Stories in English

Two views, one worldWhat do the Czech and Austrian Speakers of Parliaments agree on?

Wolfgang Sobotka and Radek Vondráček have a lot in common. Both have been Speakers of the Parliaments of their countries since autumn 2017, but both also have similar values in life and love music. TRADE NEWS brings you an exclusive interview with the two gentlemen.

Andreas Künne: Germany and the Czech Republic are predestined to help Europe move forward together

Appointed the new Ambassador of Germany to the Czech Republic only in mid-August, Andreas Künne lauds the excellent quality of Czech-German relations, and only has words of admiration for his predecessors and everyone who has been committed to improving our bilateral relations over the last decades. He sees our two countries as natural and established partners and envisions that our strong partnership could lead the way on the European level as well. We spoke to Mr. Künne at the German Embassy premises in Lobkowicz Palace in Prague.

Czech Republic is the best performer within the VIG Group

"If I were a Czech entrepreneur and wanted to impress an Austrian business partner, I would definitely invite them to my company as soon as possible. I would show them how my products are made and why they can rely on them. And to make an even bigger impression, I would definitely take them to Prague," says Christoph Rath, who has been working for the Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) for seventeen years and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of ČPP and Kooperativa. He also noted that he would take a business partner from Austria to Cimrman English Theatre. "If they have a good time, you will find out that you have the same sense of humour. And this is very important for a long-term partnership, not only in business."

When you want to attract and keep the best players, you can’t play in a low league.

For almost thirty years I have been trying to bring some common sense to the area of human resources. Together with Performia offices and clients around the world, we set up a recruitment formula based on a person’s previous results rather than on questions that lead nowhere. When leading people we work with their potential and willingness because skill can usually be taught. But how do you know that a person selected according to all these criteria is good enough to manage the pace of the team he has joined?

Bettina Kirnbauer: Czech Republic and Austria are best neighboursWe understand and rely on each other

Bettina Kirnbauer returned to Prague last year as Austria's ambassador after almost twenty years. She says that today’s Czech Republic is a thriving country, with overall progress visible in all areas. Related to this are the improved relations between Austria and the Czech Republic, which are really very close today. Her first year was largely impacted by the covid-19 pandemic. "But it showed, among other things, how good and stable our mutual relations are today," she points out.

Jaroslav Besperát: In a crisis, we are all looking for stability and trustWe have been building such an insurance company for 25 years

Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna (ČPP) has so far gone through the covid-19 crisis virtually unaffected. We talked with the CEO Jaroslav Besperát just after the company won the prestigious Zlatá koruna award: gold in the Business and Industry Insurance category and two bronze trophies for insurance for entrepreneurs Simplex and Autopojištění Combi Plus. Despite the pandemic, ČPP has had a very successful year in terms of overall economic results and is still one of the fastest growing big insurance companies in the country. The company’s CEO is known to like winning. What is his recipe for victory?

Štítky ČPP