QUARTERLYCEMS Club Prague

Summer 2012

How we ruled the year....

...and how we and others enjoy the summer

Immediate Impact,Growing Advantage.A.T.Kearney Prague of!ice is continuously looking for excellent students/graduates with diverse academic background possessing analytical, logical, interpersonal and communication skills for fulltime/internship positions. We are seeking Czech/Slovak and English speaking colleagues who are team-oriented, open to new ideas and committed to continuous learning.

A.T. Kearney is a forward-thinking global team with uniquely collegial culture that delivers immediate impact and growing advantage. Over "# years we have been trusted advisors on CEO-agenda issues to the world’s leading organizations creating and implementing elegantly simple, practical and sustainable solutions. On the Czech market we have been present already for $ decades.

If you are interested in becoming part of our team send your CV and cover letter to Recruiting.Prague@atkearney.com.

If you want to learn more about forward-thinking approach to management consulting visit www.atkearney.com.

What is in ...

CEMSies on the Road

Three students, three continents,

three stories. Fellow CEMSies write about their overseas travell-ing experiencesHow to be a

consultant and find time

to relax

An exclusive interview with

Lenka Krobová, Manager at

A.T.Kearney Prague

Work-life balance is

about personal choices

says Juraj Slota from

Procter&Gamble

Interview with Ms. Šubrtová

Renata Šubrtová has left the CEMS Prague office. But

before she agreed to make an interview with us

UniCredit Shadowing Days

How a few students became top managers at UniCredit

Bank for one day

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520

10

6

How we ruled the semester - Review of all CEMS Prague spring events

Introduction of the new CEMS Club 2012/2013 - Who is going to be in charge next year?

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DEAR READERS,

I welcome you to the last issue of the CEMS Club Prague Quarterly in the school year 2011/2012. Although this issue contains many interesting articles, from interviews to a review of the events that took place, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the year we had.

This issue signalizes the end of the CEMS Club squadron of 2011/2012. Time has come to pass the torch to David Kolesa, the new CEMS Club president, whose team will try to make your CEMS experience unforgettable. The upcoming year will be challenging, with the V4 conference looming over the usual duties. But I am sure the experience will be unforgettable. I wish him and his team good speed.

I would like to thank all the Club members for their hard work and dedication. Between thesis, exams and work, I am glad that all the Club members kept at it till the end to finish what we started almost a year ago. I would also like to thank our company partners for their support throughout the whole year, the school representatives, who tried to help us in all our endeavors, and of course, the students, who have proven with their spirit and enthusiasm that they will carry on the CEMS legacy.

May the Force be with you!

Martin Strnad

President, CEMS Club Prague

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Experience what it is like to be a top manager in the banking industry - UniCredit CEMS Shadowing Days Several students of the prestigious study programme CEMS Master´s in International Management, which is taught at the University of Economics Prague, got the unique opportunity to experience a typical working day of a manager at Uni Credit, one of the leading banks in the Czech market. This special event called “UniCredit CEMS Shadowing Days” took place in March and April 2012 and was very positively evaluated by both students and UniCredit. Michal Hulín, one of the participating students, reports.

Nowadays, quite a few people have a negative perception of the banking industry and associate banking with dishonesty and greed. Others, on the other hand, consider their bank as a life partner that will help them to wisely invest their savings or finance their businesses. But how does the reality look like? What actually does a private banker? What is her/his workload? Which challenges does she/he usually face? How is she/he like?

In order to learn more about this interesting profession, some of my classmates and I took the opportunity to spend a few days with some selected managers from different UniCredit departments. I was very lucky as I could shadow the director of the private banking department for one day.

So, how did this day look like?

My shadowing day started at 8:10 in the reception of the UniCredit bank at Náměstí Republiky. After signing a confidentiality agreement and some other documents, I joined a morning briefing with some other private bankers. At the end of this meeting

the bankers honestly and openly answered all my questions regarding their daily responsibilities and challenges, etc. This was followed by an excursion through the whole bank where I learned about the individual departments and their functions. This helped me a lot to better understand the structure of the bank.

The morning literally flew by and at 12 I went for lunch with the director of a branch office of UniCredit. It was a great opportunity to talk about various topics related to the banking industry and about the challenges UniCredit faces. After lunch, I participated in a few meetings with different employees of the bank who actively work with private bankers and who help to provide complex services to the clients. At the beginning of each meeting, the director of private banking explained to me what was going to be discussed. During the negotiations, my “shadowing” manager pointed out important issues and the implications to me. Being actively involved in the discussion, I could very well understand the daily challenges and responsibilities of a banker.

The shadowing day ended at around half past 5 – while having a coffee, we discussed the whole day, my feelings about the job and all my questions. I have to say that this valuable experience changed my perception about the banking profession and I personally would consider a job in this industry for myself.

The UniCredit CEMS Shadowing days were a very valuable experience for all students. For some, it even might have been a decisive event which has an impact on their future professional career. For the others it was for sure an interesting working day, observed from a ver y d i f ferent perspect ive . I personally learned a lot. The shadowing day helped me to better understand the duties of private bankers, to get to know the working environment and I could even meet some employees of the bank. I was positively impressed by the friendly atmosphere and the good team spirit within the department. I hope that such an event will be organized in the future as well.

Text by Michal Hulín

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QUARTERLYQUARTERLYAfter retiring, our former CEMS coordinator shares her experiences in an interviewA few months ago Ms. Renata Šubrtová, who has been the VŠE CEMS coordinator since the early beginnings of CEMS in Prague left university to enjoy her well-deserved retirement. Before that she agreed to answer a few questions about her time at the VŠE and especially within the CEMS program. We would again like to thank her for all the support the students enjoyed from her during all these years and would now like to present you the exclusive interview with Ms. Šubrtová.

Thank you for your time to answer our questions. First of all I would like to know since when you have been working as CEMS MIM Coordinator and how you got the position? Did you work at VŠE already before?

I joined CEMS MIM as a Coordinator in 1995 when the University of Economics, Prague became a candidate member. At that point I had been working at the International Office, at the University of Economics, Prague for five years already and the post of the CEMS Coordinator was offered to me by the Head of the International Office Libuše Schmidová.

Did you already know about CEMS before the program came to Prague and were you involved in the process of getting CEMS to Prague?

I first learned about the CEMS Programme from the then Vice-Rector Jaroslava Durčáková who presented CEMS to us as a programme which VŠE is keen to join.

Since 1995, when VŠE became a candidate member, I have been responsible for co-ordinating the programme and for all incoming and outgoing students. VŠE underwent a thorough evaluation in 1998 and became a full CEMS member the same year.

What did you like most about your job?

At first it was very exciting just to work in the CEMS programme. I enjoyed everything to do with the programme. Over the years it has been a great opportunity to work closely with VŠE’s top students and to collaborate with coordinators of the member universities. In 2003 VŠE hosted the CEMS Events which was a fantastic experience.

What did you not like that much?

As the CEMS MIM grew and the number of members increased the workload of the coordinators has increased accordingly. However, all the extra work has meant

better service for students and an improvement to the programme as whole. So, all the hard work has been worth it.

Was it strange in the beginning that a big part of your work had to be done in English?

Not at all. As a member of the International Office at VŠE my job has always involved dealing with students from across the world and therefore English has been essential part of my every day work.

You also sometimes had to travel around, right? Did you like it? Which place did you like most?

I always really enjoyed visiting other CEMS universit ies and travell ing to other countries. As a coordinator I attended Coordinator Meetings hosted by a member university every 6 months as well as CEMS Events every December. Each trip and attendance at an event has been enjoyable and it was great to learn about each University first hand and meet my

Text by Sandra Huber

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coordinator colleagues. Each time I went away I could learn something new and came back full of new experiences. Places that stand out for me are CEMS Events at Bocconi University, Italy and HEC, France and Coordinator Meetings in Windsor, UK (organised by Wolseley) and in Bergen, Norway.

Do you remember a funny or curious situation you had to deal with?

There is one amusing moment that has stuck in my mind that goes back to the CEMS Events 2007 in Paris when it was my job to read out the names of Graduates at the Graduat ion Ceremony. It was very important to make sure I read out all the names correctly. However, as the moment approached when I had to go on stage I realised that I did not have my reading glasses on me. I recalled that our assistant had taken my handbag with my glasses inside away a little while ago. There was no time to rush to get the hand bag so I frantically looked around for help. Then I saw our Academic Director, Helena Sedláčková, taking photos with her reading glasses on. I was saved. Helena kindly agreed to lend me her glasses and I was able to read out all the graduates’ names!

What is/Which are the most memorable experience(s) for you when thinking about all the years with CEMS Prague?

It must be the time when VŠE hosted the CEMS Events in 2003. The preparations were

hard work but we had a great team (even though very small) who did an amazing job. We even had to ask for the rector’s permission to work at the university building until midnight every day. It all paid off in the end and the CEMS Events 2003 were a great success.

How do you think CEMS Prague will develop in the future? What do you personally think about the program?

I believe that especially the quality of the courses offered to CEMS MIM students will continue to improve. It has improved immensely in the last 3 years and I am certain that it will continue to do so.

What do you think will you miss after leaving university?

I will miss being in every day contact with the students and my office colleagues as well as my coordinator colleagues. It has been very refreshing to work with our students and I have always enjoyed working with my coordinator colleagues. I have really enjoyed working at the International Office. We have always had a great team working at VŠE and I will miss them all.

What are your plans for the future? How will you enjoy your free time?

It will be nice to have more time for myself and my family as well as my hobbies.

Thank you very much for your honest answers! I wish you all the best!

However, all the extra work has meant better service for students and improvement to the programme as a whole so all the hard work has been worth it.‟

Renata ŠubrtováFormer CEMS Prague programmme coordinator

Working at the International Office at VŠE, Ms. Šubrtová joined the CEMS team in 1995 after VŠE officially became a candidate member. Being a coordinator, she saw the programme grow to its current state. Over the years, Ms. Šubrtová regularly attended all the international events and helped students with their queries for which she has our gratitude.

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As usual, the teambuilding sort of kicked off the new semester in March. This time, and for the second time in a row, in cooperation with The

Boston Consulting Group, CEMSies spent a quality weekend in Northern Bohemia full of games and an early (for some more than others) Saturday workshop. The theme of this years’ teambuilding

was “dream jobs”. The variety of costumes was incredible going from football players to doctors, dancers to construction workers. It actually made

us think that a shockingly high number of CEMSies chose quite an irrelevant education and should reconsider. :-)

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ow w

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Teambuilding weekend –

March 2-March 4

A number of management consultants from A.T. Kearney, PwC and RWE Consulting found time in their busy schedules to come to VŠE and talk about

their career paths, experience and much more. The participating students praised the event and even though not many showed up, the event was even more intensive and to the point. The feedback

inspired us and Meet the Sales will be held as this Quarterly goes into press.

Meet the Consulting -

March 12As usual, this

semester was packed

with various social

events that all the

students could

participate in. Here a

short overview and

some impressions

from the most

important events:

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During this fine weekend we welcomed the newly accepted CEMSies. More than 30 of them participated, spent two days together and could get

to know each other better. In addition to getting to know each other, Rookies could also learn something by attending a workshop organized by HILTI. Now we can only hope that all of them fulfill

all the requirements that face them and we will see them again in September.

Rook ie weekend –

March 23-March 25

The Gala night of this semester took place in the P.M. Club in Prague, this time with the theme “Venice festival”. Students, corporate partners

and academic representat ives disguised themselves with all sorts of masks, making this night another unforgettable Gala event. Not only was this a fun night but, in addition, through a

charitable ruffle, we could donate nearly 10000CZK to Kapka Nadeje.

CEMS Venice Night – April 5

For the first time, the CEMS Day was organized during the spring semester as well. Raising the awareness of the CEMS Programme is vital as the most talented students are what

makes this programme great. In order to prepare students for the assessment center, a short simulation of real tasks from the selection process was showcased under the supervision of Mrs. Pauknerová. A high number of students

was present during the day at our stand, which showed a promising future for CEMS programme in Prague.

CEMS Day – April 25

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QUARTERLYQUARTERLY“Work-life balance is about personal choices, it’s more of a work/life blend really” says Juraj Slota, Customer Integration Leader for Central Europe South at Procter & Gamble.

Nice to see you again, Juraj! Last time we have met at the CEMS Rotation dinner and you were excited about your new assignment in P&G. How have things been going since then?

Nice to see you too. Things are going very well, thanks. The project I’m working on is now being rolled-out to all of EMEA, so it’s a busy period, but an exciting one still! My „hobby“ assignment is picking up steam as well, I’m working on defining the company’s focus areas for Innovation in the Business Intelligence space. So I’m definitely not bored.

Can you tell us more about your beginnings within the company?

I started while still finishing my studies and worked at BCG as an intern. One day I received a call from P&G, asking whether I’d like to fill an open position. Even though I knew almost nothing about P&G, I liked the job description and decided to give it a try...after that everything went quite fast: I had 3 job interviews (which were unlike anything I expected) and before I knew it, I was „thrown into the cold water“ and asked to „deliver“.

You have now been working for P&G for more than 5 years, what path did you follow?

My first assignment was to enable the monitoring of our products’ sales and inventories in real time, using data obtained from our customers. I have also worked with the Nielsen agency to establish a service to track in store KPIs (such as shelf share) across 5 countries in our former hub. It was then my job to analyze and make sense of the data and turn them into processable

information. Gradually, my responsibilities expanded to more countries, I started to manage my team of analysts etc…When it was time to move to another assignment, I was presented with an opportunity to roll out a “company within company”, whose aim would be to automate common analysis (out of stock alerting, new item launch tracking, business trending etc) across our markets in EMEA, freeing up capacity of people to focus on more value added work. Last October, I also became responsible for the EMEA Business Intelligence Innovations. Looking

Text by Karolina Štochlová

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forward, I’m aiming for an assignment abroad, in one of our bigger hubs (Geneva, Singapore, Warsaw..), still in the BI space as this is a very dynamic field where P&G is among the leaders in the industry, so overall an exciting place to be.

T h e re a re m a n y a t t r a c t i v e employers that would certainly be interested in a person with your experience, what is the reason why you stick to P&G? What makes it special?

I can compare working at P&G and other companies only by talking to friends and acquaintances in my network, but I try to benchmark the opportunities on the market e v e r y 2 y e a r s o r s o m o r e “holistically” (talking to headhunters for example). While there certainly are some better paid jobs out there, I’m not thinking of leaving P&G in the next 2-3 years. I am still learning a lot, and expect to learn a lot more in this and my next assignments. As P&G hires only from within, and as the assignments change often, there’s virtually a guarantee of a steep learning curve. Only when I start to feel that I stagnate, I’d consider looking elsewhere. Or the offer would have to be “unrejectable”

Everybody knows and uses P&G products and most students know the company also as a desirable employer. Is there something not that obvious about P&G you would like to point out?

That’s a bit of a tough question. I guess after 5 years, many things now seem obvious to me. I’d say the continuous extensive trainings and education is something very few other companies do so well (outside of graduate programs). The benefits package, now that I think of it, is very generous too, and the company overall is keen on adjusting to personal interests (work from home, sabbaticals, change of careers, reduced hours

option etc). The steady, “not-insignificant” salary increases – at least once a year –are also not a given at all companies. My girlfriend, who works in a bank, is sick of hearing about all this. The scope of the job is also pretty unique I think. I don’t see many other companies where fresh-out-of-the-college twenty-somethings run multi-million dollar businesses across a number of countries. On the other hand, it is probably not as easy/fast to “change course” as in smaller companies, at least until one learns the ropes and gets to know the organization well enough.

CSR has become an important factor for both consumers and j o b s e e k e r s . H o w a r e y o u responding to this trend in Procter? How is the issue touching your everyday work life?

To be honest CSR is not that important to me personally. I’d say it’s a “must”, but it’s not a “delighter” when comparing companies. But that’s just me. Obviously, P&G goes to great lengths in order to be a responsible and sustainable company – partnering with Unicef to eradicate child diseases, the Safe Drinking program, the reduction of waste ( for examp le , 16 s i t e s have zero

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manufacturing waste going to landfill), CO2 emissions (-52% since 2002), plastic packaging (noticed the new Proglide packaging?), engaging in disaster relief (flooding in Pakistan, Slovakia, Hungary etc, tsunami in Japan…) and many more efforts. I was personally part of an employee volunteering program in Shanghai, where I taught under-privileged migrant children the basics of hygiene. It was, for lack of better words, a life-changing and humbling experience, and I’m extremely grateful that I could participate (and it was not taken off my vacation days ). In fact, I plan to spend a part of my sabbatical on volunteer work as a result of that experience.

The 4th issue of CEMS Quarterly focuses on work-life balance. Concerning you, do you have time for your hobbies? P&G promotes its concern for this issue, how does it reflect in reality?

Work-life balance is about personal choices, it’s more of a work/life blend really. The employer can help you, but it’s up to you whether you choose to spend more time at work, deliver above expectations and have a faster career, or more time at home/with family, deliver the base and “enjoy life”. P&G offers for example the “7 habits of effective people” and “Corporate Athlete” trainings, work-from-home and other perks to support you, but again it is up to the individual how he/she chooses to spend time. Personally, I enjoy what I do in my job and I look forward to going to work - most of the days at least . I think I had a pretty fast

career so far (e.g. I was promoted already after 2 years), I work on average 9-10 hours a day (starting 9ish am), work often from home, don’t need to take out a vacation to e.g. go to the bank (as long as I deliver what is expected of me), never work on weekends, go on long holidays (month in New Zealand, 3 weeks in Thailand…), do sports (mountain biking, hiking, badminton, skiing…), go out with friends a lot…my work/life blend is more than ok for me.

You said you love travelling. Are you planning any interesting trips for this summer?

I t ’s funny, ever yone at P&G loves travelling...sometimes I think it is a prerequisite to joining. Seriously though, I usually take longer vacations in the winter, to escape from the cold somewhere to the southern hemisphere. I was especially fond of South Africa and New Zealand, absolutely magical places with an unbelievably varied nature and the friendliest people. During summer, I usually take a week off and do an active holiday somewhere in Europe– this year me and a bunch of friends are going biking to Sardinia. I also enjoy rafting, canyoning, sea-kayaking etc and want to pick up kitesurfing one of these days.

Thank you very much for your answers, on behalf of the CEMS Club Prague, I wish you a lot of success for your future!

It’s funny, everyone at P&G loves travelling...sometimes I think it is a prerequisite to joining.‟

Juraj SlotaCustomer Integration Leader for Central Europe South at Procter & Gamble

Since 2007, Juraj has been working for P&G, currently in the area of Business Intelligence for EMEA region. Within his CEMS studies, he experienced a semester at HEC, Paris. At the University of Economics in Prague, Juraj studied the major of System Analysis and also obtained a minor in Psychology and Sociology of Management. When he´s not working, he likes to take pictures, do crazy stuff on a mountain bike, diving or playing some badminton. He follows bleeding-edge trends and innovations.  

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CEMSies on the Road

CEMS is not all about studying. The students of the CEMS programme in Prague know how to meaningfully spend their free time, are eager to experience new things and to develop themselves further. For all CEMS students travelling is a great hobby which also helps many students to keep a good work-life balance. Read about the experience of three of our colleagues in Australia, South Africa and China.

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Upside down along the Australian coastline When I was given the offer by my mum to travel with her 20.000 km to visit my brother in Australian Sydney, there was only one dilemma for me – should I buy a better camera or was the current one sufficient enough?

It was kind of a reincarnation into the 20-year-old myself. In February this year I was sitting at the Prague airport both anxious and excited. What will Sydney look like? Will it be the same as in 2007 when I left it for the last time? Still the amazing, friendly and lively city as I remember it? Or has it lost its glory since then?

After 20 hours spent on board of three flights, 30 hours in Bangkok, one lost scarf, one destroyed iPad case and equipped with a couple of new tailor-made suits, I finally landed in Sydney. I was definitely the most verified tourist ever. For some reason I

Text by Marek Palička

attracted the attention of all customs officers on the way: Prague – Dubai – Bangkok – Sydney. I had to repeat five times that I was a Czech tourist, travelling to Sydney to visit my relatives and I did neither travel with a live snake underneath my coat nor a ton of heroin spread inside my laptop.

But all this was forgotten with the intense astonishment caused by the city of Sydney. I am pretty sure all CEMSies, who have been there will agree with me. It is indisputably the most amazing city on the planet. The beautiful mix of liveliness and peace surrounded by beautiful beaches and the city center covered with skyscrapers and shopping centers has no rival elsewhere. One thing has changed though. Five years back the salaries were topping the Swiss level with living costs close to Germany. Nowadays the salaries reach the level of Norway and the costs actually do as well. Australia is not cheap for CEE tourists. In fact maybe even Germans will wisely choose what to buy. Nevertheless, even the last dollar was worth it!

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Sydney Newcastle

Brisbane

Cairns Townsville

I would have been a fool staying all the time just in Sydney. Nope, we had a better schedule. After three days in Sydney we hopped on a flight to Brisbane, which is around 1000 km to the north. We picked up a rental car at the airport and “criss-crossed” the beautiful land of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

The definite highlight was a two-day trip to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Separated by a bay from the mainland, with the only access through a ferry, we had big expectations. But the reality with its overwhelming nature exceeded our expectations by far. 120 km long, on average 15 km wide, part of the UNESCO heritage. More than 100 of natural lakes, some of them with salt water, some of them with pure rainwater, some of them part of a freezing cold creek. It’s also a home for many and many dingoes, wallabies and bird species. The original name K'gari is self-explanatory. In the Butchulla`s people language it means “paradise”.

After Fraser Island the most northerly point of our journey, we then drove a few hundred of kilometers to the south, crossing Brisbane and heading to Gold Coast, Australia`s surfers` paradise. Until then I thought no other city could top Sydney in beautifulness and atmosphere. Nor did Gold Coast, but it was a very tight victory for Sydney. The Gold Coast is very different from Sydney. Whereas Sydney is with no doubt a true megalopolis with more than 4,5 million of people, Gold Coast and its center Surfers` Paradise is comparable to Bali`s Kuta. It is full of young

people who spend day after day on their surfs and it is packed with night bars, restaurants and hotels.

The last stop on our journey was the most-easterly point of Australia - Byron Bay. Even though it is located only around 60 km from Gold Coast, on the way there you already cross the border to New South Wales, which means a different time zone. This does not happen very often in Europe, right?

After having spent wonderful five days in the north we had to head back to Sydney. The last two days we spent in a classic touristic rhythm – purchasing souvenirs, visiting the last few places such as one of the world`s largest fish markets and meeting a few more friends. Then it was time to set off and to return to the winter cold continental Europe. But one thing is sure for me – this was not my last time in Australia. I will be back - soon.

PS: Whoever is responsible for the weather in Australia, thumbs up!

5‟I had to repeat five times that I....neither travel with a live snake underneath my coat nor a ton of heroin spread inside my laptop.

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China - a country that should definitely be on the top of your must-see listI first of all would like to encourage everybody who has the chance to go to China to also take it and to personally experience this unique and great country. During the 2 weeks we could spend there, my friend and I unfortunately only managed to visit Beijing and Shanghai. But already these two cities are so completely different and to nothing comparable in Europe that one can’t help being amazed.

Our trip to China started on 12th of February in the evening at the Ruzyně airport in Prague. With our heavy backpacks we were excitedly waiting for the plane to depart and full of expectations about how China would be like. However, for that experience we still would have to wait a while as the plane first took us to Rome where we arrived around 10pm.

What awaited us now were 15 hours of waiting for our connection flight to Beijing which would depart on the next day at 1pm. Did you ever imagine sleeping at the airport as fun? If yes, I have to disillusion you – it actually is just quite exhausting and the benches look more comfortable in the

Text by Sandra Huber

beginning than they really are after you spent the whole night on them in the cold departure lounge.

However, after some waiting and flying we eventually arrived at the airport in Beijing and this is when our adventure really started. The first big hurdle was to find the hostel we would stay at for the next days. As the Olympic Games were hosted in Beijing only a few years ago we thought that with the address and some words of English we would actually have no problems to communicate with the taxi driver; after all Beijing has become quite an international place. Well, the first lesson we had to learn was that you actually cannot expect any English knowledge from a Chinese. The average person you meet in the streets will probably not even understand the word “supermarket”. This is totally different from Europe where one can usually rely on eventually finding somebody who can help or in most cases one is even able to communicate somehow with the natives, even if only in sign language. In China you won’t even understand the sign language and if you don’t speak any Mandarin you will

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Beijing

Chengdu

Chongqing

Dalian

Guangzhou

Harbin

Nanjing Shanghai

Shenyang

Tianjin

Wuhan

Xi'an

Hongkong

sometimes just have to accept that things like buying a subway ticket can become immensely complicated and time intensive tasks.

Also our first taxi ride took at least 20 minutes longer than expected. When we finally arrived at our home for the next few days we found out why it was so complicated for the taxi driver to find his way. We had chosen an accommodation in one of Beijing’s many “hutongs” (typical very small and narrow streets of Beijing). I was totally amazed as it was just awesome to be there and as I am sure that you cannot feel the real Beijing anywhere better than in one of its many “hutongs”.

So, what to actually see in Beijing and Shanghai? This list is incredibly long and you can keep yourself busy with exploring the cities already for many days. I can assure you that you will not get bored very fast. There are a huge amount of different temples, palaces, gardens, squares and parks that deserve a visit. But for more information about that I recommend you to just get a good guide book or check the internet. There is tons of information for tourists and there is unfortunately not enough space here to describe all the places we saw. Personally, my favorite sight in Beijing is the summer palace. The area there is huge and you can keep yourself busy there for at least a whole afternoon. There is so much to see and to explore. But of course you also must not miss the Great Wall. In Shanghai you should not miss the Yù Yúan garden which is simply marvelous!

When doing sightseeing in China what we soon had to find out was that for most Chinese tourists we were more of an attraction than the wonderful palaces and buildings with its astonishing surroundings. Everybody was staring at us like we were aliens and every now and then we had to stop for a photo. In China two tall and blond girls are something sensational and the rumor has it that being on a picture with a blond girl brings luck. Well, guess how happy they were to see even two of us. For the 2

weeks during sightseeing we always had to be prepared for some photo sessions with awestruck Chinese.

Another quite interesting experience in China you will make at the toilets. When visiting China – prepare to squat. Most restrooms only have urinal troughs, which makes going to the toi let quite a cumbersome task. :D

Unfortunately there is not enough space here to tell all the stories about China but as I already said you should just go there yourself. I definitely have another visit planned. And one more recommendation: don’t only do the most touristic things. Try to sometimes get away from the most popular sights and try to get in contact with the locals, maybe while taking a hard sleeper to another city. It is more interesting and you will definitely get a better feeling for China.

When visiting China – prepare to squat‟

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How to escape freezing Prague in January?

At the beginning of January, after the microeconomics state exam, I decided with a couple of friends and travel/paragliding enthusiasts to escape the upcoming freezing weeks in Europe and to enjoy summer in the southern hemisphere, namely in South Africa. The plan was simple – to spend 3 weeks in SA and to combine travelling and paragliding as much as possible.

It is the 9th of January and we are leaving cold Prague and in 16 hours we will land in sun-drenched Cape Town. At the arrival hall all of us swap our jackets, sweaters, pants and boots for shorts, singlets, flip-flops and sunglasses. Exchanging money, renting cars and let’s hit the road!

Our first stop is Cape of Good Hope: amazing view, baboons, ostriches, penguins and colourful birds. Marvellous! Before sunset we arrive at Hermanus. For the next day we are planning our first take-off above the village, but the bad wind direction forces us to postpone gliding. Hence we decide to move on to Wilderness, the true paradise of South Africa. Even though it’s a 5 hours journey, the landscape is astonishing and definitely worth observing. When entering Wilderness, we understand why it is one of the most popular places on the south coast. It offers long and empty beaches, the ocean, cliffs, bays and a wonderful nature. We are finally unpacking our paragliding gear and enjoy long flights over the cliffs with landing on the beach. However, not everything goes perfect. When flying on another site in Wilderness, one of our members crashes into an extremely dense forest. Unluckily for her, we are

Text by Lubomír Chudoba

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Cape Town Port Elizabeth

Durban

Soweto Johannesburg

PRETORIA

informed by locals that the forest is full of venomous snakes which she is horribly afraid of. As she refuses to unclasp “her” tree and climb down, we have to go and search for her.

Anyway, after a couple of days spent in Wilderness with gliding, hiking, swimming, drinking etc., we are moving to the further east, to Port Elizabeth. On the way we stop

at Bloukrans Bridge, the highest bungee jumping bridge in the world (216m) and I experience the first jump of my life. My conclusion: it’s absolutely worth the money!

Now the program is to gain the real African experience; hence safari sounds like a perfect choice. Based on recommendations, we decide for the Addo Elephant National Park. During one day in the park we see many elephants, zebras, wildebeests, antelopes, buffalos, leopards, hyenas, hogs and other animals, which we beforehand only knew from the zoo. Unfortunately we are not lucky enough to see lions or rhinos, so to collect The Big Five of Africa, we visit a local zoo.

Since almost half of or trip is already over, we have to discuss what to do next – whether to go to the east and visit Dragon Mountains or to go back to the west to Porterville, the mecca of paragliding in South Africa. Based on recommendations and our time limitations, we are heading back to the west, to Porterville through Wilderness (stop for gliding), Oudtshoorn (visiting ostrich farms, having ostrich steak for dinner and ostrich egg for breakfast) and hot springs somewhere in the mountains (delicious, cheap cocktails and chill-out). As we get to Porterville, we are amazed by the scenery; vast flatland and a 100 km long mountain ridge. In the morning we attend a briefing in the local paragliding association where we are informed about the area, conditions, the forecast and what to watch out for. Even though we’ve already heard a bit about the gliding in this area, we all are horrified by the strength of turbulences after the take off. Nevertheless, finally proper gliding, we are all heading north. I am landing after 2 hours about 30km away from take off point on some farm.

Due to strong wind on the next day, we are deciding for the famous wine route south of Porterville. After a whole day spent with wine tasting and lazing in vineyards we let the evening end with a nice BBQ and spend the night outdoors. Minimal light distraction in the surroundings makes Porterville one of

the best spots for stargazing and sky watching. Absolute bliss!

Our trip is getting slowly to its end, and after couple of days in Porterville we are going back to Cape Town. During two days, we are visiting all the “Must-See” sights, such as Table Mountain, botanical gardens, historical city centre, having dinner in traditional restaurants with live music, World Press Photo exhibition etc.

And here we are again at the airport packing away flip-flops, shorts and singlets and preparing for our flight back to cold and snowy Europe.

To sum it up, I must say that I really regret that we scheduled only 3 weeks for this trip. South Africa is an amazing country with a beautiful nature, friendly people and an interesting history and I would recommend to every one of you to go there and experience the carefree way of life, which is nowadays most likely something very strange for most of you

On the way we stopped at Bloukrans Bridge, the highest bungee jumping bridge in the world (216m) and I experienced the first jump of my life

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QUARTERLYQUARTERLY “I learned how to spend quality time with my dearest”says Lenka Krobová, Manager at A.T. Kearney and CEMS Alumni, in a revealing interview about how to keep career and active personal life in balance.

Before we get deeper into the business of work-life balance, let’s start with an easy question: What made you choose consulting as a career?

I am by nature a person who likes dynamics, change and who is eager to learn. Consulting combines all of this and much more. Where else would you learn so much, get knowledge and expertise in topics reaching e.g. from retail up to nuclear energy? In general, this job enables you to work with very smart individuals which makes it very challenging and inspiring at the same time. This is what attracts me, you never get bored.

Sounds like you made the right choice. But there are several management consulting firms on the market. Why A.T. Kearney?

A.T. Kearney is one of the tier-one management consulting companies on our market. I wanted to work for leaders and face the challenge. At the same time I had highly positive references about the culture in A.T. Kearney in general and in the Prague office from a source which I completely trusted due to a very similar perception of what we like. The working environment is very important for me. A.T. Kearney is competitive, still, with a friendly and collegial working atmosphere. After being with A.T. Kearney for over 5 years I like the culture

and diversity, which the company strongly supports and I like how naturally we are able to mix all types of our events with our family members.

I know you probably hear this a lot, but I have to ask. The stereotype is that consultants work a lot compared to majority of other jobs. Do you think this is true?

Compared to my friends working in the industry the consulting job is more demanding, that is true. On the other hand it offers benefits which other jobs never can. It is up to you to know, what the drivers in your life are and then based on that choose the right direction for yourself.

That is very true. But what do you think is the reason behind the long working hours? Are they really necessary?

As you know we work on a project basis and we often have projects with different clients. This alone already means that you constantly need to adapt and learn about new environments, get oriented in the organisation and client’s employees you need for your project. Very often it is your task to search for the right information from the right people in the organisation. This is of course only one leg of the reasoning. The other leg is that clients often consider consultants as those who can help with

anything – you need to be ready to quickly pick-up various topics, to be able to assess the client’s needs outside of your project and call-in the right experts.

Do you think that a person is able to keep up with this kind of pace in the long run? Is it, for the lack of a better word, sustainable?

It very much depends on how able you are to organize your time and how good you are at using your spare time. You also need to have a tolerant partner and friends. If they do not blame you for not being at home on week-days at 7pm, but instead appreciate that you spend quality time with them on

Text by Martin Strnad

‟ Where else would you learn so much, get knowledge and expertise in topics reaching e.g. from retail up to nuclear energy?

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weekends, it is all manageable. Indeed, I learnt how to spend high-quality time with my dearest and how to differentiate between those friends who love to come to an event if you organize it but never invest any of their own energy themselves and those who take turns in taking the lead and do something for you in return. What is also important in my opinion (if this would work with you) is to mix your closest friends - at least some of them - with your family if they are the same “blood type”. As we have active parents and friends we managed to do so and I have no problem to organize a skiing trip and combine family with some

friends. That very much helps you to sustain the workload and still spend time with your nearest.

And that gets us to the issue of this edition of Quarterly. Has the topic of work-life balance ever been addressed in A.T. Kearney?

Of course. A.T. Kearney focuses intensively on work-life balance. The company is aware of the fact that it can only keep high-quality consultants if they have an opportunity besides work to do things for their own development and for relaxation either with

their family or together as colleagues. On the other hand we all know what is the business we are in like and what this means to the clients. Typically, our clients want to have an immediate response in the highest possible quality. And now you are facing the tough job – to combine both. To support the addressed topic the company offers various schemes which help to balance the needs of the business with individual arrangements.

That is surprising, does it work in reality?

It was not my case so far - once you have kids you most likely appreciate various schemes for the work arrangement. However we have cases in the team where it seems to work fine.

With your very busy work-life, could you still say that you have many hobbies or that you do a lot of sports?

Having inherited genes from my parents I am by nature an explorer. This predetermines me to liking travelling – mountains, backpacking, visiting places where you can see many nice things but you cannot stay there in 4* hotel. Getting to these places requires some personal investment and discomfort but you are always rewarded. Of course I also like travelling to cities and regular tourist places, however, I have to admit that I remember much more from my outdoor trips where I carry my heavy backpack and need to work out hard. Thus, in the recent couple of years I have explored the interior of Iceland with its smoking fumaroles and volcanoes, Madeira with its levadas, hidden and forgotten Tibetan kingdom of Mustang in northern Nepal, completely unknown to majority of tourists, beauties of Alaska with its salmon rush, whales, bears, tundra and the old time of gold rush atmosphere around Klondike. At the same time I love hiking, via ferrata, ski-alpinism and being in the fresh air.

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It is good to see that such an adventurous life is possible with your demanding work, I am sure many of your clients would be quite surprised. But do you also have some hobbies that you can do regularly, let’s say every day or every week?

Yes, I have those as well. Besides my exploring genes my other group of crazy genes goes more creative. My entire family on my dad’s side did a lot around photography. I remember when as a child we processed B&W photos in the dark-room with my dad. It is still my dream to have a dark-room once I retire, in which I can experiment with the film. Even though I was judged as being a low-energy person in one job interview in the past (not in A.T. Kearney) when I disclosed my hobby, this is a hobby which helps me to relax. I not only take pictures from my travels but also like to be creative with my camera and experiment. I love exploring the macro world and play with themes. Many of my friends do not understand that I am willing to carry on the heavy SLR (Single-lens reflex camera) with my gears around when we travel but that is just me. It belongs to me and it is what makes me happy even in cases when I do not take many pictures or I delete many afterwards. Of course I also have other hobbies: jogging, inline skating, climbing and others. As many of you I love skiing. Again, I do not have problems to jump into the car at night and in the morning be on the slopes in the Alps only for the weekend. This is

something what energizes me for my next weeks on the project. Last but not least I like gardening and am very happy when my flowers bloom a lot.

I think many people are afraid that w h e n t h e y c h o o s e t o b e a consultant, they choose a single life. Do you think it is possible to actively live a family life while being a consultant?

What exactly do you mean by family life? Me and my husband are very active in terms of travel, family events and combining family with our friends who over the time became sort of our family members. Over the time we managed to create a system which enables us to combine all this which means that during the year there are many opportunities to be active and socialize. On the other hand we do not have kids yet and this part of the family life I do not want to comment as I do not have any personal experience. However, even though it might be more difficult the examples which we have in our office are a clear proof that it is possible. It is a matter of organizing your life and prioritization of your time. Of course you need to have support from the family. But without having good support even a regular industry job might be disastrous when combined with kids. I am optimistic and believe that everything is possible if you really want to reach it and if you are able to discuss options.

Typically, our clients want to have an immediate response in the highest possible quality‟

Lenka KrobováManager at A.T. Kearney Prague

Lenka joined A.T. Kearney in 2007 as senior business analyst. During her work she supported clients mainly in enhancement their operational efficiency. She mainly supports utility and industrial clients. Lenka graduated from VŠE Prague and did her CEMS studies at Universität zu Köln, Germany.

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London, Hong Kong, Prague. See where student cups can take youThis year saw four CEMS teams reach great results in competitions. The winners of the CFA Challenge, the KPMG Case Competition and the second and third team of BCG Strategy Cup share their stories with you below.

Text by Sandra Huber, Linda Kunecová, Martin Sedlák

Could you tell us a little bit about the CFA Institute and about the challenge in general as many of the students probably don’t even know about it?

The CFA institute is a non-profit orga-nisation with the goal to provide financial education as well as to raise the ethical standards in the financial industry. This is especially important as lately there has been a lot of criticism about unethical behaviour in this sector. The CFA Institute provides financial and leadership education and promotes ethics as well as a good code of conduct.

That is a noble goal, but how does it apply to the challenge itself, what are the tasks that had to be solved?

The task you get during the CFA Challenge is to do an in depth financial analysis of a company. In the end the team should come up with a one year recommendation for i n v e s t m e n t . T h e company therefore has to be analysed for a specific date and in the end an investment repor t h a s to be h a n d e d i n a n d everything has to be presented in front of potential investors. You have to forecast the status quo of the company in one year and try to understand what this company will look like in the future.

You must have been very good in that since you won the local challenge of the CFA Institute Research Challenge in the Czech Republic, congratulations. But this was not the end, right?

Thank you. No, it was not the end; the CFA Challenge is a global competition. We won the Czech round and were therefore invited for the EMEA regional round to London. We went there in February and participated in the finals for the European region. Altogether there are four different regions: EMEA, Asia-Pacific, Americas and one special

regional final round takes place in New York. From each of those regions again one team wins and then goes to the global finals.

So as a reward you went to London. What was it like there? Was the regional round very different from the local one?

In London we again had to hold one big presentation. Every team got a different company. The technical background and some parts of the report were also the same; only the industry was different. A lot for sure also depended on the company you got assigned. Of course it is quite sexy if you have a nice company in combination with a buy recommendation. I think my team did a very good job but as I said it’s the combination that counts.

CFA INSTITUTE RESEARCH CHA-LLENGE 2012After winning the CFA Institute Research Challenge in the Czech Republic Matúš Strážnický is talking about the experience he and his team made during the competition.

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It was an incredibly enriching experience‟

Hi guys! Congrats to you! First of all I would like to know why you actually decided to participate in this competition.

Petr: First of all the BCG Cup is a great challenge. It is a complex competition, which tests the knowledge from a broad range of studies. Moreover, for many years CEMS teams participated in this competition and were successful which made it even more challenging to keep up with the tradition.

Eduard: Curiosity was the major impulse for me. I saw it as a great opportunity to try consultancy work as a student without more or less any practical experiences within this industry.

Miroslav: I wanted to test my abilities in the competition where the best students of the Czech Republic participate. Moreover, BCG is definitely an interesting company and I wanted to get to know it better.

So how did it work during the competition? Was there any crucial point that led to your success?

P: I would say it was when we had finally cracked all the calculations. Until that point we were working at half throttle, but that moment raised our hope and gave us new motivation to continue working.

After what you told me I have the feeling that the BCG cup was a nice learning experience. So, what did you actually learn during the competition?

P: I would rather say that we have recapitulated all what we have done in school and applied it in a practical way. For sure we also learnt a lesson about time management and got valuable experience in teamwork.

M: That it is not always good to provide as a solution a perfect balance of all the aspects mixing them. What might be more important, and in the BCG Strategy Cup it was important, is to provide a clear decision in one way without any compromise.

What do you consider the biggest reward from your participation?

P: I would say the kind of respect and congratulations from other students who know about this competition.

E: The challenge itself and creating bonds with my teammates.

M: The 3rd place in the end of the game ;)

One more final question: After your experience would you recommend the participation to the CEMS rookies?

P: Definitely, for all the aspects I have mentioned before and also to keep proving the quality of CEMS students.

BCG STRATEGY CUP 2011

Below, you will get some insights from the CEMS finalist g ro u p s t h e “ R a i n m a -kers” (Sylva, David, Eduard, Filip) who won the 2nd place and “4 elements” (Petr, Martin, Miroslav, and Karel) who took home the bronze medal in the BCG Strategy Cup.

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QUARTERLYQUARTERLY

Why did you decide to sign up for the KPMG competition?

The motivation to sign-up was threefold: firstly, we looked forward to compete with the best student teams from the country and challenge our skills in this tough competition. Secondly, the possibility to participate in the international final in Hong Kong was also pretty tempting. And lastly, as the founders of the management consulting club, CLUB 307, we hoped to earn credibility

for solving business cases in case of a good placing.

How did the competition proceed and how did you approach it?

In the first step, we applied via the company website and we got through the qualification round, which consisted of a presentation of a solution to a short case study (solved at home) and a brief team introduction. Thanks to this exercise the KPMG representatives selected 12 teams (out of applying 40).

The following two rounds on February 15, were already in the format the KPMG competition is famous for. Each time we received a case study of approximately 20-25 pages and we were supposed to identify the k e y i s s u e s a n d p r e p a r e t h e recommendations within three hours.

Our approach was to stay calm no matter what happens (losing all slides after an hour of work in the final was a big test) and come up with a viable solution all of us believed in.

You seem to be a well matched team. How do you work together?

That´s true. We have worked together on several projects in and outside the classroom before. We know what we can expect from each other, what the key contributions of each team member are and so on. For example, Tom and me are those who come up with the ideas and potential solutions, whereas Luke and Miro are there to back up the proposed solution with analyses and bulletproof reasoning.

You just came back from the international final in Hong Kong. What are your impressions and what are your bringing back?

It was an incredibly enriching experience. What is the most powerful lesson I learned during the Hong Kong Final was how diligently and efficiently the Asians work. The best evidence for this statement is the fact that two Asian rookies teams – Vietnam and Hong Kong – ended up in the final. The team Czech republic ranked in the upper half - on the 5.-12. place, leaving another 12 teams behind.

KPMG INTERNATIONAL CASE COMPETI-TION 2012Interview with Katarína Sabová who made it to the Hong Kong final with her team consisting of Tomáš Doležal, Lukáš Černo and Miroslav Šála.

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QUARTERLYQUARTERLYWhen employees give their best they deserve to recharge their batteriessays Matouš Michněvič, Project Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In the interview, he shares his opinions on work-life balance, explains what it is like to work as an advisor and gives some thoughts about his next career steps.

Where did you finish your studies?

I graduated from the University of Economics in Prague, faculty of Business Administration. Furthermore, I studied at CEMS. I was in the Copenhagen Business School where I focused on corporate finance. As a result I gained two master’s degrees, one from the University of Economics (VŠE) and another one from CEMS in Copenhagen.

What made you to go to CEMS?

I wanted to find out what real student life was like: I was born, lived and studied in Prague and wanted to experience true dorm life. Also, I wanted to study abroad. First I thought I would undertake a regular exchange program. But then a friend of mine told me about CEMS: It sounded professional and prestigious… and surprisingly I was successful in the selection process and became a CEMS student.

How did you find yourself in PwC?

During studies with a few of my friends, I participated in case study competitions. We were pretty successful at it. Thanks to this success I was lucky to receive a few offers

from companies that supported CEMS. I got an offer from PwC to join the audit department as well. As I was seeking for an advisory/consulting job, I accepted a position with a competitor at that time. It was a good experience - after only two years I went on a secondment to work in the Netherlands. I met my current boss Daniel Cappelletti there. He then asked me to help him to set up a new Strategy team in Central and Eastern Europe. I did not hesitate and took this opportunity even though it meant leaving my employer and joining PwC. I am now a project manager in the CEE Strategy team and do not regret this change. I have been in PwC for four years now.

Why did you prefer advisory? Why not audit?

I really respect my colleagues in audit. I have to be critical and I must admit that

sometimes I am not patient and precise enough, which a good auditor has to be. Advisory work requires these personal skills as well but perhaps in a different way, in a different order. In advisory you have to think about the big picture first, define a direction, a hypothesis you want to prove: “Is investing in this company feasible?” You specify what information you need for your decision making and go away and search and do the analyses that allow you to do that. And that is where you need to be very accurate. In advisory, I get a lot of opportunities to influence things, create new things with our clients and that is what fulfils me.

Text by Marek Palička

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What exactly do you do right now?

I am a Manager of the Strategy team which operates in Central and Eastern Europe. From our offices in Prague, Warsaw and Moscow, we satisfy the needs of our clients in the region. We also cover clients from elsewhere in the region, such as Romania, Serbia, Georgia or else as well. The main service we offer to our clients includes a thorough market analysis, an understanding of the dynamics of the market development and its impact on key players, incl. our clients. We also look for opportunities hidden in these trends that would benefit our clients. Our typical task includes preparing a business plan, investment strategy or new market entry strategy. For example, currently we are analysing the potential of CEE market for a big U.S. retail company. We are advising which markets bring the greatest potential and assisting in the search for local investors willing to purchase a franchise licence afterwards.

Do you have free time during you busy day?

Working in advisory and especially in PwC demands high performance and drive. One has to balance work and free time. A person that would focus on work only cannot be successful in the long term. I am trying to do sports a lot. I have been rowing for 20 years; actually just today before work I went and rowed for a few kilometres. It is all about forcing yourself to get up in the morning and arrange your program. Recently I started boxing – to burn off a lot of energy. And I am also trying to improve my handicap in golf.

And apart from sport, I devote my free time to my family, my girlfriend and my garden (laugh). I think that if you are not fit physically or you are not able to get rid of stress with the help of sport or other activities then you cannot be successful at work or other activities in your life.

When did you last have vacation time?

I just returned from Thailand (laugh). In general it is relatively easy to negotiate longer vacations with the partners of the company. For example, four years ago I had four months of vacation and I travelled around the world. Actually travelling is my next hobby. I think PwC is very flexible and the management realises that when employees give their best they deserve to recharge their batteries.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

As I will be over forty by then, I cannot really imagine that (laugh). I always give myself several ambitious goals, but I try not to be disappointed if some of them do not work out exactly the way I wanted. Ten years is a long time and the thirties is considered the most productive period of life. I hope it does not sound big-headed if I mention three possible scenarios that I see now. In ten years time I may be a Partner in PwC or I might become a strategic Manager, a man responsible for strategy and running a regional medium-large sized company. The third option can be that I set up a business on my own.

If you are not fit physically you cannot be successful at work or other activities in your life.‟

Matouš MichněvičProject Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers

Matouš is a former CEMS Prague students, being on exchange in Copenhagen, Denmark. Currently on the position of a Project Manager in the CEE Strategy Team, he works with different people from different cultures. Besides working, he likes travelling, rowing, boxing and recently he has started playing golf.

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QUARTERLYQUARTERLY

Dear CEMSies,

It is my pleasure to speak on behalf of a group of CEMS students constituting the Prague CEMS Club during the upcoming year.

I believe that together with Eduard Matús focusing on corporate partners, Filip Fingl taking care of finances, Martin Konečný in a marketing function, Andrea Hurychová adding some fun through socialising, Lilli Lange supporting the Club (either SBR or another function) and me as a coordinator in the presidency function we have created a compact and well functioning team with various ideas and goals for the future CEMS Club. We are also looking forward to a close cooperation with the future Student Board Representative arising from the currently ongoing elections.

Apart from continuing with the great work of the current CEMS Club, our main motivation is to increase the awareness of the Prague CEMS program. We want to work both locally promoting the program at Czech universities as well as internationally through cooperation with other CEMS Clubs and organisation of international events in Prague to attract the best talents and keep the high quality the CEMS program is known for.

We have been approached by people who are motivated to also take part in the future CEMS Club and we very much welcome an active interest of everybody who has ideas and is motivated to work in the Prague CEMS Club.

We also very much appreciate if you share ideas with us on where you see the CEMS Club going even though you don’t want to participate. We promise we will try to realize them :)

Thank you very much for your support and your participation.

Your CEMS Mates

Andrea Hurychová, Eduard Matús, Filip Fingl, Martin Konečný, Lilli Lange & David Kolesa.

One era is going to an end, the next one is already on the starting blocks. The next CEMS Club Prague presidency has been elected and tasks will be handed over to David Kolesa and his team at the end of this semester! We wish them all the best for the study year 2012/2013! Read now the first words of the new CEMS Club President David Kolesa.

New CEMS Club for 2012/2013

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CEM

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Prag

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3Published by

CEMS Club Prague, o.s.University of Economics, Prague

nám. Winstona Churchilla 4Prague, Czech Republic

Editor-in-chiefSandra Huber

EditorsOndřej BrožMichal Hulín

Lubomír ChudobaLinda KunecováMarek PaličkaMartin SedlákMartin Strnad

Karolina Štochlová

Graphic DesignOndřej Brož Marek Palička

PhotosCEMS Club Archive

Archive of the authors and interviewed persons

No reprints without prior permission of the publisher