Exchange Magazine, Fall 2003 - Duke University's Fuqua School of ...

opening party for her salon,” Danziger says. “She persuaded him
to seriously entertain the thought of creating his own business
and invited me in to develop a business plan for him.” Zieleniec
and Danziger eventually formed Josef Zieleniec and Partners
(JZ&P), a consulting firm that specializes in the development,
management and execution of mergers, acquisitions and greenfield
initiatives. In its first year of business, JZ&P advised a
NASDAQ listed electronic fund transfer business on its attempted
acquisition of the largest Czech ATM network operator, and also
closed the acquisition of an automotive stamped components
manufacturer. JZ&P has also provided input into European
Union commercial and legislative issues for major Czech
industrial companies that dominate the domestic coal, telecommunications
and dairy sectors.
While working with JZ&P, Danziger enrolled in Fuqua’s Cross
Continent MBA program in 2000 to enhance his management
skills. “The Cross Continent program was ideal for me,”
Danziger says. “I could attend classes in Frankfurt without moving
out of Prague. And pursuing an MBA while you are
employed makes a lot of sense, as you can apply the course
material right into work situations.”
This year, Danziger launched his most ambitious business
venture yet — the purchase of a Czech steel production facility
with 200 employees and more than $11 million in annual sales.
Structured as a management-buy-in, Czech Precision Forge a.s.
will be managed by a four-person team, including Danziger as
commercial director.
Czech Precision Forge is a regional producer of steel and aluminum
open and closed-die forgings. The management team
hopes to significantly increase the company’s output and widen
the variety of forged materials as part of a long-term strategy to
increase the value delivered to its trading partners.
Asked about the biggest challenge in running a business in the
Czech Republic, Danziger points to the need to adapt one’s
internal psychology to the local conditions. “When I first came
over here, there was no commercial law, no rules for doing business,”
he says. “Now, every business transaction here is done on
the basis of formal contracts — nothing is done by handshake or
letter. And the court system is a disaster, interminably slow and
full of loopholes.”
Danziger also finds himself frustrated by a worker attitude left
over from the Communist era. “Theft from the company is a
huge problem,” he says. “The Czechs had a saying under the
Communists that he who doesn’t steal from the state steals from
his own family. The company was equated with the state, and it’s
been tough to get them to think of it as their own. People don’t
believe that if you work harder, you’ll benefit more.”
Still, Danziger feels there is a world of opportunity in Eastern
Europe. “For people who are entrepreneurs, there is no better
place to come,” he says. “But you need to come here not with the
idea of selling something, but to find services and products you
can export. This region is and will continue to be one of the
major parts suppliers to Western Europe.”
“I could attend classes in
Frankfurt without moving out
of Prague. And pursuing an
MBA while you are employed
makes a lot of sense, as you
can apply the course material
right into work situations.”
FAST FACTS
HENRY DANZIGER
Commercial Director
Member of the Board
Czech Precision Forge
The Czech Republic
The Duke MBA–Cross Continent
Class of 2002
danziger@alumni.duke.edu
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