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UP&DOWN
Written by: Monika Mudranincová

PEOPLE UP

Photo: L. Rudinská		Radim Passer The head of Passerinvest received 1st prize for his project BB Centrum in the fourth annual "The best of realty" contest, in the category administration space. The complex consists of 60,000 m2 of office space, 35 flats and more than 1,000 parking places.
Photo: archiv		Ivan Svitek The former finance director and vice chairman of the board of GE Capital Bank is another Czech recently successful in the international arena. From February 2003 he will assume the top spot for GE Consumer Finance as director in Brazil.
Photo: MF Dnes		Petra Procházková The journalist and war reporter received the title "Woman of Europe" from the organization of the same name. She was awarded the prize for courage demonstrated during heated conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya. She even established an orphans' home in the latter.

PEOPLE DOWN

Photo: ČTK		Jiří Balvín The Czech Television Council recalled the general director of Czech Television from his post. The stated reasons: he did not prove himself to be a good manager, did not realize the ČT's goals, and he did not present the budget for 2003 in time. Balvín stayed in the director's position only for one year.
Photo: ČTK		Martin Mejstřík The new senator began his political career in a dubious way. He applied to the state for CZK 40,000 assistance for a flooded flat - even though he no longer lived in that particular flat. He tried to explain the situation by saying he was confused, and later withdrew his application.
Photo: Jan Šilpoch		Přemysl Klíma The general director of Český Telecom was recalled from his post. The government blames him for the failure of ČT's privatization, as he failed to decrease overemployment and high costs sufficiently to attract a suitable buyer for the company.

Photo: Pavel Veselý

Pavel Šťovíček: Logos on the ascendancy
PAVEL ŠŤOVÍČEK (29), the director, co-founder, and co-owner of Logos, has battled his way into a group of five finalists out of a total of 43 candidates in the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year competition, organized by consulting firm Ernst & Young. His company, which has been rated as the fourth most rapidly growing IT firm in the Czech Republic according to research by Deloitte & Touche, focuses on the creation of complete software solutions for demanding clients in the areas of finance, banking, telecommunications, and government administration.
Although a representative of a conservative manufacturing field ultimately took the laurels, the fact that Šťovíček was among the five best Czech entrepreneurs in 2002 fueled the company's enthusiasm and convinced him to take part again in next year's competition if possible. Šťovíček says that the reason behind his recent recognition is the fact that his company has more than proven itself on the market, held on to prestigious clients, and recorded enormous growth. "During the last three years our sales rose by 517%, and the trend continues," Šťovíček notes with satisfaction, ticking off successful projects such as an information portal for Patria Finance, Routeplanner and internet vehicle ordering for Škoda Auto, and software enabling electronic banking for Komerční banka, the firm's largest client.
"The purpose of our solutions is to increase the efficiency of internal corporate management," he explains, adding that there is a lot more to come - in the future the company will focus more on the development of mobile applications. "At a time when computers can be hooked up via telephones, the development potential in this field is huge," says the director. Šťovíček admits that, as a strictly technical specialist, he has had to go through a difficult period of self-education while with Logos, searching for the best approach to managing a firm with 110 employees.

	Photo: Pavel Veselý

David Gladiš: A fresh breeze in a stuffy bureaucracy
IN OCTOBER OF 2002 David Gladiš (28), a much sought-after marketing expert in the private sphere, "popped in" for a limited period into state administration to stir up stagnating promotion of the Czech Republic abroad. One of the former heads of the communications agency AMI Communications, he worked from April to August 2002 as a free-lance consultant earning above-average fees. He traded that income for the less impressive salary of a state official when he accepted an offer to become the director of the Czech Travel Industry Headquarters, a subsidized organization under the regional development ministry.
"I accepted the minister's offer because in public relations the apex of one's achievements is promoting one's country abroad," Gladiš explains. However, the first time he arrived for work in October he discovered that the largest state marketing agency, with an annual budget of CZK 160 million, had no comprehensive marketing strategy, but did have some officials who sometimes didn't know what they are doing (though still enjoying exorbitant expenditures on operations). Gladiš intends to apply as many attributes of the private sphere as he can, such as flexibility, aggressive promotion, and internal management efficiency, thus achieving rapid improvements in the agency's activities. With that accomplished, he plans to return to his private business. "We want to focus on the quality rather than the quantity of the events we organize in other countries, to actively draw in foreign journalists for press excursions, and to improve our cooperation with private travel agencies in countries where we can't afford to set up our own offices," he says.
This native of Frýdek-Místek, whose northern Moravian accent unfailingly reflects his upbringing, has already achieved a lot in his short career. As a student he was already a consultant for the then finance minister Pilip and secretary to interior minister Ruml. Besides work, he has another passion - travel. His most recent expedition followed Marco Polo's journey from Istanbul to Beijing.