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UP&DOWN
Written by: Monika Mudranincová

PEOPLE UP

Photo: archiv		Dirk Kroonen The managing partner of the Czech Ernst & Young branch, who has been in the Czech Republic since 2000, was appointed the managing partner for central Europe south. From his Prague office he will now also manage Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia.
Photo: L. Rudčínská		Martin Jahn Under Jahn's management, incentives from the state agency CzechInvest have urged the leading express mail carrier, DHL, to build its European management center in this country. DHL plans to invest several billion crowns and employ 500 experts.
Photo: Matt Carr		Petr Pištělák The marketing director of eBanka announced that, thanks to a massive advertising campaign, the number of new clients has risen by 200%. Also, the number of calls to the help line rose by 500% and the public awareness about the bank is higher - up from 30% to 60%.

PEOPLE DOWN

Photo: ČTK		Jaroslav Tvrdík The former minister of defence, who has no experience in air transportation management, was appointed the new ČSA president. His installation to the post without a tender provoked a protest wave, not only from the political opposition but also from experts on air transportation.
Photo: Libor Hajský		Libor Procházka This former board member of the bankrupt IPB might end up in prison for 7 years. Charges are based on the fact that during 1997-1999 he took part in transactions that eventually deprived the Restitution Investment Fund of CZK 208 million.
Photo: Tomáš Kubeš		Mark Bardsley The director of Provident Financial, a company that provides loans, faces suspicion of illegal collection of personal data of clients' health conditions, property and even personal relationships. The Personal Data Protection Office is already conducting an investigation on the firm.

Photo: Tomáš Kubeš

Jiří Weigl: The man behind the scenes
SINCE MARCH of this year, Jiří Weigl (45), an economist and specialist in Oriental and Arabic cultures and one of the senior colleagues of the head of state, has been filling the position of chancellor to the president of the republic. Until 1989 he was employed by the Economic Institute of the Academy of Sciences, where he met Václav Klaus in 1987 in courses which were led by Klaus. Being chancellor is the logical continuation of their work together spanning thirteen years, and it would seem that the two have much in common. "Not by our natures," Weigl says, shaking his head. "Václav Klaus likes sharp discussions, he likes bringing problems to a head, and he's a well-known workaholic. I prefer resolving issues through negotiation, and I'm definitely no workaholic," he says with a smile. Why then such loyalty? "Besides our common views on politics, economics, and the world, in general I appreciate always being able to learn something from him. He's a man who is imposing in his authority and knowledge. I see our cooperation as life-long enrichment," he adds.
The chancellorship is a position for an official. It provides service to the head of state through three organizations - the Office of the President of the Republic, the Prague Castle Administration, and the Lány Administration. Weigl is now in fact the chief manager of the Castle, with approximately 500 subordinates whom he manages and controls. The work demands a great deal of time, especially when he wants to keep up with his boss. Furthermore, he must commute from his family home in Brandýs nad Labem, where he was born and now lives with his wife and three children. He devotes his free time to them, as well as working around his house and reading history.

	Photo: David Holas

Marco Pařík: "Building is my philosophy"
THE CO-OWNER, general director, and chairman of the board of directors of the largest Czech bakery group, Delta, Marco Pařík (58) comes from a family whose century-long business tradition was broken by the communist putsch in 1948. The family resolved the nationalization of its private property by emigrating to the west, where Pařík, who holds Czech and French passports, spent most of his life. Marco, an active sort, traded his original, boring job as a bank official for a life in business, which he plunged into at the beginning of the '70s along with his brother Michal, focusing on agriculture and baking in Belgium. They did very well. Following the Velvet Revolution the brothers continued their charmed journey to Bohemia - they built the Delta empire, which consists of bakeries, dough factories, mills, and plants for frozen pastries and biscuits, Paneria fast food outlets, and Le Patio restaurants. Today Pařík estimates Delta's market value at CZK 4.25 billion at least, which was last year's turnover. The group's head has big plans for the future. Following Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, Delta wants to expand into Germany and Austria as well. "2004 is a key year for us," he says. "We must welcome our EU accession as a strong firm, otherwise the competition will overwhelm us."
For Pařík doing business is a matter of heart. "I enjoy coming up with a vision and realizing it," he says with enthusiasm. He is constantly filled with ideas, but when he can set aside some free time, he likes to relax in his small castle by the sea in the south of France. But even there he rises early, works until eight, then reads or goes swimming in the ocean. "Simply stated, building is my philosophy," Pařík says with a shrug. His entrepreneurial spirit was inherited by one of his two daughters, Alexandra, who just a few years ago started the Paneria franchise project, and today manages the Le Patio restaurant chain.