Sep - British Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic

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Member ProfileAlice Punch has a MS.c. degree in industrial management from the TechnicalUniversity in Ostrava and MBA degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Shehas been in the executive search industry in central & Eastern Europe for morethan six years. She has completed senior management recruitments across allsectors with focus on industrial, manufacturing, and finance sector. Before enteringthe executive search profession in 1998, Alice worked in the finance and realestate investment advisory in Prague and Toronto. Alice speaks fluent Czech andEnglish and can communicate in Russian and Polish.Name: Alice PunchPosition: PrincipalCompany: Egon Zehnder InternationalMarital Status: MarriedHobbies: Fitness, modern art, reading, travellingWhat brought you to the Czech Republic?My origins; I was born in Ostrava. I was brought up and also studied there. Atthe end of 1980s, I moved to Canada, where I started my professional career. Thedynamism and enthusiasm of the political and economic changes in the CzechRepublic attracted me to move to Prague in 1996, where I have been living andworking since. Travelling and working in new markets is in my blood. Today, Ispend most of my time in the Czech Republic, but travel a lot within Europe.Has it proved to be a successful move for your business?Personally, it has been the best move ever. I have enjoyed an interesting and rewardingprofessional career in the Czech Republic. Professionally, our firm is anactive contributor to the changing local business environment and we have beena very active member of the Czech business community since 1992.What do you perceive to be the good things about doing business in the CR?It is still a dynamic and changing market with new opportunities to grow business.Most rewarding is the opportunity to contribute to the changes, to assistour clients to minimise risks for their businesses by hiring highly qualified executives.And the bad…Lately, the tax changes and the political environment have slowed down newinvestors coming to the country. Also, the lack of transparency in decision making,including corruption, is fairly high.Where do you see the big opportunities for British exports and investmenthere?The real estate and development sector and service industry. The real estate sectoris already witnessing expansion, while the service industry is growing, however,its potential is largely untapped.If you had your time in the Czech Republic over again, what would youdo differently?Professionally, I would not change anything. Personally, I would have invested inreal estate.What do you think of the current political and economic scene hereat the present time?The economic scene would be more dynamic if the political, tax and legal environmentwould encourage it. The political scene is not supportive to the reputationof the country internationally. The lack of ability to speak foreign languages andhaving international work experience is worrisomefor an export-/import-based economysuch as the Czech one is.What makes business succeed in the CzechRepublic?Perseverance, hard work, flexibility, andoptimism.What do you believe is the main impacton your business now the Czech Republichas joined the EU?The number of multinational organisationsentering the Czech Republic will slightlyincrease in the next few years, which willdrive demand for local and internationalexecutives. The cross-border moves of managerswill be easier.If you were to spend a weekend anywherein the CR, where would it be and why?Prague wins… The city relaxes during weekendswith many people leaving for their“chatas”… There is so much to do and visit…What is your favourite restaurant in Prague?These days, the choices are great. Dependingon the mood; for relaxing, low-key atmosphere,my husband and I enjoy PotrefenáHusa, for an elegant lunch or dinner, we liketo go to Bellevue or the Intercontinentaltop-roof restaurant.What is your idea of ideally spentweekend?In general, I am a homebody, but I like fitness,getting together with friends, and travellingabroad. I find a weekend or few daysspent away from the Czech Republic somewhereabroad very inspiring and energising.What is your favourite Czech phrase orCzech word?“To není problém”… hope we hear more ofthese words.What is the funniest thing that has happenedto you since you first arrived in the CR?Upon return from Toronto, I needed to registermy two-year-old car and an emissioncontrol was a part of the procedure. It wasdifficult for me to understand that a nearlynew car needs to undergo this. A funny, yetsad thing, was that when I arrived there,there was an about 20 years old, fuming,orange Škoda that just successfully completedthe emission control… I could hardlybreathe.What three objects would you take withyou to a desert island?Not a good idea. I would get seasick beforeI get there.FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2004 25
Legal NewsOn 2 June 2004, Act no 340/2004 Coll., amendingthe Czech Competition Act 1 (the “Amendment”)took effect. The Amendment followsa recent change in competition rules at EUlevel as well as the accession of the CzechRepublic into the EU. The purpose of thisChanges to CompetitionLaw in the Czech Republicarticle is to briefly outline the main changesintroduced by the Amendment.Horizontal and vertical restraintson competitionThe Amendment abolishes the previous systemof notifying agreements restrainingcompetition to the Czech Office for the Protectionof Economic Competition (the “Office”)and the granting of individual exemptionsby the Office. Therefore, from now on, theonly exceptions to the prohibition of horizontaland vertical restraints on competition arecontained (i) in the Competition Act itself;or (ii) in the block exemption regulationsissued by the Office in the form of generallybinding regulations.The restraints on competition (whetherin the form of an agreement, resolution ofan association of undertakings or act in concert)will be exempt from the prohibition ifthey meet the following conditions:(i) They aim to improve production or distributionor promote technical and economicdevelopment and, at the same time, assignto consumers an adequate portion of theadvantages arising as a result thereof;(ii) They do not impose restrictions on undertakingswhich would be unnecessary to achieve the aims described at point (i)above; and(iii)They will not result in the elimination of competition in a substantial part ofa market in goods or services, the purchase or supply of which is the subjectmatter of the agreement (or the subject matter of the resolution of an associationof undertakings or act in concert).Furthermore, the Amendment increased the thresholds under which agreementsare considered de minimis and thus exempt from the prohibition. Horizontal agreementsare thus exempt if the combined market share of the parties thereto doesnot exceed 10%. Vertical agreements are exempt if the combined market share ofthe parties thereto does not exceed 15%. 2In addition, the Amendment introduced the following changes:(iv) It is no longer possible to request that the Office issue a negative clearance, i.e.a decision confirming that a particular agreement does not distort competition;(v) The Office may accept commitments offered by the parties to a restrictive agreement,provided that such commitments will be sufficient for the protection ofcompetition and provided any distortion of competition can be removed. However,the Office may not accept the commitments of parties who have already actedupon the restrictive agreements and such actions resulted or could have resultedin the distortion of competition.Abuse of dominant positionThe Amendment extends the application of the essential facilities doctrine to intellectualproperty or other natural monopolies (whether based on ownership or public law).Furthermore, the Amendment makes it possible for the Office to accept commitmentsfrom a dominant undertaking which abused its position, provided thatthe Office considers the commitments sufficient for the protection of competitionand provided any distortion of competition can be removed. However, the Officewill not be allowed to accept the commitments if the abuse of dominant positionhad already resulted in a significant distortion of competition.Merger controlThe Amendment substantially increased the turnover thresholds under whichconcentrations of undertakings will be subject to approval by the Office. 3Under the new thresholds, notification of a proposed merger is mandatory if:(i) The combined net turnover of all merging parties was at least CZK 1.5 billionin the Czech Republic in the previous financial year, and at least two of themerging parties each had a net turnover exceeding CZK 250 million in theCzech Republic in the previous financial year; orCont’d on next pageNew strength of the BCC officeStarry nightFor the past few months the Board of theChamber of Commerce has been carryingout interviews to find a new ExecutiveDirector to replace Simona Kalvoda. WithRenata ScharfováExecutive Directorsome excellent candidates putting themselvesforward, choosing the most suitable wasan incredibly difficult process, but it givesus great pleasure to announce that from1st September, the new Executive Directorhas been Renata Scharfová. Renata has, ofcourse, been acting ED since Simona departedand needs no introduction.In order, however, to strengthen the Executiveoffice and to enable the BCC to becomeeven more powerful than it already is,we have also taken the decision to appointTomáš Klvaňa as the Strategy & ExternalRelations Advisor.Tomáš is a political lobbyist who workedfor two years as adviser to Václav Klaus,Tomáš KlvaňaStrategy & External Relationshaving previously worked as Deputy Editorof Hospodářské noviny. He will work on apart time basis for the Chamber, with particularemphasis on raising the BCC’s profilein the media, chairing public events and cooperationwith the Euro-Czech Forum.We would like to thank The Prague Post,Target CR s. r. o. and Hudson Global Resources,s. r. o. for their support in our searchfor a new Executive Director.The British Chamber of Commercein the Czech Republictakes great pleasure in announcing itsChristmas Gala DinnerStarry nightat Slovansk˘ dÛmSaturday, 4th December 2004, 7:30 P.M.,at Slovanský důmProgramme:Gala dinner, Charity Auction, Music &Dance, and many ‘starring’ surprises!Invitations and programme will be distributed by post.You can book your Corporate Table and Tickets onwww.britishchamber.cz, or call +420 224 835 161.Corporate Table for ten: 40,000 CZKTicket: 2,500 CZKDress Code: Evening Dress for ladies,Tux for gentlemen26 FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2004
Page 1 and 2: Do not neglect the Czech Republic /
Page 3 and 4: InterviewRené Samek is the Directo
Page 6 and 7: Introducing New MembersCont’d fro
Page 8 and 9: Chamber People NewsForeign Affairs
Page 10 and 11: Embassy LatestTrading places at the
Page 12 and 13: After HoursDo you have a thirst for
Page 14 and 15: Health and Safety Training? Try E-l
Page 18 and 19: Q & A(ii)Depending on the type of m
Page 20 and 21: In BriefCelebrating in friendlySwis
Page 22: Bubble? What Bubble?However the aim

Sep - British Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic

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