
+420 603 601 006
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.t-mobile.cz
Contact person: Roland Mahler | CEO
Leading Mobile Communication
Provider offering a wide range of
innovative voice and data services for corporate and
residential customers. Being a member of the T-Mobile
International Group we are able to provide tailor-made
services for multinational customers. Our mission is to be
the most highly regarded service company.
Travel Marketing International s.r.o.
Address: Malá Štupartská 7
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 224 815 377
Fax:
+420 224 815 379
E-mail:
fl[email protected]
Contact person:
Ernest Flamini | Managing Director
Airline representation – our portfolio
currently includes Aer Lingus, Air Malta,
China Airlines, Meridiana and the Canadian holiday
airline, AIR TRANSAT, which operates from several
European gateways to Canada. TMI also represents The
Malta Tourism Authority.
We provide promotional sales, marketing and
distribution services for these organizations in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia. TMI is an intermediary sales
office for BUPA – the world’s leading health company,
specializing in private health insurance for expats living
abroad.
WhiteLight, Corporate Photography
Address: Národní třída 25
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 776 182 699
E-mail:
[email protected]
Contact person: Paul Pacey
WhiteLight specializes in providing
high-quality PR-minded photography to
companies wishing to show their personnel in their best
light. Our coverage includes everything from company
events, executive portraits, team headshots, group photos,
and corporate candids. We also have an accumulated
portfolio of Prague-themed Impressionist photography
that serve both corporate clients and private collectors
alike.
ZEBU, s.r.o.
Address: Náprstkova 215/9
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+1 416 926 0115
E-mail:
[email protected]
Contact person: John Kenneth Lipinski
Real Estate/Property renting
NEW INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
Bareš, Petr
c/o:
Iguassu Software
Systems, a.s.
Address: Evropská 657/120
160 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 235 351 000
E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Website: www.iguassu.eu
Blažek, Kamil
C/o
Kinstellar
Address: Na Příkopě 19
117 19 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 221 622 160
Fax:
+420 221 622 199
Email:
[email protected]
Bonnyman, Angus
c/o:
KPMG Česká
republika, s.r.o.
Address: Pobřežní 1A
186 00 Praha 8
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 222 123 513
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.kpmg.cz
34
GoCanada 2/2008
Brydlová, Renata
Address: Dačického 3
140 00 Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 775 388 074
E-mail:
[email protected]
Carská-Sheppard, Andrea
Address: Na Klaudiánce 6
147 00 Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 222 817 300
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.dlapiper.com
Coté, Martin
Address: Vladislavova 17
110 00 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 725 715 766
Website: www.rpgre.eu
Tomsová, Lenka
Address: Paříkova 94/6
190 00 Praha 9
Czech Republic
Phone:
+420 773 673 333
E-mail:
[email protected]
Gourmet desire
RESTAURANT KOGO
Wide variety of Italian cuisine
(home-made pasta, Tuscan steaks, fresh fish & seafood)
Delicious home-made desserts
Kitchen open until 11 p.m.
Just right in the heart of Prague centre
Opening hours: Restaurant
Mon – Sun:
11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
KOGO Ristorante & Wine bar - Na Příkopě 22 Praha 1, Tel.: +420 221 451 258 - 60, [email protected], www.kogo.cz