Managers of the Year Prof. Vladimír Mařík and Tanja Vainio

In the 26th year of the Manager of the Year competition, announced by the Czech Management Association, the representatives of the technologically progressive fields won. Many personalities of European and world stature appeared among the TOP 10 and winners’ categories.

Prague, 25 April 2019

The best managers in the Czech Republic for the year 2018 are Prof. Vladimír Mařík from the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, CIIRC ČVUT (Czech Technical University in Prague) and Tanja Vainio, the general director of the ABB company for both the Czech and Slovak Republics. They won the Manager of the Year competition, which has been announced by the Czech Management Association (ČMA) for 26 years. The award was accepted on the 25 April at Prague Žofín Palace during the celebratory Gala, where three hundred managerial personalities and guests had gathered.

The winners of the Manager of the Year come from different generations, but they both represent the area of modern technologies with Prof. Vladimír Mařík as an innovator in cybernetics and representative of the institution of European-class and Tanja Vainio as a bearer of innovation. “The use and development of new technologies is part of our DNA”, says Tanja Vainio.

The chairman of the 15-member National Commission, Prof. Zdeněk Souček commented on the result: “Both have shown excellent managerial attributes within the most modern area of present-day entrepreneurship.” Pavel Kafka, the president of the ČMA selected similar words. He was unable to hide his delight from the fact that the number of managers who represent modern, perspective fields grew among the finalists and laureates. “I am glad that the entire course of the 26th year and its results confirm the great, social importance of this long-term project,” he stated.

Petr Kazík, the chairman of the Evaluation Commission, who awards points to the participants during the first round of the competition, stated: “I consider it to be outstanding that managers from highly progressive fields with a great perspective have won. They are disrupting the stereotype of the Czech Republic as being only an assembly-based nation.”

Fifty finalists made it to the conclusion of the competition this year. The TOP 10 managers continued to the narrowest selection after having personally presented before the Evaluation Commission. From this narrow selection, the afore mentioned National Commission chose both the male and female Managers of the Year.

Eleven of the best managers placed in occupational or new categories. The totally new Visionary category was introduced and Tomáš Mikolov, a scientist of world importance and innovator in the area of artificial intelligence, was the first to succeed. Also, the category of Crisis Manager was new with Tomáš Milich, OVUS – a stock farming enterprise, as the winner. Foreign Manager was a new category where Niclas Pfüller, BROSE CZ, pulled through to the top. Adam Liška from Bekaert Petrovice Ltd. succeeded as the Young Managerial Talent.

Simona Kijonková from the company Zásilkovna won in the Services category, which also indicated the importance of new technologies. Miloslav Ludvík, FN Motol, shined in Health Services. Jan Duspěva, ČEPRO, was successful in Industry, Josef Mráz, AGROFERT, in Agriculture and the category of Public Administration was taken by Tomáš Elis from the municipality of Opava.

A special award was given for Innovation for Sustainable Development. Václav Matyáš was added to the Hall of Fame, a recognized personality in the area of construction and many years president of the Association of Building Entrepreneurs of the Czech Republic.