Our Alumni

Ján Stanko

Regional Director CEE & The Balkans

Oracle Corporation

He has been with Oracle Corporation since 2004, where he has consistently been responsible for the company’s most key accounts. He currently leads a cluster of 11 countries. He speaks four languages.

Jana Andonegui Sehnalová

Independent Non-executive Director

Link (Hong Kong)

She manages a global team specialized in real estate equity investments and is a member of the supervisory board of LFFS. She began her career as a financial analyst at European Investors Inc. in New York, followed by roles at Citi in New York, London, and Hong Kong. Since 2009, she has worked as a portfolio manager at Forum Securities in London, and in 2012, she founded the company’s branch in Singapore. She is a member of Young Leaders at the Milken Institute and speaks eight languages.

Tomáš Braverman

Group CEO

Slevomat

He has been active in e-commerce for over 15 years. In 2013, he became the CEO of Heureka, and since 2024, he has been leading Slevomat Group – the largest experiences marketplace in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He hosts his own podcast and is also involved in consulting and mentoring.

Michaela Bauer

CEO

Slovenská spořitelna

Michaela Bauer will serve as the CEO of Slovenská spořitelna starting in 2026. Until 2025, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the ČSOB Group, where her agenda included IT, Innovation, Data, Digital, Daily Banking, and Operations. She was responsible for accelerating the group’s digital transformation in the Czech Republic, specifically the development and implementation of the virtual assistant Kate, digital applications, data utilization, and the implementation of a new strategy.

Vojtěch Benda

Chief Economist

ING

He began his career at the Czech National Bank (CNB) in 1998. He served as the Chief Economist at BH Securities. From 2016 to 2022, he was a member of the Bank Board of the CNB. Since 2023, he has been serving as the Chief Economist at ING.

Pavel Cyrani

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of the Sales and Strategy Division

ČEZ

He has been with the ČEZ Group since 2006, progressively managing the departments of controlling, asset management, strategy, and sales. In 2011, he became a member of the Board of Directors, and since 2020, he has served as its Vice-Chairman. He began his career at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Petra Freddi

Managing Director, Europe & Middle East

Milken Institute (Singapore)

She is responsible for business and program development in Asia and Australia for the American think tank Milken Institute. She creates programming, is responsible for fundraising, and moderates panels at investment conferences. She has been organizing the Milken Asia Summit for 5 years. Previously, she spent ten years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers in London and at the private equity fund Apollo Management in Singapore.

Tomáš Hruška

Managing Director, Europe & Middle East

L’Oréal

He began his career in the marketing department of L’Oréal in the Czech Republic. He then worked in marketing and sales in France, later in Sweden as a Country Manager, and in Italy as the Director of the Consumer Products Division. Since 2015, he has been back in the Czech Republic, serving as the General Manager of L’Oréal for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Dita Charanzová

Vice President of the European Parliament

European Parliament

She served in the Czech diplomatic service for eight years. In 2014, she became a Member of the European Parliament, where she also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). She has received numerous awards, was named one of the 41 most influential MEPs by Politico.eu, and is repeatedly ranked among the top twenty most influential women “moving Brussels.” In 2018, the Czech edition of Forbes ranked her in the top ten of the Top 100 Most Influential Czech Women.

Jiří Chod

Ferrante Family Professor

Boston College

He has been lecturing at the Carroll School of Management, Boston College, since 2005, when he completed his PhD at the University of Rochester. His research, published in journals such as Operations Research and Management Science, spans the fields of operations management, finance, and economics. His recent work focuses on financial innovations based on blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Management Science.

Lucie Berger

EU Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

She has held various positions within EU institutions since 2006. For a long time, she has focused on international cooperation, particularly in the field of sustainable development. She contributed to formulating trade policy with the Gulf Cooperation Council and to the creation of the climate change strategy for the Middle East and North Africa region. Furthermore, she participated in the negotiations of the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as UN agreements in Geneva across various economic sectors, including the digital agenda, energy, transport, and industrial property rights. Since October 2023, she has served as the EU Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

Robert Chvátal

CEO

Sazka

He began his professional career at Procter & Gamble and Reckitt Benckiser. He led the marketing department at RadioMobil (later T-Mobile CZ). He became the CEO of T-Mobile in Slovakia and subsequently in Austria. He currently heads Sazka, serves as the Vice President of the European Lotteries association, and is the CEO of the international holding Sazka Group.

Petra Kutnarová

Co-owner and CFO

DEK

She has been active in the DEK Group since its founding. Her primary responsibilities include acquisitions, the development of the sales network, and administrative support for subsidiary companies. She focuses heavily on ensuring that DEK operates leanly and efficiently.

Marek Mora

Vice-President of the European Investment Bank

EIB

Following his five-year term on the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank between 2017 and 2023, he moved to the position of Deputy Minister of Finance. Previously, he worked at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, first as the Director of the Office of the Secretary-General of the Council, and later as the Director for Budget, Tax, and Regional Policy. During his career, he has also held positions at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the Office of the Government, and the European Commission.

Aleš Mydlář

Executive Director

J.P. Morgan (London)

He joined the American investment bank J.P. Morgan in 2004 while still a student and worked in various positions across the Mergers and Acquisitions, Equity Capital Markets, and Syndication departments. He currently serves as Executive Director in the European Debt and Acquisition Finance team in London. Before joining J.P. Morgan, he also worked during his studies as an editor for the economic weekly Euro.

Jitka Němečková

Corporate Affairs Manager

CEE Haleon

She entered the field of communications as an editor for the weekly Marketing&Media at the Economia publishing house. She continued to focus on communication strategies as a director at the advertising agency Remmark and the research firm CEEC Research. She then worked as a communications manager at Spolana and Unipetrol and was responsible for communications at Plzeňský Prazdroj. She was named Spokesperson of the Year in 2018 and led the Best PR Team of the Year in 2020.

Martin Novák

Chief Financial and Operations Officer

ČEZ

He began his career at Price Waterhouse. He worked at the headquarters of the multinational corporation ConocoPhillips in London and Houston. He has been with ČEZ since 2006. In 2016, he was named CFO of the Decade.

Ondřej Obluk

CEO

Ogilvy

Throughout most of his advertising career, he has remained loyal to Ogilvy, where he worked in the subsidiaries rmg:connect, BBK Advertising, and Ogilvy & Mather. He is a member of the Presidium of the Association of Communication Agencies. He teaches Commercial Marketing at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Leontinka Foundation.

Miloš Olík

Chairman / Partner

International Chamber of Commerce CZ / ROWAN LEGAL

He has been a Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Department at the ROWAN LEGAL law firm since 2006. In his practice, he focuses on international commercial arbitration and investment disputes. He also serves as an arbitrator and mediator. In 2019, he was elected Chairman of the Czech National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Daniela Pešková

Member of the Board of Directors responsible for Retail Banking

Česká spořitelna

The highest-ranking female Czech banker has held managerial banking positions both in the Czech Republic and abroad. She began her career in 1997 at the Czech branch of GE, for which she also worked in the United Kingdom and Hungary. From 2004 to 2007, she served at the Slovak headquarters of Tatrabanka. She has been with Česká spořitelna since 2007 and has served as a member of the Board of Directors since 2016.

Pavel Pitel

Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Thailand

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

After completing his studies, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. During his career, he has worked at the embassies and consulates of the Czech Republic in India (New Delhi), Australia (Sydney), and the USA (Washington). As the Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was responsible, for example, for the repatriation of Czech citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2022, he has held the position of Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Thailand.

Marek Prach

Regional Director of Supply Chain Operations/Logistics

Asahi Europe

Before joining Prazdroj in 2003, he served as a Project Manager in the Prague office of the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. At Prazdroj, he held various positions in strategy, procurement, planning, and logistics. He is currently a member of the executive leadership team.

Tomáš Prouza

President

Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism

He began his career as an economic journalist, founded three successful companies, and served as both Deputy Minister of Finance and a World Bank expert on financial reforms. For four years, he worked as the State Secretary for European Affairs for the Czech Government. He currently leads the second-largest employer association in the Czech Republic.

Jan Radil

General Manager

Hilti

Since joining Hilti in 2003, he has progressed through various roles to the position of General Manager. He started as a sales representative and now manages six countries in Central and Eastern Europe. In his work, he finds joy in developing people and creating enthusiastic customers. He regularly lectures to CEMS students at the Prague University of Economics and Business, and in his free time, you might find him on the ice with a hockey stick.

Diana Rádl Rogerová

Partner

Behind Inventions

She worked at Deloitte from 1996 and led the Czech office from 2016 to 2023. She focuses on audit services, particularly in the fields of finance and real estate. She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a licensed auditor with the Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic, and holds a professional qualification in IFRS (DipIFR).

Jiří Sauer

Partner

Deloitte

He has been with Deloitte since 2005. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ACA). He is registered as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the USA, holds the DipIFR qualification, and is a registered statutory auditor in the Czech Republic.

Dita Stejskalová

Business Director and Partner

Ogilvy

She has tied her professional career to the Ogilvy brand and the field of PR and strategic communications. She managed the Association of PR Agencies (APRA) and is currently a member of its Ethical and Conciliation Commission. She serves on the boards of the Neuron Endowment Fund and the BONA Foundation. She was involved in the creation of the Odyssey mentoring program for women in business and the Prague Leadership Institute. She also sits on the jury of the Czech Businesswomen Awards.

Petr Sýkora

Co-founder

DOBRÝ ANDĚL

At the age of 19, he co-founded the company Papirius with his friend Jan Černý, which they later sold to the American firm Office Depot. He is one of the co-founders of the DOBRÝ ANDĚL (Good Angel) foundation.

Petr Šmíd

Investment Partner

Rockaway Capital

He began his career at McKinsey & Company. As a consultant for seven years, he focused primarily on marketing in the banking and healthcare sectors. He is actively involved in education, leading workshops for students, professionals, startups, and other businesses. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization Bátor Tábor.

Jiří Vévoda

CFO, Member of the Board of Directors

ČSOB

He has been a member of the ČSOB Board of Directors since 2010. He is currently responsible for the areas of finance and investment. During his career, he also worked at GE Capital in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Finland, and Sweden, and at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company as an Associate Partner, specializing in work for clients in banking, consumer finance, and insurance.

Martin Záklasník

CEO and Founder

Sinlei

He worked at E.ON starting in 2016. Previously, he held positions such as Sales Director at T-Systems and Head of B2B Marketing and Sales for Top Accounts at T-Mobile.