FIR Annual Conference 2016

The Czech Republic’s Strategy for Competitiveness 2016: Digital Society

Silja Baller

Silja Baller is Practice Lead for Competitiveness and Innovation with the Forum’s Global Competitiveness and Risks Team. She is co-author and co-editor of The Global Information Technology Report, co-author of The Global Competitiveness Report, and leads the Europe Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth Lab. Her areas of expertise include the economics of international trade, digital economy questions, industrial organization, and competition policy. Prior to joining the Forum, she held economist positions at the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and in the London Economics practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Cambridge; a DEA in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva; and an MPhil and DPhil (PhD) in Economics from the University of Oxford.

Jan Drahokoupil

Jan Drahokoupil is senior researcher on multinational corporations at the European Trade Union Institute. He also directs a research project on welfare-state transformations in the context of post-2008 austerity politics in Eastern Europe at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), University of Mannheim.

His broader expertise lies in political economy and development, particularly in the context of transition countries.

He obtained his PhD in 2007 at the Central European University, Budapest. Jan is Associate Editor at Competition and Change: The Journal of Global Business and Political Economy.

Martina F. Ferracane

Martina F. Ferracane is a Policy Analyst at European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). Her work focuses on EU sectoral policies, especially in the areas of international trade, healthcare and digital innovation. She is particularly interested in technological advancements such as Internet of Things and 3D printing, including in the context of long-term societal and economic development. Martina is also actively engaged in social entrepreneurship. She is the founder and president of Fab Lab Western Sicily – an no-profit organization promoting digital fabrication in Sicilian schools. She is also engaged in other entrepreneurial activities and has recently spent few months in a Fab Lab in Brazil to learn digital fabrication techniques.

Previously, she has worked in the area of private sector development at the European Commission (DG DEVCO) at the Trade and Investment Division of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, where she focused on trade policy, protectionism trends, trade facilitation and Asian regional developments.

She holds a Master’s degree with honours in Economic Internationalisation, Integration and International Trade from University of Valencia in Spain.

Věra Jourová

Born  in  1964,  Vera  Jourová studied  law  and headed the regional development department  of  the Vysočina region before  working on  European  integration  at  the Ministry  of Regional Development, and leading    her country’s  negotiating  team  on  EU  funds. Between    2006    and    2013,    she    was a consultant providing advice on EU matters to her  own  country, and  to Russia, the  Balkans and  the  Baltic states. Elected to  the Czech parliament   in   October   2013,   she   became Minister for Regional Development.

Since 2014 she is Commissioner for  for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality in the European Commission led by J.C. Juncker.

Pavel Kysilka

Pavel Kysilka is a graduate of the University of Economics. During the years 1986-1990 he worked at the Economic Institute. In the years 1990 – 1991 he served as chief economic adviser to the Minister for Economic policy. In the 90’s he held position of Vice-Governor and the Executive Governor of the Czech Central Bank. He was responsible for the preparation and implementation of the division of the Czechoslovak currency and the introduction of the Czech crown. In 1994-1997 he worked as an expert of the International Monetary Fund and participated in implementation of national currencies in several Eastern European countries. Later in 90’s he served as president of the Czech Economic Society. In 2000 he started working for the Czech Savings Bank as chief economist in 2004 he was elected a member of the Board of Directors and from January 1, 2011 served five years as CEO and chairman. He was named Banker of the Year in Czech Republic in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He is the founder and chairman of the Managing board of 6DAcademy, president of the festival Smetana Litomyšl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Czech Export Bank, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank, a member of the boards at Prague University of Economics and Business, Masaryk University in Brno, Leos Janacek Foundation, Bohemian Heritage Fund and supervisory boards of Good Angel and Aspen Institute.

Sarianna Lundan

Sarianna Lundan holds the Chair in International Management and Governance at the University of Bremen in Germany. She received her BSc, MBA and PhD degrees from Rutgers University (US), and has held prior appointments at the University of Reading (UK) and at Maastricht University (The Netherlands). She is a Finnish citizen, and has also been an Associate Research Fellow at the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) in Helsinki. She was part of the team that was successful in getting the University of Bremen admitted to the group of eleven leading research universities in Germany, and she currently serves on the Future Commission of the University.

Her current research interests focus on the transformative effects of the introduction of new institutions and new forms of governance by MNEs through various types of public and private partnerships in the host country.

She is an elected Fellow of the European International Business Academy (EIBA) and served as the President of EIBA in 2013, responsible for the organization of the annual conference in Bremen. She has served as a faculty panel member and chair of the AIB Doctoral Consortium in 2013 (Istanbul) and 2014 (Vancouver) and as a faculty member in the AIB/JIBS PDW in 2011 (Nagoya).

Tomáš Prouza

Tomáš Prouza serves as State Secretary for European Affairs at the Czech Prime Minister’s Office. When serving as the deputy finance minister between 2004 and 2007, he was responsible for financial services, EU and international relations, fiscal policy and euro adoption. Between November 2005 and December 2006 he was the first National Coordinator for Euro Introduction in the Czech Republic. He also represented the Czech Republic in the Ecofin Council, Economic and Finance Committee and Financial Services Committee of the European Council and served as the Deputy Governor of the International Monetary Fund for the Czech Republic. Between 2012 and 2014, he worked at the World Bank in Washington, DC as an expert on consumer protection in financial services. After leaving the Ministry of Finance in 2007, he co-founded Partners Financial Services, a financial distribution company, where he acted as the member of the board responsible for compliance and customer care. He also served between 2009 and 20012 as the chairman of the board of Prague Philharmonia, founded in 1994 by Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek. Tomáš Prouza graduated from the Prague University of Economics and Business (majoring in international politics and diplomacy) and received his MBA from the Open University.

Łukasz Puślecki

Łukasz Puślecki is an Assistant Professor at Department of International Management, Faculty of International Business and Economics, Poznań University of Economics and Business (PUEB). He is also Director of Joint MSc in International Business and Management (JMScIBM) Programme between Poznań University of Economics and Business and Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Business School (UK).  Dr. Puślecki holds positions in several professional and academic institutions. He is the Chair of Academy of International Business Central and Eastern Europe Chapter (AIB-CEE), Managing Partner for Development in International Business Center – PUEB Knowledge Transfer Company (SPV), Vice-Chair of Assessing Committee of Youth Award Foundation (Germany), member of Hessen Academy of Research and Planning on Rural Areas (HAL) (Germany).   He is the member of the Academy of International Business (AIB) and the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP).

Łukasz Puślecki obtained his PhD in international economics from the Poznań University of Economics and Business. His research focuses on technological cooperation, strategic alliances (SA) and strategic technology alliances (STA), open innovation alliances (OIA) as well as on innovation, technological competitiveness and knowledge based economies.

Josef Taušer

Josef Taušer graduated in International Trade at Faculty of International Relations, Prague University of Economics and Business. Since 2003 he works at the Department of International Trade. Currently, he is guarantor of the Master’s degree in International Trade and Deputy Head of the Department. In 2008 he was appointed associate professor and in 2012-2013 he served as vice-dean for science and as legal representative of the dean. Josef Taušer regularly lectures at prestigious universities in France (AUDENCIA School of Management, Nantes, Lyon IAE) and Austria (WU Wien), where he teaches international financial management, in English and German.

Josef Taušer is respected researcher in Economics. He is author of six papers in journals with impact factor, co-author of 3 books, and of another 17 peer-reviewed articles. He participated in international and national scientific projects and is a member of the executive boards 5 academic journals. Josef is also member of the Board at the Academy of Business, CEE Chapter (AIB-CEE).

Yih-Jeou Wang

Yih-Jeou Wang is Head of International Co-operation at the Agency for Digitisation within the Danish Ministry of Finance. He returned to Danish civil service in 2010 after five years as Head of Unit in the OECD leading OECD’s activities in the area of ICT use in the public sector (e-government). He joined the OECD in 2005 from a position as Head of Division in the Danish National IT and Telecom Agency responsible for national and international ICT security policy. He has for a period of more than 20 years been responsible for policy and strategy development of Information Society and e-government in different ministries (Finance, Education and Research, and Science, Technology, and Innovation), and has in a short period worked as a senior adviser in the Confederation of Danish Industries responsible for the development of e-business policies and strategies for Danish industry. He has for more than 15 years been an external examiner at the IT University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School.

Roman Chlupatý (moderator)

Roman Chlupatý is a Czech-Canadian journalist, published author and media consultant. Working for Czech and international media, universities and firms, he focuses on international politics and economics and how these two worlds intertwine. His works were published in France, Germany, China and other countries. He studied in Toronto, Aarhus, Amsterdam and London.

13:30
Opening Remarks

Josef Taušer, Dean, Faculty of International Relations, Prague University of Economics and Business
Sarianna M. Lundan, Member of Executive Board, Academy of International Business, University of Bremen, Germany
Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, European Commission

14:00 – 15:15
Digital Economy: Reality and Visions

Silja Baller, Economist, Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network, World Economic Forum (presentation)
How important is digitalization for competitiveness? Highlights from the GCR 2016

Yih-Jeou Wang, Head of the Director-General’s Secretariat, Agency for Digitisation, Ministry of Finance, Denmark
What is the potential of digitalization? What can we achieve and what can we lose? (presentation)

Tomáš Prouza, Coordinator for Digital agenda, Secretary of State for EU Affairs, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic
How digital is Czech Republic so far?

15:30 -16:30
Digital society: Are we ready to live in it?

Jan Drahokoupil, Senior Researcher, European Trade Union Institute, Brussels, What are the trends and how is the digitalization changing the employment and the economy?

Martina F. Ferracane, Analyst, European Centre for International Political Economy, Brussels (presentation here)  Digital business and digital society. What are the links, benefits and risks? (presentation)

Pavel Kysilka, Founder and Chairman of the Managing Board, 6D Adacemy
Digital life from the perspective of businesses

16:30 Closing remarks

Josef Taušer, Dean, Faculty of International Relations, Prague University of Economics and Business
Łukasz Puślecki, Chairman, Academy of Business, AIB-CEE Chapter

17:00 Reception